Turkey Beating
byM. Wilson

We didn't have turkeys around here until i was about 16 or 17, so most hunters didn't know much about it. The first or second season, my buddy goes out with his fancy over and under (probably not even shooting a turkey load) and pops this tom. He was under-gunned and, more than likely, the shot was too far. He gets up to retrieve the bird and he flies off. Lesson learned by him.

So now we fast forward one season. He's determined not to make the same mistake. He shoots a bird, knocks it down, and watches it fly over a former strip pit (coal mine), now lake. The bird lands in a thick bush on the other side. He's wounded but certainly not dead. Well, anyone who's ever seen a strip pit knows how they are generally constructed. Some of them can run 1/4 mile long, or longer, and they're generally pretty narrow, maybe even 40-60 yards in parts, and they're VERY deep and steep. A lot of them are straight drop-offs on at least one side, if not both sides.

He decides he is NOT going to lose this bird, and the quickest way to the bird is not around the strip pit. So what does this rocket scientist do, he jumps in. Sure, it's early April and the water is probably 50-degrees but he's going to get that bird. Well, I guess he forgot about the steep bank part, because as soon as he's in he's over his head. He can't get the gun wet, so he holds the expensive, fancy over and under above his head with one hand, and doggie paddles with the other across the pit.