Jack O'Malley Interview w/ Dave Richey
A man told me a story a few days ago. He knew one of the spots where I turkey hunted this spring, and he knew the gobbler I’d been after was still working the area.He also knew the bird was a savvy old potlicker, and difficult to get near. I got within 75 yards of him on three occasions one day, and saw him twice. I just wouldn’t shoot at a bird at that distance.Smart old longspurs seldom give a guy more than one chance, and often those opportunities are marginal. But, if they will come out and play a little bit and gobble back and show themselves once in a while, if the hunter can’t close the deal he can at least admire a live gobbler.
I had this bird within 75 yards. No way will I take a long shot at a turkey. The odds of missing, or even worse, of wounding the bird is not something I want to do.
A big bird is tough to kill on the ground. Flying shots are more difficult.
Game birds, especially one as regal as a big longbeard gobbler, are in the same category as a gorgeous 12-inch brook trout. Fair play in hooking that fish or shooting that bird is too important to risk taking a poorly planned shot.
This man had been hunting the bird, and he stopped by to give me the update. It really wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
“You know that smart old gobbler you hunted during the second season?” he asked. “Well, I smartened him up some more yesterday.”
“How so,” I asked, dreading what I’d hear. “That dude doesn’t need anybody to smarten him up. He was hunted during the first season by someone else, and then by me during the second hunt, and now you. What happened?
It seems he knew this birds travel route, and got ahead of him and waited him out. No calling, just setting in wait for an ambush. I choose not to ambush gobblers and I have never shot at a gobbler flying. Just my personal philosophy.
The gobbler and a hen and a small jake came over the ridge, and started toward him. All of a sudden the hen putted, and this big longbeard launched his heavy body into the air to fly away. His flight path took him across in front of the hunter.
He raised up, and took two shots at the gobbler at 45-50 yards. The bird kept going and flew out of sight.
Boom, boom! A miss or a wounded bird?
Was he wrong to shoot a flying turkey? There is no law against it. It’s perfectly legal, but it is seldom a wise decision.
It’s difficult to kill a flying gobbler. A shot pellet into the brain with kill it, but none of us are good enough to guarantee such a killing shot.
The wing feathers prevent many shot from entering the body cavity. Of course, a broken wing will bring the bird down but I guarantee that bird can run faster through the woods than any human. A broken wing will prevent the bird from flying up to roost, and this results in the bird being caught and eaten by a coyote.
Flying shots do nothing except wound or educate a bird. The occasional bird will catch a pellet in the brain and die, but for every one that does, dozens are wounded and lost.
Educating gobblers is never a good thing nor is it wise to educate an old hen turkey. At least two other people had hunted that big longbeard, and we didn’t shoot because he didn’t need to get any smarter than he already was.
Now, a smart bird is even more savvy. If he lives the season and the year out, how easy will he be to hunt next spring? Perhaps none of the pellets hit the flying bird, but most likely, he got peppered good enough for it to make some kind of an impression on him.
I dislike hunting dumb birds but don’t want them smartened up by Hail Mary shots.
I enjoy hunted seasoned birds. The odds and playing field are much more evenly defined when the bird knows he is being hunted. Such birds, when hunted on a one-on-one basis, mean more when taken by calling them in.
It just seems that shooting a flying bird, and not really ever knowing whether the bird flew off to die, was wounded or untouched, will always remain a mystery. Shoot them within 40 yards in the head and neck, and that bird has not been educated.
Turkeys are mysterious enough. They don’t need the education of someone taking a wild Hail Mary shot, especially since they seldom pay off.
Add that bird to a group of educated turkeys, and then throw in the rainy weather and the mushroom pickers, and a person really doesn’t need to throw down any more road blocks to possible success.
