doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT: How to miss a Turkey

I've been a competent game shot for 50 years. I miss doves regularly, "kick'em up" quail rarely, ducks sometimes, geese almost never, and who could possibly miss a standing turkey at 15 yards. I've been hunting a clearcut lately with a big longbeard strutting daily on a hill in the middle of it. This morning I set up before "gray light" in a small sinkhole in the middle of the 500 acre cut. The boss gobbler in question began answering my calls at daylight, but shut down to attend to hens early. About 8:30 he began gobbling again and immediately responded to my calls at about 400 yards. He came in to my calls "on a string" gobbling the whole way.

He appeared off my left shoulder at about 20 yards and disappeared behind a berm. I readied my singleshot NEF (the last time I had to carry 60 lbs of turkey two miles out of the woods was the last time I hunted turkeys with a repeater) with 3.5 inch 4's. He reappeared 15 yards right in front of me and next to my jake decoy. Only his head and neck were visible behind a 20 inch water oak. As he began to draw up into a strut, I decided to make the shot while I still had a full neck and head shot.

My sight picture seemed too close to the water oak, so I canted the gun to the left, gangsta style. The sight picture looked great then, so I took the shot. Imagine my surprise when I saw the 2 1/4 oz. shot charge of 4's fall limply 3 feet to the left of the bird. I knew it wasn't a blooper because my shoulder got the full impact of the recoil. The long-beard, of course, ran off.

After the shot, I noticed the 1/2 inch gouge in the water oak between me and the bird. As I canted the gun to the left, of course, I moved the barrel into the tree. The shot charge simply bounced off the tree and fell in front of the turkey.

Oh well, the Georgia limit on gobblers is three, so if I'd connected, I'd have been through for the season...Geo

seems your a good sport about it all. and i doubt that you dont try and reconnect with that old Tom again.

nice story.

I missed one too. At about 20 yds with a full load of 6s over 120 grs of Swiss 1.5fg. Could not believe he came running out from under the smoke. He had caught me by surprise and everything happened fast and awkwardly. The only thing I can guess is that I short-shouldered the gun and shot over him with the Scott.

The next one was not so lucky.