Traditional
I had the pleasure of a “traditional” turkey hunting trip this spring courtesy of Joe Hollingshad with Devil’s Backbone Outfitters (http://WWW.dbwo.net/) located in
I was the only non-traditional hunter at camp with camouflage clothes, turkey hunting vest, and trusty Winchester Super-X 12 gauge shot gun. Regardless of my hunting style, both Joe (in Western Outfitter attire above left) and good friend Phil Busicco (in Eastern Long Hunter attire above right) welcomed me with open arms. I soon learned that Phil was an American History buff, custom gun builder, and all around good guy. More on Phil’s hand made muzzle loading gun collection below.
The first day of hunting had Joe and me scouting and moving for toms while Phil was set up on an open field near base camp. We soon heard the early sounds of gobbling on the roost as the owls arose the toms and the hens became more active. We heard the wing sound of the big tom we were set up on leaving the roost to start his day. Joe was using soft purrs and clucks on his slate call to keep this tom interested and hopefully heading our way. We heard the tom moving along the ridge below us accompanied by a hen and Jake. We tried to entice this big tom to come our way, but he was content to stay with the birds he already had. We then heard another gobble close by, and decided to move onto that bird.
On the slow walk over to our next area, Joe said he thought this bird was probably a Jake, but only time would tell. Joe had me sit next to a tree above a ridge line with now two toms below us. A few clucks and minutes later, I saw two blue headed turkeys slowing making their way towards me. As the one tom stuck his head over the ridge line, I decided not to wait to determine beard length and took the shot. Although this turkey turned out to be a Jake, I was still thrilled by the pursuit, gentle calling by Joe, and ultimately the kill shot. An experience I will always remember in my early turkey hunting years. I cannot say enough about the knowledge and experience Joe brings with turkey hunting. He has been pursuing this creature for many years, and has much insight that is passionately shared during the hunt and time spent back at base camp.
When we arrived back at base camp that same morning, Phil was already there. We heard one shot around 7:00 am that day near by, but not sure it was from Phil’s gun. Phil was all smiles when he explained that hens were in the field early morning, soon followed by a decent size tom. As Phil explains the shot, he was laying flat on the ground as not to be seen by the turkeys in the field, and did not notice the log on the ground between him and the tom that took the brunt of his shot. We all agreed that this will not be the last turkey that any of us will miss in our life times, and will try again tomorrow.
As seen above, Phil has crafted five muzzle loaders from scratch, including all the intricate details. From top to bottom, the first gun is a muzzle loader American Flint Lock Fowler. This same gun fired the #5 shot that ultimately found a laying log instead of the tom as described above. The next gun down is a 50 caliber Pennsylvania Flint Lock, Isaac Haynes style. Next is a 32 caliber Bean Style
If you are looking for something out of the ordinary, back to basics, “traditional” style hunting for your next turkey or deer muzzle loading season, I suggest you contact Devil’s Backbone Outfitters and arrange such a trip. There is nothing like sleeping outdoors and keeping things simple to fully enjoy your hunting experience
