A young hunter in Mississippi recently shot one of the wildest looking turkeys we've seen this season. On Sunday, March 9, Addilee Windom, a twelve-year-old from Bogue Chitto, tagged a silver-hued gobbler during an exciting hunt with her older brother.
Windom was hunting during Mississippi’s early youth season, which started on March 8. She shot her first tom of the season that Saturday while hunting her family’s property with her father. But it wasn’t until the next day that she encountered the truly unique silver bird.
On March 9, Windom went hunting with her 16-year-old brother Blayten, who helped call the turkey in for her. They’d seen the unusual bird on the property before—but so had other hunters on surrounding properties. They were hoping to encounter it during the season before anyone else did.
"We got out about 4 o'clock," Blayten told the Clarion Ledger. "We got back there and heard hens yelping. I thought, 'Well, if the hens are yelping, a gobbler's going to be there with them.’"
Blayten was right. Soon, 14 hens came out of the woods, and the silver gobbler followed hot on their heels. When the turkey came into range, Windom used her late grandfather’s single-shot 20-gauge to take it.
Windom admired her prize up close. “Oh, my gosh, he was so much prettier in person,” she said. "You could see the details. He had like little black markings on his tail. Those were real pretty."
Silver or “smoke phase” turkeys, like the one Windom shot, have a genetic disorder known as leucism, which is similar to but distinct from albinism. Leucism results in abnormal pigmentation of an animal’s skin, fur, or feathers.
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In a Facebook post, Windom’s father Vance said that his daughter’s turkey had a 7 ½ inch beard and weighed 19 pounds. “Unbelievable weekend for Addilee!” he wrote. “I am very proud of my kids. Blayten was the one that called the turkey up for his sister. I am extremely proud of him and of Addi for making a good shot. Congratulations baby girl on an unbelievable bird.”
