[Tenth Legion]

Wild turkey marathon started in the Midwest in April. Son Tim and I doubled on longbeards during a tornado watch. Called in a big spring flock with three strutters and he waited and waited and waited until I asked "you gonna shoot?" He replied " He's on top of a hen!" Tim's 870 finally barked and the tom flopped towards us off the terrace at 38 yards while one of the toms hesitated on the back side of the terrace and Tim says "Kill him!" And I replied, through the 30 MPH wind, "He's too far for my Parker!" So Tim hands me his 870 and says "It's loaded and the safety is off!" Down went the second tom at 46 yards. Tim's bird weighed 24 lbs and mine went 19, both only two year olds. Tim killed his second longbeard the next day, an old tom that weighed 17. The last day I hunted a favorite spot and figured every turkey in the section had roosted there overnight as the gobbling was incredible! After a couple hours all went quiet like someone flipped a switch so I slowly made my way toward our predetermined pick up spot. Shortly after spotting a coyote up a ditch to my left, a very large tom putted as he flushed on my right, mere yards away. As he gained altitude and turned and crossed the ditch, I cocked the right hammer, mounted the gun and calmly traced his flight until the hammer fell and smoke filled the morning air. Down through the smoke crashed the 22 pounder, the 1880 lifter had done its job.