So... where to begin. Oh yes... I know NOTHING about turkeys... I don't hunt them... So last night I took a big Tom at about 33 yards from a treestand while hunting whitetail. He has a 11" beard... just over 1 1/4 spurs.. and less tail feathers than he should have. So I shot him about 4:15... and I think my shot is low.. a gut shot. The bird barely hobbles 10 yards from where I shot him and lays down for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile the other 14 Toms that were with him have now flown away. Let me tell you how hard it was to not only self-film this... but also keep from being busted by another turkey.. as they were everywhere! So.. after that 5 minutes passes this "gut shot" Tom flies just over a nearby fence and crashes into the woods 10 yards further. So I decide to wait him out like a deer... figuring his little body will just bleed out cause I'm convinced it was a low hit. The eve passes on... saw a nice buck... dark falls and I head to the truck and I get my buddy Bryan and we head back to look in the dark with flashlights for this Tom. Keep in mind I have a flashlight connected to my headband... it comes in handy for this tracking job. About 20 minutes pass before I happen upon him and yell out "DEAD BIRD!" In which.. the turkey throws his head up and starts hobbling quickly through the woods and then starts to FLY! Me... acting totally on middle infielder instincts run after the bird and grab him by the tail feathers when he's a good 3' OFF THE GROUND! Of course the tail feathers get ripped out but the bird is now flying 3' OFF THE GROUND DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF MY CHEST!! And I'm Running!! So I did the only thing I could think of... I leap and tackle him in the dark... MID-FLIGHT! Landing in a small raspberry patch of course. Bryan runs over laughing... I'm laughing.. and the Tom is now under all my weight. Bryan keeps yelling "be careful of the spurs.. careful of the spurs!" I barely even know what a spur is! Now.. I'm kneeling on this Tom who's still alive.. and now begin to look to where this bird is shot. Apparently.. I shot off a leg!! THAT'S IT!! So this bird wasn't mortally wounded at all.. in fact he was 100% ALIVE! So.. after the laughs calmed.. and we called another buddy who did know about turkeys I disposed of the bird. So here he is... my first archery turkey.. and a mature one at that. Pay no attention to the missing tail feathers.. some a-hole tackled the poor bird while he attempted escape! I truly know nothing about turkeys... but this hunt is now a memory that will last my whole life.
This story has me laughing so hard buddy! Where were you hunting at? Curious if many turkey's exist in Volo and if that's where you were at. Congrats on a great bird and a memory that will last everyones lifetime!
Now that, my friend, is hilarious! Congrats on a fine bird and awesome tracking skills. Will miss you this fall....but we will have to have a beer somewhere along the way.
That is an awesome story. It had me laughing as I finished breakfast. You might want to pack in a helmet and some shoulder pads if you ever try to pull off a similar trick on a whitetail. C
nice work mike! I too have had thoughts of shooting a turkey or two on the farm I hunt out there, since there are alot of them, but never have.
Congrats on the Bird Mike, Great Story. I also had to fight mine to the death this spring thats why he had no short feathers above his tail in the picture.
A turkey has a tiny brain, and from the sounds of it, your's was just big enough to win. Congrats on your first bird.
Nice, Mike. I have a similar story from last fall. I seriously feel like I owe entire Turkey race. How's that little one?
Congrats on the bird... Too bad you don't have the "recovery" on film, too... you might win 100,000 on funniest home videos!
Nice job on a great turkey! Those spurs would have been plenty big to do some serious damage. Glad you didnt find out.
