Hey guys. Well, I did something that I said would never happen again (once before). I shot a turkey and he got away. I won't say that he was wounded, he was in really bad shape. He won't be gobbling ever again, and I hate that. The shot was at 35 yards roughly (limb shot, 23 steps to the tree and about 40 feet up, but I was on the ridge edge and his tree was in the branch, so only 10 feet higher than me) with an open shot. I had an open ridge behind him with no other hunters there, just my cousin beside me. He was henned up and wouldn't leave the limb so I decided to take the shot. The gun was a NEF 10 gauge with Comp-N-Choke and the shell was Federal HW #7's. At twenty yards I had a softball pattern and and beyond 40 by a good measure I was getting 70 in a paper plate, so 100 at 40 was not a question. I shot, his wings folded, and head first he went. I got up to high five my cousin and when we turned around he was moving through the thick branch awkwardly. No shot could reach him. Have any of you had this happen? If so, did you ever find that bird or get a second shot to figure out what happened? I didn't flinch, was just below the head, in my mind before and right after it was a done deal. I cannot wrap my head around this. POA was on when shooting targets. I am going back this weekend after the morning hunt to look for him again.
