Feel terrible about a bird we didn't recover

[Meleagris gallopavo]

My 16 year old son and I turkey hunt together always.  Yesterday we waited out a henned-up gobbler until 10:00 AM (we had been in the woods since 5:45 AM.  It was a quiet morning with no gobbling.  All the turkeys were quiet, even though I did some soft calling every 30 minutes or so.  The group of turkeys worked their way to us on a field edge.  They had a pattern of coming out to the field to feed, going back in, and coming out every 20-30 minutes.  Each time with fewer hens.  The Tom followed out the last 2 hens near our set up and saw our decoys.  he came up strutting and started strutting beside the jake decoy.  Usually I put this in the books as a kill.  I had my gun on the ground beside me and my son took the shot.  He hit the bird and knocked it over backwards with feathers everywhere.  The turkey got back up and he shot him again, this time I think he was just aiming for the body.  He hit the Tom, but the Tom began running for the woods dragging a wing, I took a shot for the head while the bird was running but I didn't hit the head or neck region evidently.  We were both stunned and upset after it got in the woods.  It was a 30 yard shot and my son was simply flabbergasted that he didn't kill it.  He has killed numerous birds, all with one shot to the head and neck region since his last miss in 2017 when he was 12.  Well I did my usual search patterns I do for deer, but the only blood was near where the bird was hit and I couldn't find any feathers.  I marked where the bird went into the woods and I listened for flapping.  I went in the woods to the swamp run and searched 100 yards on either side of where he went in all the way down to the water.  My son helped.  We didn't find the bird.

These types of things really hurt me.  Leaving a wounded, beautiful animal in the woods to die after so much time and effort to get a shot knock me down several notches for days or longer.  Only time I have ever done that was when I was a teenager and I shot a large black bear and didn't get it.  Because of that I didn't bear hunt anymore until I turned 50, and I still have yet to shoot a bear.  I really don't go out of my way to kill one, but if there is a need and it's obvious I need to take the shot I will.  I've had a few ducks and dove I didn't recover, but I got a dog to keep that from happening.  To me, not recovering the game is as bad as it gets, other than someone accidentally getting shot (which fortunately hasn't happened around me). 

So we are going to shoot his gun a bit before going out again, just to make sure everything is right.  I spend hours sighting in (we use red dots) and patterning guns before we go to the woods each year.  Even if we kill one, if i think the bird should have been hit better I take the gun out and check it.  I'm one of these guys that sights in hunting rifles every year before taking them out to hunt.  I simply don't go hunting until I know the gun should perform as expected.  I've never missed a deer with a scoped rifle.  I've never missed a turkey with open sights or a red dot.  if I think the shot is questionable I simply don't shoot.  I'm thinking of reporting the harvest even though we didn't recover the bird.  My son was pretty upset yesterday, and I didn't get on to him because I truly believe he took his time to make the shot.  I probably have had a harder time than he does.  I just get quiet and relive the disaster over and over again, thinking about what I could have done differently.  Only thing I keep beating myself up over is not having my gun on the bird too.  But I'm so mesmerized with the bird someone else shoots I just want to watch.

I don't know why I posted this other than to get it off my chest. 

[Wigsplitter]

Unfortunately missed happen sometimes even under good conditions. I know the feeling it sure hurts! Sounds like you do your part preparing before season and looking throughly for the bird! Rechecking guns is a good idea and will take some questions out of the equation but it still happens sometimes! Keep doing those things you do to prepare each season we owe the birds that much! Get back out there don't give up!!

[Dtrkyman]

It is tough for sure, but it sounds like you did everything you could and are continuing to do so by checking his gun.

Don't beat your selves up too bad and get out and enjoy the spring some more!

[PharmHunter]

It certainly is going to happen to everyone at some point, whether it's a clean miss or like your situation.  Hate it for him!  Get back out there and get on another. 

[JeffC]

It sucks but it happens,  we as hunters owe it to our prey to always take the most ethical and lethal shot, then do everything to recover the animal.  You and your son did everything right. I would take your dog and see if the dog can help? My lab loved Turkeys, ran a few while pheasant hunting.

[g8rvet]

You said a few things in your post that makes me think I would like hunting with you.

1)You first assumed the fault was yours (checking the point of aim).  Always best to start there and reason it out. 

2)Counting the bird as harvested.  You don't need to report it as you did not harvest it, but I have counted ducks that I know I dropped dead and were unable to find after a dedicated and immediate search.  If I know they were dead, I count them towards my limit.

3)You both are upset.  Only because you care brother.  That is a good thing.

The other thing I would say that gets missed a lot (and I have felt all those things you are feeling, most all of us have) - the bird does not care if it gets eaten by a critter or a person.  Nothing goes to waste in nature, if it dies, it will be in the food chain, no different than had you toted it out.  When my daughter was young the FWC put on a fishing clinic and her class was there. One of the young'uns gut hooked a bream and it died while the biologist (a friend of mine) was taking it off the hook.  He tossed it in the water and they all were saying it was dead.  He said "nothing goes to waste in nature".  It was barely out of his mouth when an osprey swooped in and grabbed it!  He just looked at me and we were both stunned.

[reflexl]

I see everything you did as the right thing to do. When we quit caring we need to quit hunting.
Anyone that has spent a lot of time hunting either has had to deal with the same thing or will have to deal with the same thing. Sooner or later we can quit punishing ourselves and move on. It is the cycle of a steward of the land and the wild things in it.

[Tom007]

Amen, the fact that you posted this sincere, painful story shows what kind of people you are. I can only wish for the health of our great sport that everyone has some of your ethics and concerns for the quarry we seek. Unfortunately missing is a part of our sport, you will prevail if you continue to follow the great morals and sporting determination you set forth for you and your family. Thanks for sharing.....

[Timmer]

You said a few things in your post that makes me think I would like hunting with you.

1)You first assumed the fault was yours (checking the point of aim).  Always best to start there and reason it out. 

2)Counting the bird as harvested.  You don't need to report it as you did not harvest it, but I have counted ducks that I know I dropped dead and were unable to find after a dedicated and immediate search.  If I know they were dead, I count them towards my limit.

3)You both are upset.  Only because you care brother.  That is a good thing.

Exactly! 

It happened to me once.  I had a reasonable shot, believed I aimed well, and the bird went down flapping.  I set my gun to the side to get up, then all of a sudden the bird rights itself and half flies / half runs into the woods.  I searched for a couple of hours but never found it.  The first thing I did is ask the farmer if he had cardboard or old plywood so i could test my gun, even though I had sighted it before i went hunting.  The gun was fine, I must have jerked when I pulled the trigger or something.

[MK M GOBL]

As I was told hunt turkeys long enough you're going to miss, cripple or lose one... Sucks when it happens but sounds like you did and are doing everything you can. For sure a tough one.


MK M GOBL

[Gobblerslobber]

Wounded turkeys that are not mortally wounded are notorious for finding a good hiding spot if they can't fly. I had this same experience with a youth hunter last season and I ended up finding the bird in a stump hole still alive. I got extremely lucky to find this bird because he was 200yds from where he was shot. It's a bad situation and I know you feel terrible, but if you did everything possible to recover the turkey then that's all you can do. Get out there and find another one!

[harleytom]

I've had it happen twice to me, the last time about 6 years ago. I was sick about it for days and both non-recoveries haunt me to this day. The main thing is to try to ascertain why/how the bird was wounded and try to make sure the same issue doesn't happen again, easier said than done I know. Wounded turkeys don't leave much of a blood trail as the feathers quickly stop external blood flow. Sounds like you did everything you could to find the wounded bird and that is all you can do after the fact. You set a good example of an ethical/responsible hunter for your son. That is more important than any harvested game. I'm sure he feels worse than you do so keep encouraging him to keep hunting and setting the good example of perseverance for him.


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[Southerngobbler]

I believe a deer tracking dog could find a wounded turkey provided it didn't get airborne and that there was some sign left behind (blood). I have a trained deer tracking dog that can find about anything. Of course if the bird didn't die he wont find it. You can find a tracking dog for hire on line now almost anywhere-for big game tracking; i would imagine some of them would help look for a turkey also. It may be illegal in some areas.

[Paulmyr]

Wounded turkeys that are not mortally wounded are notorious for finding a good hiding spot if they can't fly. I had this same experience with a youth hunter last season and I ended up finding the bird in a stump hole still alive. I got extremely lucky to find this bird because he was 200yds from where he was shot. It's a bad situation and I know you feel terrible, but if you did everything possible to recover the turkey then that's all you can do. Get out there and find another one!

This

They like to bury themselves in deadfalls too. My brother wounded one. When we met up after the hunt in the local diner after the hunt he told me the story and how he rolled it over and it got up and half flew away. When it crested a small rise he seen it angle towards the ground. Thinking it might have died he  got up and checked over the rise. He looked around for a bit but didnt see anything. After hearing the story I said we need to go look for that bird again.
On our way in we were walking along the edge of the wood lot where he shot it. I asked where he was hunting he said just up here. Right when he finished speaking I heard something running through the leaves inside the woodlot and heard a thump. I went in and looked around. Nothing. We continued to where he was hunting. Maybe about 200yds away. We scoured the area where he seen it angle towards the ground. Still nothing. We set up line between the 3 of us, my dad was with, with about 50yds between us and started working our way back to the truck. The running in the leaves sound and thump kept bugging me. I had to go back there and look again. I came up over a little rise right before getting to the noise spot and there he was standing there about 20yds away. He turned and ran away with me hot on his heels screaming my brothers name. I didn't have a gun because I already filled my tag and was calling for my dad. There was a fence on the wood line and that dang bird ran into it 3 times.  On the third time I caught up to it and tried to grab it around the neck. That bugger ducked and ran right between my legs. Got airborne and it looked like it glided into a tree because I didn't see it come out the other side. About that time brother shows up wondering what the heck was going on. I told where I thought the bird was and we went after it. Before we could get close it sailed away across the valley.
Back at the fence the only place that bird could have been hiding was a small dead fall. I was damn near standing on top of when looking right after I heard the running noise and thump. Not sure who would have won if I actually caught him but I was going to give it my best.

[Tail Feathers]

I've lost a couple of wounded birds and it leaves you feeling sick.  It happens unfortunately.