I had set up in one spot and my dad in another. He decided to move down the ridge a little so he could see a field. When he did, he spooked a longbeard towards me. Once I finally saw the turkey it took me a few seconds to decide whether to shoot or not. When I finally decided to shoot, I had to wait for him to get in a clearing.

The whole time the bird was in a dead run away from my dad. Once he entered the clearing the Beretta sounded off, and the turkey rolled.

I was really excited.

I took off running to where he had fell and rolled a little ways down the hill. When I got there, he was no where to be found. My dad and I searched all over the woods for that turkey and never did find him.

We just believe he got up and took off running.

So always remember that turkeys are some TOUGH birds.

My dad and I hunted Saturday morning without any luck.  We had seen turkeys, but they just didn’t  come close enough. Patience was the word of the day.

That afternoon was a different story.  We went back to the same area we had gone before. But this time, the turkeys were already in the field.  We decided to set up our hunt where we thought they were to roost.  Patience again.  After watching them for a couple of hours, they finally started moving towards us.

Then they turned.  And went into the woods in a different place than we had hoped.  Still we waited.  An hour went by when I heard something running toward me. My view was blocked by a fallen pine tree.  Still hearing the approach, I looked under the tree and could see the legs of a turkey – but wasn’t sure if it was a hen or a gobbler. Then it finally came into view I could see ’s beard and it wasn’t alone – with it was a few more gobblers and hens.

As luck would have it, my view was also blocked by the stump I had been resting my feet on.  Trying to look around it and not be seen by the turkeys, I could hear one of the putting – about 5 feet in front of me.  The other gobbler was right between the stump and the pine and I could see him perfectly. When the other one started putting I pulled my gun around squeezed the trigger. The Beretta Xtrema 2 with the Remington Nitro Mag shells and the Primos Jelly Head choke put the trophy long beard on the ground.

Needless to say, it was a good day.  And I know exactly what will be on the table this Easter dinner!

What is a choke tube?  It is simply a device that restricts, or tightens, the pattern of the BB’s that come out of a shotgun.

• Full choke -Full chokes are most commonly used for turkey hunting. The reason for this is that a full choke holds a tight pattern with your shotgun.  A turkey’s head is small so a tight pattern means more hits.
• Modified choke- A modified choke is the most common of all choke tubes because it holds a medium pattern  and is used as an all purpose choke for many hunting situations.  I use this for almost all of my hunts, except turkey. Most guns come with this type of choke.
• Cylinder and Improved Cylinder- This choke restricts a pattern very little after it leaves the barrel. This choke is mainly used by beginners that aren’t a very good shot and by trap shooters who don’t want to spend a lot of money on trap chokes.

I found a good video that describes types of choke tubes and the reasons for choosing one over another.  I hope you find it as informational as I did.

Turkey hunting is right around the corner, now is the time to start preparing your gear!!