Hooked on hunting
Spring turkey hunting a couple of years ago was awesome, but absolutely did not compare to the excitement of a fall hunt. I’m actually laughing out loud as I’m writing because they are now calling me “Annie Oakley”, and it’s only just my second hunt.
After the April hunt, ther was a feeling of being prett confident about wanting to shoot another turkey and really wanting to get a wild hog, but very queasy thinking about shooting my first buck. It would make me cringe at the thought of taking a shot and maybe only wounding an animal. In fact, it actually scared me to death. Boy did those feelings ever change the weekend before Thanksgiving on the Turkey Holler Ranch a little west of Abilene.
We arrived for the fall hunt and were told we could bag one turkey, one hog and one deer during the weekend. The deer could be either a whitetail or a mule deer which normally live in the canyons o West Texas. Depending on where you are in the state, the season for mule deer is only a week or two if you’re lucky. Thus, it was an exciting proposition that we hit during the mule deer season.
Riding around the ranch for the first time we saw turkeys moving everywhere. They looked like ants moving through the brush in flocks of 35 or more. I had never seen so many turkeys in my life, especially since having just started hunting less than a year before and really didn’t even know what a turkey looked like, much less that they were wild!
The first chilly morning in the pitch dark, our guide pointed us toward a deer blind. We were listening to the coyotes howling in the canyons and the owls hooting all around us. Chills streak down your back and the hair stands up on your neck as you imagine the pack watching you from a close proximity. Whew…those coyotes are flat scary. Get me in that blind!
We walked through the mesquite trees to quickly find the ladder to get off the ground into the stand. Of course, everybody knows that those coyotes are just as afraid of you as you are of them, but it’s just the thought.
As the sun began to come up and the birds started chirping one by one, there were some pretty big animals moving out in the distance. The guys told me that the does come in first and, once the coast seems to be clear, the bucks start moving around. The little bucks come in first but the older and wiser bucks don’t show up until they are absolutely sure there is no danger. “Take a nap, chill out, it’s going to be a while!” Guess that’s why hunters are always taking a nap in the blind, and so often miss that first great trophy shot!
After there was enough daylight to count the antler points, a nice eight-point buck came into view. Not thinking clearly and shaking uncontrollably, there was a fleeting thought that if I could just pull the trigger, that buck would definitely be mine.
My friend handed me his 300 Weatherby and braced my shoulder. I don’t know if I was anticipating the sound or the kick, but I couldn’t pull that trigger. I just couldn’t do it! He whispered in my ear, “You either pull th t trigger or I’m gonna put a boot on your ear end!” (Well, that’s not exactly what he said!!) Quite frankly, that was all it took and—KABOOM that 300 fired!
Everything jumped and scattered in a flash and that buck hit the ground. It was OBVIOUSLY a perfect shot! You know, it’s a funny thing because you don’t hear the gun and sure don’t feel it kick! Maybe it was that friendly shoulder support. “Let’s get out of this tree stand and check out the whitetail!” He told me, “relax for a minute…you have buck fever and are shaking so much you probably can’t even CLIMB out!” We did finally get down the adder and made our way o the buck. Oh my, what a beauty and a definite trophy for my first deer. How exciting!
Shortly thereafter the guide came to pick us up and take the deer off to be processed. I not sure if women have testosterone, but if not, there sure was some adrenaline pumping and I was ready to go shoot something else. “Let’s go get that turkey, that was amazing!” The guide replied “we have to take a break for breakfast first because it’s ready and second you need to get some biscuits and gravy in you to counteract that adrenaline!” “OK, you win” and off we went!
After breakfast we went for a ride around the 1,360-acre ranch. It was absolutely beautiful, with bottomlands, cliffs, canyons, swamps and meadows. At almost every turn we would run down a flock of turkeys. It was getting more and more exciting with every “beard” we were seeing! For you novices, the longer the gobbler’s beard, the older he is and the more bragging rights you get!
As we came over a small rise, we encountered a nice flock of jakes (teenage turkeys) and gobblers moving down the road. The guide said, “here’s your flock,” and handed my shotgun to me. He said they would wait at the end of the curvy road and I could go by myself and “sneak up” on the flock. OH SURE….Everybody knows that you can’t sneak up on wild turkeys, they are too darn smart. You take two steps and they take five! But thinking…OK, let me try…we’ll see!
Later I found out that when I got out of the truck the guys were laughing and made a $50 bet that there was no way that I would get close enough to even take a shot. In fact, one of them leaned out the window and told me “better kick ‘it’ in gear because you’re never gonna catch up to um” …and they ALL laughed hysterically.
I started down the road and froze in place as the flock crossed the road right in front of me and disappeared into the brush. When they vanished, I kicked “it” into high gear and moved out in hot pursuit. At the bend in the road maybe 40 ft, I stopped. They must have gotten too far ahead of me. DARN-IT! However, when I listened, I could hear them as they were still gobbling. In fact, it was like a dream at a carnival shooting gallery. All of a sudden, in a clearing right in front of me on a little rise, turkey heads were coming TOWARD ME…following the leader, perfectly spaced, one at a time. What a riot…there they were…counting under my breath as the heads went by, just like those ducks at the carnival that you shoot with water guns…counting slowly as the heads moved into the opening…one, …two, …three, …four, …five, …BOOM, you’re mine and the next turkey was history.
Now what’s amazing to me is that when a turkey in a flock gets shot, he starts to flop around and all the rest of the turkey’s come back to him. Maybe they think he’s in a fight and are coming to his aid. I could have shot at least five more turkeys as they all came back to see what was going on. I THINK I said that turkeys are smart, but really that might not be such a true statement.
When the guys heard my shotgun, one of them said, “Oh brother, we better go and make sure that she didn’t blow her foot off.” As the truck pulled around that curve in the road, I was standing there with my gun on my shoulder (safety on), holding out my hand with a thumbs up sign. Every one of their mouths dropped open as they couldn’t believe I even got close, not to mention that they had to pay ME that $50 that I didn’t even know had been bet.
That turkey made his next appearance on my Thanksgiving table and we gave thanks for a great experience and a very tasty meal.
It was a fabulous trip…two shots, two animals and they really are calling me “Annie Oakley”. I’m so hooked on hunting. My normal sales occupation called for high heels and short skirts, and definitely not “camo and ammo”! What a change, a great hobby and a fabulous new experience. Guess the jitters are pretty well gone and the next hunt will be for that first bear! Oh my!