So I finally got one that played out according to plan, however I was able to seal the deal. Hindsight I should have waited to see if he would move closer. It was early and between my eyes and the bottom I was in, I got excited and felt confident.
End result is I shot low (I assume). He went down, but by the time I got to my feet and headed that way, he ran off. No blood. No feathers. I looked for a good while for any sign. Nothing.
I've always been told they are tough and can deflect shot off the feathers, but I felt awful. Chalking it up to one of many learning experiences as a new Turkey hunter. Turkey scope is going on as soon as my base is delivered. This should help my vision in lowlight and help in judging distance.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That stinks.
A question or two.
Did you pattern your gun with the load and choke you hunted with?
If so was that pattern hitting poa/poi ?
What gun, shell choke combo were you using ?
How far out did you shoot , if known ?
These are lessons learned from a bunch of us, and also there is a lot of information on here in turkey guns sections to help you out with cleaning the barrel and choke, and patterning loads.
Basically what happened with your shot is you did not get penetration into the brain, spinal cord area.
You may already know all of this ?
Make sure you check every deadfall and brush pile in the turkeys exit route. Wounded birds will hide in these. My brother hit one years ago that flopped over and ran off. Showed up at the diner for lunch and gave us the story. I asked him if he checked to brush piles and deadfalls. The answer was no. We went back to look again. On the way in to where he set up we hear something running through the leaves and and this little thump like noise. The woods edge was fairly thick.I quick jumped inside the wood line to look around. I was standing next to a small brush pile in pretty open woods and I didn't see anything. We proceeded on to his set up and looked around. Didn't find anything so fanned out, My dad my brother and me, and worked out way back to the truck.
The running through the leaves and thump noise was still bugging me so I cut out of formation and worked my back to the wood line. When I arrived the tom was standing next to the brush pile I was previously at. He turned to run away and kept running into the square welded wire fence that border the wood line. I didn't have a gun because I already filled my tag. I ran over to the bird still running into the fence screaming my brother's name. I tried to grab it by the neck and that bugger ducked, spun, and ran right between my legs. I was in hot pursuit still screaming out for my brother. The bird catches air and glided of out of sight.
Brother shows up wondering what all the commotion was about. I explained what just happened and he couldn't believe it.
I must have been standing not 3yds from him earlier when I heard them noises and jumped into the wood edge and never seen him.
Anyways, check every deadfall and brush pile if this happens to you again.
Quote from: owlhoot on April 04, 2021, 05:24:00 PM
That stinks.
A question or two.
Did you pattern your gun with the load and choke you hunted with?
If so was that pattern hitting poa/poi ?
What gun, shell choke combo were you using ?
How far out did you shoot , if known ?
These are lessons learned from a bunch of us, and also there is a lot of information on here in turkey guns sections to help you out with cleaning the barrel and choke, and patterning loads.
Basically what happened with your shot is you did not get penetration into the brain, spinal cord area.
You may already know all of this ?
TC 20gauge with stock choke. Shooting Winchester longbeard XR.
I checked it at 30 yards and the pattern was good. Not sure the count. The shot was at least 30 but under 40 yards. It sucks cause it would have been my first bird ever.
I'm going this week to put a little more range time in with the scope I just picked up. The Turkey reticle is said to assist with ranging distance on the fly.
One thing I've read is people complain about the TC fiber optic sights being too big they cover too much target when it comes to turkeys. I'm not sure if that is all FO sights, but I see what they mean after the other morning. My Winchester 120 has a single bead, but I've only used it for squirrel.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I called in ,and arrowed,a fall longbeard a couple years ago that had a lot of shot in it. It was from spring as our fall gun season hadn't started yet. They can be tough.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Quote from: Dazzler on April 04, 2021, 05:48:11 PM
Quote from: owlhoot on April 04, 2021, 05:24:00 PM
That stinks.
A question or two.
Did you pattern your gun with the load and choke you hunted with?
If so was that pattern hitting poa/poi ?
What gun, shell choke combo were you using ?
How far out did you shoot , if known ?
These are lessons learned from a bunch of us, and also there is a lot of information on here in turkey guns sections to help you out with cleaning the barrel and choke, and patterning loads.
Basically what happened with your shot is you did not get penetration into the brain, spinal cord area.
You may already know all of this ?
TC 20gauge with stock choke. Shooting Winchester longbeard XR.
I checked it at 30 yards and the pattern was good. Not sure the count. The shot was at least 30 but under 40 yards. It sucks cause it would have been my first bird ever.
I'm going this week to put a little more range time in with the scope I just picked up. The Turkey reticle is said to assist with ranging distance on the fly.
One thing I've read is people complain about the TC fiber optic sights being too big they cover too much target when it comes to turkeys. I'm not sure if that is all FO sights, but I see what they mean after the other morning. My Winchester 120 has a single bead, but I've only used it for squirrel.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well sounds like you did the work. That sight give you any trouble patterning?
The scope should be good. Dial it in and practice and you'll be good to go. Good luck.
If you are aiming for their head, instead aim for the neck and have its head sit right on top of the front bead. Less apt to miss left or right and you will throw less of your pattern over its head.
That is if you end up shooting at another before going to the scope.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
Turkey are tough!! If you dont hit the neck and head chances are they are going to run off,,,,you probably killed that gobbler.
I agree with Paulmyr, go check any cover that they could have gotten under!! My bet is there was a small branch between you and the bird...it deflected your pattern.,,,It doesnt take much!!!
I crippled one the year I retired, In Montana, he was as close as he was going to get, I shot him at 40 yards and didnt see a thorn branch in the way,,knocked him down and he was off,,,by the time I got out of the river bottom he was a 100 yards away,,,at 61 he easly out ran me......I followed him as best I could and in searhing the river bottom he ran into 3 hours later....found him!!! I did a lot of hard praying that day!!
If you are close I would go search..... if you are lucky you didnt hit him hard!!
In ending I will tell you after chasing gobblers HARD since 1981, it has happened to everyone!
I shot handload no 9, TSS in my 20,,, but at 40 yards Longbeards No 6 is deadly!!
That's a bummer for sure. Field birds are tough to judge in yardage for me and I've made mistakes but have been lucky. Look at the trees around you to help judge your distance if your in the woods. This will help get your bearings a little bit with your range.
I shot one at about 30 yards and to my shock it did not go down. He stumbled and jumped back up, but was heading toward me, at about 20 yards I squeezed and nothing happened. I looked at my gun and it had not ejected the shell all the way. I reached up and cleared it and the bird veered to my right. Before I could get on him, he fell out stone dead, not a flop. After I picked him up I noticed beard strands falling. I had shot him low. When I cleaned him I had a pellet in the heart and he bled out in those few seconds. Got lucky there. It was a new gun and I was leaning weird for the shot. I killed one 11 days later leaning against the exact same tree and I made sure my form was better!
Quote from: longbeards on April 04, 2021, 08:03:58 PM
If you are close I would go search....
It's been two days, but I will go see what I can find.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Very few hits are non-lethal for a turkey. Sometimes death is more immediate and other times it's latent, but most of the time, I believe the turkey perishes.
Agreed.
Quote from: Kyle_Ott on April 04, 2021, 10:35:26 PM
Very few hits are non-lethal for a turkey. Sometimes death is more immediate and other times it's latent, but most of the time, I believe the turkey perishes.
I agree, and it`s why I NEVER shoot at a bird beyond 40 yards and will try mightily to work them inside of 30. If I can, I like to be able to see their eyes blink. I range every set up to landmarks. This is because I have an almost irrational fear of crippling one and know that if I did it would ruin a season for me.
I would say that some of them definitely die, but I've killed birds with shot in them that wasn't my own that seemed none the worse for wear. I'm not condoning wild long shots but I think you are assuming that more of them die than really do.
One more thing.
What were you using 5's or 6's ?
Also if you are going to shoot to 40, go ahead and pattern that far to see pattern and poi of your gun.
Did you get the scope going good?
Quote from: Dazzler on April 04, 2021, 05:48:11 PM
Quote from: owlhoot on April 04, 2021, 05:24:00 PM
That stinks.
A question or two.
Did you pattern your gun with the load and choke you hunted with?
If so was that pattern hitting poa/poi ?
What gun, shell choke combo were you using ?
How far out did you shoot , if known ?
These are lessons learned from a bunch of us, and also there is a lot of information on here in turkey guns sections to help you out with cleaning the barrel and choke, and patterning loads.
Basically what happened with your shot is you did not get penetration into the brain, spinal cord area.
You may already know all of this ?
TC 20gauge with stock choke. Shooting Winchester longbeard XR.
I checked it at 30 yards and the pattern was good. Not sure the count. The shot was at least 30 but under 40 yards. It sucks cause it would have been my first bird ever.
I'm going this week to put a little more range time in with the scope I just picked up. The Turkey reticle is said to assist with ranging distance on the fly.
One thing I've read is people complain about the TC fiber optic sights being too big they cover too much target when it comes to turkeys. I'm not sure if that is all FO sights, but I see what they mean after the other morning. My Winchester 120 has a single bead, but I've only used it for squirrel.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
TC 20g is a really good gun. A scope would be a real advantage. I would dump the factory choke and get something like an Indian creek or Jebs as most after market chokes work well. I use a .550. LB works great in a 12 but I would use TSS #9 or #8 in a 20g. The TSS takes much of the range estimation out of the equation within reason. A few rounds at the range and you will be good to go. Sounds like the lost bird scenerio has been well covered. Good luck
Quote from: fallhnt on April 04, 2021, 05:54:56 PM
I called in ,and arrowed,a fall longbeard a couple years ago that had a lot of shot in it. It was from spring as our fall gun season hadn't started yet. They can be tough.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
No doubt. I've killed what seems like a high percentage of birds that have clearly been shot before.
Quote from: owlhoot on April 08, 2021, 12:46:43 PM
One more thing.
What were you using 5's or 6's ?
Also if you are going to shoot to 40, go ahead and pattern that far to see pattern and poi of your gun.
Did you get the scope going good?
Between weather and work, I haven't made it back to the woods.
Plan for tomorrow is not to shoot past 25. Take the rangefinder to verify distances around me.
Have a Nikon Turkey scope. Waiting on a base to mount it. Also ordered an Indian Creek choke .555 based on reviews around this site and others.
Once that's all put together, I'll pattern and see if it will hunt.
Quote from: Dazzler on April 08, 2021, 02:33:44 PM
Quote from: owlhoot on April 08, 2021, 12:46:43 PM
One more thing.
What were you using 5's or 6's ?
Also if you are going to shoot to 40, go ahead and pattern that far to see pattern and poi of your gun.
Did you get the scope going good?
Between weather and work, I haven't made it back to the woods.
Plan for tomorrow is not to shoot past 25. Take the rangefinder to verify distances around me.
Have a Nikon Turkey scope. Waiting on a base to mount it. Also ordered an Indian Creek choke .555 based on reviews around this site and others.
Once that's all put together, I'll pattern and see if it will hunt.
Good deal. Range finder is a handy tool.
Well I ranged nearby trees at each setup this morning but no gobblers. Only a few lonely hens.
In other news my DNZ came in. Indian creek Monday. Range Tuesday. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210410/b77e58f4c89882a5fe0e113107ac6a7a.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: Dazzler on April 09, 2021, 08:58:29 PM
Well I ranged nearby trees at each setup this morning but no gobblers. Only a few lonely hens.
In other news my DNZ came in. Indian creek Monday. Range Tuesday. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210410/b77e58f4c89882a5fe0e113107ac6a7a.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
that will get ya dialed in. good luck
Just something to read that could help.
5 Ways to Find a Wounded Turkey
https://www.realtree.com/turkey-blog-with-steve-hickoff/5-ways-to-find-a-wounded-turkey?utm_campaign=turkeyhunting4919&utm_content=turkeyhunting32619_reaemailmarketing2&utm_medium=email&utm_source=zaius
I also killed one with lots of shot in it. It had 4's and 6's, I killed it with 7's heavyweight. That must've been a tough old bird!
Quote from: old3toe on April 10, 2021, 04:44:46 PM
I also killed one with lots of shot in it. It had 4's and 6's, I killed it with 7's heavyweight. That must've been a tough old bird!
He must have been a warrior.
Call shy birds we have heard of. Gun-shy birds not so much.
Maybe the OP will get that bird to come back in and smoke him this time.
i missed one a week ago, two shots at him, a few days later got a bird in the same spot my best bird ever close to a 1 1/half spur, he had one shot in his breast that had turned green, i think it was the one i missed!
Quote from: old3toe on April 10, 2021, 04:44:46 PM
I also killed one with lots of shot in it. It had 4's and 6's, I killed it with 7's heavyweight. That must've been a tough old bird!
Probably from shooting at birds too far out.
Quote from: Turkeytider on April 10, 2021, 10:16:43 PM
Quote from: old3toe on April 10, 2021, 04:44:46 PM
I also killed one with lots of shot in it. It had 4's and 6's, I killed it with 7's heavyweight. That must've been a tough old bird!
Probably from shooting at birds too far out.
Turkeytider that's what I thought. It was on public land. Lots of road hunters out there too. If you see them from a vehicle they waste no time getting out of dodge. Faster than a gun shot.lol Had a truck stop in the gravel road one time and start shooting at them with a .22 into the woods I was bowhunting in, bullets were going all around me. I was pretty ticked.
The one I killed with the other shot in it had 1 1/8 inch sharp spurs. They are tough birds for sure but I still believe more die from their wounds than people realize.
I know full well that the advent of TSS with its superior ballistic performance has revolutionized sub gauge turkey hunting. If I were hunting with a sub gauge gun that's what I'd use no question ( if I could find some ! ). Having said that , I still believe that as folks take longer shots ( beyond 40 yards ) the % of birds crippled increases. We all have to live with the consequences of our actions. Just for me personally, that will keep me within 40 yards regardless of load.
So finally made it to the range to pattern and sight new scope.
TC 20 gauge
Indian creek
Nikon Turkey pro
Longboard Xr 6 shot 3"
Browning tss 7/9 blend 3"
Both at 30yards
XR
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210423/32ad92973e7094e46cfdcbc779b22a0c.jpg)
TSS
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210423/471a12af776ab252fcd79b2b8370b92e.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
They are tough if you don't head/neck shoot em'. Called a nice tom in one year for a buddy, got him to 20 yards, picture perfect hunt. He started to turn to leave, buddy couldn't get a good head shot. As he was walking away, buddy left him have it in the back of the head......
We thought.....tom dropped like a ton of bricks, buddy turned around and gave me the thumbs up.....I yelled: "he's running"!! nEver saw him again. Makes you want to puke..
You rolled him... he's dead. You just didn't find him or have the opportunity to shoot him several more times on the way out. Go practice with dove loads to get your confidence up.
I killed one this season with lead 6 shot all around his lower breast and legs this year. Definitely not from this season and the bird was very healthy