Their Gobbling.....Pics Added

[varmint]

Saturday went great.Birds were gobbling at 6:20am!!!!Still black out.Got within 150 yards of a group roosted where I was expecting to set up with the young boy.Sounded like 4-5 different birds gobbling.Few calls on the wingbone I got from BKA after flydown and Taylor said he could see them coming.Turns out it was a group of jakes.I figured since it was his first bird,I'd tell him to shoot one of the jakes.I had already told him which bird to shoot and was waiting for the shot when I noticed another bird out of the corner of my eye.............a FULL fan.I stopped him before he shot and told him to shoot the strutter.15 yard shot and 14 year old Taylor had his first Gobbler on his very first turkey hunt.7 jakes and 1 gobbler in the group.His was about 18lbs,8 1/2" beard,and 7/8" spurs.I think he's spoiled now..........

Been laid up with back problems since........no work,and worse,no turkey hunting for the last 3 days.

Good luck next time you head out.

[joe skipp]

Nice hunt! Sounds like a fine bird. Light rain and cold weather didn't stop this big ol Tom this morning from strutting his stuff with about 7 hens. They were about 100 yds out behind my home in my field. Just a tad too far to get any good photos...8am....His beard has to close to 9" long. May 1st seems like an eternity.....

[jeff / sc]

Back problems....that's a bummer.  Hope you get over that soon. Sounds like you had a good hunt.
Probably try it again in the morning if its not too windy.

[Patience]

Spent last weekend finishing some woodies. Those Toms were going crazy most the day. Problem is that are season doesn't start till the end of this month. They started early up here and I hope it doesn't pose to much of a problem when the season opens.

[beachbowhunter]

Got a couple of hunts in this weekend up in the local mountains. We saw lots of birds. Still lots of lone hens wandering around so it might still be early. Got one big boy to come in to around 45 yards but he had a hen with him who had other ideas and she split!

Good fun...

[joe skipp]

Let's see some nice photos from you sucessful bowbenders....Keep us guys pumped up that have 3 more weeks to go!

[Jack Skinner]

I went out Sunday opening day. I drew a tag for a new area here in WY only 10 permits. Game and Fish introduced some Rio's to this area. Around 1700 I found a track crossing some snow. Followed up hill found droppings. Then a huge lion track. Checking another area just a little more down the road I saw my first Rio big bird heading into some timber on a hill side. Had two gobbling late in day but they were heading up hill probably to roost. I now have an area to concentrate my efforts. All this at 7000 to just over 8000 feet by the way. Snowing on and off all day, drifts still pretty deep. Spring in the Rockies. May use snow shoes this weekend and try the top of the mtn. Seen birds up there durning the summer.

[joe skipp]

Some hens racing across my property...


 


A Tom sneaking away in the backyard...


 

[vermonster13]

You didn't get any of the snow down there Joe?

[Guru]

Put a couple on the "hit list" the last couple days.Weren't gobbling too much yet,but enough for me to find them.

 We'll see what happens in the next week or so,as the birds are just starting to move into the areas I hunt....

cool pix Joe    

[joe skipp]

Curt..came back from fishing the Res the other day (caught a nice 21" Brown) and right there in New Paltz were 2 large toms displaying for about 15 hens. Just before the flats....

Took a drive to another spot I can hunt this spring, and found 1 lone tom strutting his stuff for 4 hens. My season is only 2 weeks long in May but I've seen enough to know right now they are pretty hot.

[Shawn Leonard]

I know of several big birds and tyhey are hanging by the rabbit valley and in the cornfield by the island of trees. I wish we opened up now as it would make it nice to call in groups of Toms. I saw five longbeards by Dads on the way home tonight. Shawn

[ishiwannabe]

Im back from the vaca....no turks liked my northern twang in GA. Had fun fishing in Florida though. I have noticed my "backyard strutters" have moved....once Im feeling better Im heading out to find em. I had five or six decent Toms hanging around, but once the snow was gone they didnt need the goose feed from the neighbor's pond....I will find em...lol.