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The Gobblinator: Sloppy's "Just Won't Die!" Tom (2006)
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My quickest turkey hunt to date (7 years). Enjoy the read. Pictures will be posted at the end of the post later this evening. Six (6) pictures at the bottom of this post.
Species: Eastern Wild Turkey
Date of Harvest: 05/02/06
Time of Harvest: 1:45 PM
County of Harvest: Owen (near Spencer, IN)
Weight: 19 lbs 2 oz
Beard : 10.5" (1-inch thick "paintbrush")
Spurs: 1 1/8" (left) and 1 3/16" (right)
NWTF Tom Score: 19.125 + 11.25 + 11.875 + 21 = 63.25 points!
Gun: 2004 NWTF 3.5" Browning Gold MOBU w/ 24" barrel
Sight: EOTech Model 552 Rev. F Holographic Sight
Choke: Rhino 2” Extended 0.670 Hevi Shot
Load: Nitro Company H51013 (2-1/4oz) 4x5x7 Hevi Shot
Yardage: 25-30 yards
Call: None
Decoy: None
Sloppy Not Working Hard for Tom Turkey at All: PRICELESS
The "Just Won't Die!" Tom Story
The 4:00 AM morning ritual started off in an atypical fashion in that Sloppy didn't get his lazy butt out of bed since a downpour thunderstorm started and lasted most of the May 2nd morning. About 11:00 AM Sloppy "got it together" and made it into the woods at 12:30 PM. Green-up was in full swing and the forest was alive during the 2-mile walk in the low impact, back way (a deep valley skirting the property perimeter).
"Midday hunting is always crappy..." Sloppy thought. This soon proved to be nonsense.
During the walk Sloppy recreated the scene from the days prior in his scattered and excited mind. The memory recalled mental pictures of a nice Tom in the 2nd draw bordering an unturned cornfield laden with wet mustard weed. Some Head Hunter long box call "small talk" and he started walking the fence line....just reeling him in. Such a pleasant scene....textbook. Until 2 poaching jackazzes walked right up the draw and the Tom silently moved off.
"I could kill those turkeys....(explicative, explicative)." Sloppy thought.
Just about that time in Sloppy's daydream, the 40 minute walk in was nearing completion. The plan? Move into the "killer" spot where some scrub brush and a few downed trees were heaped into a pile (about 45 yards from the fence line and the low spot in the mustard weed). A quick chamber check and activation of the EOTech holographic sight were completed in short order. The silent sneak to the spot began.
Not 5 yards up the run-off creek in the draw, Sloppy spied a silhouette of a turkey taking very slow steps to the east. Sloppy froze and readied the Browning. A two-eyed look through the sight revealed an image of the infamous "swinging paintbrush." The Browning barked its payload and the Tom began to stagger like a drunk "looking for the car keys."
As the smoke cleared, the Browning resurfaced to my line-of-sight, red dot on the head, and "bang!" Another direct hit with more blood and flesh flying off the waddles. Tom Turkey was still standing at a mere 25-30 yards pacing around in his 5 yard circle!!! Shots 3 and 4 also found their mark as Sloppy decided he'd not like to experience the "one who got knocked down, got back up, and ran off." Finally, "The Gobblinator" had been terminated...for good. Excited, "pumped," and laughing his a$$ off, Sloppy realized that he hadn't called, scouted, or even sat down yet. Just "gravy" folks and it tasted good!
Sloppy lopped the 19 lb carcass into the vest's blood bag and hiked out. Telephone call to my friend from the woods was met with a few details left on his voice mail. Sloppy just sat down, smiled, thanked God for the harvest and the Pepsi Cola company for quenching my thirst.
A hunt lasting only seconds. "They just ain't going to believe it."
"Just Won't Die!" Tom Pictures with Sloppy Cameo
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