Is there a harder game animal to harvest than a wild turkey? None that I know of. I've heard it said time and again that if a turkey could smell you, you'd never be able to kill one.

I marvel at the stories of the people who harvest turkeys on their first hunts. I read a story on the Buckmasters website the other day about two young ladies who each harvested mature toms at the same time, out of the same blind, on their first trip to the woods. This story made me shake my head almost in disbelief. 

To illustrate my thoughts you need to travel back to the 1980s when the movie "The Karate Kid" was released.
 
In the movie, Daniel-san, played by Ralph Macchio, walks into the home of Mr. Miyagi, played by Pat Morita. Mr. Miyagi is sitting there on the floor by a table. In Miyagi's hand is a pair of chopsticks, and Daniel-san watches him try to catch a house fly with the eating utensil.

Viewers learn that Miyagi has been trying to catch a fly with his chopsticks his entire life. The martial arts master reveals to Daniel that if a man catches a fly with chopsticks then he can accomplish anything.

At this point, one should realize that we are watching a movie, and we have been set up to see Daniel-san catch a fly, thereby signaling that he can accomplish anything and that he will indeed be the hero in the end.

Sure enough, in his fifth or sixth attempt EVER, Daniel-san catches the fly. Mr. Miyagi stands, gives Daniel-san an indignant look and spouts out a smug compliment, "Beginner's luck."

If the scene were real, Daniel-san would have had a chopstick lodged into his forehead. Alas, it was a movie, and a chopstick lodged into the star's cranium has the potential of squelching sequels and putting lucrative merchandizing agreements on ice.

Of course, I do not really want to do any harm to these two lucky young ladies, quite the contrary. I'd like to congratulate them and tell them to savor that experience, and hold it near and dear! Because of their incredibly good fortune, it might seem to them that taking a big ol' tom is easy. In reality, the opportunity to get a shot off at a nice tom can be few and far between.

Additionally, these ladies need to buy a lottery ticket, because they are definitely living under a lucky star!

-- J.D.