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My first wild turkey
Topic Started: May 2 2008, 10:15 PM (370 Views)
buckchaser
Regular
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My week ended on a very high note with the harvest of my first wild turkey. I've been battling bronchitis all week and had a very busy week at work as well so I was eager to escape to the turkey woods this evening. I was hunting two farms that border my parents' property. Arriving just before 5 PM, I slipped along the fencerow, crossed the creek, and stealthily made my way to my setup. Located under a huge tree that provides a viewpoint into both a large cut corn field and an overgrown field, it is a prime spot for spotting birds.

After about 45 minutes of sparse light calling I spotted the fan of a strutting tom emerge from the woods about 400 meters away in the overgrown field. With a few minutes the field had filled with at least 5 male birds and 4 hens. One of the males was clearly the dominant bird, shadowing the hens and frequently exploding into full strut. Realizing that my chances of calling any of the male birds away from the hens was very unlikely at this early point of the season, I abandoned my gear (save my shotgun, box call, and binoculars) and began sneaking toward the birds. Taking advantage of slight changes in topography and the scattered trees/bushes in the field, I was able to close to within 150 meters of the flock. After watching the birds move around the field (and completely ignoring my calls) for about 15 minutes, I decided it was time to take the game to the gobblers. Bringing only my shotgun I began to belly crawl toward the birds, keeping small conifers between myself and their line of sight. At this point, only three male birds remained within reasonable distance. Suddenly, one of male birds began to work his way toward me. Fortunately I had positioned myself behind a small 4 foot conifer as he worked his toward me. Once he passed 50 meters I realized a shooting opportunity was imminent. However, he continued to come straight toward me, meaning I could not take a shot without exposing myself from behind the conifer. Finally he began to veer to my left. As he stepped into my line of fire, the moment of truth had arrived. The bird was moving slowly, but my window of opportunity was very narrow as the bird would doubtless spot me as my shape became evident behind the tree. My Browning BPS roared and the load of Winchester High Density #5 shot dropped the bird instantly. My parents heard the shot from their house (about 750 meters away) as well as the war whoop I let out when the bird fell.

The bird is an excellent specimen of a mature (yet still quite young) male turkey. He weighed 17 pounds, had a 9 inch beard, and 0.75 inch spurs. As always when taking a magnificent creature such as this wild turkey, the exhilaration of the moment and realization of lots of hard work is tempered by the fact I have killed the animal.

I have photos, but am not certain how to post them. Any advice?


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Posted Image LoneWolf
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Rebel Soul

Congratulations on your first bird, buckchaser. :cheers:

If you want to email them to me I can get them posted for you. If you want me to post them send me a pm and I will send you my email addy via pm.

Or you can go to the help forum and see the picture posting thread which will walk you through the procedures of how to post them.

Go to this link and you should have no problem: http://z4.invisionfree.com/The_Hunting_For...?showtopic=7451
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Posted Image Love2Hunt
Great White Hunter in Mississauga!

Way ta go bud. congrats on your first turkey harvest..

:cheers:
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Posted Image Brooke
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Hanover, Ontario.

AHHH, the addiction begins.............

Congrats, great story. :cheers:
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Extreme
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Lanark County--Team Ontario Trophy Bucks
Congrats on your first, :allright: Great story and great pics :wOOT:
I thought I was wrong once,But I was mistaken
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Bradford Ont

:allright:
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Happiness is a warm gutpile
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Rebel Soul


There you go, buckchaser... Great looking bird for your first!

Great looking bird and great story!

Congratulations once again. :cheers:
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Shane
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Team Ontario Trophy Bucks
way to go buckchaser , congrats
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Congrats on your first bird .It's a dandy. :cheers: Brent J..
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Posted Image Crash
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Congrats! Great bird :goodpost:
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Team Ontario Trophy Bucks

:wOOT:
congrats on a great hunt and a great bird :cheers:
condescending twat
Someone who looks down on other people and is beyond arrogant
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Posted Image annie oakley
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Right on Buchchaser, Congratulations on your turkey :thumbsup:
<bottomleft><b>AS A MATTER OF FACT, I DO HUNT LIKE A GIRL!!</b>


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wellington north

congrats nice bird. :allright:
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Posted Image Kit
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:allright: ...congrats on your first bird.....


Kit
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Posted Image scapko
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Grand Valley,Ont.

Great story,and what an awesome bird.The first is soooo special.Enjoy.
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:cheers: Congrats on a great looking bird Buckchaser. :cheers:
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Congrats on your first bird
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Posted Image Paul Beasley


you never forget your first! Congrats.
Ontario Monster Whitetails Magazine

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congratulations
RyMad Outdoors
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Ontario Monster Whitetail Magazine
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woohoo WAY TO GO
Waiting for FALL!!!
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ya done real good! Congrats!

"calling an 'illegal alien' an 'undocumented immigrant' is like calling a 'drug dealer' an 'unlicensed pharmacist' "...
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Bowmanville/Haliburton

Awesome first bird, congrats, :cheers:
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high on the horn

congrats great looking bird :cheers:
when your old all you have are your memories so make them

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What a story! Congrats!
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TEAM TENPOINT 2
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hahha...i bet your hooked now!!!!!!! Sweet bird and nice shotty!
ITS FUNNY HOW A BIRD WITH A BRAIN THE SIZE OF A PEA, CONTINUES TO OUT SMART ME TIME AND TIME AGAIN!...I LOVE SPRING GOBBLERS.
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Congrats Nice Bird!!!!!!!!!!!!! :shoot:
"At the global level, we can't carry on any more with public debt that wasn't created by us but by thieving governments, corrupt banks and speculators who don't give a damn about us the working people of the world"
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Nice Story and Pics.

Congrats.

Ven
:deer:
Ven-ator

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