Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting Tough luck

Went hunting with a friend to be the caller for her. We hunted at her place as birds seem pretty scarce at my place and I decreased the number by one last week.

The weather was a bit cold and cloudy with a bit of wind. The forecast was for rain to begin around noon. We didn't start until 9:00 AM as my friend has health issues which make early starts problematic. Our first stand was a bust, not a thing was seen or heard.

Our next stand was more exposed to the wind which made me colder as I was sitting on the ground while my friend used a blind chair. Did a fair bit of cold calling with no results. I was about to suggest moving when a faint gobble was heard. Several minutes passed with silence after any calling set. I tried some loud aggressive cuts and got a short, faint gobble back just in front of me. I stayed quiet and a tom magically appeared in front of me at about 15 yards.

He was a decent bird, the beard looked to a good 8" or longer. My friend was able to bring her gun to bear and cranked off a round. Leaves and bark flew in all directions and the bird went down. Only to get up again. I told her to shoot again as the bird stumbled around and acted befuddled but it was another miss. A third shot went off into the distance just before the bird took wing.

That was it for the day, it started raining and though we tried one more stand, there was nothing working. This is the third bird my friend has missed, "buck" fever must be hitting her hard. That first shot was off by nearly two feet based on pellet marks on a nearby tree. I was really hoping she would connect, I have a number of things I would like to get done and helping her is cutting into my time. I do not begrudge helping but the timing sucks this year.

Hopefully, we get in another bird and she makes a good shot tomorrow.

You are a good friend. Does she have any kind of sighting device on her shotgun ? Also, many shotguns are heavy and unwieldy for smaller women and children. You might want to try rigging her a rest either on the ground or on her knee. Good luck and both of you , keep up positive thoughts.

Thanks. We have known each other for 30 years, we go back before I met my wife. We've done numerous pheasant and ruffed grouse hunts over the years but turkey is something she started about 5 years ago.

We used to hunt the same time periods but she has some health issues that prevent her from hunting more than a few hours at a time. That made it tough for either of us to fill a tag. A single hunt can leave her stove up for a couple days which would free me to hunt but I felt guilty. I am more of a run and gun hunter and like to be mobile while my friend is better suited to sitting in a blind and waiting out birds.

As for shooting, she rests her elbow on her knee for support. She shoots a 20 ga Benelli Montefeltro so weight isn't much of a problem. I do believe there is a fit issue but she has not been willing to let me do a rough fitting. I'll just keep calling for her and hopefully she will flinch correctly some day. Or, not call a bird in so close, her odds may improve if the pattern opened up a bit.

For next season or hunt put a great big fiber optic tube to dot on the front of that barrel. One point of focus. Then all she has to do is put that big glowing dot where the shot needs to go. No rear sight, no mid sight, no scope, no reflex. Just a great big glowing dot. Standard full choke. Focus on 30 to 35 yd shots; close enough for a substantial pattern diameter and a more generous kill zone. Simplify. And if she has to straighten her elbows to shoulder that shotgun it's a bad fit. Make the stock fit. A competent lady shooting instructor can be the key to making the basics plain to your friend and coming to agreement on changes to make. Best to her and her courage.

She has one of those sights, I think she shoots worse with it than before. I suspect she is raising her head to see the bird which is at least partly responsible for the shots going high.

I'm pretty sure it is a gun fit problem as she does not shoot flying birds as well as I think she should. She shot sporting clays for the first time last summer and afterward she was not nearly as vehement against doing a fitting as in the past. She is/was a doctor and another doctor told her the gun is set up properly as it "felt good" to her so it is difficult for a mere mortal to get through. Me shooting a 73 at a 75 bird charity shoot and her poor shooting in the field has her reconsidering my suggestions.

I'll keep working on her but there is only so much I can do. I would like a little more distance to a tom but sometimes circumstances dictate otherwise. Hunting woods rather than fields often gives a bird cover until they are on top of you. Or, a place to hide while they ponder that tent that wasn't there yesterday...

..raising her head off the stock to see the bird-effects was my first guess as well.

Shell get it. Maybe alittle MORE time on the trap field, rather than woods time, until shes comfortable with the gun.

That way, it's no so gol dang importsnt if she hits or misses, and maybe you can get her another gun to try with alittle more comb drop.

Yes, most shotgun stocks are too long for all but the largest shooters, especially if you are wearing heavy clothes. I just hope she( and you) don’t get discouraged. I love to hear about women hunting, especially if they have physical obstacles.

True dat. This is the first year my wife really put in time turkey hunting. I filled her in on as much as I could but there's a whole lot about turkey hunting you have to learn by being there. By the end of season she was actually trusting what I told her. Only problem was there were things I take for granted somebody new with turkeys don't know. Like how loud a hammer cock on a single barrel is to a turkey 30 yards away. I failed to prepare her on how to do it silently, and she just didn't know. Last good day to hunt, 3 jakes, one maybe a young 2 yr old, 30 yards coming to the decoys and some purrs & clucks. When she cocked that hammer it sounded like hitting an anvil with a 12 pound sledge. And shooting a running turkey head weren't in the cards. Sometimes it ain't all them, it's part us. But the bug bit her bad and next year will be better. #1 on the list is for me to make sure all the basics are covered.

Sounds like the lady with you is coming around. That's where the female instructor comes in. Womerns many times listen to other womerns more so than us when it comes to detail. Good luck on getting that stock fit figgered out so the shot goes where she looks. Can't wait to see my wife with her first and I'm sure you feel the same about the lady doctor.

Without knowing how the gun is choked, or how it shoots, one has to be careful letting turkeys get in too close, as it's easy to miss with a tight shooting gun. I've seen them shot at close ranges, and have also seen a few misses at those ranges as well. I like to kill a turkey at about the 30 yard range if I can, as that is what I think is an acceptable distance, given the way most guns shoot. At that distance, you can usually have a slight margin of error on your pattern, in case something get's out of kilter.

Of course, as well know, things rarely go the way we plan when it comes to turkey hunting. The birds seem to have a mind of their own.