RE: Team 8 Thread
 

Missouri and Arkansas for me.

Spudrow from MO

RE: Team 8 Thread
 

i didnt see a single turkey. im going out tomorrow to pattern the gun in and i might do some shed hunting/turkey scouting

RE: Team 8 Thread
 

Oh woohooo....Yesterday i went to listen to see where my bird was, he was MIA, so I decided to see if I could roost a bird, I did, 2 of em, I was so torn, should I go after the ones that I roosted or go after my gobbler that I got on audio, the one I bonded with for weeks...I called Fl..she convinced me to go with my gut, because it's never wrong, lol...though I really wanted that one gobbler, it was heartbreaking to let him go....so I slept in the truck so I was the first one out there...I finally make my way down the trail and I run into a herd of cows bedded down, well I have to go through them, there's no going around them, so i made a noise and flashed them with my flashlight, you would of thought i started world war 3, the whole heard scattered, then I come face to face with this single cow down a ways , I had to stand my ground again, it freaked out and the whole heard that was hiding in silence spooked, I had cows running everywhere I know the 2 birds I roosted were not going to say a word, and they didn't...but I did hear one, so I went after him, then he shut up, so I worked him for about 2 hours, then I decided to move to my honey hole, where I should of been first thing.I cut 2 palmettos, stuck them in the ground and I did a yelp, then another, then blalalalaaaa, so I yelped again, blalalalala, dang it, I can't move,they're right there, coming in from side and behind me, so I lay down on my back,it's the best position I could get in with out moving too much and then I saw him, he's coming in strutting, then he'd go out of strut, go back in, he wasn't too sure about my decoy, but then he turned and was coming in about 10 yds. in front of me,now I have missed 2 birds in the past due to the fact that they were too close, so I'm like "aim low Casey", so I did ... as soon as he popped out behind the tree, I shot him, I rolled him head first, then i see a bird putting looking right at me, oh no, he's up, and I know I rolled him, this shoudn't be happening, so I go to shoot him again and my gun is jamming, then he flew up and landed behind a tree, I was losing my bird, how in the world is this happening, I was freaking out because he didn't look like he was wounded too bad, but he should of been ...then I see a head bobbin' out of the corner of my eye, it was my bird sitting there where I had dropped him but it was looking at me, so I shot him again and blew his eyeballs out , broke his beak in half, it was ugly, but it had to be done...i would usually run up and step on their neck but he was in the sitting position and I was afraid he was going to fly away, but anyway, Bird down....oh woohooooooo...hunting the Freakzone tomorrow.
This area is the same area I have killed now 4 birds in, each and every time I hunt there, i shoot a bird and then I think he's still alive, always turns out to be another bird that I didn't see with him and by the grace of God I have never made that 2nd shot or I'd have some explainng to do when I got to the check station, lol...
his stats are:Time of Day: 9:20 am
Weight 17.4 lb.
Beard Length - 9.75"
Right Spur - 1.25"
Left Spur - 1.0"

RE: Team 8 Thread
 

Congrats Huntnma on a finebirdand a great story to boot! Team 8 on the board....April 11 can't get here soon enough! Looks like you've got the following score:

Your score is 17.25 + 12.5 + 10 + 19.5 = 59.25

RE: Team 8 Thread
 

Awsome Huntnma great job still got to wait till the end of April here but I am getting geared up great lookin bird and cool story

RE: Team 8 Thread
 

Congrats huntnma great story and one on the books.......
TK.........

RE: Team 8 Thread
 

Congrats huntnma!! A real nice one to put us on the board. Question, if you are going hunt the "freakzone" tomorrow, what harm would've been done if you would've shot the 2nd bird right after shooting this bird? Sounds like you're allowed to shoot more than one, or do you have to hunt a different area for your second tom?
I'm not starting until the weekend of the 18th of April.

RE: Team 8 Thread
 

congratsone the great birdhuntnmayou put us on the board!!!

RE: Team 8 Thread
 

You're only allowed one bird per day, 2 per season and the one bird was spooked real bad, lol...I did hunt the FZ today, had 5 gobbling all around for about 10 minutes,, then total silence, so tomorrow is going to be closer to where they were gobbling today ..Thanks for the congrats all ;)

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

Congrats! Very nice bird, I cant wait till season starts out here, I posted your birds scores huntnma. Lets keep it going guys!

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

congrats huntnma. You score has been recorded.

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

Atta Girl Huntnma!! :)way to go!!!

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

i had dairy judging today for FFA and we didnt get done until 2 so i didnt go back to school and i went out to my buddies new farm and tried to find some gobblers. i got one to gobble but i never got to see him. thats the first gobbling i heard this year

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

Well, I finally got out this morning to do some scouting and locating....saw 3 strutters and 5 jakes, heard a couple of gobbles. It was windywith light rain and then the sun came out,April 11th just won't get here soon enough!

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

i dont have school on friday so my buddy and i are going out and do some major scouting. hopefully we can get some birds pinpointed.

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

You think waiting until the 11th is bad, my first crack at'em isn't going to be until the 16th, although archery only and youth season actually start tomorrow. BUT I talked to my buddy back in KS. last night, and the birds are still mostly in large winter flocks, although there is some fighting going on, and a few of the birds are beginning to break away from the big flocks.

Good luck on the scouting Friday. Hopefully you won't have any deep snow or bad weather by then.

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

i have to wait until April 22nd until i can hit the woods. i was thinking about doing the youth hunt here in wisconsin but i want to do some mud bogging before it dries up

RE: Team 8 Thread
 

Congrats on a fine bird.

Spudrow from Mo

RE: Team 8 Thread
 

im going to the Deer and Turkey Expo in madison,wisconsin tomorrow. hopefully i can find some nice turkey hunting stuff

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

conner 77
Are you going to send the stickers to us or does someone else do this?
Tk...........

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

saw a big tom today on my way to work stopped and gobbled at him he puffed right up started struttin around like OK I heard ya where ya at I whip your butt LOL still got till the frellin 27 then 2 weeks to hunt SHINY

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

Yah, im planning to send the stickers but I havnt gotten them in the mail yet so I'll send um as soon as i get them

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

i saw a couple longbeard strutting yesterday on some land i can hunt. i was on my way up to the wisconsin deer and turkey expo

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

STILL WAITING [:o]15 MORE DAYS TO GO [:o]

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

i still have 15 days also until i can hit the turkey woods.

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

Well it's time....finally, loading up and heading out for tomorrow's opener. I plan on doing my normal routine, get in the woods this evening and wait for'em to roost andblast 'em in the morning.:D

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

good luck tomorrow jbar. hopefully you bring one home and put another one on the board for us. good luck, have fun and be safe

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

Good luck y'all........

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

Well no bird Sat., I talked to 2 different gobblers around 9am, one went into the field after about 20 minutes of coaxing and kept going.. the other one never showed himself, he was fired up, would answerduring the call back.. I was hunting a large rye field with a pine block tothe north and a large cutoverto the west. There is a large canal between thefield and cutover and I know it drawssome birds. The 2nd gobbler I worked came from the cutover to the canal and would not cross/fly over it to me, a littlefrustrating[:@] but nonetheless fun.

A front moved in and it cooledoff and became quite windy for the afternoon, unable to find or hear any then.

I'll be going back next week so it ain't over till it's over!

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

I'm finally going to get in on the action, headed back to KS after work tomorrow. Of course, the weatherman is calling for rain from Thursday through Sat. night, so it might be tough getting in on good action. Got a freind that I'm taking back with me who has never killed a turkey. SO, priority #1 is to get him his first.
Talked to my buddy back there and he tells me that they still aren't breeding yet. He's got his dad and a cousin of his filmed with archery kills. We'll also be using the bow and arrows, BUT if it comes down to it, I'll let my friend pull out the powder burner to kill his first.
Good luck this weekend everyone. See ya Sunday night.

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

good luck to the both of you. have fun and be safe

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

im heading out this weekend with my dads buddy. i might go out and pick up an leftover tag for this season just for the hell of it. i'll post some pictures if he gets one and ifi get one

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

I burned yesterday so I couldn't roost my bird...
I got there, I was #5 Drove down to my parking area,I see another truck coming my way, my heart dropped, then he pulled in, we talked and he said he would go elsewhere, I was alone woohoooooo, let the hunt begin...
I hunted the powerline until 7:30...if they weren't there by then , they weren't coming...I heard no gobbling , at least nothing I was 100%sure of.I snuck into my honeyhole, while on the way in , I heard a squirrel barking",Thinking that he was barking at my gobbler, I said"come to mommy bigboy", just kidding around.I knew I had to be where I call the mouth, it's a small funnel, so
I got set up and I did 2 series of soft yelps and then a minute later I did 2 more but a lil louder this time...I saw green and black walking...Oh no, there he was but he was sticking to the outside edge of where I needed him to be, so I did a couple of purrs...I tried 2 times to get a shot while he was skirting me, but couldn't egt a good/clean shot, then he disapeared, then I saw him,he was heading right to me, so I had to scoot over to get a shot, He got within 30 yards and I took it....he dropped, I run over there, stepped on his neck, though there was no need, but I was making sure after he got by me twice previous, lol.....
I had my safety off twice prior to today, I just asked God not to let there be a third time without a shot.Thank God he finally gave me that bird.....He's the same bird I almost shot on accident when I shot my first bird , then to have my sights on him again and not shoot because i wouldn't take a crappy shot, I'm sure glad to have sealed the deal today.
His stats are 14.2 lbs.
1 1/16 and 1 1/8 in spurs
9 1/4 inch beard
I was pretty sure that he was the less dominant bird when I got my first one but I still had that , what if thing going on,bugging me lol.....but he had a 1/2'' shorter beard than the other one...both were 2 year birds.
I'm leaving fo Virginia in the a.m., 4:00.Hunting up there was a few days.

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

Congrats, likethat limbhanger pose!

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

Way to go huntnma, sounds like a great hunt, once again.

Well, as luck would have it, luck smiled upon me. I was suppose to be taking a "newbie" turkey hunter with me this weekend, but as it turns out, he was unable to get a replacement pilot to take his flight on Thursday, so he said he could fly into Salina, KS. if I could come and pick him up on Friday afternoon. We were suppose to leave Wed. night after I got off from work, so I stuck with that plan and agreed to pick him up Friday afternoon. Well, a big 'ol snow storm blew in to Denver area Friday and he was unable to get out on Friday, so he cancelled his first turkey trip altogether, hoping to maybe get a chance to go next weekend, which put me in the shooters seat. SO I called my buddy back in KS. to see if I could hook up with him, or another friend for some turkey hunting, and indeed, went ahead and drove right on past my familys farm to my buddys house with plans to hunt with him.
SO Thursday morning, went headed out to a farm that my buddy has permission on, where he's hunted for many years, and knows their habits well. Long story short, we did see very many turkeys, but it only takes one. We first called in a hen, and she hung out for thirty minutes before moving on. Then we watched two turkeys cross our field, but they wouldn't come to a call, and we couldn't tell if they were hens or toms. Then we got our eyes on a strutter, but he was clear at the far end of the field, about 600 yards, and wouldn't give us the time of day. At about 11 am, we had decided to throw in the towel for the morning and head to town for breakfast. About the time that we had our gear packed away and were ready to exit the doublebull, I took one last peek out to make sure the coast was clear, and what do I see, but two turkeys about 300 yards across the field from us. One was chasing the other, but no strutting going on. SO I pulled out a box call, and gave some yelps to see if we could get a reaction. Sure enough, one turkey heads in the direction of the strutting tom and one turkey heads our way, and on a string. This turkey never stopped once, and we had just enough time to get the video camera set back up, get our face masks back on, get an arrow knocked, and get my release attached. At about 50 yards, I could see the beard, and declared, I'm shootin' if givin the chance. Well, at about 10 yards, my buddy says, "It'sa bearded hen". Well, she came in with an attitude and although she didn't hold still at all, at about 5 yards, I took the slame dunk shot and put my bullhead broadhead into her at the base of her neck, and simply flipped her on her back, and that was that. Broke her neck. Turns out that she has a 7" beard and will be a the taxidermist probably tomorrow. SO, we're on cloud nine. Get things hauled back to the truck, into to town for lunch, and back to my buddys house for a quick nap, before heading back out for an evening hunt. We decided to go to my property that my wife and I own because a neighbor reported to us that there were indeed a bunch of turkeys staying there. We got back in the blind at about 3:30 pm, and didn't expect any turkeys to show for probably a few hours, since we were set up just a couple hundred yards from the historical roosting area. Well, at about 4:30, the first turkey arrived. It was a tom, but dispite our best calling and two hen dcoys, this turkey would have none of us, like he had some where to be, and went right on by us at about 100 yards. Well, once again, long story short, by the time it was all said and done, we count about 35 turkeys that showed up and went to roost. 19 of those had visible beards, with 9 of themhaving full fans. AND, as luck would flow my way again, one of the big toms just couldn't resist my buddys sweet nothin' from his box calls, and he made the fatal mistake of cominginto our decoys that were just 6 yards from the blind, and this time, the Magnus bullhead did a complete and total decapitation, and my bird was down. This tom has a 10.25" beard, both spurs were 1.25", and he weighed in at 19.5#'s. The cool thing about this hunt, is we didn't spook any of the other birds, and they went to roost, and we snuck out under darkness, and will be back to hunt them again next weekend, with my pilot "newbie" friend. I thinkhe'll have a good chance at getting his first turkey. Here's the hen.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v156/songdog/IMG_1666.jpg" />

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

And here's my tom. Like to mention that in KS., the law states that "any bearded" turkey is legal in the spring, and we're allowed to kill both turkeys on the same calender day.




HIS SCORE IS 65. He is either a Rio or a hybrid Rio/Eastern as where I was hunting, is a known hybrid area.

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

Here's a picture of what we were looking at from the blind, just a short time after I had killed my tom. Just a few turkeys piled up on my property.:)



The tom was between the two decoys when I shot him, and he tipped the front decoy over when I shot him, and he's laying just out of the picture to the right.

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

Way to go Howler, looks and sounds like pure turkey bliss!

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

congrats howler on the great turkey. nice bird, thats another one for the boards

RE: Team 8 "Beard Busters" Thread
 

Thanks guys. Hope you guys have as much action as I did. I truely am blessed to get to hunt some of the places that I do. Between the land that my family owns, the land that my wife and I own, and my buddys familys land that we get to hunt, it don't get much better for turkeys. Good luck and hope a strutter finds his way into your sights.