He was coming in hot, gobbling his fool head off. In his lusty rush, he didn’t even notice as I snaked the barrel of the Remington 870 out the window of the blind and took a careful aim. At about ten yards from the blind, he stretched his neck to gobble one last time, and I covered his head with the muzzle and squeezed the trigger.
Here’s where things get a little odd… at least to me.
The gun went off, just as it always does. The blast caused me to blink, as it always does. And when my vision cleared, as it always does, the bird should have been laying there flopping its last… as they always do.
Except, as you may have gathered by now things didn’t go the way they always do. In fact, from the time I pulled the trigger, nothing went exactly as it always does.
First, the bird ran away unharmed. Then he stopped to look back and figure out what just happened, offering a beautiful shot at 25 yards. Unfortunately, there were people working a couple hundred yards downhill, in a place where there are never people, and I didn’t want to pepper them with shot. So I could only watch as the bird stood skylined. After a few seconds, he took off running down the hill, covering ground in that funky, ungainly trot until he was clear out of sight.
I followed up the trail, but after a few minutes it was easy to see that I’d missed cleanly. I found the shot wad in the trail, and the impact marks from the shot string were very distinct against the wet grass a few yards beyond where the bird had been standing. There was no sign of a hit, neither blood nor feathers, and the bird’s tracks dug deeply into the soft dirt of the cattle trail. What the heck… I just flat-out missed?
Now here I must make a couple of confessions.
First of all, I’ve always sort of laughed into my sleeve at tales of hunters missing turkeys with a shotgun. How in the hell can you miss a standing target at shotgun range? Sure, with a bow it’s a different story. I’ve missed a lot of toms with my old recurve. But with a shotgun…?
When I leveled the gun on this bird, it was with supreme confidence that the hardest part was done. I’d called the bird across a ridgeline and away from the flock of hens he’d been following. I’d been still at all the right times as he drew closer, looking for the lovelorn hen in the little clearing, and he was totally clueless. The shot was an afterthought, and anti-climax to the excitement of luring these great birds into range. Failure never even crossed my mind.
Welcome to Humility 101.
I saw several more birds over the course of the day, and called a couple in pretty close, but couldn’t make another shot. I’d gone into the morning sure that I’d have a bird come evening, and as I headed back to the cabin empty-handed, the closest thing I had to a bird was the crow I’d eaten with that first shot.
My lesson in humility was not complete.
Sunday morning, I slipped back into the same area and reset my blind. I knew there were plenty of birds in the area, and waited patiently for them to start moving.
The first birds, a small group of hens, actually flew down directly over the top of my blind. They pecked the ground, clucking and purring. I sat on high alert, hoping their soft calls would attract a tom from the steep hillsides above me. Unfortunately, they meandered around for a bit and finally wandered off, onto the neighboring property.
The morning wore on, and I started to get a little drowsy. I leaned back in my seat to rest my eyes. The meadow was alive with the calls of various birds, chirping and singing. The cold morning dark was replaced with a beautiful, clear, sunshine. A squirrel hopped across a tree limb. It was almost like a scene from Bambi.
A sound penetrated the darkness of a light dream. My eyes opened and I sat upright. Sure enough, I could hear a distant gobble. I pulled my slate from my pocket and made a couple of soft yelps. Nothing. I yelped again, a little louder. A gobble boomed back. I called again, and he responded. Once more, and this time I could tell he was coming closer.
I toned down my calling, and made some softer calls and cutts. He gobbled again, much nearer. He was practically coming at a run! I quietly laid the call on the ground and picked up the gun, just as I heard rustling in the chaparral. I caught sight of a bright red head, bobbing through the brush. Then, to my surprise, there was another one right behind it. As I watched, I almost didn’t see the little hen pop out of the bushes just in front of me. I froze, trying to keep an eye on the two toms in the brush, when he gobbled again.
The two toms ducked their heads and stepped warily into the clearing behind the hen. Both had huge bodies, but tiny little bow-ties for beards. I now had six sets of turkey eyes less than six feet away… and a gobbler still working his way down the hill. Under my breath, I tried to will the three birds to move out of sight before the big one came down. There’s no way I could raise the gun and shoot with all those birds right there.
The tom finally stepped into view. He was a large-bodied bird, but his beard was only about six inches long. Good enough for me! As if by design, the other birds moved around the blind and out of sight. It was just me and the tom. I tried to ease the gun up subtly, but the long, 30″ barrel and the pistol grip made it a little awkward in the confines of the blind. By the time I got situated, the bird had moved out of my shooting window… but he was still coming.
The problem was, he was coming right at me and getting really, really close! He crossed into view in my other window so close I could probably have reached out and grabbed him. Maybe that’s what I should have done. Instead, I waited until he lowered his head to peck at something and I got the gun up. The danged thing seemed to have grown six feet, and it was all I could do to get it turned around and pointed at the big bird. At the last moment, his head popped up and he locked his eye on me in that cock-eyed, “oh shit” look that turkeys get when they know they’ve been had… and it’s too late to do anything but see what’s going to happen next.
What happened next was… well… I missed again.
That’s right. The gun went off and the bird tucked tail and ran. I was flabbergasted! My humility turned to humiliation.
So, what’s the point? Why share this sorrowful tale with all of you, good readers? Well, there are lessons to be learned, if we’re willing to be taught. But before I start with the didactics, let’s be clear that I am not making excuses. It is a poor workman that blames his tools, and all that…
True, I had difficulty due to the equipment, but it is my own fault for not sussing that out BEFORE I hunted. That’s Lesson 1. Practice with your gear before you use it.
I was using a Remington 870 that I had tricked out with some aftermarket parts. This was the gun Kat usually uses for doves and waterfowl, and we’d had the factory stock cut to fit her (she’s the proud owner of a new Browning Citori, so the 870 is in semi-retirement). I replaced that stock with a “Stock-Shox” adjustable butt. I’d tested this contraption out a few years ago for a review, and I liked how it reduced recoil. I also liked how the pistol grip allowed me to hold steady for precision shot placement. I did the review on this thing, and used it a little later to test some slugs, and put it away.
For a choke, I replaced the standard Rem-Choke with Comp-n-Choke’s XXX-Full turkey choke. I’d killed a few birds with this when I first got it, but after this weekend I realized that every bird I’d shot with this choke had been at least 25 yards away (and I’d put down a runaway cripple at a lasered 56 yards). I’d never used it at close range! With a standard shotgun bead, most shotguns don’t shoot exactly to the point of aim, and precision is critical with these extremely tight chokes. The only way to know where your gun is shooting, is to shoot it. A lot. And I didn’t do that.
Additionally, the screw-in choke tube added almost two inches to the 28″ barrel… making the thing a bit unweildy in close quarters. I could have overcome this simply enough by spending time with the gun, getting as familiar with it as I am with my old double-barrel. But again, I just pulled this gun out of the safe and took it hunting… bad, bad call.
Lesson 2 isn’t quite as simple as the first one. It has to do with that super-tight choke tube.
Turkey hunters are probably the most heavily targeted market of the hunting industry. There are calls, clothes, vests, seats, ammunition, guns, and choke tubes. “Tighter is better,” would seem to be the rallying call, and the choke manufacturers seem to have really excelled at providing just what the market wanted.
A while back I wrote about the importance of patterning your gun, and knowing what the pattern looks like at different ranges. I’ve done that much with this gun, and I knew that at the extremely close ranges I was shooting this weekend, the majority of the shot is in a dense cluster about as big around as a softball. But do we really need patterns that tight?
The problem with such a tight pattern is that you have to have real precision in where you place your shot. You can’t shoot a bird in the body, or you’ll have nothing left to eat. You shoot the neck and head… small targets, and a little misplacement will result in a miss. In my case, it resulted in two misses.
Had I been shooting my old Stevens side-by-side, both of those birds would be stone dead (actually, only the first one, since I was only there for one turkey). And that’s Lesson 3. Shoot the gun you shoot the best. Don’t let yourself get all wrapped up in gadgets and gizmos. Simple is better, because simplicity leaves margin for error. With the custom stock and fancy turkey choke, the 870 was certainly cool looking. And it has a purpose. But it’s not the gun I know… it was alien in my hands this weekend, and I paid the price for leaving the tried and true behind.
Everything we do has a lesson to teach us, whether it comes from our successes or our failures.
The hunt this past weekend was courtesy of Deedy Loftus, owner-operator of Bryson-Hesperia Resort and BHR Hunts. BHR is situated near Bradley, CA, in the Central Coast region. It’s an area that is rich in wildlife, from blacktail deer to hogs to wild turkeys, not to mention various predators and varmints, such as coyotes, bobcats, and ground squirrels. The properties she hunts border the Fort Hunter Liggett, U.S. Army base where you can even spot the unique, CA Tule elk.
Deedy leases several great ranches, and offers both guided and un-guided hunts on them. She works hard to manage the wildlife on her leases, planting food plots and encouraging her hunters to be selective when they shoot (avoiding pregnant or wet sows, choosing mature toms, etc.). As a result, the opportunities for trophy-quality animals are enhanced. She’s recently added a new 1000 acre lease which may well become the crown jewel of her operation.
Guided pig hunters will usually hunt with either Deedy, or her daughter Karin. “Chick guides?” You bet! And when the hunt is done, you’ll also be converted to the school of, “Chick guides rule!”
Both ladies know the properties inside and out, and spend a lot of time in the field to ensure that they know where and when the animals (and birds) are moving. If the hogs don’t want to come out, and if the hunter is up for it, dogs are used to get them in the thick stuff… and the central coast chaparral is the very definition of “thick stuff”.
The operation is running at 100% shot opportunity on the guided hog hunts. The guided hog hunts are for two days, and run $700/person, and include a guarantee to put the hunter within reasonable shooting range of a wild hog (there are no guarantees of size or sex). There are no trophy fees on any of Deedy’s guided hog hunts.
Deedy also knows her turkeys pretty well, and guided turkey hunters will eiher take the field with her, or with one of her other skilled guides (some of you will remember that I guided for her last year, but basic economics kept me from going back for this season). There are a ton of turkeys on all of her leases, including some really great toms. Recent clients came out with a 24lb, double-bearded tom last week. Both Merriams and Rio Grandes can be found in the area, offering a unique opportunity to get a good start on a turkey “slam”.
Success has been high on the guided turkey hunts, with multiple shot opportunities reported. The guided turkey hunt runs for two and a half days, and runs $750/person.
Semi-guided hunts are a new offering from Deedy and co. These hunts are priced by the day, which offers the opportunity to book a single day hunt, or as many days as you’d like. This is fairly unusual in CA, and it’s one of the better deals going for a quality hunt on good properties. Not only do you get access to the properties, but Deedy and Karin have done the scouting for you, and will direct you to the areas that are most likely to produce. There are no guarantees, of course, as this is hunting and the animals are free and wild, but it’s a great opportunity for the hunter who wants to hunt good ground, but doesn’t want to be led around by a guide… or for the hunter whose budget may preclude a fully-guided outing.
Hog hunters hunt for a flat, $200/day tresspass fee. Most of this hunting is spot and stalk, although some of the areas would be amenable to stand hunting. Archery hunters have some good opportunities in the canyons and draws, while rifle hunters will appreciate the high ridge vistas, and setting up over the barley fields, when the grain is in season.
For turkey hunters, there’s a flat $200 tresspass fee, and a $100/bird fee for each bird killed (CA limit of three birds per season/one bird per day). Turkey season runs through May 3, with an additional archery-only season from May 4 – 17. There’s still time, but these hunts have become quite popular, so I’d recommend booking early.
What about lodging? Well, there’s always the option of staying at a motel in King City, about a 45 minute drive from the properties. The other, better option, is to stay right there at Bryson Resort. The resort features comfortable cabins, complete with a full kitchen, hot showers, satellite TV, DVD players, and heat and AC. Each cabin includes a queen sized bed in the master bedroom, with a full/twin bunkbed in a second room. The bedrooms are fully private and quite comfortable. This is NOT roughing it!
The cabins run $75/night, per person. Because the resort is located very near Lake San Antonio and Lake Nacimiento, the place is very popular in the summer months. Book early to ensure that lodging is available for your hunt.
Plenty more information about the resort and the offerings are available at the Bryson Resort website (http://www.brysonresort.com). You can also book your visit directly on the site, or by email at reservations@brysonresor.com, or by calling Deedy at: (805) 472-2922.
Jean
You are spot on with your diagnosis of the miss… And I personally saw each and every one of those mistakes happen this season, so you are not alone in making them. Just ask the my hunter who missed at 8 yards with his super-full choke.