Friend asks me yesterday to help him get a spring gobbler on a place which neither of us had ever hunted before. Large farm near suburbs. Looked at Google Earth to identify likely set up spots and meet him at 3 pm. l have a tag open so it looks like a good spot. . Friend not physically able to run and gun so blind and decoys is only option. Picked likely spot on a woods lane through a fifty yard wide strip of woods separating two 50 -70 acres agriculture fields. Set up blind, and he hides truck. settle in and l make a hen series on the Cody. Five minutes later a big gobble maybe fifty yards away in the field behind our woods edge blind set up, which is fronted in one of the field edges by an avian x jake and two hens. Five more minutes and l see a big gobbler at twenty yards strutting straight to our decoys down the woods lane on left of blind. Tell friend to get the gun up, but please don't shoot the decoy. Bird wallops decoy for five minutes, and steps away , giving friend the shot opportunity. I say "shoot him now" and friends Benelli 12 gauge autoloader goes CLICK. The gun does not fire. Guy tries to quietly recycle shell as bird starts walking away, and pulls trigger to a second CLICK. Then he turns to me and says "kilt that bird I can't" I say "take my gun", he says " you kill him please"…..so I do, 870 gets shouldered and Boom, big gobbler down.
I quickly pick up bird and get it in the blind and we discuss the gun problem I have seen this identical problem happen while taking people shooting with a Benelli auto on five prior occasions while taking friends to kill a spring bird.: one guy three times in two days in Texas, and other times in Alabama and Georgia. Apparently the action on a benelii has to be slammed shut ( or closed forcefully ) to properly set the trigger . I don't know if that is the problem but that is what I am told.
Anyway fifteen minutes after picking up the bird, and thinking my buddy has his gun ready to go, I see two gobblers at two hundred yards out in open field in front of blind. A Cody series raise their heads, and they start marching our way side by side.. The larger one intermittently struts and walks and the younger gobbler just walks straight to us. . They gobble some but basically walk right in to the decoy and circle it. Friend now thinks his gun will fire and shoulders it on the larger bird. He Pulls trigger and CLICK again. At this point l hand him my gun and say "use this, put crosshairs on his neck and shoot the one on the right. " BOOM , this gun works!! down he goes. Really nice birds , "mine" was 21 plus, 10.5 paintbrush of a beard, and 1 3/8 spurs. His --1.25 spur and 10 inch beard, 19 pounds. Wild day.
Im sure some of the benelli shooters can say this issue is an aberration but I 've seen it enough to know l will stick with my 870 Wingmaster. This particular guy has duck hunted foe several years with the particular gun so I have no idea what the fix is. Might be Pilot Error only. Beyond me.
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Nice birds GN!