Jim Taylor
Hunting Turkeys With A Sixgun
Wednesday, December 27, 2023, 09:41

It was the opening day of Turkey Season in Arizona and I was out in the hills with my friend Dale, looking to bag my first turkey. Dale had never hunted them or shot one before this either. We were both newbie turkey hunters.

Dale and I had scouted and looked for them. We read magazine articles about hunting turkeys ... there was no internet in those days. You had buy a printed book if you wanted to read about something. We also bought some turkey calls and tried to practice what we thought would sound right. The books gave us a few clues and we tried to follow them.

We had found the are where a flock was and where they went to roost at night. The books said one good way to start hunting turkeys was find where they roost. Then sneak in before day and bust 'em off the roost. The turkeys will scatter. As soon as it is light, start giving the lost turkey call and while it may not fool the older wiser birds, the young ones will run to you. They hate being alone!

Opening Day found us ... well before dawn ... sneaking up a wash and scaring the turkeys where they were roosting. Between Dale and I and the turkeys we made a lot of noise! Then we settled down, Dale watching one direction while I watched the other. We were in a small patch of brush, camo'd and quiet. When it got light enough to see the sights I started calling.

Dale had a Browning Auto 5 and I was hunting with my Ruger .45 Colt sixgun. Yes, it was legal for Turkeys. I had it loaded with the old Colt bullet by Lyman ... #454190 .. 255 gr. roundnose .. over 8.5 gr. Unique. I did not want to tear up the bird if I got a shot. I figured the heavy roundnose bullet would just "pencil" through.

I had been calling for a few minutes when all of sudden there was turkey running toward me! I stopped calling, picked up my pistol and cocked the hammer. I went to put the sights on the bird but something was wrong! I was shaking badly and could not hold the gun steady. I jerked the trigger and missed the bird. It just stood there staring at me and I cocked the hammer and fired again, shaking like leaf. The bullet hit the bird on the right leg and it suddenly took off, flying directly overhead. I pulled the gun up and snapped a shot that went directly into the bird's breast. It flew right into the hillside about 30 feet from us and crashed like a shot-down fighter in WW1.

I couldn't stop shaking! We got over to the bird and found it was dead. It turned out to be a young female, legal for this part of the Season.

I eventually settled down and we packed up and went home. I took the bird to a shop and had the meat smoked and we ate it for Thanksgiving dinner. My wife made a display from the tail which we had for years but somehow lost in one of the times we were moving.

I never did get out to hunt turkeys again. We moved to Missouri a few years after that and I couldn't hunt turkeys in Missouri with a handgun, so I never went.

I also never experienced that rush of adrenaline that gives "buck fever" again either.

It was about 1985.