My First Turkey

[RidgeRoamingRichard]

Got up early and went right back to where we put them to bed last night (after my sister shot hers). Walked in while it was still dark, then circled around under him once he started putting. Made sure my shot was safe and squeezed the trigger the first minute of legal light. I won't claim that there is a ton of skill or sportsmanship that goes into blasting them with a .243, but I am so happy to finally have one of these magnificent birds. I hunted them a lot this spring and got humiliated by them frequently. Seems like they are a totally different bird in the fall than in the spring. I've already got about a hundred recipes in mind!

Thank you to the HuntTalk community and to all of those members that gave me tips and encouragement. Good luck out there!

 

[pabearhunter]

Congratulations.

 

[TheBenHoyle]

congratulations

 

[lpshunter29]

Congrats! Turkey hunting has become an obsession for me. Glad to see you were able to put a gobbler on the ground too, that's pretty tough in the fall.

 

[Hem]

Hopefully he was on the ground when you sifted him. A little vague from your description

 

[Nameless Range]

Nice job!

 

[golfer]

Hopefully he was on the ground when you sifted him. A little vague from your description

Ah come on, shooting them from the roost just helps tenderize them right?

 

[Hem]

Ah come on, shooting them from the roost just helps tenderize them right?

I can't joke about that.
No, seriously.

 

[RidgeRoamingRichard]

Hopefully he was on the ground when you sifted him. A little vague from your description

Yes just came off the roost and was trying to figure out what the orange thing was.

 

[Hem]

Yes just came off the roost and was trying to figure out what the orange thing was.

Well, congrats are in order.
One and done with the rifle hopefully.
Stick with the spring hunting, you'll start to connect the dots and when you do kill a tom , the process will be worth it.

 

[mdeerjunkie]

Congratulations!

 

[Djfan]

I have thought of taking my 243 for turkey. I am afraid to tearing the meat up. How did that go for you?

 

[RidgeRoamingRichard]

I have thought of taking my 243 for turkey. I am afraid to tearing the meat up. How did that go for you?

Well if you shoot like my sister, base of the neck, very minimal meat damage. If you shoot like me, further back than i'd like through the ribs, you'll lose a little bit, but meat waste was still pretty nominal. They were both close shots with 100gr copper federal rounds.

 

[PrestonMcDan]

Got up early and went right back to where we put them to bed last night (after my sister shot hers). Walked in while it was still dark, then circled around under him once he started putting. Made sure my shot was safe and squeezed the trigger the first minute of legal light. I won't claim that there is a ton of skill or sportsmanship that goes into blasting them with a .243, but I am so happy to finally have one of these magnificent birds. I hunted them a lot this spring and got humiliated by them frequently. Seems like they are a totally different bird in the fall than in the spring. I've already got about a hundred recipes in mind!

Thank you to the HuntTalk community and to all of those members that gave me tips and encouragement. Good luck out there!View attachment 162801View attachment 162802View attachment 162803View attachment 162804

Congrats!

 

[kansasdad]

@RidgeRoamingRichard I agree wholeheartedly that a spring turkey hunt is vastly different than a fall hunt. I love the communication with the birds the best in the spring, but a good bust up/ call back situation in the fall is also amazing.

Congratulations on your first. Here's to many many more.