Thursday, November 03, 2005

Got 2 Turkeys in Melrose, Rensselaer County


I was visiting an old farmer friend, we use to rent from his nephew. He always let me hunt his small farm. I checked it out earlier, using a very mud and water logged route to a nice little grove of wild apples on the upslope of this field and bog. Real heavy clayee sucking mud it was from all those freaking October rains. So I came back about an hour later and parked closer to the meadow and grove. I set up a little base alongside some thick, sideways growing apple trees. My boots and socks were wet, so I spread my mat out and took off my footgear to dry off a bit, plus I had some dry socks. I got my camera out too.

So, natch, as I am sitting there scannning the bend in the track and tree line I see some racoons? Racoons, cats, sheeet, they're gobblers and I'm shoeless. So I ducked down and dragged my boots on and tried to hide the stuff as I lay prone infantryman style behind a small hummock, in full camo now. I called them a couple times but they just moved back out of site. So I doubled back to my base, hid everything, which was just precaution and laced up my boots and went with just the basics. I tacked up the hill through the apple trees and made it to the tree-fence line. Following the cover there, I worked my way to the bend. Snapping the safety off on five special 3" turkey loads, I rounded the bend and there was the biggest flock of turkeys I've seen in a long time. Standing, I got up closer and pumped 2 quick ones at head level. The flock scattered minus two birds flopping around in their death throes. So I blew off the first guy's head and did the secong manually; at 85 cents a shell, hell yes. Cleaned them in the driveway at home, what a pain!

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