Just thought some of you fellas might be interested in seeing a tom, taken the ol' fashioned way.
I just came back from a turkey hunting trip to Oklahma and Kansas, and decided to get out locally and try for my first Ontario tom of the season. I have hunted with blackpowder only for the past 3 seasons, and have tagged out on mature toms each year. My effective range is less than 20 yards, so it takes a little longer to tag out, but the more you are in the turkey woods, the more you learn.
I had not scouted locally since before the season, but I headed to a new farm I got this year. I was going to slip over to the far side of the woodlot, where the birds had been roosting before season, but to my pleasant surprise a bird gobbled from my side of the woodlot as I was going in at about 5:00am. The birds are in a quiet phase here (as my local pals had warned me) so I decided to be aggressive in my approach. I knew I could use the tree cover to get in close, plus the grass field made for quiet movement. I slipped along the edge of the woodlot and cut the distance to the bird in half. As I was putting out my decoy, he gobbled. He was close - about 75 yards. Maybe too close... but I was committed. I got set up as quietly as I could, just inside the edge of the woods, facing my jake decoy 8 yards away at the field edge. The tom did not answer my first soft tree yelps or clucks but I knew darned wello he heard me and hoped he was interested. I heard him pitch out of his roost at about 5:30am, but was not sure where he landed. A few minutes later I spotted him standing in the field edge, about 70 yards away to my left, in half strut and staring at my jake decoy. He walked a little further out and went into full strut. He very, very slowly started making it my way, strutting most of the time and then stretching his neck to stare at my jake. I could hear him spit and drum - I love that sound. After he was down for only a few minutes, I heard some soft hen yelps from behind my to my right, in the woods. A minute or two later, I heard a hen pitch down about 100 yards behind me and yelp softly. I couldn't believe my luck - I was now between a lone tom and his hen. I couldn't help but grin to myself as the tom inched closer and gobbled one last time. I managed to keep myself together while the tom closed to 13 yards. I decided that was sufficient and floored him with the ol' 20ga. flintlock as he stood looking toward me. It was 5:55 am and when the smoke cleared, he was down! 80gr. 3f Goex and 1 1/8oz. #6 shot had done it's job again.
So, I ended up in the perfect place at just the right time. A little luck and the right play did the trick. He was 21.5 lbs. on the fish scale, 9 1/2" beard and 3/4" spurs. A nice two-year old.
Here's another shot, taken in sepia colour. I think it suits the gun well, with an old fashioned look.
For those of you out chasin' turkeys, I've done this for a while and I can assure you the season is just getting good. I used to think you had to kill your birds a quick as possible after the opener, but I have learned the really big boys become more vulnerable later in the season, after the hens start leaving them for nesting. And you don't have to shoot them right after fly-down either. I've killed some of my best toms at mid-day. In fact, I think mid-day is the best time to get those big boss toms. Good luck everyone!
I just came back from a turkey hunting trip to Oklahma and Kansas, and decided to get out locally and try for my first Ontario tom of the season. I have hunted with blackpowder only for the past 3 seasons, and have tagged out on mature toms each year. My effective range is less than 20 yards, so it takes a little longer to tag out, but the more you are in the turkey woods, the more you learn.
I had not scouted locally since before the season, but I headed to a new farm I got this year. I was going to slip over to the far side of the woodlot, where the birds had been roosting before season, but to my pleasant surprise a bird gobbled from my side of the woodlot as I was going in at about 5:00am. The birds are in a quiet phase here (as my local pals had warned me) so I decided to be aggressive in my approach. I knew I could use the tree cover to get in close, plus the grass field made for quiet movement. I slipped along the edge of the woodlot and cut the distance to the bird in half. As I was putting out my decoy, he gobbled. He was close - about 75 yards. Maybe too close... but I was committed. I got set up as quietly as I could, just inside the edge of the woods, facing my jake decoy 8 yards away at the field edge. The tom did not answer my first soft tree yelps or clucks but I knew darned wello he heard me and hoped he was interested. I heard him pitch out of his roost at about 5:30am, but was not sure where he landed. A few minutes later I spotted him standing in the field edge, about 70 yards away to my left, in half strut and staring at my jake decoy. He walked a little further out and went into full strut. He very, very slowly started making it my way, strutting most of the time and then stretching his neck to stare at my jake. I could hear him spit and drum - I love that sound. After he was down for only a few minutes, I heard some soft hen yelps from behind my to my right, in the woods. A minute or two later, I heard a hen pitch down about 100 yards behind me and yelp softly. I couldn't believe my luck - I was now between a lone tom and his hen. I couldn't help but grin to myself as the tom inched closer and gobbled one last time. I managed to keep myself together while the tom closed to 13 yards. I decided that was sufficient and floored him with the ol' 20ga. flintlock as he stood looking toward me. It was 5:55 am and when the smoke cleared, he was down! 80gr. 3f Goex and 1 1/8oz. #6 shot had done it's job again.
So, I ended up in the perfect place at just the right time. A little luck and the right play did the trick. He was 21.5 lbs. on the fish scale, 9 1/2" beard and 3/4" spurs. A nice two-year old.
Here's another shot, taken in sepia colour. I think it suits the gun well, with an old fashioned look.
For those of you out chasin' turkeys, I've done this for a while and I can assure you the season is just getting good. I used to think you had to kill your birds a quick as possible after the opener, but I have learned the really big boys become more vulnerable later in the season, after the hens start leaving them for nesting. And you don't have to shoot them right after fly-down either. I've killed some of my best toms at mid-day. In fact, I think mid-day is the best time to get those big boss toms. Good luck everyone!
