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Post your story, pics and measurements here
The Leaderboard will be periodically updated, showing the standing over the 5 week season.
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9 1/4 beard, 1inch spur, other spur broken off, 21.2 lbs
The story....
This is the first year in a long time that TurkeyWes wasn't with me for an opening morning, so I did miss the visiting and shenanigans, him moving to Scarborough and all, I really missed him when I had to tote the decoys and blind into my spot all on my own for the first time in years...
Set into the field I had been watching for a few weeks now....around 530 am...clear, but cold -4 Celsius when I went in....
Staked in my pop up blind, paced out the decoys, 15 steps/yards.... back into blind and get comfy...stool, shooting stick, tripod for phone (that I didn't use) and wait...
Close around dawn, 6ish where I was, I hear first gobbles across the field to my slight right. There's 2 of them...I sit tight and just listen, loads of geese, ducks around and making their noises, Killdeers as well too....
Gets to around 610-615 and I see movement in the field across from me, they're moving, along the treeline to my right....I let a few easy yelps drift their way, get a courtesy gobble, but they keep going to my right and blend into the woods, intermittent gobbling from then on...but sounds like just one....There were 2, one larger than the other and the first one definitely didn't want anything to do with the bird in the rear, I assume the boss I've been watching...
So I keep listening to them drift off, grab my phone to check time/temp and Facebook to see if any buds are getting birds....maybe another 10-15 minutes later, I see movement across the field again....A couple of hens and the boss is behind them this time, no need to gobble if you have hens right...?
So they're slowly moving my way and drop into a roll in the field....Then out pops the 2 hens but then 3 more appear, followed by the boss...still drifting my way...I let a couple of yelps go to see what's up....Well, I don't know if the yelps worked or they saw the decoys, but in a flash, the first 2 birds are running my way...they stop to my right in the standing corn I'm in with my blind, down the same row, thank God I packed the blind....They start milling around and then the other 3 follow suit and run to the same spot....Mr. Boss sees this and he runs my way as well....At this point I'm thinking I'm going to have to shoot out my right window, so I get the gun in position to let the 5s go....At the last minute, Boss must realize my strutter decoy looks too close to his girls, so he angles off to have visit....Now I'm slowly moving my gun from the right window back to the front and watch Boss strut up, spit and drum into the decoy spread...I don't know how TV guys hold the nerves not to shoot, but as soon as he came out of strut I let him have it....and the flop begins...Meanwhile the ladies that marked his doom come out to see what's up....and then move off as I get out of the blind to admire the fallen "Bully of the Berry Farm" Great hunt....
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Nice bird and great story John. Way to go!
very nice, good job. way better than mine nothing
Small Tom
3/4 spur
7.5 beard
Story
I set up on an area I'm not used to. Hopefully saving my normal property for Saturday.
The morning I called in a few Jake's and some hens but the gobblers stayed out at like 70 yards.
So I went back in the evening and set up down the path the took in the morning. I figured they would take a similar fence crossing.
I set up around 4 and started calling. Great responses today, a ton of gobbling.
Had 2 birds commit from across the 400 yard field. At around 50 yards the one hung up and the other continued into shooting range. Realistically I could have waited and had no decoys but it all worked out anyway.
Thanks
How do I post images lol
Nice bird and story John congrats. Hopefully Wes could get out with you soon.
Congrats on your bird hopefully you figure out how to post pics. Flicker seems to work.
Nice job fellas! It was a beautiful morning today…..at work….some nice Tom’s along the 407!
@WMay, you can send me your pics and I’ll post them, sent you a PM
Posting pics for WMay[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/rBnOzGq.jpeg[/IMG]
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After 2 days of hunting, we have 4 entries, and based on this morning's first time out, I'm winning my own contest (is that allowed????) - luckily, Thegeet was there to witness my first day luck, with a set-up near the roost, and some sweet calling that sounded better to this recently deceased tom than the 2 local hens that were trying to tell him it was too good to be true.....done except for the flapping at 6:17am
10.5" beard and 1-1/8" spurs, nice bird
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2024 Leaderboard
1 Lenny 43.5
2 TurkeyJohn 38.5
3 Coonhound 34.5
4 Wmay 30
Geez lenny, thats a nice bird!
Good job.
Sorry i missed your post Wmay.
Good job! You outsmarted that gobbler. I find the evening is a tougher hunt because the birds just want to roost and aren’t enticed by the decoy or calling as much. At least in my area thats the way it is.
Nice bird Lenny and great pic. Congrats
9" Beard
7/8" spur
Shotgun
Not a big bird but first one of the year.
Story-
Contemplated whether or not to go out Saturday morning because of the rain and wind forecasted. I read an article by Steve Rinella on his Meat Eater website about hunting turkeys in wind and rain and it convinced me to get out Saturday morning. The gist of the article says you have very limited time to hunt turkeys in the spring and limiting yourself to days when there is nice weather is not smart. So I decided to head out and sit in the blind and wait for a small break in the rain around 11 am to walk back out.
Decoys setup and in the blind by 4:45 am. Tims kept me warm and blueberry muffin kept my stomach from giving away my position. Gobbling started around 5:50 am, 3 different directions so I had confidence in at least spotting a gobbler. A couple of soft clucks and yelps yielded very little response. Heard the fly down from one direction but that group sauntered off into the cedars away from my position. Then it was mostly silence. I started panic calling to muster a response but it was dead silent. So I figure If they aren't vocal then I won't be and see if they stroll by the field I have set up on and patterned on my game cams. Luckily the Cabelas blind kept the rain off me so it was pretty comfortable. Bored until 9 am where 2 black dots moving in the bushline across the field caught my attention. Some soft calling and up the hill these 2 jakes come towards my setup. Not a peep out of any of them. The one Jake walked right into my decoy setup and the other guy hung back around 50 yards out. I decided I wasn't going to shoot these guys because they were just small guys. So I decided to enjoy the show. The 2 jakes partnered back up and started walking away when they quickly did a 180 and started walking back. I look to my left and 2 hens had walked into range heading towards my decoys as the 2 Jake's were. Then I look to my right and 2 more hens start walking into my setup. So now I have 6 turkey's mingling in and amongst my decoys and I am enjoying the show. Not a peep out of any of them. I pick the phone up to try and get some video when all of a sudden there is a thunder of wings flapping behind me and crashing through the branches to my left. In an instant this Tom comes crashing through the tree line mid flight, flies over my strutting Tom decoy and he kicks it flying over it and lands 5 ft in front of him. Quickly pulls a 180, goes into full strut and drops his wings. By some miracle I had my shotgun in my hands and shouldered by the time he was strutting towards my Tom decoy. No time to decide whether or not to take him I shot and down he went. Tom down and my strutting decoy has a couple holes in it now.
The surprising part, the 2 Jake's and 4 hens didn't run off. They hung around for a good 5-10 mins before slowly sauntering off in different directions. I have never witnessed that before, after the shotgun blast they normally run away but they didn't.
Filled out my tag, cleaned up and headed home. Weighed in at 21 lbs (using my fish scale). Took all my pics and processed the meat. I have never had a beard on a Tom so scraggly , it was a chore to try and hold it straight and get the length in a pic. 9" down to the strand. Pretty pathetic beard if you ask me. Also the spur is just under 1", the camera wasn't cooperative.
Still got my second tag I am saving for the monster Tom I have been seeing for the last 2 years. He is huge, I hope to see him in front of the end of my barrel this season. See pics for a game cam pic of him, doesn't do him justice as he is huge in person. Also, had a black bear stroll past my blind just a couple of hours before I headed in.
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Congrats on a great hunt! You just don't know when or how its going to happen.
yes that is a great bird! good job Lenny!
Great story and bird Jerry… spooky bears going by just before you did, bears are a hard nay, nay…
TurkeyJohn
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Great bird Lenny, showing us how it’s done!! Congratulations…
TJ
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Congratulations Jerry, thats a nice bird.
Congrats Guys
Was contemplating going out this morning butb the rain held me off.
So decided I would give it a try this afternoon on a new property I just got permission on and leave the farm for a few days that my friend got his new bird on opening day.
Took the ATV from my house to the farm which is only 1/12KMs away and drove thru the plowed corn field and into the bush.
Parked the bike and walked in about 100Yds and set the decoys up, walked back to my try just in the bush got comfortable and started soft purrs and a couple of yelps and almost within 20 seconds I see a hen come to the left of me and then another and then a nice jake. Started with soft purrs again but the hens didn't want anything to do with my calls but the jake turn around and started coming toward me, kept up with soft purrs and he started running into the decoys, he started circling the hen and I gave him a yelp raised his head and boom down he went, not a big bird has to be the fastest hunt I ever had.
4-1/4" beard, 5/16" spur and weighed 20lbs 4oz, check out the tail fan on this jake no middle feathers sticking like a jake usually has and the beard was really thick, I almost thought it was a tom with a rotten beard but the short spurs tells me it's a jake, not sure, if any one else has any thoughts on this let me know.
Lenny I will send you the picture shortly
Good going articcat. Thats a heavy bird for a jake isn’t it, or are they usually that weight?
Thanks bud.Quote:
Originally Posted by Markster
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Thank you sir.Quote:
Originally Posted by Turkeyjohn
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I'm thinking by the description more likely a really young tom. In any case good hunt and a great tasting bird.Quote:
Originally Posted by Articcat
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TurkeyWes on the board with this awesome Tom...9 inch beard, 3/4 spurs, 19.2 lbs....
Story...
So with the Wes in Scarborough now, we don't expect to get out much this season so had to make the most of our time....He was feeling a little under the weather, but needed to get out for some gunpowder aromatherapy...
We set up in a honey hole that I've hunted for years and in fact Wes and I doubled in a few years ago....and it didn't disappoint...
The weather was forecasting rain when we went to bed, but other than some clouds and wind, there was none... It's a little drive from home, so Wes playing some Walt Gabbard Longbeards, we head out at 4 dark 15.....getting there just before 5....A walk in and we set up where we had heard from another guy that hunts the property that he's seen birds at....We no sooner get sat down, but a bird starts sounding off in front and to the left in the woodline next to the field we were set on....This goes on for a while , him blasting off every 3-4 minutes, and not long before we hear 2-3 other birds chiming in....so we wait, we have a hen and 1/4 jake decoys out in front at 18 steps a few soft yelps every 10 minutes and we wait.....
So it's getting lighter and the woods are still noisy....Wes looks past me and says "Dad, don't move, one just flew down" Sure enough I can see through the brush a Tom headed our way, going into strut and gobbling as he's coming....He gets to our pre-determined range and Wes' gun barks, the bird pops up, so he barks again and down he goes in a tumble....
High fives back and forth, Wes goes to retrieve his bird and I sit back taking it all in, not knowing when I'll get out again with the boy and hoping it's not the last for the spring....
Turkey John
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Way to go Wes!! Showing the old man how its done!
Congrats Wes, keep it up
Thanks Markster, still not sure if it's a jake or possibly a young Tom,
Got a young bird this morning with my shotgun.
18.77 pounds
10 ½ inch beard
short spurs: 15/16 and 7/8 inches
Went out opening morning, but no birds in the wheat field that I set up in south of the main bush. However, when leaving, I drove around the farm and saw a flock in the wheat field north of the main bush, and watched them walk into the smaller woods in the NW corner of the wheat field.
So yesterday morning I set up before first light along the NW edge of that field. And they had changed roosts to the south end of those woods, and I spent an hour watching 4 hens and a tom slowly feed across the south side of the wheat field over 150 yards away from me.
This morning I went back and set up before first light along the SW side of that field just 50 yards north of the south edge of the wheat field. Shortly after it started getting light I had gobbles erupt just over my right shoulder not more than 40 yards away! He gobbled for over 20 minutes, then flew down into the wheat field just 30 yards from me...game over! However, I don’t think it was the same tom that I saw yesterday - no hens with him, and he didn’t have the real white head that I observed on the tom yesterday.
I had to be the easiest turkey I have bagged in many years!
All measurements taken at Erie Tracker Outfitter store in Pt. Colborne
Sorry about the quality of the pics - they looked clear on the screen of my little camera...and for some reason it won't upload my beard photo!! Even tried adding a second post with the beard photo, but won't insert!
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Way to go Gene. Nice bird.
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Wes’ tag…
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Congratulations Gene, great story…Quote:
Originally Posted by genec
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Congrats on all the nice birds guys.
Congrats on the nice tom
Eventful season so far. I finally ended my two year slump on the opener with a nice heavy Jake, almost 19 pounds. No gobbling which didn’t feel right at all but with some patience around 8:30 am 13 hens come out of the bush followed by one Tom. That Tom did not make a sound and now I know why lol In the distance I see a bird running at me and stop at 30 yards staring at my decoys for 30 minutes and didn’t move. The Tom wasn’t moving so I couldn’t resist on the Jake. Either way I was happy and that’s all that matters. Next day I take the land owners son out and the gobblers were gobbling but none wanted to play just all talk, but again by 8:30 a Jake was alone and came in on a string bird down for the landowners son. Saturday went fishing with some trout caught followed by a hunt on Sunday with some friends on his uncles property. Accidentally we set up pretty close to a roost and with a lot of luck we didn’t get seen. Tom flies down at 6:30 and bird down for my buddy. Since it was early we decided to keep hunting and try to get or other friend on his first bird. To make along story short we had a nice Tom leave his hens at 9 am and my friend swung and missed his first bird. Regardless it was a great hunt but I do feel bad for my friend it has happened to the best of us. Attachment 44807
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Wow, thats alot of action. Way to go Tom.
Good on you taking the landowners son out for a hunt!
I live for days in the bush with my sons. Congrats!Quote:
Originally Posted by Turkeyjohn
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Congrats Tom Gobble and to your friend and owners son
Right on Dan/Tom Gobble.. great story and pic..
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Bird number 2 for the year and a rare one at that.
Got out with the youngster today. Dragged him out of bed at 4am said he didn't want to lug his crossbow out but he would come for the hunt and do some calling for me. Works for me, I love spending time in the field with the kid.
Decoys out and sitting in the blind by 5am. First gobbles started at 530am. A bunch across the field then one distinct loud one to the left of the blind. He must have been the big guy I have been seeing the last couple of years because it was a lonely gobbler with a bunch of hens clucking near him. The group of gobblers across the field didn't have any hens with them. Fly down around 545am, 2 distinct groups, Tom with his harem to the left and 4 Jakes out front. Johnny let out a few soft clucks and purrs got the Jakes riled up, the Tom couldn't care less, he took off into the bush with his harem.
The 4 Jakes were hot to trot. As soon as the saw our triple hen Decoy setup they B-lined it in. They were very vocal today, gobbling like crazy the whole way in. They must have been born the same year because they all looked the same. Figured I'd pick one out that separated itself so there isn't crossfire and plug it. Asked Johnny if I should shoot one and with a sarcastic teenager tone he uttered "Of course you should".
BOOM, the 3 1/2" Hevi-shot magnum blend rang out and the loner to the right dropped. All his buddies hung around for 10 mins gobbling before sauntering off.
Turns out this Jake had 2 beards. I have never gotten a 2 bearded bird.
Got some pics, not a big bird but it will make great fajitas.
Tag 2 filled and the big Tom gets to breed and live another day.
So do both beards get added or are we taking the longest? It really doesn't matter to me just wondering.
Beard 1: 5 1/2" long
Beard 2: 6" long
Spur: A 1/4" nub
Weight: 17.65 lbs
Weapon: Shotgun
Off to fishing I guess.
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Great double beard bird congrats
Nice Jerry. Way to go!
that a great bird. always wanted a double beard.
Right on Jerry, definitely a cool bird!!
TurkeyJohn
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Some great birds here folks, with good stories and pics.
Apologies for my late update, it seems every time I go to login the forum is down......maybe its just me.
Here are some pics I said I would post for others who where having difficulty.
1. Genec's beard[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/8SEzPny.jpg[/IMG]
2. Articcat's tom pics[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/WJ3eL8f.jpg[/IMG]
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Congratulations to:
- Jerryklimczuk on the double entry, and the double beard! My formula only uses the longest beard, trying to keep things simple.
- Articcat
- TurkeyWes
- Genec
- tom gobble - finally!
Current leaderboard:
All Entries
1 Lenny 43.5
2 Genec 39.75
3 TurkeyJohn 38.5
4 Jerryklimczuck 35.5
5 Coonhound 34.5
6 TurkeyWes 33
7 Wmay 30
8 Arcticcat 14.75
9 Jerryklimczuck 17
Two Bird Totals:
1 Jerryklimczuck 52.5
Second time out this spring and it was one of those hunts that almost seemed too easy (Hope I don't regret saying that out loud). First off I didn't bother getting up and out early. Finally showed up at the farm around 1:30 pm. Spend some time getting my set up how I liked it (I was just sitting on the ground (no blind) and put out one jake decoy). Made a yelp with a new diaphragm call and 5 mins later heard a gobble within ~100 yards. About 20 mins of calling back and forth and 2 big toms come walking right in to my set up. Picked one I thought maybe looked bigger (although they were very close in size) and pulled the trigger when they were 30 yards away. My new OOD camo hat must be lucky!
9 5/8" beard
1 1/4" longest spur
Shotgun
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Nice bird CD94 big spurs congrats
Don’t you love it when its that easy! Nice bird CD94.
Wow, big spur!
Beauty bird CD94, congratulations!!
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Congrats CD94 and Jerry great birds
Works for me, simple is best.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lenny
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Nice bird!Quote:
Originally Posted by CD94
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TY, definitely a nice surprise.Quote:
Originally Posted by Turkeyjohn
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Went the last fours days both mornings and afternoon and seen little to o birds.
went out this morning and set up half hour before daylight and at legal time heard one distant gobble.
Then half hour later heard 3 more toms a little closer and sound like they were in the field behind the bush i was set up in.
Started calling with some soft yelps and the birds were going crazy, this went on for about an hour and then they went silent.
I got a little discouraged as they never responded again so I got up and had to have a leak I went back to my tree sat down and I see 3 dark shadows walking along the bush to left of me. I made a soft yelp and all 3 gobbled and walked to my decoy set up.
I realized there were 2 jakes and a decent Tom behind the jakes. the jakes made there way to beat up my Jake decoy and the Tom strutted in right behind them, within minutes I waited till they had there fun and made a loud yelp he raised his head and down for the count. When I walked up to him after the Jakes left the Tom I walked up to him and he had 2 beards.
Longest beard 9-5/8", second beard 5-1/2", longest spur 7/8" and weight 22-3/4lbs.
Tagged out time to fish.
Nice articcat. At least you got your bird.
I’ve experienced the same thing. I’ve been out the last three times with 0 birds showing and little to no gobbling. I know the birds are there, but they aren’t responding to calls. Tough year.
Nice way to finish off the season Articcat
(Coffee bird down) May 6th
Not the most conventional hunt but fun regardless. The early morning was real quiet with not a sound. One distant gobble around 6:45am and one hen walking around with no Tom’s following. I wanted to stay as long as possible because the land owner said birds were coming out late morning to afternoon. As I’m enjoying the sun shinning the land owner sends me a text to come over the house and take a coffee break. As nothing is going on i accepted his offer but knowing my luck, I have a gut feeling something is going to come to my spread when I’m not there lol . 15 minutes into the coffee i notice 3 toms alone coming our way and walking in the direction of my decoys. I knew this was going to happen so i had to wait until they got out of sight ran to the truck to grab the gun. I then used a barn to hide me running to try and get in front of them before they go down hill towards my decoys. Now at this point I am at the base of this hill between the decoys and the Toms that I cant see and to top it off I don't know where they are or if they are gone. 3 minutes later that felt like two hours the birds crest the hill and start walking towards my decoys. I wait for them to get down the hill and I take the first Tom that separates from the bunch. Bird down not the biggest Tom but (who cares you can’t eat the beard!) and went back to celebrate with my coffee that I didn’t finish lol tagged out my season is done and now I could concentrate getting my friends on some birds and doing some fishing. Beard 8 1/4 spurs 1inch and weighed 21 pounds https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...ff6e95d6e2.jpg
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Really nice bird(s) tom gobble. Congratulations
Thanks Tom Gobble and Markster.
Congrats Tom Gobble nice Tom, good way to finish the season, bittersweet though as you still want to go out.
Will take some of my friends and do some calling for them
Was out Friday although didn't actually see any birds got a couple gobbles in the morning and for the first time heard a gobble early afternoon. Felt a change in the mood of the birds and figured sooner than later they'll really turn on. Got out this morning and got settled into my my spot just before legal. The first gobble sound off almost instantly. Slipped the gun out at legal and loaded up. Let out a couple of soft yelps and the birds sounded off. made out four toms and at least a jake spread out infront. The spot is a cross road of paths on a ridge in the bush. Birds tend to use the paths to cross the woods so got lined up down the path towards the closest sounding gobble. As the dawn broke saw what look like a hen drop from the trees about 70-80 yards in front. That's when the show really started. Always amazed how bad live hens call. There was a chorus of yelps and loud cackling coming from a bunch of hens that got me thinking too much/too loud. The various toms were sounding off trying to cut the hens off to their direction. This went on for what seemed forever alot of audible action however no visual as the bush has greened up quite a bit. Things settled down and the birds seemed to drift off in different directions away from me. Things got quiet and had me thinking should I make a shift to the back door to catch the birds as the come around from the back side. Decided to let out a soft yelp to check my status and was reward with a close gobble coming from behind. Did a quarter shift around the tree to cover the path coming up the ridge. No sooner spotted a bird crest the rise. He half strutted and I couldn't make out the tail nor was able to see a beard. Figured must be a Jake but at this point any legal bird was coming home with me. He kept coming and as he did a quarter turn could see a decent beard dangling from his chest. The bird was less than 20 yards from me and was actively looking for the hen he heard from below. Got me regretting leaving the decoy in the jeep as could of used the distraction. I was buried in the shurberry and he wasn't able to make me out thing was really didn't have the gun up yet. Had to wait till he got behind a couple of trees and got into position. Almost on que he stepped out from behind the tree and stood at attention on the path for his picture to be taken. The gun sounded and he dropped like a rag, all that remained was to wait for the flopping to stop. What seemed like forever was all done by 6:45 am. Got to love turkey hunting when the birds want to play. Going to add pictures soon unofficial measurement looks like 15/16 inch spurs and 9 1/2" beard. figure a score of 37.75
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Congrats Finsfurfeathers sounds like you had a great hunt
Congrats FFF on your bird .
Quote:
Originally Posted by Articcat
thxs guys. Funny thing that wasn't the most interesting thing today. Got home to find out there was a man hunt being done in the neighborhood. Dozen police cars had the area quartered off with cops and dogs going from yard to yard looking for a suspect. Got a strange look from the cop that was infront of my house as i pulled the shotgun out of the jeep good thing had it in its case.Quote:
Originally Posted by tom gobble
great story, and a real nice bird, must be nice to have such action. I finally saw a hen on Friday, no gobbling.
Yes it is , though having suffered (as if being able to get out an enjoy the outdoors considered suffering) 7 hunts without any interaction its about time.Quote:
Originally Posted by sabmgb
Tom #2 down yesterday morning and tagged out for the spring. This was a perfect roost hunt which rarely works out the way you planned but fortunately did this time. I saw 2 toms around 7pm Saturday evening and had an idea where they would be roosted. Went towards the spot I had seen them on Sunday morning and waited til the gobbling started. I set up about 200 yards from them across an open pasture and set up my jake decoy. The 2 toms gobbled a fair amount on the roost, flew down, and headed directly my direction. 5 minutes later they came right in and started beating up on my jake decoy. It took almost 5 minutes before they separated enough that I could get a shot. 2 more jakes showed up shortly afterwards and came over to have their turn beating up on my decoy. This caused the other tom to come back in and run the jakes around. All in all it was almost 30 minutes before I could even go get the bird I shot and made for an entertaining morning.
8 1/2" beard
3/4" longest spur
Shotgun
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Congrats CD94, nice way to tag out
Now that's a great story, and tagging a bird is a bonus,Quote:
Originally Posted by finsfurfeathers
Congratulations Triple F,
TurkeyJohn
Right on CD94, tagged out before the bugs keep us out of the woods..Quote:
Originally Posted by CD94
TurkeyJohn
Awesome!Quote:
Originally Posted by Articcat
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Nice Bird bud.Quote:
Originally Posted by tom gobble
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Great hunt! Congrats.Quote:
Originally Posted by finsfurfeathers
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Well at least you got a show before your harvest.Quote:
Originally Posted by CD94
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More great birds heading into the heat and bugs!
CD94, jumps waay out in the lead, on both the single and double bird count!
finsfurfeathers and tom gobble in the race
Arcticcat all tagged out
And our newest entrant, cdougs tags into third place with her first entry, a nice tom with 9.5" beard and 1-1/8" hooks. I'll let her tell the story, but here are the pics, followed by an updated leaderboard
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All Entries
1 CD94 44.25
2 Lenny 43.5
3 cdougs 41.5
4 Genec 39.75
5 TurkeyJohn 38.5
6 finsfurfeathers 37.75
7 Arcticcat 36.75
8 tom gobble 36.5
9 Jerryklimczuck 35.5
10 Coonhound 34.5
Two Bird Totals:
1 CD94 76.25
2 Jerryklimczuck 52.5
3 Arcticcat 51.5
well set the alarm for 345 this morning, it was pouring rain so went back to bed. It stopped raining about noon, so decided to go for an afternoon hunt. I had to be heading back by 3 didn't leave a lot of time. Got all set up, jake and hen decoys out and sat down by 1. made a couple calls and waited, 130 couple more calls. At 140 I see something move 400yds out in the field. Glasses out to see what it was, all I could see was a white head. I ranged a spot I would use as a line of no return for the turkey. He kept coming slowly feeding but coming my way. He hits the point of no return, 44yds. comes about 8yds closer and stands up straight head high. So decided that was close enough. Let the winchester long beard 3" #6 fly. He dropped right on the spot. I got up and realized that I had marked the wrong spot, the bird was 52yds out. Must have read a spot lower than what I was looking at. Oh well it all worked out. Now I can just fish.
7/8 spurs 0.875x20 = 17.5
10" beard 10X2 = 20
Total 37.5
22Lb
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Nice bird congrats
Wow, some nice birds being registered. Congratulations to all.
Great morning this Sunday, had some birds gobbling in their usual spots… decided they’d come over for a looksie, one of the target Tom’s and 3 hens… no sooner were they meandering over but the two jerk Jakes popped out of the woods heading to the Tom… I’m thinking they’ve whooped him before, as once he saw/heard them, he headed for the hills…and those hussy hens moved towards the Jakes… they hung out in the decoys for a while and I could have easily tagged out on a Jake, like I could have for a dozen mornings on this farm…. Since it’s a working crop farm, the farmer and his wife came into the field to start the irrigation, so I start packing up… a quick visit and I find out the Tom is hanging at the bottom of the field, load the jeep and work a plan, sure enough there he is with a couple of new hens behind a tree island in the field…. I get my sneak in and work to the back of the island…. Sure enough, I can hear him drumming in the other side and he’s closing… gun at the ready and I wait… the drumming starts drifting off and I’m thinking the hens are pulling him away… I get to my knees and peak through the trees, nope, still there and at the 35 yard mark…the hens are clear, and he steps into an opening in the brush and the 870 barks, Tom down…move up to him and nice little surprise when I check the beard, not one but two, first double beard in almost twenty years….glad I didn’t settle for a Jake…Main beard 9 in, second beard, 4 1/2, 1 inch spur one side, 7/8 on the other, 19.08 lbs, happy hunter tagged out…
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Way to go Johnny boy, congrats
Nice going TurkeyJohn congrats
great bird, good story. I'm still waiting for a double beard. Congrats
24 hours to go!!!!!
Congrats to sabmgb and TurkeyJohn, a couple of really nice birds there guys. I would love to tell you about the huge tom that I called in last weekend, except that I got impatient after working him for over an hour, and he came in silent and cautiously, and he was down the hill from me, moving left to right through the trees, and I could only see his head and neck, so like a rookie, I aim for his head, and miss. Couple of flaps, and he folds his wings and walks away, as my 870 jams, and I can't get a second shot off in time. To make matters worse, my buddy was there, sitting against the same tree to witness my failure.....aggghgghhhhhhh.
And that's why we keep coming back.....good luck tomorrow everyone.
Current Leaderboard:
Top 10 Single Birds
1 CD94 44.25
2 Lenny 43.5
3 cdougs 41.5
4 Genec 39.75
5 TurkeyJohn 38.5
6 TurkeyJohn 38
7 finsfurfeathers 37.75
8 sabmgb 37.5
9 Arcticcat 36.75
10 tom gobble 36.5
Two Bird Totals:
1 TurkeyJohn 76.5
2 CD94 76.25
3 Jerryklimczuck 52.5
4 Arcticcat 51.5
So ends the spring season. Closed the last day with pretty good hope to punch my second tag but just didn't pan out. To say I was a bit henned up is a little of an understatement but the big boy just didn't want to cross the line of no return. He was there but having whiffed on a bird earlier in the season wanted this one at dead to rights distance. Well at least he'll be bigger for next year.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGBNDaXy3n0
Last day of the season was good to me. I shot my first ever double beard. I glassed him from my truck for over 4 hours waiting for him to leave the rye field.
When he left the rye field and made commitment to an apple orchard that I could sneak too.
I ran in to where I figured he would pop out and still out of breath he stepped out right where I needed him. Lenny will be posting pics
Hey everybody sorry for the late story!!
After many sits I killed that Tom. He was my goal Turkey for the property after watching trail camera pictures. He was the boss Tom for the area. I passed a few groups of turkeys before he finally committed in.
The first day he got to around 100 yards and wouldn’t move an inch, wanted my decoys to come to him.
Finally got him by using no decoys and sitting on one of the cattle paths that he seemed to use most.
He is my first Tom ever!! I couldn’t believe how big he was. Thanks Lenny for posting the pictures for me.
Next year I’m going to try to get one with a bow ��
congrats everyone on your successful hunts. Sorry for the late post.
It was a difficult season for me dealing with quiet birds as it makes for boring hunts. Bad weather and busy schedule limited the hunts and opportunities. Was able to take advantage of the cool weather last day and finally luck turned my way. An interesting story and maybe some optimism for those on quiet boring hunts.
I was ready to pack it in. I was standing at the edge of the farmers field and made some last minute yelps and clucks on my glass striker call. I was using a box call all morning because I didn't hear any gobbles so thought the boys were not around and needed the box call to reach out far. Well to my surprise I hear a put behind me. I am leaning against a tree standing in the tree line, I turned around quickly to see what I thought was a hen only 7 yards behind me. Hens have been around all season and usually hang around this side of the field but haven't seen or heard any males. I see a head but cant tell if its a hen or a male. It continues putting searching for the mysterious caller that was me standing behind the tree only 7 yards in front of it. Finally through the thick ground cover and leaves, I see a long beard hanging between the greenery, a black body and the good old red and blue! Now I realize I have a problem. I'm standing in the open and my gun is on my shoulder and I have the caller in my hands with the bird only a few yards away. One wrong move and it will disappear into the thick bush. Well it was painfully slow and methodical, my heart pounding, the adrenaline kicking in I had to talk myself down and slow my excitement before this bird walked away never to be seen again. I put the call in my pocket and slowly grab my Browning Silver and raise it into position. My new low light high viz sights lined up ready for duty. Mr. Tom stuck out his head to scan for the lonely caller that drew him to this fateful moment. The 3" Winchester Turkey #5 roared! My heart pounded as the smoke filled the cold morning air. It happened so fast, I hoped I didn't miss in my hasty awkwardness hurrying to take the shot. The smoke in the early morning quickly cleared and the rolling and flapping of my success gave me my final answer.
Last day bird and what a beautiful last day it was. No pics of the sizes but it was a light bird but mature Tom with 1" spurs and 10" beard weighing in at only 15.5 lbs. Tom Gobble can vouch for me. Lol.
Congrats everyone on your success and all those hunts that didn't work out but made the ones that did special. Lets do it again next year.
ill try to figure out how to post pics...
I love all these "last day" success stories! Congrats to everyone, I am just waiting on a beard length from WMay and then I can post the final standings.
I got up super early, and went to a spot that held birds every time I hunted it this year. Drove in through the field, and reversed into the spot where I always park. Got out of the truck, slowly and quietly close the driver door, and just as I am about the reach for the back door, my truck does that short triple horn sound to let you know the key fob is still in the vehicle. Before I can even curse, I am startled again by a loud shock gobble, within 10 yards of my truck. Well $*&#!!! What do you do? Drive back home and go back to bed? Sneak away and wait him out? Decided to get back in, drive accross the field, try to convince him the danger had passed, and then snuck part way back, put out a lone feeding hen, and let him know that everything was cool, nothing to see here, danger had passed. I was successful at convincing myself this would work. The tom proceeded to gobble at least 100 times as daylight brightened, I avoided the urge to over-call, just letting him know once or twice I was there, then he finally flew down, landing in the next field as far away from me as his glide path would allow, gobble a few more times on the ground, and walked out of my life....Yep, should have just gone back to bed!
Great season overall, 1 nice bird for me, and called in 3 more inside 25 yards. Got 1 friend his first tom. That's the good. I also missed a beauty tom last weekend, and parked under this tree they have never roosted in before......its always a learning experience.
Stay tuned for pics of WMay's bird and measurements.....
Here are pics of WMay's second bird
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And our official standings for 2024:
Top 10 Single Birds
1 CD94 44.25
2 Lenny 43.5
3 cdougs 41.5
4 Wmay 40.5
5 ihunt 40
6 Genec 39.75
7 TurkeyJohn 38.5
8 TurkeyJohn 38
9 finsfurfeathers 37.75
10 sabmgb 37.5
Two Bird Totals:
1 TurkeyJohn 76.5
2 CD94 76.25
3 Wmay 70.5
4 Jerryklimczuck 52.5
5 Arcticcat 51.5
So CD94 is our big winner overall, with the highest single score, and just nudged out on the two bird total by TurkeyJohn in the final days of the season. I will PM the prize winners.
Congratulations to our winners, and anyone who entered a bird. Hope you all had a great season, learned something, had a few laughs, and lived vicariously through others stories - see you next spring!
Thank you Lenny for organizing this again.
Thanks for running this again Lenny, was indeed a fun year, new twists and turns, never gets old in the turkey woods…
TurkeyJohn
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yes lenny thanks again for running this it is fun.
Congratulations to the winners and especially Lenny and all who entered sure was another great year in the turkey woods and alot of fun
I’m sure glad everyone had a great season. This year had an impressive number of double beards!
Prizes donated by Genec & FFF/OOD are really appreciated, and will b mailed to CD94, Tukeyjohn and cdougs. Congratulations to all our winners, and have a great summer!