"The last thing that turkey will see is me screaming at him at about 900 feet per second!"

The following was posted by Greg Gilbert on the 9Marks blog.  I LOVE IT!!


When he dies, Clem Parnell expects his soul to ascent heavenward.  He wants his ashes to be loaded into a shotgun shell and blasted at a turkey.

"I will rest in peace knowing that the last thing that turkey will see is me screaming at him at about 900 feet per second," Parnell said.

Parnell and his business partner, fellow Alabama state game warden Thad Holmes, believe other hunters have similar hankerings.  This summer, they launched Holy Smoke LLC, which offers to load the cremains of customers into shotgun shells, rifle cartridges, and bullets.

For about $850, a customer wil receive 250 shotgun shells, 100 rifle cartridges or 250 pistol cartridges packed with the deceased's ashes.  Discounts are available for the military, police, and firemen.

After most funeral rites, scattered remains become trodden dirt; gravesites go unvisited; and ash-filled urns sit unnoticed, Holmes said.  Loading up a loved one for one final duck hunt would be a more fitting send-off, he insisted, especially for an avid outdoorsman.

"We want to give people an alternative to celebrate a person's life," he said.

Holy Smoke insists that remains are handled reverently by a team of ATF-trained loaders.  There is no commingling of ashes, and unused cremains are returned.  Parnell, a Southern Baptist, said all seven Holy Smoke employees are "good Christians, with good moral values."

"Just because you're getting shot out of a gun doesn't make it irreverent," Holmes assured.