Just in the “Stick” of time
I was in the blind and my hunting companion Dave was setting out decoys when a bird gobbled about 250 yards away. It was after 10 o’clock in the morning and this eager Tom was looking for a hen to hook up with as we quickly got set up inside the permanent blind. I was almost ready to make my first call, all I needed were my shells and my trigger pull. I asked Dave for my fanny pack which contained these items, and he replied “I don’t see it, we must have left it in the van.” The shells were no problem because Dave had some extras with him, the trigger pull was another story however. Seven and a half years earlier a fall from a treestand had left me wheelchair bound as a C-6 quadriplegic. Being paralyzed from the chest down and unable to move my fingers, the need for an adaptive trigger pulling device at this moment was of the utmost importance.
This morning’s hunt had started out with us going to another site before daylight. Upon arrival we found that the light shower of rain during the night would prevent my adapted 2-wheel drive van from making it up a slight incline in the pasture field we had intended to hunt. Some quick thinking and a 20 minute drive had us at another farm just after first light. A couple of birds revealed their roosting locations but refused to answer any of our hen talk. Around 9 o’clock a light rain started to fall. With an ominous cloud floating in the background, my hunting partner and I decided to pack it in before getting wet. It appeared our day of hunting was over. During the drive home the rain dissipated and blue skies appeared so I suggested that we try a spot on my family’s farm just to finish out the morning. Arriving home I switched from my van to my VENTRAC so I could get to the backside of our farm. The VENTRAC is a wheelchair accessible ATV type machine that I use constantly on the farm. This machine allows me to get to places I would otherwise never see from a wheelchair.
Back to the hunt. With the turkey gobbling, Dave offered to walk the nearly one mile trek back to the van to retrieve the fanny pack and its invaluable contents. Time was running short so I said we should just improvise. That was all it took to start the wheels turning in Dave’s head. A woodworker by trade, and a friend of 20 some years, he was thrilled at the idea of doing a little tinkering and having to do it with the pressure of a lovesick gobbler nearby and looking for a mate.
With me having no finger use we needed something with which I could hook over the trigger and allow me to pull. Behind us was a huge rock with pine and cedar limbs placed on and beside it for added background cover. We spied a forked pine branch about finger size lying in the laps. The bird gobbled again as if suggesting that we should hurry. Dave had his pocket knife out and was already trimming away. The fork in the branch needed only some minor carving to make it curved to better fit the trigger of my A-5 Browning.
I use fingerless leather push gloves to help me propel my chair so I undid the Velcro that secured the glove on my right hand and slid the stick underneath with hopes that once the glove was re-tightened I would be able to apply enough pressure to pull the trigger. Well my gloves were old and worn and after some trial pulls to determine if I could apply the pressure needed to activate the trigger I knew that we still had work to do. We needed something to anchor the tail end of the stick to my wrist to keep it from slipping. This would enable me to take the slack out of the trigger and still hold steady aim.
Another gobble from the same area, but how long would he stay there without some encouragement. I spied the remnants of some Army surplus netting still hanging on the outside of the log blind after being placed there years ago. Dave found some string in this material. After carving a notch in the tail end of the stick for the cord to lay in he was able to secure the new trigger pull to my wrist. After a few more practice pulls it seemed sturdy enough so I decided it was time to invite Mr. Tom over for a visit. Some cutting followed by a few yelps on my homemade tube call was answered immediately. Not only did the gobbler we had been listening to respond, but another bird directly above our location gobbled as well. Two gobblers close by, it seemed our little engineering project had gone unnoticed by our feathered friends. Some more cutting was answered by another gobble with the first Tom having cut the distance between us in half. Four red heads then appeared in an opening above us. Jakes. Not the adult gobbler we were looking for. The 4 juvenile birds milled about momentarily then quickly went to where the other bird had last gobbled. All of a sudden the woods came alive with turkey talk.
Yelps, clucks, cutting and more gobbling filled the air. It sounded as if the birds had met up with hens. This could put a damper on our chances of seeing the longbeard and thus our makeshift woodworking project could be all for naught. Meanwhile Dave had slid to the ground so there would be one less person for the turkeys to catch a glimpse of just in case they did come in. A stillness came over the woods, it was almost too quiet. Red heads appeared again and I told Dave that the jakes were coming back so maybe we would at least get to see a little show. I started counting heads 3, 4, wait a minute, there’s 5, 6 birds coming towards us. A quick glance through the scope on my shotgun showed 2 longbeards leading the 4 Jakes at about 100 yards and closing.
At 50 yards the 2 mature birds started strutting. I told Dave to get ready for some action. I also told him that if I said “now” he should make a few loud clucks to get the bird I wanted out of strut. The adult gobblers, now in full display, waded right into the middle of our decoys with the 4 jakes close behind. The birds were well within range but looking through the scope there were too many heads in the picture. I could only watch for now. Lots of strutting ensued and finally the birds separated, the dominant bird was clear. It was time to test out our little invention. Having taken the safety off while the birds were just beyond the decoys, I now placed the stick on the trigger while keeping the strutting Tom in the scope. I whispered to Dave “now”. He clucked and up went the gobblers head, the A-5 then barked and spit out a load of Winchester # 6’s. The birds took to the air, all except one that is. After a minor celebration Dave retrieved my… I mean our prize.
It has been said that “Necessity is the mother of all inventions.” and “The hunt is more exciting than the kill.” After this mornings adventure, Dave and I can surely attest to that.
Here’s the device I normally use to pull the trigger.
Here’s the adapted piece of pine limb I used. It still hangs on my “turkey wall” today.
Here it is just as it was attached to my arm and hand that morning.
