Why shoot a turkey if you can just tackle it?

January 23, 2012 by John McCoy

A few weeks ago I got a letter from one of my readers. Robert J. Brown of Rosedale, W.Va., is obviously a pretty spry 78-year-old. He tells in the letter how he managed, on two separate occasions several years apart, to catch a wild turkey. Not kill, catch. Here’s Mr. Brown’s letter:

Mr. McCoy,

I would like to know how many wild turkeys have been caught on the ground by hand. I have caught two in my lifetime.

Several years ago, a flock was trying to get through a woven wire fence and I cornered one in the corner of the fence.

About a month ago, I went up the hill on my tractor to check my cattle and saw a turkey trying to get through the fence. They usually fly over the fence or run along it. [This one would] back off and keep lunging to get through the same place.

I am 78 years old and don’t get around too good, but was able to get off the tractor and get hold of [the turkey].

I am not much of a hunter and don’t hunt anymore, and I don’t remember if I ever did kill a turkey with a gun.

That’s OK, Mr. Brown. You seem to do just fine without a gun.

Comments

This entry was posted on Monday, January 23, 2012 at 12:01 am and is filed under News of the Weird, West Virginia, Wildlife. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Why shoot a turkey if you can just tackle it?”

WVBowhunter says:

January 23, 2012 at 6:59 am

Well I’ve run down a couple of deer (fawns) in my younger days, and caught a robin when I was two, but the turkey – nope not me
Greg says:

January 23, 2012 at 11:08 am

I have tried and caught one turkey and it was suprisingly easy. Turned the turkey loose and kept a tail feather. I have never shot a turkey however.
Andy says:

January 26, 2012 at 5:45 pm

I caught a small doe one time. It was after the big snow in January 96 and I found it in the fenced in side yard eating my rhododendrons and I thought I would teach it a lesson. I ran screaming off the porch and it took off but because of the deep snow it couldn’t jump the fence. It turned all confused and ran straight at me. I said, “I’ll teach you a lesson you’ll never forget” and tackled it. Just as I grabbed on she twisted her hind quarters and gave me a swift kick in the “you know what”. At that moment I also said to myself, “maybe that’s why cougars jump on their back”. Luckily I had a thick coat on and no harm was done to me. Not sure if the deer learned her lesson, but I sure did.