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In the Turkey Woods 2012: More Weirdness

Missouri turkey

The spurless gobbler provided a great Missouri hunt.

The second leg of my 2012 Missouri trip was near Sheridan, Mo, with Tails of the Hunt Outfitters for the first-ever Turkey & Turkey Hunting/Tails of the Hunt Turkey Camp. And the weather finally broke.

The first morning, co-owner Aaron Volkmar and I struck a hot turkey at about 9:30 a.m. A quick move put us in position near a fence line, and the gobbler was already on his way — directly in front of us and closing fast. So why did I hear drumming behind me?

The answer soon became evident. Another gobbler had sneaked in for a look, and the turkeys met in the middle of the field. I managed to turn to the left and shoot the interloping bird.

That’s when things got interesting: The bird had no spurs. He was a mature gobbler — at least 3, judging from his beard fiber tips — but he’d never grown any spurs. Only the tiny caps were evident.

Spurs or not, he was a heck of a trophy from a great hunt. And with my Missouri season finished, I switched my focus to helping Volkmar and co-owner Mike Humpal get a bird for camp attendee Dr. Richard Dannenberg.

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