What Does Killing A Turkey Mean To You?

[eggshell]

younggobbler, it's part of the journey. There's stages to a hunters life and sportsmen mature through them. I appreciate everyone's comments. Reflect and preponderance is a good thing

[GobbleNut]

For me, I'm still in my young days as a hunter, it's still a lot about the killing part. To sum it up, Killing a turkey to me, it's the congratulation or the accomplishment of saying, I did everything right, it worked, I made no mistake, the bird I studied worked up how it should, I placed my set-up right, I read the situation right, everything worked right and it worked! Comes with a breath taking amazement and a great feeling of pride... That feeling I know you all know...
 

I think all of us go through "stages" during those early years of learning how to turkey hunt where the pride in the accomplishment of killing a gobbler is at the forefront. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. After a period of time...and the accumulation of successes...I think that pride turns more into a sense of satisfaction in knowing that you have developed the skills to be successful on a somewhat regular basis.

For me, at least, that pride eventually turned more into a reverence for the bird itself, as well as to the entire "process" of hunting them. Anymore, it isn't about killing gobblers as much as it is about just being "out there" where they live, hearing them, and applying those developed skills to see what happens. 

I emphasize "hearing them" because, out of the entire process, that is one of the things about spring gobbler hunting that is most important to me. If there aren't gobbling turkeys out there, I really just don't care much about hunting them. ...But that's just me... 

[High brow drifter]

I've been hunting them for 32 years I think, and I like to use archery now more than the shotgun, so I really like to just shoot gobblers full out gobblers, and it means a lot when I get one I've gotten 20 something now in 32 years of hunting. I've gotten three that were over 25 lb.

[High brow drifter]

I think that Eggshell and Happy said it well enough for me as well. It used to be all about killing - but the good Lord has done surgery on me as well. These days, it is just being able to play the game with a turkey. If they are gobbling and doing their thing, I have already won regardless of actually pulling the trigger or not. Just to engage them is meaning enough most days now.

I find great satisfaction is calling a bird for someone else to harvest. These days, often far more meaning than if I shot the bird myself. But I have also found great meaning in more recent years by letting a number of birds walk off the ridge as I put the safety back on and watched them leave. A couple that really stand out - I called the biggest bird I have ever seen in the wild into range three years ago (after a nearly 4 hour chess match) and just could not pull the trigger and let him go. On another hunt, I called a big bird after a long morning duel to 4-5 feet of my gun and also did not kill him. I say this to say one thing, I have learned to find greater meaning at times in the ones that I did not kill or that maybe just outfoxed me and got away without my help. Some of those mean more to me than the many that I did bring back to the truck.

I can understand that, but I still have not done that.

[eggshell]

I might have to kill a few more before I start letting birds walk that I intentionally set up on and called in to shoot. I think I'll make that a goal for my 70 th season. This is 55, so in 15 years and I'll be 86 or dead by then

[YoungGobbler]

Passing on a game you could have shot really makes them way more special to you... I know for some it will be usual business, but for me it wasn't. This fall I set-up on a place where I know a few does always come every night, I was crossbow hunting, and that doe I was waiting for came out, came right to 20 yards, but I already had shot a doe the week before and I let her pass... And the fun thing is, everytime I talk about my deer season this fall, I always mention this doe that I passed. I don't know, it's just such a strong memory... And I'm actually talking about it here, to say the least... So yeah, passing on a game is a strong feeling, probably could say a stronger one than shooting it... It's like surpassing that urge to do what we most would like to do, just understand it's something we "could" do, not something we must always do... I always say to myself, one day I gotta pass on a gobbler. Just to let go of that anxiety/stress/"buckfever" I get when I have one coming into range. I feel like if I would just let one passby, not shoot him, just let him live... It would just calm down this buckfever feeling one usually get...

[mountainhunter1]

I might have to kill a few more before I start letting birds walk that I intentionally set up on and called in to shoot. I think I'll make that a goal for my 70 th season. This is 55, so in 15 years and I'll be 86 or dead by then

There was a time that I would not have even considered letting a good bird walk away, but our numbers are way down here where I live, and I worry the future of the wild turkey. So I decided to start letting some walk and have also intentionally not filled my last tag here at home several times in recent years. Hopefully our numbers will pick back up at some point.  But there is also a joy in letting something live to another day. Was not always like that, but the older I get, it is not all about killing any more. And thank the Lord for that!!          

[eggshell]

I know my last post may seem contradictory to my earlier post, but it's not. I said, in it. if he comes to my calls I will kill him. Although I will not let a called in mature bird walk if I get a clean shot I will often just get up and leave a bird if he isn't playing well. It's about the conversation. I am less dogid in my hunting days too. I'll take the easy way in and not go after far away birds. I learned there will be another bird another day that's more in my zone. At 71 with COPD and some heart disease, I don't need to over exert myself.