Kilt an Alabama Tom

[omegafoo]

Ill be the guy that speaks up and says what a few others here are thinking.

The essence of a kill is not just in a harvest but how the harvest is achieved. Crawling on a bird takes time and gives fair advantage to a bird. Calling one up takes skill in knowing how and when to call. It also takes skill to get the bird killed once his keen eyes are in range screening heavily for any movement.
Walking out and shooting a fleeing bird is a disgrace to the grand bird and I hate to hear of one being harvested in such a manner.
Just my .02 cents.

probably better off a just not posting. Don't knock a guy on legally killing a bird. Stick to your holier than thou methods and well congratulate you just the same...

[eminart]

Ill be the guy that speaks up and says what a few others here are thinking.

The essence of a kill is not just in a harvest but how the harvest is achieved. Crawling on a bird takes time and gives fair advantage to a bird. Calling one up takes skill in knowing how and when to call. It also takes skill to get the bird killed once his keen eyes are in range screening heavily for any movement.
Walking out and shooting a fleeing bird is a disgrace to the grand bird and I hate to hear of one being harvested in such a manner.
Just my .02 cents.

Meh.

I understand what you're saying, and appreciate your opinion, but I think it being a "disgrace" to the bird is a bit overboard. As I said, it's certainly not how I would have preferred the hunt to have gone. But, I don't think the turkey cares either way. As a bowhunter, and a falconer, I'm all for "fair chase". If it were easy or common to go out, walk up on a turkey, and shoot it, I'd agree with you. But, I think this is probably much more rare than sitting down and calling one up. Yes, it was sheer luck, but I don't see it as taking advantage of the bird. If I sat down in a spot, before hearing or seeing a turkey, and one happened to walk up before I'd called, I'd shoot that one too.

The idea of how a turkey hunt should go is something that modern hunters have made up. And, while I like it, it's not a rule anywhere except in our heads. There is no mystical force in the universe called The Right Way to Kill a Turkey. It just boils down to our own idea of what is challenging or acceptable. And, I'm ok with taking what luck brings me right now. That may change after I kill a few dozen, but for now, I'm ok with it.

[turkeyhunter91]

Way to get it done and congrats on a great bird.

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

Ill be the guy that speaks up and says what a few others here are thinking.

The essence of a kill is not just in a harvest but how the harvest is achieved. Crawling on a bird takes time and gives fair advantage to a bird. Calling one up takes skill in knowing how and when to call. It also takes skill to get the bird killed once his keen eyes are in range screening heavily for any movement.
Walking out and shooting a fleeing bird is a disgrace to the grand bird and I hate to hear of one being harvested in such a manner.
Just my .02 cents.

probably better off a just not posting. Don't knock a guy on legally killing a bird. Stick to your holier than thou methods and well congratulate you just the same...

I could careless about seeking Internet congratulations for a harvested bird but in the off chance that I get drunk and post one from this spring's obituary list on old gobbler please keep your congratulations to yourself ;-)
Legal and right aren't mutually assuring...

In Florida you can't shoot a turkey within 100 yards of bait but you can bait away to manipulate turkey patterns and hunt accordingly. 
Total b-u-l-l-s-h-i-t.

In Virginia you can shoot turkeys in spring or fall with a rifle.
What a disgrace.

Shooting a fleeing turkey because you happened to walk up on one isn't quite on par with that but no one I hunt with would ever think of wing shooting a spooked turkey... They'd be thinking about where he went and how in 45 minutes he'd start missing his buddy and be quite susceptible to some gobbler yelps or a gobble tube.

I just ain't that hungry and want the kill to mean something. To each their own.

[chadly]

Nice shot! 

[Gawhitaker]

Congratulations on a nice bird and the fine shooting