After all of these seasons a first and a lesson

[Wisgobbler]

I killed my first multi bearded turkey. I shot him opening day of Wisconsins second period on public ground. Two 10" beards 1" spurs and only 18.6#.  I'm certain he's my lightest bird over the years but I was pretty happy to see the double beard.
I know the pics aren't great but there's a story to go along with it. I located two toms on an very brushy oak ridge at around 1:00 on the opening day.  They both responded to my locator from maybe 100 or so  yards away. I set up in the only available location where I didn't feel like I'd be seen or heard while positioning.
I then gave a soft series of cutts followed by three yelps. Both birds hammered over top of the last yelp. 
I covered the opening I suspected they would use and waited silently for a couple of minutes then gave a couple of soft clucks. I heard loud drumming off a bit to the right of the position I had covered and noticed both birds had come around a bit to my side. I waited until the lead Tom dropped strut and started moving toward my position. As they came further around a big boulder obscured them from me and I was able to reposition slightly by laying a bit onto my right side which allowed me to cover the opening on the opposite side of the boulder where they would emerge they both gobbled several times during this time. It seemed like forever before I saw a Snow White head coming around and toward me. As he came around and gave me a clear shot I settled my sights on his neck and pulled the trigger.  At the shot he flipped over and his partner jumped into the air and sailed down the steep hillside.
At about the same time I started congratulating myself the bird I'd shot somehow got on his feet and took off running down the slope trying to get airborne with an obviously broken wing. I got on my feet and gave chase but somehow lost sight of him. I searched around but couldn't see him anywhere.
I don't know when I've felt more dejected and sick to my stomach. I've never lost a bird that I shot.  It was horrible.
I looked up and down that hog back for maybe a half hour then decided there was no way I'd find that bird and decided that I was definitely done for the day.... Maybe the season. But I knew I hit that bird so after starting back toward my truck I decided to give it one more try. When I got back to the scene the first thing I noticed was some feathers that appeared to be breast feathers or lower neck in origin. After looking around I found a few more and as I searched I found another here and there which established a line of clear travel down the hill. As I followed along the route that I suspected he had taken I searched every down tree or brush pile I came across. The feathers led down off of the ridge and I followed.
As I approached a boulder field about midway down I was stopped trying to find the next feather and there about 15' away I saw the red brown of his fan as he hid between a couple of boulders. I backed up a bit until I could clearly see him, neck outstretched on the ground trying to hide.  I ended it quickly with a final shot and thanked God that this beautiful bird wouldn't end up as coyote food.
I honestly don't know what led up to me almost losing this bird other than a failure at some level on my part.  My guns zero is checked each spring before season. It was perfect. The range to the bird was about 35 yards which is well within this weapon and my own ability. I was definitely in a less than ideal shooting position and perhaps that's the biggest contributor. Maybe I pulled the shot. I don't know....
I won't justify my poor performance or blame my equipment. Maybe I got greedy or careless and rushed things. I'm grateful that I found him and glad that I didn't give up. It was shortly after 3 when I slung him over my shoulder after texting my buddy that I'd punched my tag. I'll be thinking about this for a while to come.

[Wisgobbler]

Apparently my pic file is too large.

[JeffC]

Good read made better by the effort to find your bird. Congrats. Right click on picture , click on resize, click on small, save as a jpg file.  Looking forward to your hero shots. 

[Cowboy]

Congrats and good job on pushing on with the recovery.  It happens.

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[Jim K]

Congratulations. Way to not give up on the recovery!!

[Wisgobbler]

Like I said above. These are horrible pics but I'm grateful to not have lost this bird.  I have three tags left, I know I'll be carrying this hunt around for a while.  I located several more birds last evening while out with my son. He's going in the morning before he heads to school.

[Turkeybutt]

Good for you for taking the time to find your bird.
Persistence, Perseverance, and Patience pays off when it comes to turkey hunting.
Congratulations on a beautiful bird!

[High plains drifter]

Sometimes a shot is slightly off. Last season I wounded a bird slightly, and he flew off.I think he was ok. OK. I found no blood, 1 small feather.I think I stunned him. I should have gotten a bit closer. I've been hunting for 30 years now, and I'm over 20 gobblers,  but I still learn something every hunt.

[Yoteduster]

Congrats on a well earned gobbler

[Zobo]

You didn't get greedy, or careless, you made an imperfect shot under less than ideal conditions which will happen to every turkey hunter. You showed extreme care and diligence after the shot. Good going.

[Old Timer]

Congrats! One heck of a job locating that bird. Sometimes it pays to give it a second look. You did your diligence and got rewarded. Remember were human and do not always make the perfect shot. Congrats again and thanks for sharing.

[Turkeytider]

Good job sticking with it to find your bird. I live in mortal fear of crippling and losing one of these magnificent birds. I know it would ruin my season. I`m really reluctant to take shots out beyond about 30 yards. You`ll never get me to believe that all these 50 yard shots that so many brag about don`t end up with at least some crippled birds that wouldn`t have been if the hunter had the patience and skill to work them in closer. I don`t care what kind of load is being used. Then again, this is just my opinion. Also, I suppose being older, I don`t feel the need to pull a trigger as much as I used to, either.

[grayfox]

Congratulations on a nice gobbler! It happens to all of us. I've had to finish off a couple birds in the past with a second shot after hitting them in the wing. Good job on the recovery of your bird. Thanks for sharing the story of the hunt.

[RutnNStrutn]

Congrats on the double beard, and on you not giving up and doing what it took to find him.

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