Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting Season over, limit reached, and on the board in Virginia

My season is now over. I got my full limit for the 2022-2023 season. One in the fall, one in the winter, and one today.

My "war plan" worked, sort of, kinda, not completely, but some, I guess.

I got to the woods at a little after 5:00 AM. Not a cloud in the sky and moon showing.



Headed in about 5:15 AM and got to my area about 5:45 AM or so. I took 2 foam hen decoys and my little Quaker Boy push pin call, my Hank's slate, and I was going to take some hen wings but found my old Lohman 'Wing Thing" from the 90s and, since that fit perfectly in my pants cargo pocket, took that.

Got to my tree where I was sitting last Friday when that Tom was gobbling his head off. Moved more leaves, and placed my HS Strut folding seat at the base. I was going to take my turkey lounger but it was just too damned heavy. I went down the trail toward the ravine and placed a decoy on the trail, and another to the left in the woods in case a bird came from the point where the two ravine converge. It was still pretty dark in the woods.





Unlike last Thursday and Friday, I heard no gobbles at all. None. But, unlike any other time this spring, I did hear some far off roosted hens, I think. Then, way off as it was getting lighter, I heard some cackling. Up until then, I had made some light tree calls on my push pin. No response at all. But I know birds are there. A little while later, I did a couple more and just waited. Nothing.

So, about 7 AM, I started flapping my Wing Thing. I laid it down and immediately picked up my Hank's slate and played some "fly down and hit the ground cackles" like I had heard a little while earlier way off in the distance. Laid down my call and just waited.

I was concentrating on watching down the trail, and towards the point, when I heard leaves crunch to my right. I slowly turned my head. About 35 yards away, there was a turkey slowly coming towards me through the trees. Naturally, my muzzle was pointing to my 11 o'clock position and the bird was at my 2:30 o'clock position. I had my head turned to the right and just watched. He stood there with his head up watching in my direction for what felt like forever. No way I could move without alerting him.

Then he started to move to my 3 o'clock position. I saw that he was going to step behind a moderately sized tree with two trunks and decided once his head was behind that I would swing my gun around and mount it to my left shoulder. I'm a right handed shooter, but there was no way I could shift my body. His head went behind the tree and I made my move. I swung my gun around and mounted it to my left shoulder, and looked down the rib with my left eye. How incredibly awkward. I pinched my safety and slid it off.

A second or two later, he came out from behind that tree and stopped, head up, looking. I put my HiViz sight on his neck and fired. That fine scent of spent powder on a sultry morning filled the air.

For a second I didn't know if I hit him or freaked him out. He just jumped straight up in the air about 10 feet, did a back flip and hit the ground. Didn't see him again after he hit the ground. My left cheek was smarting from the recoil. I thought I might have missed and he ran off. But I got up and as soon as I did saw a black mass lying where he came down. There was no flopping or anything.

I got to him. His eyes were shut and the only motion was that he was very slowly pedalling his feet. My hunt was over and it wasn't even 7:30 AM.



He's not my very worthy opponent from last Friday, the one with the long beard that stayed in the trees until he saw me and I saw him. As Pullit would say, this guy I got this morning was a "volunteer." But he was a decent bird, nonetheless. Indeed, he's a very fine bird considering that I took him on public land in deep woods. And he'll be fine eating.

His beard wasn't very long and his spurs are still rounded.



But he's my trophy of 2022-2023 and I thank God for the gift.

Here he is with my tools of the day.



I used my new 12 gauge Browning Maxus II Hunter shotgun. The one I got a couple of months ago with the money from a .300 Win Mag rifle I sold. It's light and handles well. It's a 3" model, not 3 1/2". It's got a 28" barrel and I used a Carlson's Longbeard Choke, .665. I used Winchester Long Beard 3" #5 1 3/4 oz, 1200 fps. I had never fired this particular gun before, at all. In fact, this is the one and only time I have ever fired it. Killed a turkey, from my left shoulder, using my left eye. (Before I get grilled for that, I do have another Maxus II, a 3 1/2" Stalker model, that I have fired with this same choke and load, so I knew where it would hit and how it would pattern.)

So, the season is over on Saturday. I have tomorrow off and it will be nice to sleep in. Six short months, and the fall season opens again.