Mar 18, 2022 4 min read

The weather is finally becoming nice. This week, I got out of the house and went to the club with a good friend. I was surprised to find it a bit crowded. With cartridges still hard to find, I was not sure how many people would be there.

I took an old and beat-up .22 to shoot, as it is easy to find ammo for, and I just wanted out of the house.

On the way to the club, I saw some coltsfoot along the side of the road and a few daffodils in the field at the bridge by Linden Creek or Little Chartiers. All signs are pointing toward spring’s arrival.

This warm weather will bring in trout season and turkey season. A while back, I was hunting for turkey and had not seen a one. I went in to wash up. Suddenly, I heard a familiar sound. It was a turkey. Because it was the spring turkey season, I grabbed my gun and call and ran out the back door. About 150 yards away was my truck, so I ducked behind it and started to call. After a few good perks, I heard that answering call. I perked again and waited. Oh boy, a turkey. Now I was excited after not seeing one all day.

That bird was big, and he came out about 100 yards from where I was, and I blasted him. Then I ran up and picked him up by the feet. He was a dandy. That’s when it hit me. I looked down and realized I didn’t have any clothes on. Boy was I cold and embarrassed. Luckily, my hunting partner was still out somewhere in the woods, so I hightailed it back up to the camp. That is how I came to shoot a Turkey in my underwear.

When my friend came in disgusted, of course, I just told my tale without the part about my having no clothes on. It was a nice bird though. Later, I thought it funny and told him my tale and now it is a legend.

One time I went out in the morning so early to hunt spring turkey that it was still dark. I got myself all settled. This was about 10 years ago. I went to the Scenery Hill area. I was using a slate call and had not heard a thing. I hit the call one last time, and low and behold I got an answer. After he came in about 75 yards there was a lot of cover, so I called again.

My wife, Eileen, was with me. We waited for a good shot. She had the shotgun at port of arms when out popped a hen. Next came four gobblers. She shot and had her pick of shots. Then I looked at her and saw she was not even facing the same way I was. There was an even bigger turkey male coming in from behind us. He turned out to be about 24 pounds of dressed bird. I called five males in one call.

John and I were hunting in the Shades of Death area near Avella. As usual, we were late getting up and getting in the woods. As we walked into the woods, I could hear the turkeys making a soft roosting noise. I could visualize them dropping off their roost. John went his way. I took my stand. I got out my call and made a soft call. The answering call sounded terrible. I thought it was my friend and he was not calling well.

I called again and again. I heard the most terrible call that I ever heard. Then I saw the bird. It was a real turkey. I really thought it was my hunting partner fooling around. That bird did not sound good at all. I never did get a good shot at this bird with the bad voice. He needed voice lessons.

The last of my stories was a turkey I named the helicopter turkey. I was calling turkey when suddenly I heard an answering call. I looked out across the woods and there he was, a way off and to the side. I hit the call and this bird went straight up in the air. He helicoptered up and straight back down. Every time I hit that call, he would do it. I watched him do this over and over on the way in. I will always think of him as the helicopter turkey.