166 THE WILD TURKEY AND ITS HUNTING 



on the head or neck, the only mark for a shotgun 

 on a turkey. No. 6 is by all means the size shot 

 for this purpose; one barrel with No. 6 for the 

 head, the other No. 3 or 4 for the body, is the 

 proper thing. 



Wing shooting turkey is so out of line with 

 my idea of turkey hunting under any conditions 

 that I have little to offer in that respect. To 

 see a big, fine gobbler with his rich bronze plu- 

 mage all messed up by shot and grime, legs and 

 wings all broken and bloody, dangling about, is 

 a disgusting sight to the true turkey hunter. 

 The turkey is not built or in any way adapted to 

 being so shot, but there are men so nervous and 

 excitable that they cannot still-hunt turkeys. 

 Such men must be going all the time, and their 

 only chance is to scare up the birds and shoot 

 them on the wing. They are not of the stuff 

 that make good turkey hunters, and they will 

 never succeed, no matter how they try. They 

 have no patience to wait on the movement of a 

 turkey when coming to the call, but can sit 

 around a hotel all day spinning yarns, talking 

 politics, and perhaps playing cards all night. 



