Post by darrellh on Apr 2, 2016 17:15:11 GMT -5
I went turkey hunting this morning and heard a turkey gobble a few minutes after daybreak. I figured that he was too far away to call, so I decided to move over one ridge toward him. After topping out on the ridge, I got set up and let out a few soft yelps on my slate. Almost immediately, a strutting tom strolled into view. My .45 caliber flintlock was lying in my lap but I knew I couldn't bring the gun up until the gobbler's head was out of sight. All of a sudden another gobbler walked into view, then another. Talk about a predicament, I had three longbeards in view and I didn't dare move to bring the gun up to my shoulder. I did manage to get the hammer pulled back on the muzzleloader with my right hand while the gobblers slowly walked from my left to my right searching for the hen that they had heard.
The first two gobblers finally went out of sight as they topped over the ridge to my right. My only chance was to wait until gobbler number three's head went behind a tree. When this happened, I quickly brought the gun up to my shoulder and pulled back on the set trigger. When he walked out from behind the tree, I yelped to him with my mouth and he stopped and did a 180 degree turn to try to pinpoint the source of the sound. I eased into the trigger and the flint made sparks sending a .45 caliber patched round ball on its way!
He flapped his wings hard, trying desperately to escape but he couldn't get off of the ground. All of a sudden, the other two toms came back over the ridge to see what was up with their friend. If I had had a shotgun, it would have been very tempting to try for a double!
It was a great morning in the woods!
The first two gobblers finally went out of sight as they topped over the ridge to my right. My only chance was to wait until gobbler number three's head went behind a tree. When this happened, I quickly brought the gun up to my shoulder and pulled back on the set trigger. When he walked out from behind the tree, I yelped to him with my mouth and he stopped and did a 180 degree turn to try to pinpoint the source of the sound. I eased into the trigger and the flint made sparks sending a .45 caliber patched round ball on its way!
He flapped his wings hard, trying desperately to escape but he couldn't get off of the ground. All of a sudden, the other two toms came back over the ridge to see what was up with their friend. If I had had a shotgun, it would have been very tempting to try for a double!
It was a great morning in the woods!