Unbelievable redemption!

So, I don't know if many remember, but I missed/gimped 4 turkeys two years ago when my fastfire got off. One of them was a big field turkey that I found out with a bunch of hens one day. He was a big bodied swamp bird that I showed a fan and gobbled at from about 200 yards and he basically ran all the way to 20 yards and stopped to start strutting and sorta draw the line in the sand for me entering his field. I shot him in strut going left to right and he turned away (sorta quartering away if we were talking about a deer) at the last split second and with my Fastfire being low and a little left....I didnt hit his head but instead blew a bunch of feathers and meat out of his breast via what appeared to be a glancing blow that knocked him down and he got up and ran off while I missed him twice and tried to run him down to no avail.

Fast forward to this morning. I have been seeing a turkey in the exact same field with a wad of hens, then down to 4, then 2, then 1, and then this morning I caught him out there alone and gobbling after taking the kids to school. I had a fantastic hunt with him and eventually killed him after calling him up twice to the edge of the woods. When I cleaned him, the first thing I noticed is that there was a huge piece of meat missing from his right breast where you could feel his breast bone. There was a ton of scar tissue too. Further inspection found lots of embedded feathers/wounds that were healed over. Long story short, with all factors considered including seeing him strut out there two days after I shot him two years ago....I believe with all I am that it was him that I killed today.

Congrats Jughead!

That is cool. Congrats!

Congrats

Congrats,, Chad!

Ole black spur!

Congrats!

Congrats! That was redemption if it's the same bird. Considering the factors it probably is.

By the looks of his wings, that joker must have lived in full strut! Congrats on a great bird!!

Prolly him, congrats

Congrats on a great bird!

That's pretty cool, and a real nice bird to boot. Congrats!

Congrats Chad.

You missed/gimped 4 turkeys? I didn't realize BrentM called that many turkeys in for you that year.

Fairly certain to be the same bird.

You do know feathers get imbedded from the current shot.

Some of those pics with the feathers look pretty "fresh" to me.


Regardless, congrats on a fine bird!

May there be many more killed!

God Bless,
David B.

Congrats on the second chance! A turkey can survive a hard hit to the breast, it's like his armor.

Awesome, congrats!

Congratulations!

Congrats on a great bird!

I been telling LUMPY about that one or his buddy several times lately on my route, glad to hear you got him!!

I thought the opposite, I would have guessed the embedded feathers were from an old wound as there is no fresh blood or bloodshot around the feathers.

Either way, congrats on a great bird!!!!

Congrats Chad

Congrats

Congrats again pal.

Congrats on uglying one to death! Fine bird!

Congrats

Correct sir. None of the embedded feathers are fresh. There was no bloodshot at all (and I have never seen a fresh shot wound in the breast that didn't have bloodshot around it when you peel the hide back...see the pic while the breast is still on the bird). Further, there were no fresh wound channels at all. Though a couple of the feathers look "fresh", it was because I took a toothpick and attempted to pull them to the surface a little for taking photographs. They were all totally healed over and underneath the surface of the breast. There is certainly no way to guarantee the present damage was done by me in the past, but I can pretty much guarantee to you that none of it was done by my shot yesterday. Where the bird was shot, the shot angle, how close he was, no wound channels or bloodshot, no TSS remaining in the bird (which a glancing blow that only hit meat and feathers certainly wouldn't stop TSS in the bird), etc. all point to two totally different incidents. Though there is certainly no way to prove it, I will always believe it is the same bird. Way too much correlation to not be!

Congrats on evening the score.

congrats!! turkeys are tough birds

Congrats Chad I'm glad you got him!

Pretty cool. Congrats!

Awesome!! Good job!! Really nice Spurs!

Amazing he survived. I've killed a couple with ganegrene in their breast. Congrats!

Good bird and better story! Congrats! Dr. B

Great bird and story...

Glad you were able to complete some unfinished business.

The chance to finish unfinished bidness is rare indeed

Congratulations

Congrats again buddy!

Have no idea if its the same bird, but a good story, anyway! A buddy killed one when we were in college that had almost no breast left. Looked like a rifle had taken it out. It was completely healed and feathered over. Been too long ago tho to remember what the meat looked like.