Ron LaClair
In Rembrance
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2004
- Messages
- 1,298
- Reaction score
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Some of you may recall the story of "My Birthday Rifle" that I posted on the flintlock rifle forum back in March. That gun was made by my good friend Todd.
Todd is at the beginning of his flintlock hunting adventures and he just related this story to me about his first flintlock turkey. His 20ga smoothbore which he made for himself is a thing of beauty. He deer hunted with it last fall and even though he didn't kill a deer he said he had the most fun he'd ever had hunting with it.
Here's Todd's story as told to me.
"The Back Forty"
"The culmination of a quest for a longbeard afield with a self built Jacob Dubbs style 20ga smoothbore.
Previous encounters (lessons) proved their worth, sans decoys and calls of each variation.
I slipped into hiding covered by natural foliage amongst heavy spruce on a ridge separating two crop fields.
A brief call on my slate and then I laid it down and waited for the results. Soon I heard putts from a hen
and when she appeared it turned out she had a beard, making her legal game. But I wasn't interested in a hen, I
was hoping for a chance at the big Tom that I had encounters with before. Turns out the old gobbler was decoy shy
and I hadn't been able to get him in range of my flinter.
As the hen moved along the ridge she neared a gap that leads to the back forty. Now the Back Forty is a place of legends
and the hen was about to walk a longbeard out of the south side of the forty and out of his proper place in history.
I pleaded with a desperate call on the slate from my spruce cover and it's music proved to be too tantalizing to keep him from turning
to close the distance as if he was pulled on a line. I made no sound or movement to tip him off for he and I had danced this waltz before
Unable to see the object of his affection he broke into full strut, as he kept moving closer the old Tom closed to under 30yd's he
turned enough that his fan blocked his vision allowing me to swing the gun into alignment.
As the sun reflected off his iridescent feathers I was struck by the beauty of this magnificent bird just before the end culmination
of my quest on the.... Back Forty.
His heavy beard was 11" long and his spurs were 1 1/8th"
I had experimented with several load combinations and the load in my 20ga Jacob Dubbs smoothbore that I settled with
was 70gr's 2FF,1/8th" nitro card, Fiber cushion wad, 80gr's #5 shot, lubed fiber wad and overshot card"
Giving thanks
The Happy hunter
Todd is at the beginning of his flintlock hunting adventures and he just related this story to me about his first flintlock turkey. His 20ga smoothbore which he made for himself is a thing of beauty. He deer hunted with it last fall and even though he didn't kill a deer he said he had the most fun he'd ever had hunting with it.
Here's Todd's story as told to me.
"The Back Forty"
"The culmination of a quest for a longbeard afield with a self built Jacob Dubbs style 20ga smoothbore.
Previous encounters (lessons) proved their worth, sans decoys and calls of each variation.
I slipped into hiding covered by natural foliage amongst heavy spruce on a ridge separating two crop fields.
A brief call on my slate and then I laid it down and waited for the results. Soon I heard putts from a hen
and when she appeared it turned out she had a beard, making her legal game. But I wasn't interested in a hen, I
was hoping for a chance at the big Tom that I had encounters with before. Turns out the old gobbler was decoy shy
and I hadn't been able to get him in range of my flinter.
As the hen moved along the ridge she neared a gap that leads to the back forty. Now the Back Forty is a place of legends
and the hen was about to walk a longbeard out of the south side of the forty and out of his proper place in history.
I pleaded with a desperate call on the slate from my spruce cover and it's music proved to be too tantalizing to keep him from turning
to close the distance as if he was pulled on a line. I made no sound or movement to tip him off for he and I had danced this waltz before
Unable to see the object of his affection he broke into full strut, as he kept moving closer the old Tom closed to under 30yd's he
turned enough that his fan blocked his vision allowing me to swing the gun into alignment.
As the sun reflected off his iridescent feathers I was struck by the beauty of this magnificent bird just before the end culmination
of my quest on the.... Back Forty.
His heavy beard was 11" long and his spurs were 1 1/8th"
I had experimented with several load combinations and the load in my 20ga Jacob Dubbs smoothbore that I settled with
was 70gr's 2FF,1/8th" nitro card, Fiber cushion wad, 80gr's #5 shot, lubed fiber wad and overshot card"
Giving thanks
The Happy hunter
