Huntinfool
Senior Member
While I was sitting listening to 2 gobblers this morning (who were being hard headed), for some reason I thought about the very first turkey I ever killed.
Looking back on it, I wish I had a video camera on me because any seasoned turkey hunter would have been doubled over laughing at me. I think I'm at a point in my life when I can laugh at it now too.
Two things struck me as the most funny about the whole thing. First, two longbeards came in silent to the little 1/4 acre food plot I was sitting on. It was an afternoon hunt and I'm about 99.99% sure they just happened to be passing through and it had absolutely nothing to do with the slate call that I had in my hands.
But, as they were walking in, I could hear the leaves crunching under their feet and I literally froze because I was POSITIVE that two grown men were about to walk into my food plot...and I didn't know who they were or why they were there. All sorts of terrible murderous thoughts ran through my brain. Why were these men on my property and what were their intentions?!
Once I finally realized that these were actual turkeys and I hadn't spooked them, I raised my gun and somehow managed to miss not one but TWO turkeys at about 10 steps! As I gathered myself, I racked another shell and fired off another round as they were running out of the plot. I assume my pattern must have been big enough at 40 yards that even I could hit a moving target. In any case, thank the good Lord for 3.5" Hevishot at that moment.
Well, I had killed my first turkey....or so I thought. Why was he flopping? Did I not just kill him? What the heck am I supposed to do now? (can you tell I had no turkey hunting mentor?).
Do I shoot him again at point blank range? Well, no, somehow I just didn't think that would be the right thing to do. So...what was my solution to this bird who was obviously not dead and flopping? I did what any turkey hunter who had never killed a turkey and didn't realize that this dieing bird would quit flopping eventually would do.
I raised the butt of my LOADED gun in the air and tried to crush his head with it! Well, that didn't really work well because I had a Sims pad on the butt and all I was doing was just mashing him up really good with what must have felt like a really firm pillow!
Realizing that wasn't working, it never occured to me to simply step on his neck. No No! I'm going to do this the right way! So I grabbed a huge like 10 pound rock and proceded to throw it at his head multiple times hoping i would just crush his head and "put him out of his misery" that way. By the time I got done with him, he was indeed dead. Looked like his head had been put through a meat grinder....but dead none-the-less.
I promise, I laughed out loud this morning thinking back on that.
I hereby apologize to that turkey, wherever he may be, for not giving him the dignified death that such a majestic bird should have gotten. I hope that he understands the mis-steps of a rookie and can forgive me.
Looking back on it, I wish I had a video camera on me because any seasoned turkey hunter would have been doubled over laughing at me. I think I'm at a point in my life when I can laugh at it now too.
Two things struck me as the most funny about the whole thing. First, two longbeards came in silent to the little 1/4 acre food plot I was sitting on. It was an afternoon hunt and I'm about 99.99% sure they just happened to be passing through and it had absolutely nothing to do with the slate call that I had in my hands.
But, as they were walking in, I could hear the leaves crunching under their feet and I literally froze because I was POSITIVE that two grown men were about to walk into my food plot...and I didn't know who they were or why they were there. All sorts of terrible murderous thoughts ran through my brain. Why were these men on my property and what were their intentions?!
Once I finally realized that these were actual turkeys and I hadn't spooked them, I raised my gun and somehow managed to miss not one but TWO turkeys at about 10 steps! As I gathered myself, I racked another shell and fired off another round as they were running out of the plot. I assume my pattern must have been big enough at 40 yards that even I could hit a moving target. In any case, thank the good Lord for 3.5" Hevishot at that moment.
Well, I had killed my first turkey....or so I thought. Why was he flopping? Did I not just kill him? What the heck am I supposed to do now? (can you tell I had no turkey hunting mentor?).
Do I shoot him again at point blank range? Well, no, somehow I just didn't think that would be the right thing to do. So...what was my solution to this bird who was obviously not dead and flopping? I did what any turkey hunter who had never killed a turkey and didn't realize that this dieing bird would quit flopping eventually would do.
I raised the butt of my LOADED gun in the air and tried to crush his head with it! Well, that didn't really work well because I had a Sims pad on the butt and all I was doing was just mashing him up really good with what must have felt like a really firm pillow!
Realizing that wasn't working, it never occured to me to simply step on his neck. No No! I'm going to do this the right way! So I grabbed a huge like 10 pound rock and proceded to throw it at his head multiple times hoping i would just crush his head and "put him out of his misery" that way. By the time I got done with him, he was indeed dead. Looked like his head had been put through a meat grinder....but dead none-the-less.
I promise, I laughed out loud this morning thinking back on that.
I hereby apologize to that turkey, wherever he may be, for not giving him the dignified death that such a majestic bird should have gotten. I hope that he understands the mis-steps of a rookie and can forgive me.
