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J

JRA

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I went in to hunt the same bird that gave me the slip yesterday. I set up early in the same area he was roosted the day before. I was concerned about getting busted but I was able to get settled undetected. On cue he starts gobbling, roosted 100-150 yards away. After he gobbled awhile I do a soft call to let him know I'm there. He went silent for a long time so I thought maybe pitched the other way without me realizing it...nope, he flies down probably 75 yards in front of me. Between us is some thick honeysuckle so I can't see him on the ground. I let out another soft call and wait. When I first sat down I pulled out my range finder and marked trees...one was 41 yards and the other 32. The area I was sitting was pretty open but I felt he needed to get to the 32 yard tree for me to feel comfortable with the shot. I have missed every time I have taken a shot of 40 yards plus in the 5 years I've been turkey hunting. Sure enough, he slips through the honeysuckle to the 41 yard tree. He is walking in pretty calm and I feel good that he is gonna hit the 32 yard tree. Except he doesn't. He stops a couple yards in front of the 41 yard tree and raises his head high, doesn't see a hen and turns around to leave. I panic and instead of giving him a call, I take a shot at a bird walking away at a range I'm not comfortable with...missed.

Maybe I should have shot when he stuck his head up but at that point I was hopeful he would take a few more steps.
Maybe I should have called again but my concern of him walking out overrode that idea.

Another morning of beautiful frustration. I'm new enough at turkey hunting that I take a lot of joy and a sense of accomplishment out of setting up well and calling him in...but my goodness now I gotta head home and tell my 7 year old son about how I missed, while I'm taking him to school...haha
 
I'll agree 40 yards is a long shot in the woods, however I don't believe it's a range that should worry you. Have you patterned your gun at 40? Are you using some kind of adjustable sight? If you are using a super tight choke the point of aim and point of impact could be different. Or you could just be missing but make sure you've eliminated the other things.
 
I know you feel terrible about missing but you will get another chance.I would have shot also after he smelled a mouse it was shoot or let him walk away.You had a great chance to kill him at 40 yards!
 
Spur, to your questions...

I shoot a Mossberg .835
Kicks choke .680
I shoot 3.5" Longbeards
My sights are the basic try glo "iron sights".

My guess, he was moving away from me, I rushed and shot over his head. That is the 3rd time I've tried a 40+ yard shot and missed.
 
Have you done plenty of patterning on big paper or cardboard at 40? That combo should have absolutely no problem at that range. Your not looking over the barrel or raising your head early are you? Maybe flinching, those 835's kick like a mule... :D
 
I think it may be time to shop for a red dot or a scope. I have shot bead, "iron sights" and red dot. Trust me it helps sooooo much. Turkey scopes with the ranging reticle works wonders too. If your 835 is already tapped and you are frugal all you need is a weaver rail and a $30 Simmons from Walmart. Red dots I would do some research on as there are many that are good and more that are not.
 
darn2ten":364aeoa5 said:
Your not looking over the barrel or raising your head early are you? Maybe flinching, those 835's kick like a mule... :D
Click to expand...

Looking up gets my vote. I went through a spell of that.
 
I've missed an embarrassing amount of turkeys but I've also killed them 40+ yards more than once and my pattern isn't near as good as most people's. What does your pattern look like at 40? Good luck I hope you get another chance at him.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
PalsPal":1vfxv32s said:
Looking up gets my vote.
Click to expand...
x3.....the dreaded head lift. I'd wager a bet that pulling the cheek off the stock is responsible for 90% off all misses while afield. Some do it as a result of flinching, some do it as a result of a bad fitting gun, and many do it as they anticipate a miss the milliseconds before they actually pull the trigger. The last scenario sounds very fitting for what the OP explained (doubtful at the moment of the shot due to it being > 40 yards).
 
Andy S.":8byu304i said:
and many do it as they anticipate a miss the milliseconds before they actually pull the trigger. The last scenario sounds very fitting for what the OP explained (doubtful at the moment of the shot due to it being > 40 yards).
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I was doing.
 

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