I was hunting groundhogs one summer on a farm on Runion’s Creek near Suptinlick Ridge. I sometimes would sit in my hunting blind for this type of hunting. It was a great location for groundhogs and also I found out later great location for the wild turkey. I located the blind high up on one of the hills where I could see a good distance. With my precision handloads it was devastating.
I was sitting there one evening about ready to close up shop when I noticed a lot of something moving across a cleared area of the field going towards a wooded area. I checked it out with my binoculars and lo and behold it was a flock of wild turkeys. I kept this information in my mind and when the next turkey season came around you can guess where I showed up.
On opening morning I showed up at my blind where I had moved it down closer to the creek. I was hunting with a rifle, in cal. .222, one I had bought at the Main PX at Robinson Barracks, near Stuttgart, Germany. It was very accurate but with a lightweight barrel. It only weighed a couple oz. over 5 lbs. with scope. I had covered it with camouflaged tape and had fastened a turkey call on the side so I could operate the call at the same time I was sighting and with trigger finger on the trigger. I could operate that gun with no movement on my part.
I got in the blind before daylight, sat down and called and waited. Finally I heard a gobble, a good distance away. I kept working him and he kept coming a little closer but when he got to about 100 yds. away from me, out of sight, he hung up. I couldn’t get him to come any closer so I waited and called, waited and called and after about 1 hr. of this, I saw three turkeys picking their way down over a steep bluff above the creek. It was two hens and a nice gobbler. I know now why he hung up and wouldn’t come any closer. He found two lady friends in the area. My calls must have not sounded sweet enough.
As they picked their way down the steep terrain I couldn’t get my scope crosshairs on the gobbler, a hen would always get in my way. Finally my luck changed and there he stood by himself and BANG! went Miss Molly. He started tumbling down the steep bank and tumbled all the way down to the creek. I had considerable trouble finding him. The thought entered my mind, did he run off?
After a while, Ahhh Found! I was anxious to see how the small, fast bullet did on the large bird. It was only a small hole. Excellent! I didn’t want to eat it, just wanted one to have mounted for my hunting room as I hadn’t got one of them yet.
John Coffman, hunter
Questions? Email Jcoffman1938@gmail.com
