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One last Turkey

bigwuhead

By bigwuhead
in Turkey Hunting

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bigwuhead 4 pointer

bigwuhead

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This dang bird.  My first PA Bird and he made me earn every cm of his little nubby spurs.  We hunted hard on public land for 3 days.  Talk about frustrating.  We heard birds.  We SAW birds cross the road right in front of us.  But they wanted nothing to do with us.  Or anyone.  Up until I shot this bird on Monday morning at 7 something, it was the only shot I heard in our entire 3 days of hunting.  

 

Anyhow, we hiked into this spot after hearing a gobble, passing the waterfall I thought, wow, that would be a great picture spot.  Then we hiked UP past the waterfall, and I thought, carrying a bird out of here in the rain would be fun, not.  We set up in the first spot, birds gobbling, then all of a sudden a putt, then another and continous alarm putts.  JERKS!  We thought they busted us.  Then I look over Andy's shoulder and I see a bird.  "Don't move, there's a bird...  Oh wait.  It's a bear."  Now, me? I love seeing bears.  Andy, not so much.  So we watch the bear skirt the shelf at 40 yards.  Now we know why the birds were putting.  So we get up, we move far far far away.  FAR AWAY.  And we got one coming at 100 yards.  Then... nothing.  So we get up, we move.  HOLY CRAP there's a gobble and it's close.  We set up, he gobbles, be he won't come in.  So we get up, we move, we try a completely different set up and some fancy calling and all of a sudden a bird flys from the roost straight over Andy.  It's 7:45 am, raining softly and that jerk was still in bed.  Next thing I know I see movement on the other side of a dead fall in front of me, yup, it's a bird.  But I have zero shot because of the downed tree.  That jerk is going the opposite direction of the calling.  Silent.  So he clears the dead fall, I see a beard and like something out of Wiley Coyote he takes off at a clip running.  I got the gun up and ahead of him and prayed he would stop, and thank the good Lord he did.  He stopped, turned to look back and I took a shot.  50 yards, hail mary and I knew I missed.  There was no way I got this bird.  Andy was walking over to me and I was shaking my head... then... flop flop flop.  

 

I am telling you, last year, I never would have taken that shot.  This year?  I took it because I was 100% confident that my gun, choke and ammo could absolutely take a bird down at 50 yards.  He ended up being 47ish yards.  I believed in my equipment, and for the time it took me to get my head on the gun and the bird in my sights and pull the trigger, I believed in myself.  And it paid off.  He may only have been a 14 pound soaking wet super jake with a 6" beard, bumps for spurs and some pretty tail feathers, but he might as well be the biggest bird ever.  And to get to take a picture in front of the waterfall, with the rain falling... it was priceless.  

 

FWIW... I shot him with my Remington 1187 12 Ga., Patternmaster Choke, Truglo Tru Bead Turkey Dual Color sites, Winchester LongbeardXR 3 1/2" shells.

 

PA Turkey.jpg

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