Turkey Hunting Tale.

For the last three years the husband has been into turkey hunting and each year has proven to be an adventure in itself.
Turkey hunting is divided into different weeks. This week the husband had his turn. He thought for sure it was going to be a bust. He kept trying to use his turkey calls hoping to get a tom to answer or even come in. But it was not working. If anything the call would make the bird run away as fast as possible.
His first day was Wednesday. He got out of bed just after I left for work hoping to get out early and get one coming out of the woods. He set his blind set up a few days ago in a field behind one of his brothers. He tried sitting in it but it did not feel right. He tried sitting outside of it till he lost his patents. His brother later told him that not five minutes after he left the turkeys were on the field.
He decided to try again around five that night.
He went out in the same field, nothing. It was getting dark so he decided to take a walk in the woods behind us hoping he could catch the turkey that has been roosting in the back before it got to the possible tree.
He just got out there and was going to put on his camo face mask. No sooner did he do this that the turkey started heading his way. He was not in the position he would have preferred to be in, sitting with his back against the tree with his knee up to rest the gun on. Instead he was almost flat on the ground with only his head against the tree. Now he had to be very careful not to move wrong or the turkey would see him.
He managed to get the gun pointed at the turkey between his legs and when it was close enough he took a shot.( I would not recommend this. He relized later he could have shot himself in the foot or leg.) He hit it. Surprisingly the turkey started running to him. He got up in a little better position and took another shot. Hit it again. Still running. One more time. It was down. He went over to it and picked it up. That was one big bird.
He brought it home and held it up the living room window hoping to surprise me. Made Fawn bark but that was about it. Once I was outside he got the scale to weigh it. It weighed 28 pounds. That's big for a wild turkey. It's beard was 10 1/2 inches long and the spurs were 1 3/8 inches and 1 1/4 inches long. He was hoping it could make it into the record books. Just a little short.

But he is still very proud of it.
I guess we will be have turkey this weekend while we are helping my parents tear their kitchen apart.
Now this tale has a second part. He asked me if I wanted to come along when he got it registered and show my parents the turkey. I decided to stay home.
He started out of the driveway and what should he see in the neighbors yard across the road. Not a turkey, but a bear. He was thinking about coming back up the driveway to get me and a camera, but the neighbor came out of his house trying to make noise to scare the bear that was trying to have feast on his bird feeders. The bear ignored him.
The husband pulled up by the neighbor to talk to him. He asked my husband if he was shooting at the bear but the husband showed him the turkey he got. The bear they figured was about 200 pounds or so and not afraid. At one point the bear came within about 20 feet of them. They tried to scare him away but he would not run, he looked like he was going to just take a casual stroll out of the yard.
It was the first time this year that the neighbor has seen the bear. I'm just hoping it stays on that side of the road and away from my animals. Time will tell what this bear will do. I'm hoping that if it becomes to much of a pest the DNR will find away to tranfer it somewhere else. But they more then likely won't.
The moral here is, never go anywhere without a camera. Even if it just down the driveway.