Barry Arrington, who coordinates an annual spring turkey excursion for disabled hunters each spring in Bedford County, sent in this shot of 79-year-old Harold Ford and his first-ever gobbler.
The hunt is an offering from Virginia's chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation's Wheelin' Sportsmen program.
Here's Barry's story about the hunt:
"The predawn hours of Saturday, April 26 were wet and foggy as we gathered for our 3rd annual Wheelin’ Sportsmen hunt. Five hunters and their guides spread out across Bedford County in search of Mr. Longbeard.
Daylight greeted most of the groups with very little gobbling on the roost. Three groups were able to eventually work birds later in the morning. Those three groups had birds close and two hunters even pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, one had failed to put a round in the chamber of his gun. The other gun did have a shell chambered and the load of Winchester # 5s found its mark.
The gun was mine, BUT… it was in the hands of Mr. Harold Ford.
At the age of 79, Mr. Ford was on his first ever spring gobbler hunt and I was proud that he was using the first shotgun that I had ever owned.
Mr. Ford is retired from the U. S. Navy and is one of the nicest gentlemen I have ever met. He has deer hunted with us for a couple years and last year he made the remark that he sure would like to shoot a turkey. I had him sign up for our Wheelin’ hunt a month or so ago but he told me he was having some heart trouble and would have to get the okay from his doctor before he could go.
His appointment was just five days before our hunt. I told him to let me know if the doctor said okay and we would fit him in.
"I’ll call you as soon as I get home from the doctor's office" he said. I got his call Tuesday afternoon and he said he was cleared to hunt but he did not have a shotgun. I told him to just show up and we would take care of him. Knowing he had only shot a rifle and muzzleloader, both with scopes, I thought he would be more comfortable with a scope on the shotgun. I had an extra scope so I ordered mounts and rings on Wednesday and a friend of mine sighted it in late Friday evening.
Around 9:30 Saturday morning two longbeards came strutting into their setup. Just inside 40 yards one of the birds stuck his head up sensing something wrong. Mr. Ford touched the trigger and the tom bowled over. The old gun still had it, severing the spine just below the head at 39 steps.
Afterwards I asked Mr. Ford what he thought of turkey hunting. "It’s addictive" he said."
Comments
[April 29, 2008 4:44 PM]
MoeWoW ... Harold,congrads on the Nice Bird and Nice shotgun too.....Keep up the good work...........Moe
[April 30, 2008 5:35 AM]
KikiAnybody can hunt turkeys in USA? Don't you protect them?
[April 30, 2008 8:59 AM]
Mark TaylorKiki,
Wild turkeys are carefully managed by state wildlife agencies, which set strict seasons and limits of how many a hunter can kill in a given season. The goal is to maintain a healthy turkey population while at the same time allowing hunting.
Under the management strategy, turkey populations have actually boomed in the past 30 years while hunter numbers have also boomed.
How can that be?
The vast majority of hunters (and fishermen) are avid conservationists because they know they wouldn't be able to continue doing what they love if there wasn't any game (or fish).
States also have restrictions on who is allowed to hunt, oftentimes requiring hunters to have completed mandatory safety training.
So that's a long way of saying, "no" not everybody can hunt turkeys, and "yes" they are protected.
Thanks for your interest.
mt
[April 30, 2008 1:36 PM]
AmazedUhhh..Kiki...ever hear of Thanksgiving? What planet are you from?
Amazed
[April 30, 2008 2:01 PM]
Mr. PA limited and restricted season, coupled with the proven success of wildlife management, aided by continued vitality studies conducted by fish and game agencies across the country....
Yes Kiki - the turkeys are protected...without these, we may have no birds at all.
[May 1, 2008 1:08 PM]
bowhunterHarold, Congrats on the longbeard. Thats great. Glad you had fun.
[May 4, 2008 1:57 AM]
KikiThanks so much for your info, there is no turkey in my country,it's illegal to hunt the protected animals ...so your life is totally new for me,it is very interesting, also your words are very beautiful... I've heard of Thanksgiving day, it is also called Turkey day, is that right...
Kiki
[May 6, 2008 5:01 PM]
randy : →http://ourcampsite.com/Congratulations thats one big bird you nabbed !