A Turkey Tale - Back to the Turkey Woods

A Turkey Tale – Back to the Turkey Woods 6:30 a.m. – A loud gobble erupted from a close distance, “Run and Gun” would be my only chance to bag a tom for the day. I approached the field where the nearby gobble came from and was quickly immobilized by six grazing deer. I feared getting too close may spook them. While debating my next move, two turkeys appeared on top of the knoll. I quickly doubled back and slipped through the bush. There was some cover midway on the field’s edge, I was hopeful it would put me into position. As I approached the cover - a longstanding lumber pile, I slowly poked my head up over the weathered lumber pile and to my surprise, the boss tom already made his way to the middle of the field. I quickly sat down and delivered a few box calls. He continued to make his way to the corner of the field, at first glimpse I could see his fan of tail feathers before his body came into full view over a small rolling hill. My silhouette now glued to the weathered lumber pile, shotgun ready - I let a few mouth calls out. At 45 yards, with his interest fastened on the second turkey, I was confident he wasn’t going to move in any closer. I realized my opportunity to harvest this tom was soon to fade away. With the bead of my shotgun fixed for a kill shot, I squeezed the trigger and confronted him with a face full of Winchester pellets, before flopping around on the ground, he was down! One of the quickest stalks I have ever made on a turkey – what a rush! Six years had passed since I last entered the turkey woods - a great looking tom, terrific come back and one for the memory bank!