NY double team opener
Another great opening day! doesn't happen every year or even that often, but it is sweet when it does come together that way.
Gobblin hen (lee, my wife) and I planned to hunt our property like we do every year. I had gone a few mornings and located a pile of jakes and 2 or 3 long beards in a section of woods on our property. Day before opening day, it was very foggy after I got back from PA, but we managed to spot a long beard near the same section of woods around 5pm. We would start there the next morning!
Opening day....................... 5:30 and some way off gobbles, nothing close. 5:40, getting very light out, and finally a bunch of gobblers open up in front of us up on a ridge some 200-300 yards away. The woods are too open, and it is too light out to move without them catching us from their roost, trying moving in on them. We stay put, and hope for the best. A hen opens up near them, change in game plan. We get eager responses, and the hen backs down. After fly down and a few "we are over here calls" We shut down for 5 minutes to see if they gobble on their own. Nothing. A few yelps, I got cut off by round house gobbling, and the birds are now within 100 yards and coming. Two jakes show up at 50 yards, and acting very spooky. Not coming in. They circled but answer every call. The go almost 3/4's the way around us, stop in one spot, and just gobble at every thing that sounded like a hen turkey.
20 minutes of this, I switch to a beggin boat, and that lit them birds right up. Also raise two more birds some 400 yards away across our main field and up the ridge. A few minutes later I can tell the new pair on the mix is out inthe field and coming. The jakes shut up, and we supsect they high tailed it out of there.
Now the new contenders are gobbling after everyhing including little peeps and whistles between soft yelps. I can now see the pair, and both are long beards. They spot decoys from the edge of the field and march straight in. They half strut,and attempt to full strut, but in too much of a hurry to get close to they newfound girlfriends.
30 yard out, Lee puts down the stutter, and the second long beard goes to exit stage left. I pick him up at 35 yards and drop him at 40 after he passes by a big maple tree. It is now 6:50 AM, and we are done for the day
Lee's bird: 16-1/2lbs 9" beard, 3/4" & 7/8" spurs
Mike's Bird: 19lbs-11oz, 8-1/2" beard, 3/4" & 7/8" spurs
Double tagging on you own land with your spouse makes for a great start of the season................ another set of tags yet to fill!
NY double team opener
