Your closest Shot?

[RutnNStrutn]

I was hunting one of my favorite WMA's in central Florida. It was a gorgeous morning, cool, clear and crisp. I waited until daybreak, nothing.
Finally fly down time was approaching and I had yet to hear a gobble. I came to the end of a trail. I'd seen many turkeys here in the past, so I set up with a hen decoy.
I settled in and let out the first calls of the morning......
GOBBLE!!!!!!
There was a gobbler strutting on the limb 75 yards away. How he didn't see me walking in is beyond my comprehension. I did some soft tree talk and the gobbler hammered. Then he started shock gobbling at everything that made a noise.
Finally he flew down towards my decoy. There was a patch of brush blocking my view of the trail before the decoy. When his feet hit the ground he popped into strut. He strutted right in towards the decoy. As soon as he stepped out, he got nervous, dropped out of strut and retreated behind the patch of brush.
I could see him easing back the way he came. When he reached the edge of the brush, he stuck his head out and looked my way. I already had the bead on his head, and rolled him at 8 steps. He didn't even flop. The wad was laying right beside his head, and had broken his beak.
He was a beautiful gobbler that made the Florida Osceola Registry. 19 pounds, 11 inch beard and twin, curved, sharp 1-1/2 inch spurs. To this day he's my best Osceola.

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[Tom007]

I was hunting one of my favorite WMA's in central Florida. It was a gorgeous morning, cool, clear and crisp. I waited until daybreak, nothing.
Finally fly down time was approaching and I had yet to hear a gobble. I came to the end of a trail. I'd seen many turkeys here in the past, so I set up with a hen decoy.
I settled in and let out the first calls of the morning......
GOBBLE!!!!!!
There was a gobbler strutting on the limb 75 yards away. How he didn't see me walking in is beyond my comprehension. I did some soft tree talk and the gobbler hammered. Then he started shock gobbling at everything that made a noise.
Finally he flew down towards my decoy. There was a patch of brush blocking my view of the trail before the decoy. When his feet hit the ground he popped into strut. He strutted right in towards the decoy. As soon as he stepped out, he got nervous, dropped out of strut and retreated behind the patch of brush.
I could see him easing back the way he came. When he reached the edge of the brush, he stuck his head out and looked my way. I already had the bead on his head, and rolled him at 8 steps. He didn't even flop. The wad was laying right beside his head, and had broken his beak.
He was a beautiful gobbler that made the Florida Osceola Registry. 19 pounds, 11 inch beard and twin, curved, sharp 1-1/2 inch spurs. To this day he's my best Osceola.

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Love to see a picture of him my friend, wow, great story.....

[bbcoach]

I don't exactly remember how close he was, but I probably could have smacked him with the muzzle instead.

   DEAD EYE!!!!!

[Gooserbat]

Two steps

[Dtrkyman]

10 feet?  close enough I skull capped him, head was gone from the eyeball up, he came up a steep ridge and was strutting there for several minutes, I rememer thinking after watching the top of his head that as soon as I can see his eyeball I'm shooting!

Wish I still had the pics!

[ChesterCopperpot]

Maybe three steps and it looked like a slug passed through his head. I've got a photo but something about it feels disrespectful to me. Don't know why really.


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[Yoder409]

Shot a fall bird at 8 feet.  There were about 6 pellets from a 2 1/4 oz. 10 gauge load that went across the back of her neck.  But, that'll do it.

I think, 11 yards and coming HARD for a spring bird.  Again.......... BPS 10 gauge.  Wad left a 50 cent piece sized raw spot on his wattles.

Had a spring bird at barrel's length plus about 12 inches once.  But he was 1-2 steps from clearing a multiflora bush where I coulda shot.  Could see his eye blinking.   He queered and walked off putting.  But I stood up and cleared the bush and shot him in the back of the head as he walked away at 35-ish yards. 

[Tom007]

Wow

[GregGwaltney]

Way too close.....I was hunting in Florida, was working my way closer to a gobbling bird when I entered a cleared lane between two large areas of cypress. I made a few cutts with my mouth call and he gobbled very close to me, I immediately hit the ground, laying face down looking into the low grass lane as there were no trees close by. There was a little mound of dirt that I had my gun resting on, I was laying in 2 inches of water and 12" of grass, very well camouflaged...lol....That gobbler walked right up on me with no hint I was 3-4 yards away, I shot him there or he may have walked over my back. I remember it well even though it happened 30 years ago, I had the bead on him and didn't even need to move, he walked straight to me, crazy hunt.

[Tom007]

Way too close.....I was hunting in Florida, was working my way closer to a gobbling bird when I entered a cleared lane between two large areas of cypress. I made a few cutts with my mouth call and he gobbled very close to me, I immediately hit the ground, laying face down looking into the low grass lane as there were no trees close by. There was a little mound of dirt that I had my gun resting on, I was laying in 2 inches of water and 12" of grass, very well camouflaged...lol....That gobbler walked right up on me with no hint I was 3-4 yards away, I shot him there or he may have walked over my back. I remember it well even though it happened 30 years ago, I had the bead on him and didn't even need to move, he walked straight to me, crazy hunt.

You had to defend yourself. Great stories!!

[RutnNStrutn]

Love to see a picture of him my friend, wow, great story.....

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[Tom007]

Love to see a picture of him my friend, wow, great story.....

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Wow, that is a slammer for sure. Nice job, congrats.....

[Kylongspur88]

I killed a fall gobbler at about 3 steps this past year. Probably the closest I've killed one. Honestly it was too close. I just glad I had a good rest. It blew the neck out and was just hanging by some skin

[Neill_Prater]

Don't know exactly. Certainly less than 12 feet. Thinking about it, I can remember maybe a dozen or more that were less than 20 feet.

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[MK M GOBL]

My closest was about 9 steps away, but the closest I called in was for a buddy, as the bird rounded us he pulled the trigger as the bird went past the barrel.

This close


MK M GOBL