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28ga Early Virginia spoke at 6:40am today

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roundball

Cannon
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04/12/14-Fantastic opening day”¦got settled in a place by first gray light where I knew turkeys hung out every year”¦gently touched a few soft yelps on the box call”¦and was immediately surprised by a loud gobble right out behind me 20-30 yards”¦guessing, was very close.
Waited a couple seconds and touch the call just a few ever so very light strokes again, and he immediately gobbled again right on top of me. Before I could even set the box down I heard him coming through the leaves & brush close over my left shoulder.

He stepped out of the woods into view in the open area in front of me and started going in and out of full strut when he saw the jake & hen decoy. At one point he went into full strut and turned in a couple of clockwise circles”¦when his fan was up the first circle so he couldn’t see me I leveled the Flintlock and the next time he turned to his left and dropped his fan, I put the soft lead ball into his lower back, forward through the heart/lungs and out his chest next to the beard root, collapsed where he stood”¦6:40am.

So I accomplished one of my ”˜bucket list’ items that I wasn’t able to get done in 2013, which was to learn the vital locations and take a turkey with a patched lead ball out of my 28ga smoothbore Flintlock similar to the way the settlers did (with written agreement from the NC-WRC) and am very satisfied with today’s hunt. Punched my tag, and dropped it off to a needy family.
The only thing better would be if I could have gotten it on video, which I was set up for”¦it’s just that he presented such a sure shot off to my left 45* angle that I couldn’t pass it up on opening morning, and he still wasn’t into the field of view of the camera yet.

 
So you were kinda twisted when you touched off that good shot...

Is there some significance to the "writing" from the "NC-WRC" -- question of legality with bore or ball?

And, nice of ya but why'd ya drop it off to a needy family? Why not have a nice fresh roast Spring Turkey you yourself took!? I'd think you'd continue to be well chuffed (as my GF would say) unless you didn't want to be bothered dressing it; you have to eat anyway!
 
Alden said:
Is there some significance to the "writing" from the "NC-WRC" -- question of legality with bore or ball?
"Rifles" aren't allowed for turkey here in NC, and I wanted to be absolutely certain that a GW would not view me using a smoothbore with what is usually thought of as a rifle projectile (PRB) constituting "using a rifle for turkey"...so I wrote (Emailed) the NC Wildlife Commission and asked them straight out, knowing I'd have an official written (Email) reply from them...got their assurances in an Email, printed / laminated it and carry it in my vest...all GWs are not created equal and wanted to be sure I could avoid the hassle of going to court to fight a possible ticket.

And, nice of ya but why'd ya drop it off to a needy family? Why not have a nice fresh roast Spring Turkey!? You have to eat anyway...
I don't need it, don't want to bother with it, and have things a lot better off than the couple families I help by giving them any game I get...ie: gave them 6 deer last fall...they get their friends and families together, process everything, split it up, etc. I can't hunt if I can't put the game to good use...(couldn't eat 6 deer in a year if I wanted to)...and I enjoy helping them, so giving my game to a couple needy families is a Win-Win for everybody.
 
LOL...hardly...I do a 5lb beef roast in the crockpot every week, alternate those meals with porkchops on the grill, vegetable beef soup/stew, bacon & egg sandwiches, BLTs, fried chicken, etc.
Been at this hunting thing for about 50 years and dressed / skinned / butchered all the deer I ever want to...I just enjoy the hunting now...been giving away all my game for a good 10-15 years. Knocked on some doors out there in the country near where I hunt and found a couple families who'll take everything I get just a mile down the road from where I park. I drag a deer out, pull it up onto the hitch-haul, head home, stop at their place on the way, drop it off still warm, get home, take a shower, and grill a steak or something...
 
Congratulations, roundball. That's special. That is something I'd really like to do, but it's not legal, here, either, and I never thought about asking Fish & Game. Now, to make it truly HC, next one you have to do a head shot with a roundball. That's something I'd really like to try with my little .30 rifle.

Spence
 
George said:
Now, to make it truly HC, next one you have to do a head shot with a roundball.
Love to be able to hunt with my .40cal Lancaster too but the .54cal / 28ga smoothbore is as close to a small caliber "rifle" I had available to me...and was lucky that the only smoothbore / shotgun restriction here is "nothing larger than a 10 gauge may be used"...nothing about projectile restrictions.
And I'm not good enough with PRBs out of a smoothbore from a hunting position to reliably risk taking a head shot on a turkey so there won't be any of that...I'm satisfied just bringing the project to completion and checking it off my list.
Just another good example of "The Versatile Smoothbore.
Now lets see...where did I read that excellent article years ago that got me started on my smoothbore journey...
:hmm: :hmm: :hmm:
 
George said:
...next one you have to do a head shot with a roundball...
Spence

Hawkeye and his companions had rifles.

As for me, wouldn't be shooting much of anything but photographs if the game wasn't primarily for me... Yeah, I'm glad the carcass isn't just being left there.
 
Congrats RB, and thank for the tip about permethrin. Since I sprayed my clothes down with it I have not had one tick. The real test will be Monday when our turkey season opens. Leon
 
As for me, wouldn't be shooting much of anything but photographs if the game wasn't primarily for me...
Just so it's clear, I don't care one bit about how you choose to hunt or what you do with your game...not one bit.
:thumbsup:
 
Many a family takes small game from me often and they appreciate it. I enjoy the giving it and being in the woods trying to get it. Beats sitting in front a tv or pooter...oh, wait a minute.... :redface:

Anyway my interest in smoothbores got started by someone from your land.....now who in the.....

B :thumbsup:
 
Britsmoothy said:
Many a family takes small game from me often and they appreciate it. I enjoy the giving it and being in the woods trying to get it. Beats sitting in front a tv or pooter...oh, wait a minute.... :redface:
Anyway my interest in smoothbores got started by someone from your land.....now who in the.....
B :thumbsup:

Yes, smoothbores are so versatile...I've now proven to myself that they'll take any / all game that I happen to hunt in the woods / fields of North Carolina...both the 20ga & 28ga have now taken deer, squirrels, doves, crows, and turkey...they'll definitely be the last Flintlocks to go if / when I start thinning the herd as I get older.
Giving game to help the needy is not even a question...and I've come to enjoy the relationship that's grown up over the years with this couple of families...I've taken to stop by around Christmas with a big platter of Christmas cookies from a grocery store, etc.
 
Nice job Round ball!

It's always a real treat when your first soft yelp gets an immediate answer.

Good shooting.

Greg
 
Yes, to be honest, the absolute immediate gobble response out back of me took me completely by surprise...it was barely light enough to see and I was really just settling down with sort of a routine attitude of "OK, lets see what the morning brings today". Then seconds later when the second gobble was right up close over my shoulder, along with sounds of movement through the dry leaves, I was still almost in disbelief that I apparently sat down in the dark right in front of one...and he must have really been hot-to-trot to come charging forward so fast...I mean it was all over in just a few minutes.

And yes, was glad to accomplish that PRB project goal...nothing beats first hand experience and now I've personally done it...will continue to try to fill my 2nd tag the same way. In fact, I almost blew it...was so caught off guard, mind racing, that I forgot to pull the Hammer Stall off...touched the trigger and "thud"...had to re-cock, pull the stall, get on him again and make the shot.


From an "odds" point of view, after that opening day stroke of luck, I'll probably hunt the remaining 3 weeks now and never hear one, LOL
 

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