This is it! Heading out for opening day of Spring Turkey in OZ! Hoping I selected a good spot last week.
Good luck.
Aim small, shoot straight!!
:archer:
good Luck! :archer2:
Be sure to tell a story and post some pictures! Good luck!
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
Best of luck!
Good luck too ya :pray: :coffee:
Well, how did you hunting turn out today?
Bisch
Good luck! Two more weeks for me and I get to go home and chase gobblers :pray:
Go get 'em!
No glory story or hero shot to share for Monday, but I did have a good day. Got in early and hoot owled once. Had gobblers in the trees 100 yards or so to the south, east and west! Best guess is when they pitched down, they went to travel the river. Got up after a few hours and headed toward the river, stopping every fifty yards or so to let out a couple of soft yelps. Finally got a gobbler to answer from across the river. Hunkered down in a bush and called him to see if he'd come across but he didn't. I kept up my run and cluck and sparked a hen way down river. Her and I battled for a while until she made it up to where I was and lost interest. Tough day- drizzle, kind of cold and a bit breezy. here's hoping tomorrow will be as nice as forecasted.
Update to come!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, so not opening day anymore, but all the same to an old boy who's spent a fair share of time in the turkey woods (ALL of last spring only to miss two birds).
This morning started out on the wrong foot. Out motorcycle riding with a pack last night and we had a rider go down. He's going to be fine. Got home on the down side of midnight, supposed to be rolling at 5am. Didn't happen... Left about 6 with the sun on my heels. Got a phone call from my wheel bow yielding buddy on his first turkey hunt ever. He was covered in birds already and had missed a bird by 8am.
My back up spot had proven fruitless by 9am, so I decided to cross the river and try to find Aaron. I found a sweet little opening in the woods with what seems to be an old partial roadbed, a low spot and a brushpile. My kind of medicine! I set up and strapped my tree seat on a tree in the pile and started yelping softly. After an hour or so I thought I'd get up and go find Aaron. Unstrapped the seat and heard a hen yelping and a gobbler responding! Spun around, hit my knees behind the stakeout panel blind and tried battling the hen- this time I was on the right side of the river! Battle goes on for a few minutes and finally I see the hen- it was Aaron... but the gobbler was very real and he kept coming. Then he spotted the decoys, but Aaron, being a noob (like me), kept calling, soaking up the tune of the gobbler's song. Too much calling is not a good thing, but Aaron was too far from me to motion to stop and the Tom lost interest. We packed up and wandered through the woods, stopping to yelp here and there and actually almost had the old bird again, but again, we may have overdone the calling. I too need to learn to shut up sometimes!
Aaron had to cut early and it had already gotten hot enough for me by 2:00. I decided to roll, but on the second to last curve of the wildlife area I decided to stop and give an honest go at sitting on a field for a couple of hours.
I slipped down the field edge around to a little cul de sac where if birds did show, passing cars on the road wouldn't see them, stop and blow them out for me. I staked out the hen and the jake about 12 yards from the edge, strategically in front of a hackberry off the edge of the field, staked out the blind panel and strapped on my seat. I let out a few loud yelps since the wind was in my face and I figured the birds would be on the other side of the field. A few minutes later while checking for upper limb clearance, I reached in my pack for the saw to cut a small limb that wanted to grab the bow. While I was cutting, I glanced across the field and there was a bird on the far edge. Crap!! Drop saw, grab binos, check for beard.. Sweet! And he's coming my way! As he makes his way across the field, he starts to drift to the south edge and I'm thinking he's going to slip into the woods and out of my life. Worried about calling too much, I let out three sharp clucks. Stops him cold, upright and alert. Whoops... Nope.. FULL STRUT!! Still in the game! I feed him a few more clucks, he straightens up and starts covering ground! I tell myself "This is my bird".
As he closes the distance, something's not working for him. HANG UP!!?? Still strutting, he spots something in the tallgrass that must not have been there this morning. Full upright, he turns around and flips his wings onto his back in that "I'm outa here" attitude. I draw, eyeball the wing joint on the back, hoping to get into the chest cavity, release, duck string, arrow skips in dirt, bird runs, struggles but takes to wing and goes all the way back across the field. We're talking 150 yds plus. Guess where my mind is... Run to arrow, very little blood. Playback- "did I see his head kick when the arrow hit?". I cross the field to where it looked like he entered the woods, kneel down and listen. Sounds like flapping wings..!! Crawl around a bit to peer through the lower limbs of the cedars and saplings. I spot him, not moving!! My Bird!! Naturally the thanks and praise goes up with a bowed head. I had a feeling that if i could get a shot off this year, it would be better than last. Up close I find I lucked up and laid open the right side of the neck. Fatal, but not what i wanted. I shall accept it.
Here's the decoy view of the hackberry hideout.
(http://www.myfishingpictures.com/data/500/medium/First_Wild_Turkey_031.jpg)
(http://www.myfishingpictures.com/data/500/medium/First_Wild_Turkey_002.jpg)
(http://www.myfishingpictures.com/data/500/medium/First_Wild_Turkey_007.jpg)
(http://www.myfishingpictures.com/data/500/medium/First_Wild_Turkey_026.jpg)
(http://www.myfishingpictures.com/data/500/medium/First_Wild_Turkey_028.jpg)
God knows I am in now way, shape or form a trophy hunter, but I'll take 7/8" hooks and an 8 1/2" beard as soon as I'd take a stubby jake!
Congrats!! Sometimes we are provided gifts! I would accept it
Great hunt!
Outstanding! Congrats on a fine harvest. :thumbsup:
Congrats! That is a great tom.
Turkeys a tough to bag...well done!
nice
Outstanding! Putting in the time, being dog-tired, staying out there with the birds,thinking one into range the way you did and putting that kind of shot on him... Man, that's huntin'!
Great hunt unreal shot...way to stick with em!
Congrats!!!!
Congrats! Great story.
Congrats on a fine bird!
Way to go, congrats!!! Nice bird, and a great story.
Congrats on a fine bird!
Congrats! I need to give Turkeys a try.
I love deer hunting and like waterfowl hunting too, but turkeys are just fun as all get out to hunt! Besides, it's a solid excuse to hit the woods with the longbow!
Thanks!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :clapper:
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Congrats on the bird!!!!! Also congrats in your story telling, you did a fantastic job portraying the hunt and emotions that come with it. I feel privileged to have read such a fine tale.
:thumbsup:
Congrats on the bird. Really enjoyed the story.RC
Great story and pics, congrats :clapper:
Congrats Rory that is awesome and good job on your 1st bird!
Thank you all! 16 months of practice has brought me a lot of "firsts' since October and I am loving it. In October I took my first archery whitetail with the longbow and now a turkey, which I'd never taken period, but am absolutely nuts about hunting. I'll be the first to admit that I'm in love with traditional archery, but I'm not sure my wife or fishing friends understand. It's as I put my other addictions of fly fishing and motorcycling; a natural part of my life.
On the flip side, we're down 30-40 degrees from Monday with a cold front that I hope will set the Toms back from their love trance until the weekend warm up... We had the same thing happen last week and the birds were all too fired up to get acquainted with a hot yelping hen last weekend. I know to keep my expectations realistic, but I've still got another tag in my pocket!
Good luck to all as turkey seasons are opening up across the states!
Great job Rory. :thumbsup:
Thanks Scot!
Heading back out in the morning to try to find another bird, but have a couple of friends I'd like to maybe try calling birds for to see if they can connect.
Great hunt and greater story. Thanks for sharing.
That sounds fun. Good luck!!
Well, my fan is nearly cured. I decided that since this is my first bird, I should at least mount the fan with a personal touch. Went to the lumber store and got a poplar shelf. I cut a plaque from it and drew a strutter on it that I intend to carve into the wood. I'm hoping to stain this in a red oak stain and hope the carving will stand out.
(http://www.myfishingpictures.com/data/500/medium/First_Wild_Turkey_Fan_Project_002.jpg)
(http://www.myfishingpictures.com/data/500/medium/First_Wild_Turkey_Fan_Project_003.jpg)
Congrats on your bird!
Bisch
:notworthy:
Congrats !
Great hunt, great story, your hard hunting payed off..........congrats and thanks for sharing. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :clapper:
Congrats on the turkey, thanks for sharing your story. :clapper: