PODCAST: The End of the Galloping Gobbler
Hens were roosting downhill from him, and I think he pitched down to them first. They came uphill to meet up, and then the hens and the gobbler walked the far fence line and emerged at the far end of the pasture, about 80 yards away. The hens crossed into the next pasture and started coming towards me, angling out into the field to feed. The gobbler stayed close to the treeline that held my blind and soon was making his final approach in full strut. I waited until he crossed behind a large tree and brought my gun up.
There was a hen that had come upon my backside. When I brought the gun up, she threw a serious hiss-fit just over my left shoulder. That made the hens in the field come to attention, and it made the gobbler hold up for what seemed like an eternity, but he eventually came out, still in full strut, and head on towards me. I did not chance the hen behind me messing things up any further, so I took the shot. The Galloping Gobbler got a face full of Federal #4’s at 20 yards.
Normally a gobbler should be shot when they have their neck extended and are not all balled up in strutting. I took the risk because he was so close and I was expecting him to spook. I bowled him over with the shot. He flopped a couple of times and lay stone dead in the field, with his toes up and twitching. I was not expecting a problem, so I took my time to get up to retrieve him. As I was recording all this for a podcast, I sat and explained to my listeners what had just transpired.
Podcast — The End of the Galloping Gobbler
About 5 minutes into my bloviation, I was surprised to see the gobbler suddenly reanimate and begin running back towards the treeline. I made a fast dash down the fence and intercepted the gobbler. He had plowed into rust farm fencing and was hung up and seemed spent. However, when I went to grab for his legs, the came alive a second time, made it over the fence and started running for Heartbreak Ridge. I wasted a second shot — buried it in a tree trunk. He was moving fast. I ran after him, and found him caved in again about another 20 yards down the hill. This time, I got smart and slewed to my right, so I could catch him from the side. At 10 yards, I put the finisher into his head.
He was not done yet. I had a devil of time getting his legs and a longer than normal job breaking his neck with my boot heel. By the time I returned to the blind, I was spent.
I hope you enjoy the podcast. This is one of the very few times I have gotten to call a gobbler off the roost, and only the second time I have done it while podcasting. Due to the weather in mid-April here in the Trans-Bluegrass and the timing of the season in Kentucky, the gobblers are seldom ready to pitch down to an unseen hen, and so we usually set up for mid-morning encounters.
Before I go, I want to mention Angus. He turns 18 tomorrow. He was out this morning, as well as SuperCore. This was his first trip driving solo to Turkey Camp. He just got his license this week. I got some pics of him on the way in this morning, and I just wanted to see what a fine upstanding turkey hunter I’ve raised.
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Listening to the gobbler gobble makes me sad that the season has came to an end. I felt like I could almost feel him gobble too. It brings back a lot of memories of gobblers that I’ve had in close that will gobble and still startle you even though you know they are there. And did you happen to step on a frog at the 28 minute mark? HAHA.