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Jim Williams
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 05:47 am |
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Well, against the recommendation of the National Weather Service, I decided to take a chance and brave the severe weather warnings to hunt this morning. For the past week we've had extreme flooding due to multiple storm fronts and today was to be no different, with the exception that tornadoes were considered to be expected this time. As I left headed for the family farm this morning there was extreme fog, and humidity was maxed-out combined with unusually warm temperatures. In short, the atmosphere was thick, oppressive, and primed for action.
Shortly before daylight I arrived at my parking spot. As I put on my gear I heard a gobbler booming from the area I was headed to - I was a little late! I slung the 1891 damascus DH 10 gauge over my shoulder and crossed the swollen rapids of the creek on a cable-crossing and hurried through the flooded bottom land as quietly as possible, putting the visions of four-foot water moccasins out of my mind and trusting in my snake boots if an encounter occurred in the sixty-three degree swampy darkness.
I arrived at my natural-brush blind on the edge of a small four acre field that provides a natural strutting area in the middle of the woods. As I set up with my back against the tree the gobbler gobbled again and although still close, I could tell he had already flown down on the other side of the raging creek. It is difficult to call one across a creek, but I've done it a few times, so I was disappointed but not resigned. After getting set up, I began to yelp on a triple-reed V-cut diaphragm call. I got an immediate response - but not from the gobbler across the creek. This one was on the far end of the field from my blind, about 200 yds. away in the damp, foggy overcast. I felt the adrenalin "buzz" rise up within me that only occurs with the realization that you have a good set up on a gobbling bird that wants to play. However, this was soon tempered by the rumblings of thunder not far to the southwest. Over the next several minutes as the "sunrise" matured, it actually started to become darker rather than lighter, giving the impression of impending doom as predicted by the NWS. The gobblers, however, had not seen the weather report and were intent on impressing each other by trying to out-boom the thunder. The one across the creek and the one in my field began a frenzy of gobbling that was primed by the rolling thunder, and soon they were answering anything that made noise - donkeys braying, Canada geese honking on their way to a local farm pond, even dogs barking on neighboring farms. But the thunder got closer, the morning got darker, and a light mist began to fall. The gobblers were firing off at every clap of thunder, and every call I would make - but with no progress towards my position. I began to think that I was going to be swallowed by the thunderstorm or a tornado before either of these birds made a move. Thankfully, the first storm cell passed to the south of us and a half-hour later it began to become a little brighter. I could now use my binoculars to see the bird in my field, still on the far end, strutting back and forth impatiently waiting for me to come to him. He'd answer every call and strut fiercely, but he wasn't moving.
After a while, a jake made the mistake of flying in from across the creek and landing near the gobbler. He was immediatley chased off. Then three more landed in the same place. I watched through the binoculars as the old tom tried to chase off all three, but it was a bit like herding cats. He'd zero in on one and run him off, while the other two would side-step the action. Then he'd come back and chase them while the first one would try to join back up with the group again.
It was about this time that the other gobbler from across the creek showed up. The jakes left, and the two toms eyed each other, stalked, circled, made a few passes, then decided to call it a draw. I had quit calling while watching the action, but I knew now was the time to kick it into high gear. I started cutting and got immediate answers from both birds. They began to follow the perimeter of the field towards my position. I called occasionally as they made their way, and always got a response. The first gobbler was still the only one strutting, so I picked him as the boss. Approaching from my left, they eventually made their way to within gun range, but rather than cross left-to-right in front of me as I expected, they made a last minute detour and began to cross behind me from the hard left. I eased the big DH around farther slowly enough to hide the appearance of motion but couldn't bend far enough to the left to line up on the boss bird, so I also had to lean back to get a clear shot. Both birds looked to have at least ten-inch beards, and I could only identify the boss bird by his strutting. I had to wait until the boss bird stepped away from his partner so that I wouldn't inadvertently injure the other bird. At fifteen yards, with me bent as far to the left as possible and leaning back about 20 degrees, I finally got the bead on his head and pulled the right trigger. He went down, but was up quickly and soon running across to my right and beginning to take to the air. My problem here was the thick brush in front of me, that while providing a good blind, now prevented a follow-up shot. I had hacked out "windows" through the brush to shoot through should a bird approach from different angles. So, I tracked the bird across to the right, swinging with him like a crossing low-flushing pheasant, and waited until he crossed one of my "windows". Nine pounds of Parker swung effortlessly, propelled by pure adrenalin. I told myself to lead the HEAD, not the body, and had the lead established as he crossed through the shooting lane at a little over 25 yards. I squeezed the left trigger as the picture came together and he tumbled to a soggy halt. I looked at my watch - two hours had passed since he answered my first call. I savored the moment in the foggy, soggy, overcast morning as I snapped a few shots with the camera from my cell phone. The aroma of the burned 7625 hung in the wet fog for what seemed like ten minutes as I packed up for the trip back to the truck. What a glorious aroma to cap off a most unusual morning hunt that almost didn't happen.
Forty-five minutes later, the bottom finally fell out of the clouds as I was dressing the bird and I got soaking wet! But at least we didn't have the expected tornadoes.
I've hunted turkeys for thirty years, but this is the sixth season since I have forsaken the modern three-inch magnum guns and hunted with various Parkers exclusively. This was the first time I've needed the second barrel. In retrospect, I believe that in leaning back to make the first shot, I inadvertently canted the barrels, with the right barrel higher than the left. I shot the right barrel first and hit him hard, but not hard enough. I now think that I shot high due to having the barrels canted, and caught his head with the bottom of the pattern. Whatever the case, I screwed it up. But, that second shot will stand in my memory as one of the most focused and well-executed shots I've ever made. Tonight, I celebrated with a glass of the Pride of Lynchburg as I cleaned the old damascus ten gauge and savored every drop as I re-lived this mornings events. (By the way, 11 in. beard (looks scraggly in the pic because it was soaking wet), and 1-1/4 in. spurs.)
Jim
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 Last edited on Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 06:27 am by Jim Williams
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Jim Williams
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 05:49 am |
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Jim Williams
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 05:52 am |
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Jim Williams
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 05:53 am |
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Carl Brandt
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 05:57 am |
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Jim,
What a well told story! Fabulious! It really made me feel like I was there with you. This one should really be printed in the PP.
Thanks.
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scott kittredge
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 08:17 am |
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NICE BIRD!!, can't wait to try my 10 EH this spring! what load did you use? thanks ,scott
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Dean Romig
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 09:55 am |
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Jim, a great story! Thanks for bringing us with you on that memorable hunt.
Dean
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E Robert Fabian
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 12:26 pm |
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| Thanks for sharing your hunt with us Jim but I have to say you are punishing us who have to wait another month for our chance to get out and chase the birds around with Parker in hand. What state do you live in? Bob Last edited on Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 12:28 pm by E Robert Fabian
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Bill Bolyard
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 12:39 pm |
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Jim,
Great story, I think you missed your calling as a writer. This is a Turkey I shot in upper Michigan last year that had two beards, my friends called him Jughead because of the size
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Bill Bolyard
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 12:41 pm |
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| One more just back from the taxidermist. Attached Image (viewed 294 times):
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Jay Gardner
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 01:21 pm |
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Great story, Jim. Are you shooting loads you made-up or are they over the counter? (If they are re-loads, would you please share your receipe?)
Thanks
____________________
Weathered corn, an apple left unnoticed on the tree, the crunch of frosted stubble underfoot, wood smoke in the evening - these things remind me of the wild, fall days of boyhood...the best of those days were the Saturday's, afield with my dad.
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Jim Williams
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 02:09 pm |
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Thanks to all for the kind words. It was fun to write the story, and I like to do it to help store the memories of a great hunt in my mind. I killed a similar bird exactly one week earlier from the same blind with the same gun, but it was an anti-climax. He gobbled, I called, he came straight in, I shot him at 25 yds. and he went down like the Dow. He had a 10-1/2 in. beard, but only one spur (3/4 in., probably a 2-year old.) It was fun, too, but the Thunderbird hunt was much more interesting and challenging - worth writing home about. I'll attach a pic of the first bird here. You can tell it was a much sunnier morning! Unfortunately, I somehow lost all the other pics of him and this is the only one I could find in my phone.
Bob - I live in Alabama. You can return the favor and punish me next month when you are hunting after our season is over.
Bill - Jughead is a real trophy, and it looks like the mount did him justice. He needs a glass display case to keep the dust off!
For those of you who asked about the load, I'm using one of Sherman Bell's loads from the short 10 gauge articles he did in DGJ. It is a brown Federal hull with WW209 primer, 7625 powder, a Rem. SP10 wad with two 16 ga. felt wads (.070", I think?) for spacers, followed by 1-1/4 oz. of shot. It reaches around 1200 fps muzzle vel. I believe. I haven't loaded any of these in two years because I don't shoot that many of them and I loaded up a good supply back then. So I can't remember the exact powder weight or the felt wad spacer thickness. I'll check my data when I get home tonight and post back.
I feel like this load, while adequate, is not taking advantage of the full capabilities of a ten gauge. By this I mean that I can load up 1-1/4 oz. 12 gauge loads with the same performance and still have the pressures low enough for damascus barrels. So it seems to me that there ought to be a load with these same components (minus a spacer wad) that would shoot 1-5/8 or even 1-1/2 oz. in a ten gauge without going above the 7000 psi range that I like to use as a damascus pressure limit. Sherman certainly lists other loads in those articles with heavier payloads, but for some reason they are all using built-up shot columns without the shot cup. I believe that for a turkey load, the shot cup provides the tightest pattern and would rather have a tight 1-1/4 oz. pattern than a loose 1-1/2 oz. one. I hope to solve this dilema some day, but I don't really have any leads. Maybe someone here has the answer.
Here's the bird from last week:
Jim
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Bill Bolyard
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 02:41 pm |
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Jim,
Since I put him on the pool table it has made the game of Eight ball more interesting. Actually I have to build a bar and I think I will incorporate Jughead into it.
Bill
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Scott Groff
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 03:16 pm |
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| What a great story! Fantastic bird.
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C Roger Giles
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 03:48 pm |
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Bill;
Nice looking pool hall you have for displaying outstanding trophys.
Jim;
I am hunting turks for the first time this spring. Two days ago I was out scouting and found zero sign so will widen my search area next week, rain or shine! A Parker will be my weapon of choise with homemade ammo, PB and #4's with a ball or two of 00buck shot put in the mix.
Destry; Did you read all this? Paul and Evelyn are comming up for dinner tomarrow night (6 o'clock) and you are invited, turkey discussion will prevail.
PTG Roger Coger
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Dean Romig
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 04:02 pm |
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Roger, just use #6 shot, nothing else. You want a dense pattern, a swarm actually, to get a maximum number of pellets into the head and neck.
Dean
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C Roger Giles
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 05:08 pm |
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Dean;
Thanks for the proper shot size information. The PB powder gives me flex so I can use either Ole' Clunker ie damascus barreels, or my "G" ala fluid steel barrels. I just remembered that I still have a box of my reloads with PB and a deadly 1&1/4 oz #5's that have been sheer hell on phesants.
Both guns are choked tighter than a bulls ass in fly time.
Rog
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Don Kaas
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 05:40 pm |
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Well done Doc. I'll be out in Virginia at the end of the month. I plan to use a 16g Parkers, a 32" Grade 1 toplever and a 32" VHE. We'll see...
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Dean Romig
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 06:36 pm |
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| Rog, those 5's would be good medicine too.
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Dave Suponski
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Posted: Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 06:36 pm |
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Jim,Thank You for the great story! As others have said..I felt like I was there! A well written hunting story will get my adrenaline going and your story did just that!
A great bird with a Parker.....It is real high on my "Bucket List"
Last edited on Fri Apr 3rd, 2009 06:37 pm by Dave Suponski
____________________
Dave....
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