May 1st, 2010, is a day I will remember for some time.
For years to come I will recall the beautiful first day of the New York Spring Turkey season. For the opener we were greeted with a calm, sunny day that started out in the mid fifties. I will certainly remember being disappointed that I could not share the day with my wife Lee, whom I have spent nearly every opening day with since we first met over thirteen years ago. Lee had to work that day, and could not switch schedules. I will also remember sharing another fine day in the turkey woods with Paul Walling who I have spent many mornings with chasing gobblers. Last but not least, I will fret over and over for many years, the circumstances which left me bewildered, and a gobbler wounded, not harvested.
Opening morning, Paul and I managed to find a few vocal gobblers on one of our favorite state land spots first thing. As it happens so many times, the birds worked us over more than we worked them. We suspected an attractive hen took her boyfriends and exited stage left. Given the fact we had little luck roosting birds the prior evening, it was a good start.
With the first half of the morning behind us we headed over to another favorite state land location we affectionately call “Shorty’s.” Appropriately named after a nasty old gobbler we chased there for four seasons. The past two seasons we arrived late morning and raised gobblers that quickly came to the gun, well after 10am which made for a great late morning hunt. In both cases someone else had been there prior to our arrival. To our surprise, no tell tale signs of a car or truck in the usual parking spots which we thought was odd for the opener.
We had barely made our way down a logging road, when we raised a bird. With the way the land laid, it sounded as if the gobbler was across the road. Paul knew better from many years of hunting the location. As we got to a better listening spot along the top of the ridge, we were better able to pinpoint the gobbling bird, and quickly moved to setup. With late morning birds it pays to be decisive, and setup quickly as the birds are more likely to come in quicker than at other times. Paul suggested a staggered setup along the side bank just below the ridge top to cover two likely paths the bird would take. In less than fifteen minutes the bird closed the distance and was shook the woods when he gobbled. In fact the bird gobbled the entire way to our setup. The bird showed himself at less than fifty yards after an ear shattering gobble that just rattled the woods. His neon white head was the first ting to come into view. This was not just a big bird, it was a pig with wings. His fan was enormous, and I would figure him to be in the 22-23 lbs range. In retrospect, he was probably bigger given my tendency to be conservative in my estimates. He folded up, and walked to within 35 yards of my position, stopped and put his head straight up to take a look. With a clear path all the way to him, I settle the holosight just below his head and squeezed the trigger.
This is where the story goes downhill. The gobbler went down and backwards only to roll over and take flight. Paul came over asking what went wrong, and at that point I didn’t have a clue. Paul thought he might have come in closer. Looking back, I regret not waiting to find out. Given the circumstances I was comfortable with the shot, as it was the same scenario that has been repeated time and time again in the past (with more positive results). We went to look for the gobbler, only to flush him out of a tree down the hill. We still spent some time looking to double check, and in the end determined that it was the same bird that had flown back out of the tree as we started to look. Upon further inspection I found burnt cardboard pieces plugging up my ported choke tube and realized I had a bad shell. The shot sounded a bit off, and Paul thought it sounded not as loud as it should have. I opt to not name the manufacturer here, but I guarantee I’ll be having a discussion with them in the near future.
Humility and reality have come early this season. I spend a great deal of time to own and maintain firearms that get the job done, and are reliable. I pattern each gun, shot shell, and choke tube combination I care to use. I take the time to know each of my setups for their capabilities and limitations. This is something that most turkey hunters do to ensure a clean kill. My point of aim was not an issue, as I have gone to using holosights. My eyes are not what they use to be, and I am not willing to settle for close enough with a vent rib/bead. I have the benefit of being on target each and every time I place the circle and dot on a gobblers head. The point of all this is that despite my preparations, dedication to details, only taking a shot that meets my comfort & skill level. I still walked out of there with my tail between my legs, and the knowledge that I wounded a bird rather than harvested him. To add insult to injury, this was a very large bird, and we had caught up with him at the right place, and right time.
I am fortunate that I have only had this happen but a few times in the many seasons I have chased gobblers. I can recall at will, painful details of each of them, and it serves as a constant reminder that it’s not always a done deal nor a 100% guarantee, This also serves as a reason why I do no advocate longer shots, as the farther it is, the more likely that something will go wrong or be less than optimal. I rep for Hevi-Shot shells, and I bring this very point up in my seminars. In this case I was using another company’s shot shell which happens to pattern better in the shotgun I was using. Nevertheless, it is possible to get an errant shell from any brand or manufacture.
Without a doubt I will replay this in my head many times over, not to mention that I will go back throughout the season to try to determine if the gobbler survived his injuries, or not. I owe him that much at least.
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