The Long Shot

by Kathie Hendershot
Ohio 2009

Day Seven of the Ohio turkey season found Kathie with the gun in her hands. Unfortunately, we'd put ourselves at a disadvantage by not roosting a bird the night before; our only hope was to wait for the gobbling to start in the morning, and head off in the direction. As luck would have it, birds began sounding off in three different directions - the bad news was they weren't on our farm!

Quickly, we moved downhill, and set up on the edge of a gas line separating the properties. A few minutes pass, and we have a bird cranked up and gobbling with every step, only to lose him to an amorous hen. Ten minutes later, and Kathie says - "There he is!" Seemingly out of nowhere, a gobbler had appeared 100 yards out at the edge of the gas line. Spying the decoy, the longbeard leaves his hen and makes a beeline for our plastic fake. At 30 yards, he stopped, turned, and began to walk back to his hen - 35 yards, 40 yards, 45 yards. Kathie hesitated - "It's too far," she said. I shot back that if she wanted this bird, she was going to have to take him now. At 50 steps, she finally had an opening - a trigger pull, and the bird dropped in his tracks! Old Beretta and Pattern Master come through again