I got up at 625 am had only one pip, now i have 2.. I am so excited..
Raz this pisses me off, wasted money and time that should be spent on maybe like a homicide.. or something that is indangering another citizen.. makes you wonder about our justice system.. I will be keeping you in my thoughts today..
Congratulations!! take some motrin its anti inflamatory.. will help you get your grasp back.. your going to miss your tom.. but i agree if you didnt take him.. some other animal would of..
Once again up at 4am and today's agenda is rather varied. Turkey hunting however is no longer an issue. Last night a large tom we have been calling Gimpy due to his rather unusual hop gait. He apparently had incurred an injury that made his walking reminiscent of the bouncing limp affected by Walter Brennan for the movie Rio Bravo and the TV show The Real McCoys.
Each time I would see him I was surprised that he hadn't be taken by a coyote. His ability to run was greatly impaired and while wild turkeys can take flight from a standing position their normal procedures is to run first to gain lift speed. Limping certainly hadn't impaired his ability to eat as he had grown to a very large size and watching him strut and display was always incredible.
David and I both had discussed him and felt that he would sooner or later fall victim to predators and that if he presented a target we would take him. Last night was the night. About an hour before sunset he strolled across the back yard headed for roost.
Hope spotted him and I hurried to get into position. Fortunately the position of my chicken coops allowed me to approach within 30 yards without being spotted. Standing behind my A-frame bantam coop I used the roof as a resting bench as I took my shot.
Concern for his being able to right himself and escape spurred me into action and I raced to him. Grasping one of his legs resulted in one of his spurs puncturing the ball of my right thumb in two spots, one quite deep. Bloodied but happy I carried him back to the house and immediately went to cleanse my wounds. After liberally purging the holes with peroxide and sealing them with liquid bandage I went back to dress my trophy.
Three days ago I had watched him spread his tail, dropped his wings, and perform his quivering dance for the attending hens. Beautiful to watch and I never tire of the maBgnificent display. He had certainly become an alpha tom.
I had planned to display this trophy in a method I devised many years ago. The base of the tail is cleaned and cured with borax as is the small amount of skin on the beard. The leg bones are cut 1/2" on each side of the spur. The marrow is cleaned out and the hollow filled with borax. The tail is pinned to a piece of cardboard ,in a spread position, and allowed to dry.
After a couple of weeks of drying I attach a wooden plaque over the tails base held in position by a few drops of hot glue. A matching board of 1/4 plywood with a hanger attached is place on the backside and a few screws hold it all together trapping the tail between them.
Prior to attaching the plaque to the tail I assemble the beard and spur display portion of the trophy. I remove the primer cap from the shotgun shell used to take the bird. I cut a thin lace of deerskin and both ends are threaded thru the hulls primer hole. The lacing extends about 10" below the shotgun shell. Next the lacing is threaded through the cleaned and peeled spurs. The next step is to hot glue the beard into the end of the shell casing. Once assembly it is attached to the plaque.
Gimpy will not be getting my normal treatment. While he does have an 11" beard and a 3" second beard, he only had two tail feathers. I'm pretty sure he must have had a real close encounter with a coyote. Still I will find some way to display and honor a beautiful bird.
Gimpy also has made me pay a price for taking him. The base of my thumb is extremely sore and I can't grasp anything with that hand.
