The long road out. The most bittersweet walk I know is that long walk back to the truck on the last day of turkey season. I hunt with friends and family a good bit, but I reserve the first and last days of the season solely for myself.
Opening day purely for selfish reasons. I want to take advantage of all the preseason scouting and work I’ve put in. The last day is also for selfish reasons but it’s so I can take my time giving thanks for the past season.
The last two years I have been privileged to end my season well into the month of May instead of the last day of April here in South Carolina. That has meant traveling 2,600 miles to Idaho, but if you are a turkey hunter, you can understand doing whatever is necessary to extend your season. I have been turkey hunting for over 30 years.
In those three decades I think I have killed a turkey on the last day exactly three times. While I always go with the idea of calling up and shooting a turkey, experience has shown me that the odds aren’t in my favor. That’s OK because as I have gotten older, it truly has become more about the experience than the kill.
Don’t get me wrong, if I get the opportunity to shoot a turkey on the last day, then I fully intend to do so, but I also look forward to that last walk out. Wes Murphy This year I went to a little meadow where I shot a turkey on my last hunt of last year. I came close this year on the next-to-last day when I called a bird up to 35 yards but never got a clean shot when .
