What to do after bird is down and still "flopping".

[spaightlabs]

about 5 years ago I shot a nice tom in Nebraska in the head.  No doubt he wasn't going to go anywhere, -  but he was doing the post - mortem floppage routine when another tom sounded off a couple hundred yards off.  My buddy wanted to move on that bird, so I told him to go for it.  He wanted me to come along and decided he was going to try to wring the flopper's neck.  He picked him up, and gave him a good swing and that tom gave another good kick, landing it square in my buddy's groin.  Dropped him to his knees and landed on top of the bird who kept kicking, landing several more shots to the sensitive parts.

Still the funniest thing I have ever seen while turkey hunting.

Needless to say, I let 'em flop.

[ccleroy]

Grab them by both legs and hold on, boot to the head while doing that and he won't mess up to many feathers.

[kyturkeyhunter4]

Put the foot on the head.

[Gooserbat]

I agree with stink, if his head's down he's dead , just nervous system don't know it yet.  If it makes you feel better step on his head. When you feel the skull pop you know its done.

[HogBiologist]

I wouldn't worry about the flopping. Have you ever butchered chickens? As a kid, we would go to my grandfathers to butcher chickens every year. We'd cut the heads off and toss em in the yard to flop. Can't get much deader than with no head. But they still flopped for a few minutes.

[taylorjones20]

I usually grab them by the neck and hold them off of the ground.  They don't flop like that. There have been times I have put my foot on there head but they tend to flop a while...

[GobbleNut]

If a gobbler is for-sure dead and motionless when I shoot him, I leave him alone.  Often if you grab a motionless bird right after shooting him, his reflexes will kick in and he will then flop like crazy. 

I hate flopping birds because they can lose or damage a bunch of feathers.  I try to minimize that by grabbing them as quickly as possible and pinning them firmly to the ground until they stop. 

If you are possibly going to mount a gobbler, you need to do whatever it takes to subdue a flopping bird, but you don't want to step on the neck below the feather line.  Doing that will usually result in some serious damage to the feathers in that area. 

If he is dead and you don't care about any of that stuff, then just let him flop.

[Dr Juice]

Just take your foot and place it over his head to pin him down until he expires ...

I concur. I also grab the legs while his head is under my foot and give a good tug to break the neck in order to speed up the expiration process.

[Snoodsniper]

Don't let your buddy run up and step on the tail fan! I shot a nice double beard that probably would've gone to the taxidermist had that not happened.

[dutch@fx4]

I just stand on there head as well .there head breaks very easy under foot ,Dutch

[JK Spurs]

Just take your foot and place it over his head to pin him down until he expires ...

I get that big ole #12 boot right on his neck, get down on him and hold his wings next to his body real tight.  Never know which one you want to mount, keeps em nice for that.

That's what I do...learned that from CT. Last thing you want is that guy getting up and running down through the woods...been there done that!!!

[Onpoint]

Ok,

1st I got lucky Saturday and bagged a gobbler. Not very big, but had a 5-1/2 inch beard along with a 2nd 2" beard which I didn't know it had until after the fact. Being almost end of season, I took him.

Anyways, he was about 10-12 yards away when I got a clear shot. Too close, almost missed him. Pattern didn't open up much yet, so I think I just got him on the fringe of the pattern. His head was bobbing and weaving. Bird went down with what looked like multiple head hits to the head when I approached. A direct hit, should have "taken his head off". He then proceeded with flopping and flipping, obviously not going anywhere, but I was prepared should he "revive".

Took at least 3-4 minutes for him to expire. I really didn't like seeing him flopping around for so long, didn't want to shoot again, knew he was "dead", but prefer my shot animals to succumb quickly.

I've seen lots of videos of this, with most people just picking up the flopping bird and waiting for him to expire.

This is the only part of the hunt I didn't like. What would be the ethical and proper thing to do in this situation? I really don't want to club him to death with repeated blows to the head.

Thanks,
Harold

Pick em up by the neck and throw em over my shoulder to they're done

[howl]

If a bird is a trophy to me, I shoot it. If not, I don't. If it flops after I shoot it, I stand on its head until it stops. If it blinks at me, I say, "Thanks." and interrupt operation of its CNS with blade or butt stroke as seems fitting.

Next time one gets in close, aim lower or let him walk further away.

[Scout24]

Step on his neck till he stops flapping, usually over quickly. Would never shoot him again unless he was up and running faster than me.

[WNY Bowhunter]

I usually put a LaCrosse bootheel to the head...or a chokehold to the neck if it's personal!!!