Trad Gang

Well the clock is ticking closer to another NY spring turkey opener, I'll be out there in the pitch black setting up. Good luck to all of you   :thumbsup:  I have decided to go strictly traditional archery from now on when I hunt turkeys no more gun hunting them for me, it's just more fun for me that way. Shoot straight   :archer:

Best Of Luck Back At Ya Jim!

... mike ...

Go get 'em guys, good luck to all and looking forward to the stoires and pics.


David

I don't think I've ever been this stoked for a hunt...good luck to everyone here in the empire state...

Good Luck My Friends!!!!!!!!!!   :archer:

Good luck everybody!!

Enjoy it everyone, and get some! I will be at three different doctor appointments.....sniffle.
Good Luck!!

Hey Chuck, If you feel like trying to take a bird over at stewart drop me a line.  I have a few flocks located.
Nathan

Best of luck to everyone.....I "hope" to get the chance to be out there Sunday.....several birds "targeted for termination"

Get'um close and break'um down guys!!!

Let's keep this as a running thread for hunt stories for guys like me that can't hunt...

Best of luck to all.

Good luck,everyone!My son and I will be out in the morning for sure.   :thumbsup:

uh-oh another stewart hunter on here. There are some big birds over there. Good luck everyone!

I ran out late and roosted a bird or 4 from the sounds of it. I will hunt without the blind as i have to be to work by 7am. I am gonna sneak up vlose to the roost tree and hope one flies down nearby. Dead bird, jump up and holler and than run to the truck to make it on time!! OOOHHHHHHHHH YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Shawn

I'll be getting home from work around 1:30am...and I'll be up at 6 hitting the woods. Just hope my little Browning Cobra brings me some good karma....

Good luck guys....I'm so jealous!!

I'll be out,but just listening and checking to see if anyone's hunting in my spots...

So how'd things turn out for everyone???

Anyone?????

I went to work this morning but I'm off all weekend startin tomorrow   :bigsmyl:

I was on birds and had 4 jakes and a decent Tom coming, when they were about 80 yards out a coyote decided to break them up. I heard a bunch of birds and if I had time I would of surely saw more. I had to be to work by 7am. so it was all too short. I will be back at it in the morning but about 200 yards NE. On my way in to work which is about 1/2 mile from where I set up, I saw 5-6 Toms and some hens. If the rain is not too hard it should be good. Shawn

No hunting for me yet. Im hoping for Sunday.

Today was better than the first day sorta. This morning it wasn't raining so I thought what the heck I'll try it again. I went to a different spot it's my go to spot and always holds turkeys, I left real early again it is a long hike back almost to long with all the gear that I bring. I walked in about 200 yards or so and started to set up, it was pitch black and I used a flashlight to get set up, while I was setting up I thought I heard wings flapping, I thought to myself it's probably crows. After i was done I had a cup of coffee and was just enjoying the morning, then I heard the wings again and what sounded like turkey droppings hitting the ground, I thought well if it is turkeys they must know that I'm here and I wont have a chance of calling them in. Next thing I hear the wings again so I call real soft with a slate I might add because I left my mouth call in the fridge   :thumbsup:  the one stopped at 15 paces I drew picked a spot(or so I thought) released and missed him clean. They just kind of walked around but were now out of range they acted as if nothing happened and even started gobbling awhile later but only to the crows. Even though I missed it was still a good time. I'll try them again on Sat. bright and early.

Atleast ya got a shot Jim! Why ya keep your mouth call in the fridge anyway?

had some luck this morning...!!!
got home from school for the weekend around noon yesterday and made all the final preparations on all the gear. was sitting at the table with everything laid out just before bed and noticed i had only put my primary broadhead in the quiver (almost a BIG mistake) so i added another, set the alarm for 3:30 and went to bed.

got the blind up, decoys out, and seat set up, with a little more than a half hour to let everything quiet down. i just didn't realize that it would be that quiet for that long. by ten after six i had heard 2 gobbles way off in the distance. but just then i look up and suddenly there is a hen in the field in front of me. then three jakes step out of the brush behind her. she did not take long to walk within ten yards of the blind on her way to the adjacent field, paying zero attention to me or the decoys.
The jakes were in no hurry to follow in her footsteps. they spent the majority of the morning trying to dry themselves from the wet night. after almost 40 minutes the three had wondered to within ten yards and the string was coming back. i release and get nothing but air the bird stops and... looks back. he attempted to figure out what the line that was all around him was (from my string tracker[note to self the traker doesnt do much when you miss]) just long enough for me to get that aforementioned second broadhead out. without thinking about the shot, "instinct" took over and a second arrow was on its way, this time finding it's mark. he did manage to run off about 80 yards and get into some thick stuff where he proceeded to tear himself to pieces in the brush and ruin any chance of a good picture.
He has a 3.5 inch beard but i couldn't be happier as he is my first with the recurve!!
i packed everything up, grabbed the bird and  walked over to where dad was set up and just walked up to his blind with the bird thrown over the shoulder. as i get close i cant even see him (wearing black is the key!)but i hear him laughing, it was perfect lol.

Good luck to all, i will add a pic Sunday night

Awesome Tim, congrats on a great hunt!  :thumbsup:  


David

Good luck to all!!! Tripper

Way to go Tim   :thumbsup:  great story to bad that he was tore up we like to see pics. Jamie, I keep them in the fridge because it helps preserve the latex if you rinse off your mouth calls after each day and keep them in the refrigerator they will last for years, when i get a call that sounds good I want to keep it for as long as I can.

I send Tim a text on the way to work yesterday morning...How's it going?  Tim...."Nothing but fresh air".  So I wished him good luck and just when I was pulling in to work I get another one with a picture  attached....He made my day!!!

Congrats bro, you did real good!!!

You're right about the tracker,but it does help finding your arrow    :biglaugh:

thanks guys,
curt, when i got you first message i had the jakes out in the field heading my way, but i didnt wanna get the both of us excited by saying something and jinixn it. guess it was a good idea lol.
good luck everyone!

Congrats Tim,that's so cool.Got a big one Thurs. morning but it was with the scattergun...gotta get a blind and try it with a bow like the rest of you.Good luck everybody and look for ward to seeing your pic,Tim.   :clapper:

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!   :clapper:

Good Luck to all of you! Have a Safe & Successful Hunt!  

Well, I posted a while back for advice about diaphram calls. Got lot's of good advice, but I could never get over the fear of gagging or choking on the darn things. I am a better caller with a box call though.

Anyway, I went out yesterday morning for my annual ONE morning spring gobbler hunt. A little damp and rainy but the rain stopped by daybreak. It felt great to be back in the woods again since last fall, with the sights, sounds and smells of nature. After two hours I was working two different Toms you could tell one was definitely a large bird. Anyway, the only thing that actually came close enough to check out my decoy was a Bobcat! That made the morning worth while.  

Anyway, guys and gals.. I couldn't get it done. So I leave the population undistributed and undented to you all. For me, spring will always be flyfishing amd trout!

Good Luck to All!

Congrats Tim! Where's the story and pics?
Jim, I keep mine in mouthwash while hunting, it keeps them tasting nice, but it also keeps them moist which is important for calling. Never thought of the fridge. Do you store them wet or dry?

Well...me and the Cobra have had one close encounter on Thursday and some action today.

Working until 2am then getting up around 7am...I headed out Thursday. Setup and planned on sitting til noon. Good area....around 10:30 a gobble shattered the woods below. I worked this bird for over 20 minutes, he was no more than 20 yds away but never topped the small ridge I was sitting on. I could hear him walking but I believe since I don't use a decoy, he might have popped his head up, didn't see anything and stayed low. He finally clammed up and eased out.

This morning, in the damp rain was tough. Worked til 2:30am...hit the sack around 3am...up at 7. I
decided to just sit and yelp cause I find in this type of weather, toms usually come in silent. I was in a small patch bordering 2 over grown fields...the birds love these on rainy days. Must be filled with bugs...

It was close to 11:30 when I spotted 4 hens and a nice tom working towards me. The tom was displaying like a champ but the hens were busy feeding. I softly yelped and purred and brought them within 30 yds but they had other plans. They kept walking, through the woods and across some property I can't hunt. Nice tom...probably a good 7" beard but FAT.

Sunday .....keeping my fingers crossed. I want this little Browning Cobra to spit a Snuffer through a nice one....Good luck fellas....

Jamie, I keep them in there case dry. Had another interesting morning, I left early again my intention was to kind of hang back I really didn't want to press my luck and be under them again. I decided to set up were I saw the jakes cross this little swamp 3 times on Fri. It was at the base of a high ridge it's a nice spot that I have setup at before. it was pitch black out same as yesterday, I had a heck of a time setting up the blind this morning I hadn't realized that one of the rods had come out of it's pocket, I was thinking good thing I'm not to close to them because I made quite a ruckus. It started to get light out and I hadn't heard any thing then suddenly I heard turkey droppings hitting the ground, I thought you got to be kidding me their over here today. I don't think they new what was making all the fuss but I know they weren't to impressed one of the hens would answer my calling but the others stayed quiet, I heard 5 birds fly down onto the ridge behind me, I'm going to leave them alone for awhile.

Tim, Curt texted me about your bird. Congrats, he texts me when I am in my blind several times. I was lazy this morning but had good action the last two. I am heading out in about 2 hours to set my blind. I am gonna leave my dekes in it and my chair. I will just have to sneak into it in the morning. I have them pegged now. I know Damon(Nomad88) is into lots of birds. He called one in for a wheel buddy this am. and Calvin missed!! He has seen at least 12 different Toms in his spot. I will try and post a story on tomorrows hunt. Be patient, as i am gonna striper fish after my hunt!! Best of Luck and Congrats Tim!! Shawn

I am trying my best to go out in the am, I just roosted 3 or 4 birds. Im almost ashamed to say it will be with a boomstick though. I havent been shooting enough to justify taking a shot at a live animal, especially one with such small vitals.
Dont worry, I am starting to shoot ASAP, and will be out there with the bow as soon as I get em where I want em and sharpen some BHs.
Good luck to all going in the am!

On my way to set the blind. It should be good, we will see. Shawn

Good luck guys....I finally get to go huntin!!!!!!!!   :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:    :clapper:       :goldtooth:    :jumper:    :jumper:    :jumper:    :jumper:

Well, something magic is going to happen tommarrow. I can feel it...

good luck to all, slight change in plans for myself but will get a couple hours in the woods.

Night! Shawn

Just got back, I had a great morning. I am changing and getting my Golden retriever and hoping to go get my bird in a little while. I will tell the story later but I missed one and than nailed another about 20 minutes later. I am a muddy mess. Shawn

I love to hear about the turkeys.  Got my first one this year after a near 30 year wait.  Been wantin to hunt with my dad for many years and got a nice Tom last Saturday with him. (Only sorry it wasn't with a bow....)  Keep tellin the tales boys....

I didnt make it out at all today. Glad to see others did and there will be stories to read.

congrats Shawn. Hard work paid off!
Brian

Congrats guys , nice stories. Adam got a nice one this am ( gun and no appoligies he is a kid) :0)  Drew

way to go Adam!!!!!! i think that calls for a late night cheeseburger!!!

Congrats guys!

I'm back and no bird!! The hit looked good and I thought I would find him but I didn't. I just ordered a string tracker, I had one and was not using it with the shoot thru mesh on my blind. I looked for it and cannot find it, so I ordered another. Story later, stripers now! Shawn

Drew have you been keeping an eye on the carp   :bigsmyl:  Shawn why do you bother with the mesh for turkeys' they don't mind the black hole effect.

Sorry Shawn, that sucks. I lost one three years ago in the fall. Found it the next year, it crawled under a rose bush and died about 70 yards from the shot.

Jim :  I have been watching but nothing yet, dec says can't start till may 15th but I'm watching.  Drew

Ya know we don't want to start early   :readit:  I'll have a boat in June 14 foot modified jon boat we need to hook up then too and give that a try. I'm glad Adam shot himself a gobbler   :thumbsup:  How have you been making out?

Jim : I got mine on thursday and its bow only for the rest of the season. I had hurt my neck and shoulder couple days before and couldn't shoot my bow .  Drew

I've been extremely lucky with turkeys again this year. I've spent about 45 minutes actually hunting birds and my son and I have both scored. My son took his during the first 30 minutes of the youth season and I got one opening morning. Worked just like on TV. We get to the edge of the woods elicit a shock gobble, move in and set up, do a few tree yelps, do a fly down cackle, yelp a few more times, the birds strut in, and we make a good shot. My son shot his first bird ever with a shotgun. It was a nice jake. I was fortunate and took a bird with 1" spurs and a 9 3/4" beard.

Curt, I sent you an E-mail. We need to go shoot some carp.  Season opens on the 15th and I've been seeing some hawgs!  Give me a call and we'll go as soon as you can.

Just finished mowing and cleaning up the yard. Long day....worked one lone tom this morning, hung up about 40 yds out, wouldn't come any closer.
This is worse than elk hunting! Tried another spot and 2 hens showed up. I left the woods around 11:30. Tomorrow morning change of plans...
Gonna kill something!   :scared:    :eek:

Terry, I would love to hunt carp with ya too!! Shawn

Jim, the blind I hunt out of sucks and it lets too much light in. My new DB will be here in a few days! Shawn

Can't beat a DB, you won't need the net with that   :thumbsup:

I just roosted atleast 4 birds. Makes me wish I had someone to bowhunt with...  :goldtooth:  
Seriously, I start shooting again tomorrow. By next weekend Im hunting, pian or no pain.

Gotta get together this season, Jamie...just gotta...

Sounds like everyone had fun this weekend. I give you guys credit that can sit in a blind half the day. Congrats Tim!   :notworthy:

Thanks everyone for the congrats i still have a smile on my face!

Here a pic of my first turk with a bow! but like i said a soaked turkey that just tore himself to pieces does not take very good pictures but i couldn't be happier...    (http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/tkosteczko/Hunting/Project2-1-1.png)
   (http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/tkosteczko/Hunting/Project1.png)

Hopefully getting one will allow me to concentrate on my finals untill i can get back out there weds.(    not likely)

Jamie if you need help with all those gobblers you roosted let me know    ;)

Tim, congratulations   :thumbsup:  You can be proud of that one, turkeys don't come easy in NY when you choose the kind of gear that we use around here. Now get your head back in the school mode   :biglaugh:

Congrats Tim!

Tim, you are a blessed young man! Awesome bird and having that old fart beside you in the picture is priceless! Cherish the memory of a great day afield with your father. They don't last forever!

Shawn, you know my invitation is open for you anytime you want to go! My boat is ready and waiting to be slimed! Call me and we'll go! Only 9 more days! I still can't believe NY has a season. The great part about shooting fish is that you don't have to miss work!  I go in the late evening and shoot until about midnight or 1 AM and then get up and at work by 7 AM. Makes for a long day - but it is worth it. Any of you NY folks in the area are more than welcome to join me! The Hudson is chocked plum full of fat fish just waiting to git skewered! We'll shoot till our arms are tired. Note: I didn't say anything about filling the boat, as that would imply we would connect often. It ain't as easy as it looks. Darn refraction!  If you don't have my phone number just PM me.

Congrads Tim !!!   :bigsmyl:   as luck would have it they never came my way but I did get to lagh my butt off at a couple deer that didn,t like my decoys.After a few charges foot stompin tearin away stompin right back they finally got down wind of me and it was over but they never looked at the blind.

I moved my blind up to the top of the hill where the birds had been in the mornin and stashed it.Scouted out further in since thats the way the birds had gone and found anther spot that looked real good and left figuring I'd decide in the mornin which spot

  :banghead:    :banghead:    dang it they where right over at the other spot grrrrrrrr at least 5 that I could pind down where gobblin away none came may way and an hr or so later I hear booom booom from the other side of the woods.

Since it had been raining all morning I was sure glad to be in my blind.I was just about to head back to get things wrapped up around camp before heading home and I let out a call.....way off I hear a gobble so I call again he answer's sweet I think.Anyway he came in went out came back and shut up and I don't know what happened cept I went home empty handed

Good luck everybody!!!

Tim, wet bird or not those pics are priceless.A big congrats to your and dad.Ill be bowing it tomorrow on some ganster city birds.Ill just have to beat the bulldozers to the woodlot.

Good people in the picture above. Those smiles are contagious. Thank you and congratulations!
Nice turkey too. (I think the wet part makes it look that more challenging. I can never get the turkeys to move when it's raining.)
Aram

Tom, you lucky dog. I got to sit one rainy and quiet hour so far this season. (No blind either   :banghead:  )
Remember, any "bad" morning in the woods is better than a good day at the office. Loved the deer story. They look so shaggy right now too. Makes them look extra comical.

Great shot and a good photo of you with your Dad.

Tim, great phots my friend, Dad even looks good!! Carp pretty soon. I have a rig now. I will be out again friday morning. I hit that one jake and never found him, even Mae my Golden could not help. I have been on birds every morning and have hunted more this year than the last 3-4 combined!! I just got my new DB T5 today.  like it way better than the Matrix recurve model I had. It was way, way too big. I will try and keep everyone posted and even maybe just maybe I will get some pics. Shawn

Heading out tomorrow morning myself. Too many close calls...the other morning I topped a ridge heading west and a tom was heading east...face to face at 20 yds..man you should have seen him run outta there.

Getting real green out there now and this pollen has me fighting off "multiple sneezes". Might have to carry an extra face mask   :rolleyes:    :eek:

I roosted one tonight, I'm going to sneak a little time off work in the morning   :bigsmyl:

Good luck Jim!! I'll probably hafta wait till the weekend and I'm not sure yet where.

While I've never gun hunted them myself I often have backup doing the calling and his weapon makes alot more noise than mine....my goal is to solidly anchor my bird when I get the chance so my bud doesn't ruin my arrow with lead

good luck everybody   :thumbsup:

Shawn, 7 days to carp-a-geddon!

I'm heading out this weekend for the first time this year in NY. Back in April I took a Merriam hunting with Fred & Michele Eichler. First bird with the bow for me and last year was my first with a shotgun.  I can't wait to be back in the catskills this time of year.

I should have slept in this morning    I was in the woods and setup at 4:30 this morning he gobbled once at 5:20 or so, it looked to be the perfect setup. I was sitting there waiting for it to get light enough to call when I heard the geese in the beaver swamp start to honk like they were nervous, then one of the beavers stated in to some tail slapping, all I could figure is that I had some company even though no one else has permission to be in there. Never heard or saw a thing after that, I'll be back to my favorite spot on Sat morning.

hey everybody thanks agian for all the comments.

shawn cant wait, carp were spawning like crazy today in the half mile or so of river that i walked today i saw well over 20 groups of spawning fish and at 5-10 fish per group (to be safe)... well you do the math, thats alot of fish.

Went out yesterday and saw one hen, all was slow and quiet.

However today was Dad's day!!

pics aint working rite story tomorrow i guess...

Tim, don't do this!
Tim!!!

hey aram, real sorry dont mean to pull a "guru" and leave everybody hangin (jk    :D   ) but i cant get pics to work and dont know why, never had a problem before. story just wont go as well without pics. as soon as i can i promise

I'm sure it's worth the wait.
... so I'm waiting...
  :archer:

weds night i got home from work a little before dark. leaving me with enough time to "roost" a bird from the road (based on where they are in the fields  i can get a good idea where they are going to roost) not an exact science but it was the best i could do.
decided where the best place to go in the mornin would be. ended up havin more schoolwork to finish up then i thought and was gonna have to pass on the mornings hunt. so i told dad where i thought would be good.
in the morning when i woke up for some reason i had to call to see what happened before i even got out of bed and sure enough he tells me he hit one and he was given it time. i told him i would be rite there to help him look.
we meet up in the woods and begin walkin, it wasnt long before we see this...
 (http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/tkosteczko/Hunting/IMG_4428.jpg)

 (http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/tkosteczko/Hunting/IMG_4429.jpg)

 (http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/tkosteczko/Hunting/IMG_4431.jpg)

Dad claims his prize...
 (http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/tkosteczko/Hunting/IMG_4434.jpg)

we snapped a few quick photos...
 (http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/tkosteczko/Hunting/IMG_4439.jpg)

 (http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/tkosteczko/Hunting/IMG_4444.jpg)

on the way out we almost walked rite past this lil girl at 20 feet without even noticin, we must have startled her out feedin, boy they hide well

Nice pics! Tell your dad congrats!

Nice tom..Tom....Congrats on a fine bird.   :thumbsup:

Now thats what we like to see   :thumbsup:

wrote the story fast and forgot some things.

first here is the pic of the "hidden" turkey at 20 feet...

(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/tkosteczko/Hunting/IMG_4445.jpg)

measurments of dad's bird: 9 inch beard 1 inch spurs and 21 lbs 13 oz!

good luck with the rest of the season fellas!

Awesome Tim, congrats to my bud Gary again!!!

Tim, can you e mail some pix of both birds?

Only a gun one thus far....9 inch beard big body.  They are so silent now that I just leave decoys in viewing distance of the house in the corner of a 260 acre field.  There is a ledge that I can sneak up and get a shoot off. I missed yesterday at 25 yards. I tend to shoot too short at high angles, always think that the falling of the arrow will make it drop slower.  This is a new tactic for me so it will be trial and error. The angle is almost on top of the turkeys. Would of got one by now if I did not have to deal with a crazy girlfriend... or now exgirlfriend. Gonna try a few more times this year and then concentrate on the green drake hatch and the start of the caddis hatch.