MY 1ST EASTERN & 1st TURKEY EVER
Posted: July 22nd, 2016, 3:20 pm
I’m writing this story based on recollection as I wasn’t keeping detailed records back in the day as I do now. I had started turkey hunting in the early 80s & only hunted WV. I had a camp on the Birch River in Webster County in the middle of coal country. The area is very mountainous making hunting difficult at best. Those of you familiar with turkey hunting in WV generally & Webster County specifically know that birds were few & far between & any turkey killed was well earned.
During the opening week of the 1991 season, I had hunted several different areas with absolutely no luck. Towards the end of the week, I decided to hunt the mountain behind a friends place & above an old cemetery. I had seen birds in the general area & hoped I could finally sweet talk 1. Well before daylight, I walked about ¾ the way up the mountain along the woods edge & old fence row before moving into the woods several hundred yards. Starting shortly before daybreak, I called off & on for a couple of hours with no response at all.
Sometime around mid-morning, I decided to try the Knight & Hale Fighting Purrs as nothing else was working. After running 3-4 “fights” over an hour or so, I spotted several birds working down the mountain towards me. I managed to set the calls down & get the 1100 up on my knee without getting spotted. They got within 30 yards or so & I found 1 with a beard. When it was in the clear, I dropped it. Before I could get up, the turkey got to its feet & I hit it again. This time it stayed down but did start to flop, a lot. I removed the last shell but, but it was flopping so much that, before I could get to him, he started to roll down the mountain. I started running after it with my left arm windmilling to keep me upright & holding the shot gun in my right hand. I was loosing ground but the bird finally rolled into a tree & stopped. We were almost at the bottom of the mountain.
After tagging the bird, a jake with a 6 ½” thick beard, I headed back up the mountain to get my seat, calls, & other odds & ends. Problem was, I couldn’t find where I had been sitting. I went back down & up again & still couldn’t find my stuff. I went back down the mountain for the 3rd time but this time went to the fence, retracing my steps from that morning. I walked directly to where I was sitting. Too bad I didn’t do that the 1st time I went looking.
This was the 1st of many birds & even more hunts & was definitely a fire-starter!!
During the opening week of the 1991 season, I had hunted several different areas with absolutely no luck. Towards the end of the week, I decided to hunt the mountain behind a friends place & above an old cemetery. I had seen birds in the general area & hoped I could finally sweet talk 1. Well before daylight, I walked about ¾ the way up the mountain along the woods edge & old fence row before moving into the woods several hundred yards. Starting shortly before daybreak, I called off & on for a couple of hours with no response at all.
Sometime around mid-morning, I decided to try the Knight & Hale Fighting Purrs as nothing else was working. After running 3-4 “fights” over an hour or so, I spotted several birds working down the mountain towards me. I managed to set the calls down & get the 1100 up on my knee without getting spotted. They got within 30 yards or so & I found 1 with a beard. When it was in the clear, I dropped it. Before I could get up, the turkey got to its feet & I hit it again. This time it stayed down but did start to flop, a lot. I removed the last shell but, but it was flopping so much that, before I could get to him, he started to roll down the mountain. I started running after it with my left arm windmilling to keep me upright & holding the shot gun in my right hand. I was loosing ground but the bird finally rolled into a tree & stopped. We were almost at the bottom of the mountain.
After tagging the bird, a jake with a 6 ½” thick beard, I headed back up the mountain to get my seat, calls, & other odds & ends. Problem was, I couldn’t find where I had been sitting. I went back down & up again & still couldn’t find my stuff. I went back down the mountain for the 3rd time but this time went to the fence, retracing my steps from that morning. I walked directly to where I was sitting. Too bad I didn’t do that the 1st time I went looking.
This was the 1st of many birds & even more hunts & was definitely a fire-starter!!