Dr. Roger Boughton of New Iberia smiles as he spreads feathers of turkey killed in Texas.

Roger Boughton, a veteran veterinarian who owns Iberia Animal Clinic, has killed many big turkeys with long beards in four decades or so of turkey hunting.

A 20- to 22-pound Rio Grande gobbler with a 10 1/2-inch beard and 1 ¼-inch spurs that Boughton downed with one shot April 22 near Harvey, Texas, means just as much to the all-around outdoorsman as the first one he killed 40 years ago in northern Mississippi and has mounted in a prominent place among the countless trophies inside his home in New Iberia.

“It’s like killing a deer. Whenever it doesn’t give me a thrill, I’ll quit hunting. It’s the same with turkey. It’s like hitting a home run,” Boughton said Friday afternoon. “I could look at 100 deer. When I see the 101st, it’ll be like the first one.”

Boughton was 9 years old and living in Mangham when he shot and killed his first deer while hunting with his father. He has lost count of the deer he has harvested in the 64 years since then. Ditto for the number of harvested turkeys, which over the test of time he has found to be very fickle and a very worthy quarry.

His most recent turkey hunt nine hours west of New Iberia in the hill country northwest of San Antonio was another one for the books for Boughton. He went with New Iberians Jerry Feller, a semi-retired carpenter, and Ken Luke, former owner of the Hardee’s in New Iberia, and hunted on land inherited by Feller.

Boughton really was perplexed while turkey hunting there on the morning of April 21. He’ll be the first one to tell you about the highs and lows of hunting turkeys in the spring when they’re gobbling around you and coming to you.

Two turkeys did make some noise that morning, his second day in the woods, and the pair never ventured closer than 200 yards.

“A couple gobblers were gobbling their heads off a couple hundred yards away,” he said.

Apparently, they had female turkeys with them, so they didn’t want to hear what he was saying with his turkey call. Those birds didn’t have to go looking for amour.

Boughton, who graduated from Texas A&M in 1965, served two years in the U.S. Army and moved to New Iberia in 1967, went again the next morning with no takers and returned to camp, where Feller mentioned there was a turkey behind the camp. The veterinarian went and set up in a deer stand about 1:30 p.m.

He was calling to no avail.

“I sat back there and couldn’t get anything to respond. Then here he comes like a statue. He didn’t make a sound. He walked up to my decoy, realized it was fake, and started walking off. I thought I’d better shoot and shot it in the head. I always shoot them in the head, even if they’re flying,” he said.

“I’m a pretty good shot with a shotgun. I’ve got the trophies to prove it. Not the best, but …,” he said.

Boughton shot it with a Browning Auto-5, a 12-gauge shotgun and 3-inch shell loaded with No.4 shot.

The 20- to 22-pound turkey with a 10 ½-inch beard will be mounted — its beard, feathers and spurs. The turkey hunter is paying for the taxidermy work for his granddaughter, who plans to put it in her home. Two weeks ago she gave him his first great-grandchild.

Boughton said he makes two or three hunts a year to the area around Harper, one for turkey, for sure, the other(s) for deer. He enjoys hunting the region, he said, noting it’s rare to get a cellphone signal.

“It’s so quiet, so peaceful. I love it out there,” he said.