HuntingNet.com Forums - Back from Texas

Well, I am home from Texas. I have had better hunts, but things still went well. I don't think the birds were ready. They didn't gobble near as much as in past hunts. They also did not give you that 200 yard gobble that let you know they were head'n in to you. So we had several birds just show up in front of us unannounced.

Six hunters managed to harvest 8 birds, and I am sad to report we missed 9 turkeys and one catch and release. I accounted for one of the misses myself. I don't really know what to say about 6 of the misses, I would chalk them up to birds showing up when guns weren't ready and spooking them trying to get on them and shooting when they had retreated past 40 yards. However, 3 of the misses were from a guy that is a new turkey hunter and a new outdoorsmen. We had birds in for him at 15, 20, and 6 birds at one time at 30 yards. He missed them all. We have discussed and thought and pondered what he was doing, but nobody is sure. I just know he didn't hit them. That ended up taking up many shot opportunities for others.

I finally snuck out the last afternoon and got a bird to work. My early kill came in silent. It was a classic hunt. He gobbled for well over an hour, and finally I managed to yelp up a hen. She got fired up and I poured it on her. He couldn't stand that and came on in. He strutted in the last 50 yards and at 19 steps I had the gun up and click. No boom though!!! My shell did not fire. The primer had been struck but no combustion. I tried to shuck out the shell but he spooked and trotted off. I was sick!!! Don't like to fish and don't like to catch them and let them go. But he put on a heck of a show. The bird I took was 18.6 lbs., 9 1/4 inch beard and 1 1/8 inch spurs.

Gonna try South Carolina in the morning, got a guy that hasn't killed a bird before.