Posted By: Duckhawker
Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one - 05/12/14 02:15 AM
For the first time I decided to turkey hunt on my own. No one to make decisions but me. My girlfriend and I went out to a ranch in Concho County with lots of birds for the end of the season. The general theme of the weekend was that I screwed things up over and over.
Day 1 - Friday
I called in a jake within ten minutes of setting up at 1 pm. He came in silently and surprised me. I spooked him and did not get off a shot. Then I spent the rest of the day watching hens at water holes and in fields.
Day 2 - Saturday
Called to one gobbling bird in the morning. Got some answers but the bird would not move closer and eventually got quiet. Then it got hot. In the evening I called in another jake, took a long shot at 40 yards. I hit him, he flopped once, got up and absolutely bolted. Crazy. I guess I should have been more ready to plug him again.
Day 3 - Sunday (today)
We set up on a big field (105 acres) we had scouted. There were birds in the field every time we looked. I put my girlfriend in a blind on the field corner next to a fence line turkeys had been walking. I set up in another blind on another field edge. We were 500 yards apart. It was very windy. Too windy for decoys or even effective calling. Fifteen minutes after sunrise, three mature toms walk out into the field 150 yards away. I called, they did not respond except for an occasional look, and kept walking. Later, over the next hour, a hen walked all over the field twice, coming in range of myself and my girlfriend. This hen spent tons of time just out picking insects out of the field. Eventually she left.
At 9:30, I look up, and at least 700 yards away is a big tom. After inspection with binoculars, we see that he is a big gobbler. My girlfriend and I are texting back and forth. The turkey is walking directly towards her blind, just as planned. He's just taking his own sweet time, picking up insects as he goes. The turkey is about 400 yards away from her and I hear her shoot. Bam. One second later. Bam. One more second. Bam again. I see a turkey fly up in the air into the brush next to the field. The gobbler out way in front runs off into the thick mesquite. My girlfriend calls and tells me a big gobbler stepped out of the mesquite onto the road right next to her blind at twenty yards. She plugged him, he didn't go down so she shot two more times, hitting him each time. She had patterned her 20 gauge and it had patterned well. I don't know why she didn't kill it. She tells me she is going to go look. I tell her I'm packing up and coming in the truck. Before I get to the gate I hear the gun go off two more times. Right about then I'm thinking, "Crap, he's running and she's trying to finish him off." About a minute later I get a photo of a dead turkey. The relief I felt was immense.
I get over to her location and she has the bird. She walked about eighty yards from where she shot him and there he was, on the ground, flipping just a little. After seeing my jake get away from the day before, she plugged him twice more in the head while he was in the final stages of kicking. She did not want him to get away.
Here are the photos. The beard is ten inches long. Would anyone help guess the age based on the spurs? They were 3/4 of an inch long and quite worn.
After all the trials we went through, I'm glad she got a bird and it was a good one. I'm also glad she had the readiness to keep shooting him when he didn't go down. I've also included a photo of a five foot long bull snake we found while driving a ranch road, which was released unharmed.
Day 1 - Friday
I called in a jake within ten minutes of setting up at 1 pm. He came in silently and surprised me. I spooked him and did not get off a shot. Then I spent the rest of the day watching hens at water holes and in fields.
Day 2 - Saturday
Called to one gobbling bird in the morning. Got some answers but the bird would not move closer and eventually got quiet. Then it got hot. In the evening I called in another jake, took a long shot at 40 yards. I hit him, he flopped once, got up and absolutely bolted. Crazy. I guess I should have been more ready to plug him again.
Day 3 - Sunday (today)
We set up on a big field (105 acres) we had scouted. There were birds in the field every time we looked. I put my girlfriend in a blind on the field corner next to a fence line turkeys had been walking. I set up in another blind on another field edge. We were 500 yards apart. It was very windy. Too windy for decoys or even effective calling. Fifteen minutes after sunrise, three mature toms walk out into the field 150 yards away. I called, they did not respond except for an occasional look, and kept walking. Later, over the next hour, a hen walked all over the field twice, coming in range of myself and my girlfriend. This hen spent tons of time just out picking insects out of the field. Eventually she left.
At 9:30, I look up, and at least 700 yards away is a big tom. After inspection with binoculars, we see that he is a big gobbler. My girlfriend and I are texting back and forth. The turkey is walking directly towards her blind, just as planned. He's just taking his own sweet time, picking up insects as he goes. The turkey is about 400 yards away from her and I hear her shoot. Bam. One second later. Bam. One more second. Bam again. I see a turkey fly up in the air into the brush next to the field. The gobbler out way in front runs off into the thick mesquite. My girlfriend calls and tells me a big gobbler stepped out of the mesquite onto the road right next to her blind at twenty yards. She plugged him, he didn't go down so she shot two more times, hitting him each time. She had patterned her 20 gauge and it had patterned well. I don't know why she didn't kill it. She tells me she is going to go look. I tell her I'm packing up and coming in the truck. Before I get to the gate I hear the gun go off two more times. Right about then I'm thinking, "Crap, he's running and she's trying to finish him off." About a minute later I get a photo of a dead turkey. The relief I felt was immense.
I get over to her location and she has the bird. She walked about eighty yards from where she shot him and there he was, on the ground, flipping just a little. After seeing my jake get away from the day before, she plugged him twice more in the head while he was in the final stages of kicking. She did not want him to get away.
Here are the photos. The beard is ten inches long. Would anyone help guess the age based on the spurs? They were 3/4 of an inch long and quite worn.
After all the trials we went through, I'm glad she got a bird and it was a good one. I'm also glad she had the readiness to keep shooting him when he didn't go down. I've also included a photo of a five foot long bull snake we found while driving a ranch road, which was released unharmed.