Turkey Surprise
Between Friends by Cindy Crain

I've tagged a couple of turkeys in my time in the woods, one with a rifle, and one with a shotgun. Greg and Archie Phillips said that you aren't really hunting unless you shoot them with a shotgun. Um hum. Well, here it was spring, and I had the fever. Pppffffummmmmmppp! Well, my spelling may not be exactly perfect but anyone that hunts turkeys will know what I'm talking about. It's that sound of a strutting turkey when he gets puffed up. Yeah, I know. You get nervous when that happens, huh? Not me. I get nervous as soon as I see 'em walking up. It doesn't matter if it's a hen or gobbler; I've got the hippy, dippy shakes.

Most turkey hunters have the regular items in their vest such as diaphragm calls, box calls, slate, binoculars and utility scissors. For me the most important two items in my vest are water and Excedrin. When I see those darn turkeys my head goes to pounding, my heart is beating so loudly that it sounds like a drum in my ears, my stomach gets to turning, and my left arm starts to shake nervously.

I've hunted these darn turkeys but it's getting ridiculous. Turkey hunting will jam your heart in your throat, glue your tongue to the roof of your mouth, and cause your heart to pump so rapidly that you think you need oxygen because you are going to start hyperventilating. A friend from Canada called and Greg was telling him about my turkey fever. He said, "You mean to tell me she can shoot a big deer and would let a little old bird cause these problems." I'm thinking, "Yeah, right, you've just never been turkey hunting before."

Getting ready for turkey season is always funÉit's getting caught up as much as possible on your work so you can head out on the weekend. I'm one that never leaves the officeÉexcept during turkey season. I will work until 2 or 3 a.m. to be able to get out of here and into the woods. I know, it's sick huh? So, here I was, watching all the turkey videos at a.m. and listening to the father and son team of the Kirby's and trying to sound like a turkey. I wanted to use a diaphragm call. I had never used one before, but it was time to learn. My oldest granddaughter told me to stop that racket. But, hey, they were at my mercy. Some of the board members could call the office and hear me using that thing. I was constantly letting out some hideous cackle or two, smile, and then ask, "How was that one?"

I hunted with my brother-in-law in Florida and had a jake come within 15 yards. (I told everyone I decided not to shoot it the gospel truth was my hands were shaking so bad I couldn't have shot the darn thing.) This would have been my first turkey kill with a shotgun.

I hunted with Archie and had several gobblers come in with none close enough to shoot. Drat! Went back again and had terrible weather. Spoiled again!

I hunted with Tommy Armstrong in Mississippi and had a great time. We were crawling through the early morning grass trying to sneak up on some gobblers that we saw strutting. Forget the shot, I just wanted to see them. And we heard them and saw them. No shot!

I hunted with another friend in Mississippi and heard 5 gobblers on the first morning. Greg and I saw several in a field and thought we could sneak up on them. Well, remember those articles that you read where they say, "Don't try to sneak up on a turkey you have been calling in," well, we hadn't been calling them in; we thought we would just sneak up on them. Wrong! Three flew off and one ran. To tell you the truth, that turkey accelerated from 0 to 60.

We decided to set up about 200 yards from where we had seen the turkeys. We weren't set up 5 minutes when I heard a hen clucking. Greg's head fell forward as he dozed off. I closed my eyes for a few minutes and when I opened them, there he was standing about 80 yards away. I whispered to Greg so he could see the gobbler too.

The old gobbler wasn't even aware that we wanted to get him into a frying pan. We had our secret weapon though. Several hen decoys with line on them so that you could pull the string and make them look like they were feeding. These were awesome. I thought for sure he would like these two gals and be enticed to strut over for a visit. Wrong! Apparently he had his butt kicked and wasn't interested in meeting any nice gals. He walked away never giving those decoys a second look. Greg used purr calls, jake yelps, cutts, and you name it. He keeps right on walking the other direction ignoring the calls and the decoys. At these humbling moments in turkey history it is best to be philosophical, kind of like Scarlett O'Hara, "Tomorrow's another day." Or talk about the high and low pressures, or just change the subject, but we couldn't do that.

After this turkey with a capital "T" had thoroughly outdistanced us, I was ready to wait for another bird. While waiting, I thought I heard another distant gobble. And another. Now, I know that some turkey experts might say that you can't call a tom across an open area, and this was one very big open area. But, sure enough, after about 30 minutes the gobbler turns around and starts heading straight back in our direction, gobbling along the way. If I had been betting on that turkey I would have bet I had seen the last of him 30 minutes ago. But, here he was and I was ready. My head was hurting, my arm was shaking, my heart was pounding in my ears, my mouth was cotton dry, my gun was propped up and I followed him across the field when he got to within 70 yards of me. He was completely absorbed in locating his buddies that had flown off earlier and was walking a good pace. Sixty yards, fifty yards, forty yards, and then the moment of truth. He had a 9-inch beard and 1-inch spurs.

I always watched those videos that showed the turkey hunter running to his turkey once it had been shot. I asked Greg and Archie why they did that; I thought it was because they were happy. I was told that it's not your turkey until your have your foot on its neck. Race to the fallen bird quickly, even if he appears stone dead. Many dead gobblers have been lost because hunters fooled around too long getting on the bird. Well, forget all that stuff. I couldn't move. I was in shock.

For me, shooting a turkey with a shotgun is much more sporting than using a rifle. Not to mention, it doesn't mess up your bird. And if you are thinking of going, or saying to yourself, if she can do it, I can do it, you're right. You can do it! Get a video; get you a beginner diaphragm call and practice calling. Watch some videos and think turkey. And remember, every once in a while, a gobbler will surprise you by doing something you can't believe, like crossing a 200 yard field to get to you! While patience may be a turkey hunter's greatest asset, it's not a hard task to enjoy all of God's beauty and blessings while waiting.

Well, there you have it, everything that I don't know about turkey hunting. But beware, once you have experienced the excitement of a tom strutting before you and gobbling in your ear, you'll be hooked for a lifetime, and don't forget the Excedrin.