RE: First turkey
Congratulations!!
and I see you just joined this web-page..........there is alot of very good inforamtion here from some very good sesasoned hunters - to which you are on your way to joining.
My first bird was over 20 years ago. Had a guy who had hunted Turkeys before and I got to tag along. We applied for tags but each of us took a different time period. Well I tagged along with him and learned a ton and then it was my turn.
We spotted a group of birds with several toms. They all turned out to be jakes. We quickly did an end around run to the likely direction they where traveling in and set-up on and edge of a cedar swamp......a few calls later they came marching in all 5 Jakes with one other slightly bigger Tom and hen in back. Heck they caught me with my gun down and sitting in the most uncomfortable postion. My buddy was calling.
Well they stood not more than 25 yards out and would not come any closer. Good thing I was woodswise as I knew I could not shoulder my gun quickly. I even learned at that very first time that those birds knew something was up and did become nervous was everytime I blinked! So I tried to stop blinking to the best of my ability. When the majority would peck there was always at least one standing guard. Ever so slowly I started to bring my gun to shoulder and would stop when I saw a bird was nervous. Took me for ever to get that gun up, and the sun on my knee was burning something fierce through the camo pants.......and when I did get the gunup - I still had to wait for a good shot at just one jake, as they where so tightly grouped. But I did and I dropped it like a rock.
My partner told me later as he watched me bring up the gun - that it was not so much bringing the gun up to shoulder, but the gun meeting me as I was also crouching. He told me I could not have done that any better.
all in all know when to move and when to freeze was my first lesson........and now each time out I learn somehting knew - either on my own or from others here - and i don't think it will ever stop.
Am I infected - Heck ya! Ben Lee was right! turkey hunting is a disease and is the rason I hunt several states each year - but onluy in spring...
JW