This past Wednesday, a friend I've known for a number of years through an organization we both belong to, walked me over his 20 acre property, showing me a half dozen ghog holes he's found. Today I drove there arriving about 2 pm. I picked a spot overlooking two of the holes using an old flatbed wagon as cover for me and the 17 HMR. I brought a folding chair and sat for about two hours glassing and dozing when my son called my cell phone.
While we are on the phone talking, I spot a ghog about 70 yds off to my left on the side of a hill. I tell him I'll call him back and get the scope on him. I'm using short bipods and 20 gr Hornady hollow points. For some reason the view through the scope is blurry, but I let the bullet fly and he drops. Afterh the shot I realize I forgot to take off my glasses. Duh! Not wanting to make too much of a disturbance I stay put, hoping the other two will appear.
I resume my glassing and day dreaming when I look off to my right and see a brown body in the grass and dirt flying in the air. Holy cow, this ones digging a new hole. I get the gun up and find it in the scope. Turns out to be a hen turkey taking a dirt bath. Never saw her walk in and I know she wasn't there when I walked in. Anyway, I amuse myself watching her on and off for about a half hour, periodically lifting myself up to view the one hole that is just down below my stand. Bingo, I see a head and a bit of shoulder. She's about 15 yards away facing to the left. Again, the gun comes up, the scope finds the target and the ghog drops with a bit of mist in the air.
And again, I decide to stay put hoping the other ghog on the hill across from me will make an appearance. It's now about 5 pm. At six I decide it's time to leave, take the obligatory pics and check out the other two holes I know about on the way back to my truck parked up by the house. On my way I look for another entrance/exit hole in the cedars above the hole of the one that did the no show, but find nothing.
I work my way up the hill to the crest of a ridge that I know will lead me to one of the holes. As I'm approaching I spot him in the grass, visible only by his silhouette. Within seconds he splits for his hole. I cautiously head in his direction and find him standing right by the hole. I bring up gun offhand and let him have it a 10 yds and he goes down immediately, tail offering his surrender. I take the pics and again start back to the truck.
As I'm walking, I'm looking to my left to where the last hole in this field is located. As I stear myself toward a pointed knowl for a better vantage point, reaching the pinnacle, I spot the ghog facing left with head and shoulder just visible in the green hay. Again, I bring the gun up for an offhand shot, but the gun is moving all over the place. I take a few breaths and try to settle down on my target @ 60 yds. The gun goes off, but I know I've shot high. I decide to take a look anyway, but alas a confirmed miss. This one will get another chance another day.
Here are two pictures each in the order of when I shot them. The first is the DRT and the second shows the sex. The last one also shows the enormous hole he dug at the base of a tree (not visible in the pic).
While we are on the phone talking, I spot a ghog about 70 yds off to my left on the side of a hill. I tell him I'll call him back and get the scope on him. I'm using short bipods and 20 gr Hornady hollow points. For some reason the view through the scope is blurry, but I let the bullet fly and he drops. Afterh the shot I realize I forgot to take off my glasses. Duh! Not wanting to make too much of a disturbance I stay put, hoping the other two will appear.
I resume my glassing and day dreaming when I look off to my right and see a brown body in the grass and dirt flying in the air. Holy cow, this ones digging a new hole. I get the gun up and find it in the scope. Turns out to be a hen turkey taking a dirt bath. Never saw her walk in and I know she wasn't there when I walked in. Anyway, I amuse myself watching her on and off for about a half hour, periodically lifting myself up to view the one hole that is just down below my stand. Bingo, I see a head and a bit of shoulder. She's about 15 yards away facing to the left. Again, the gun comes up, the scope finds the target and the ghog drops with a bit of mist in the air.
And again, I decide to stay put hoping the other ghog on the hill across from me will make an appearance. It's now about 5 pm. At six I decide it's time to leave, take the obligatory pics and check out the other two holes I know about on the way back to my truck parked up by the house. On my way I look for another entrance/exit hole in the cedars above the hole of the one that did the no show, but find nothing.
I work my way up the hill to the crest of a ridge that I know will lead me to one of the holes. As I'm approaching I spot him in the grass, visible only by his silhouette. Within seconds he splits for his hole. I cautiously head in his direction and find him standing right by the hole. I bring up gun offhand and let him have it a 10 yds and he goes down immediately, tail offering his surrender. I take the pics and again start back to the truck.
As I'm walking, I'm looking to my left to where the last hole in this field is located. As I stear myself toward a pointed knowl for a better vantage point, reaching the pinnacle, I spot the ghog facing left with head and shoulder just visible in the green hay. Again, I bring the gun up for an offhand shot, but the gun is moving all over the place. I take a few breaths and try to settle down on my target @ 60 yds. The gun goes off, but I know I've shot high. I decide to take a look anyway, but alas a confirmed miss. This one will get another chance another day.
Here are two pictures each in the order of when I shot them. The first is the DRT and the second shows the sex. The last one also shows the enormous hole he dug at the base of a tree (not visible in the pic).
