Nice bird, 40yds, .20ga Flintlock

[roundball]

04/14/07 AM, chilly, overcast, sprinkling now and then at the small green field I went to, set up a Jake + 3 Hen decoys in the dark at 5:45am...the 3 hens ‘feeding’ towards the woods edge 10yds away just to the right of my line of fire towards the Jake set out at 40yds facing me.
No response to crow call or box call, never heard a gobble. Then at 8:30 three Jakes came out of the woods across the field and made a single file bee-line towards the Jake decoy...didn’t even bother with the hens...I guess they were going to kick his butt...the front Jake was a big bird, and the two behind were smaller.
And also at that moment the clouds opened a bit letting sunlight stream into the field and their feathers were absolutely gorgeous...knowing I had 2 tags, and never having taken a Turkey before, I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth when I had a beard 40yds from the Flintlock’s muzzle.
When the lead Jake got a yard from the decoy he stopped abruptly realizing it wasn’t alive I guess. He / they straightened up tall and started looking around, I sat his head on the front bead and touched the set trigger, collapsed where he stood.
Weighed 15lbs, 5" beard, spurs were just showing less than ½ inch.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

SWEET!!! I hope to be able to do that someday. Congratulations on your bird.....that fact that you took it with your flinter will make it taste all that much better!

[Adam Helmer]

roundball,

Great bird and great photos! Ya done REAL good. Many thanks for sharing your success with us on this site. Our Spring Gobbler season is still a few weeks away, BUT, MY .50 smoothbore flinter is ready.

Thanks again for sharing.

Adam

[roundball]

Well, I've gone several Saturdays over the past few years and haven't fired a shot...I know this bird wasn't a cagy old Tom but it was a big, older Jake and I'm satisfied to have gotten the chance...got the monkey off my back...maybe one day I'll get a 'Tom' that comes to a call...something to keep working towards...guess if it was easy we wouldn't bother

[popplecop]

Congradulations, nice bird and with a proper muzzleloader. Looks awfully green there, our white is almost gone thankfully. Again congradulations.

[roundball]

Yeah, April is a beautiful month here...probably 4-6 weeks ahead of you at our lattitude

[popplecop]

Snow mostly gone, just where it was drifted some left. They are getting some nice birds here but slow in the first period. Igave a permit in early May and one in mid May. Shouldn't have to worry about snow, just ticks and skeeters.

[multibeard]

Congrats on a fine bird. And a fine accomplishment.

The size of the beard or spurs does not have any thing to do with a turkey being a trophy. It is the quality of the hunt.

The jake I shot with my Navy Arm percussion unchoked double means more to me than the limbhangers I have taken with my other shotguns.

I was trying to do some scouting yesterday and was glad I had 4wd. Still 6 inches of frozen snow/slush in a couple of spots. Enough snow to snowmoblle in the woods.

[fishdoggydog]

Never apoligise for game taken clean and legal, you did good, congradulations on your bird.

[Dom]

Waidmannsheil Roundball!! Thanks for sharing the pics and story, very nice. Glad you enjoyed a nice hunt, Dom.