"The Incomplete Gobbler".... (pic`s.)
01-30-2002, 08:23 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Dubois Pa USA
Posts: 14
"The Incomplete Gobbler".... (pic`s.)
The winter of 1993-94 was pretty tough here in the mountains of Pa. There was a very measurable amount of snow and it seemed to of hung-around for quite a while. It was during the following spring that I recorded a very unusual incident... I was "set-up" on a high mountain top talking back and forth with a gobbler on an adjacent ridge. After several minutes, it was obvious that the gobbler was convinced that I was the real thing and was approaching quickly. When he finally made his appearance on my side of the mountain, he was out about 70 yards. Switching to some "light" natural hen talk, I worked to talk him closer. As the gobbler closed the distance, he kept a group of large oaks between us until he was within about 18 yards. When he stepped out from behind one of those massive trees, I could`nt believe what I was seeing... Here was one of the most seriously determined young gobblers in a tightened "full-strut", and he didn`t have even a single TAIL-FEATHER!
"Strutting" with the determination of even the Grandest of kings as he tried to impress the hen of his dreams, I`ll never forget how much he resembled an old black Bowling Ball as he inched to within yards.
It was certainly a sight to see and one that I will never forget. Who knows just exactly what was in this young gobbler`s history, maybe he narrowly escaped a hungry coyote or maybe a big old bobcat during the long winter months. Whatever it was... On this particular morning he brought new meaning to the word "determination" in trying to impress what was maybe his first girl-friend for all he had to work with...
"Strutting" with the determination of even the Grandest of kings as he tried to impress the hen of his dreams, I`ll never forget how much he resembled an old black Bowling Ball as he inched to within yards.
It was certainly a sight to see and one that I will never forget. Who knows just exactly what was in this young gobbler`s history, maybe he narrowly escaped a hungry coyote or maybe a big old bobcat during the long winter months. Whatever it was... On this particular morning he brought new meaning to the word "determination" in trying to impress what was maybe his first girl-friend for all he had to work with...
01-30-2002, 10:21 PM
#5
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Texarkana, TX/AR
Posts: 384
RE: "The Incomplete Gobbler".... (pic`s.)
Nature's oddities! The tail feathers were stuck to a tree limb somewhere ... you know, kinda like sticking your tongue to a flagpole. Bet he did some big time gobblin' when he flew off roost that morning. Youch!!!<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_dead.gif border=0 align=middle>
Romans 8:28
Edited by - powduck on 01/30/2002 23:22:11
Romans 8:28
Edited by - powduck on 01/30/2002 23:22:11
01-31-2002, 12:10 AM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Calif
Posts: 1,894
RE: "The Incomplete Gobbler".... (pic`s.)
Denny thats once again a great piece of photography!How in the world did you keep yourself still because I'd a been laughing my tail off at the poor little fella??<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>
01-31-2002, 05:22 AM
#9
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 51
RE: "The Incomplete Gobbler".... (pic`s.)
Great pictures...and they particularly struck close to home for me. Way back in '92, I called in a Vermont tom 3 days before the season ended. I could hear him drumming like crazy, but due to heavy brush between us, I never had a chance to pull the trigger. However, I got a pretty good view of the tom once or twice, and although I couldn't put my finger on it at he time, something just didn't look right about him...my first impression was that he looked like a big black chicken! Very similar to your photos!
The next day I struck out on longbeards, but called in something like 16 jakes, and then the final day of the season began in a steady downpour that just got worse as gobbling time arrived. Hearing nothing on the roost, and with the rain now coming straight down in a sheet of huge drops, I cut hard on my diaphragm and a turkey gobbled from less than a hundred yards....I kept right on cutting, and he gobbled 6 times non-stop.
I said nothing more, and in just a few minutes I saw him materializing out of the downpour over the top of my dripping gun barrel. At that point he just looked like a soaked turkey, but after I shot him and was standing on his neck, I noticed that he didn't have any tail feathers...not even one! Besides that, he was missing probably half of all the feathers on his body, and there were scatches, scrapes, scabs, and bruises all over him---particularly around his head and neck. This tom had obviously had a rough go of it, and my theory is that the incredible number of jakes on that farm would gang up and use him as a punching bag every day.
Despite his frazzled appearance, he was still nearly 20 pounds, and sported a 9-5/8" beard and sharp, hooked spurs of 1-1/8 inches. Hate to think what the "other" turkeys looked like who had been tangling with him...
I thought about having him mounted in a space-saving full-strut pose, but decided against it for fear of the ridicule I'd take from my so-called friends....<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
Edited by - Swingin Peduncle on 01/31/2002 06:32:08
Edited by - Swingin Peduncle on 01/31/2002 21:01:49
The next day I struck out on longbeards, but called in something like 16 jakes, and then the final day of the season began in a steady downpour that just got worse as gobbling time arrived. Hearing nothing on the roost, and with the rain now coming straight down in a sheet of huge drops, I cut hard on my diaphragm and a turkey gobbled from less than a hundred yards....I kept right on cutting, and he gobbled 6 times non-stop.
I said nothing more, and in just a few minutes I saw him materializing out of the downpour over the top of my dripping gun barrel. At that point he just looked like a soaked turkey, but after I shot him and was standing on his neck, I noticed that he didn't have any tail feathers...not even one! Besides that, he was missing probably half of all the feathers on his body, and there were scatches, scrapes, scabs, and bruises all over him---particularly around his head and neck. This tom had obviously had a rough go of it, and my theory is that the incredible number of jakes on that farm would gang up and use him as a punching bag every day.
Despite his frazzled appearance, he was still nearly 20 pounds, and sported a 9-5/8" beard and sharp, hooked spurs of 1-1/8 inches. Hate to think what the "other" turkeys looked like who had been tangling with him...
I thought about having him mounted in a space-saving full-strut pose, but decided against it for fear of the ridicule I'd take from my so-called friends....<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
Edited by - Swingin Peduncle on 01/31/2002 06:32:08
Edited by - Swingin Peduncle on 01/31/2002 21:01:49