Im hunting over by millersburg. I dont know if you know where thats at... Its west of iowacity.. Its by ladora...williamsburg... over in that area.

Ok, thats about 3 hours from where I'm at. I will actually be down in the ottumwa area this weekend though. I'm going down on business and hope to be able to get a morning hunt in on a family farm we have down there. Thats where I do most of my hunting but this year I wont be able to hunt much there. I live in the Mason City area. I have several small farms I hunt up here and that's where I'll be doing most of my hunting this year. I got one really good place up here, that's where I shot my bird 2 weeks ago, but the other farms are pretty good too. You are in a pretty good area though. Good luck and maybe we can cross paths sometime. Let me know, I'm always game to hunt with someone.

I guarantee im slamming one on saturday. Mark my words guys. haha

you'll get one of them Pope!!! you'll seal the deal shortly. i'm probably going to go get a tag for the 2nd to last season here in wisconsin and take the bow out instead of the shotgun. it should be a challange

A true Georgia Swamp Chicken. Mud and all.

Well. That's it for Ga. I'm hoping to go somewhere else but so far it's not working out. You guys keep bustin' heads!!!

Dan

congrats on the bird!!! how big was he???

Not as big as yours!!! lol 22-14, 11", 1 1/8 and 1 1/16 - 66.75

Dan

Seems like some of the guys haven't been on in awhile, I hope they didn't bail on us. We have a good shot at placing near the top....

Yep, we're gonna need some help.

Mark. If you and I had had any luck at all last yr. we would have won. We came in second with ol Bubba Gump too.

OK you guys put the smackdown on a couple this wk. end and let's keep it going.

Dan

A turkey is going to die this weekend! Whether its with a bow...gun...or truck, one is going to die.
4th season opened up either yesterday or today... (not sure), but my brother will be going out with his gun to try and get one on our property behind our cabin, and then ill be going out at my honey hole and hopefully I get one. I have a track meet friday so i wont be able to go friday night but ill be out up and early saturday morning. I think we are suppose to have good weather this weekend so I should be having some luck.

Andy- Run fast!! and then Shoot straight!! lol Hope you hammer one.

Dan

Dan, I know what you mean, I hunted the same spot last year and had no luck,:confused0024: this year was just meant to be...:D

last night we went out to our land to check the fields out before we plant. our fields still are a little wet so hopefully they dry out soon. we need to get our crops in. but as we were leaving the last field a group of turkeys came out of the woods and one of the toms had a beard that was dragging on the ground!! i mean dragging!!!! it has to be about a foot or more inches long. hopefully he sticks around for 2 more weeks so i can put a tag around his leg.

Hope you get one this weekend man. I'm pretty sure I'll be out saturday morning. Not gonna have a lot of time to hunt and if I cant get out, I'm sure I will have more time later in the season. I've filled 7 4th season tags in a row, so hopefully the streak doesn't end this year. Anyways, good luck to everyone still hunting.

good luck this weekend pope. go knock a monster thunderchicken over!!!!!

Guys... today was the last day of Alabama season and I scored...not a big bird, but a mature gobbler. Story to come. 17 lbs., 9.5 inch beard, 7/8" and 15/16" spurs.

last day turkey
 

Attachment 9389

Attachment 9390

Here is today's and my only bird of the season:confused0024:

Arjuna, That is awesome!!!!! WTG!! I was afraid you were done for the season. That son of a gun about wore his wingtips off didn't he? He's rutted down! lol

Good luck to everybody out this wk. end. Bust some heads!!!!!

Dan

nice bird and congrats. way to get one on the board

I got 3 days left in my season, and tomorrow I'm headed out for this big tom that has so far eluded me, and at least 4 other hunters. I've been patterning him, and if he goes where I hope he goes tomorrow, I might just get lucky. This is an old tom, he has at least 6 hens with him every morning, and does not come to decoys, or answer to calls. My plan is to set up on a corner of the pasture where I've been watching him leave the pasture. That end of the pasture is surrounded by oaks. I'm setting up with No dekes, no calling, and just wait, and pray he comes my way.

story
 

Ok here's the story on my bird:

The last day of the season is also my son's birthday. This year he turned 9. For his birthday he wanted to go camping (like we do most years.) We have a camper that I still keep at my house in Alabama. It's a two and a half hour drive, but since I had to go anyway, I figured I may as well hunt.

Usually the last week of the season is tough and silent, so I figured I would go out anyway and hope that the long winter might have pushed back the season a little bit. I figured I would try to get something off the roost and then get the camper if I didn't hear anything.

I left the house at 2:30 a.m. , convinced that this disease called turkey hunting was a terrible ailment.

I arrived in Hartford at 5:00 and let my dog run around a little bit and then headed to the creek bottom that normally held a good flock of birds. The loggers had thinned out the pine trees and left the smell of fresh turpentine in the air. I inhaled deeply and smiled. It was already a great morning.

I sat down at the tree about 5:20. I waited and soaked in the last hunt of the season. I said a little prayer where I thanked God for the gift of hunting and for generous landowners. I prayed for success, safety, and to bless my family while I was away.

At 5:30 I heard the first gobble. I tree yelped. He gobbled again. I was afraid that I was too close. He was only about 75 yards away; just across the creek. Then I heard a gobble on the other side of the road on the same side of the creek. I tree yelped again.

I quit counting gobbles at 50. Then they went crazy. At 5:45 I did a fly down cackle and shut up. They really went wild. By 5:55, they had gobbled at least 150 times. Wow! What a hunt.

Then, a bird flew down from the big trees toward me. It was like a runway. The bird just about hit me as he hit the ground and ran up the road behind me. I could feel the breeze off his wings. Then another. I almost shot him like a duck, but I decided to wait. Then the third one started down. He put the brakes on and dropped down about 40 yards away. The grass had grown up, so I couldn't see his beard or spurs. I saw his red, white, and blue head and pulled the trigger. He went down. :rock:

I smiled and thanked God for the great hunt.

Then I went to pick up my bird. While I was picking him up, another bird flew down and about hit me. He swooped up into a tree about 20 feet above me. I dropped my bird and looked at him through the scope. He began putting with the two other birds on that had flown past me that were still on the ground only 40 yards away. I laughed out loud and remembered the joy of turkey hunting. It was a great hunt. Thanks guys.

I ate fried turkey nuggets on Saturday night. Tonight I plucked his tail fan and fixed them into my primos decoy for next year. Enjoy guys.

Awesome story Jack. I was there with you the whole way. Now that's a hunt that will keep you coming back. Good stuff!!!!

Congrats again!!

Dan

great story and it sounded like a pretty awesome hunt. congrats on the bird and nice job

Congratz on the bird! I think now im the only one that hasn't gotten one on our team.

Pope- You're not the Lone Ranger. Keep after em, it'll happen. Look at what happened to Arjuna on the last day of season. Are you going this coming wk. end?


Dan

Arjuna, sounds like an super awesome hunt you had there, nothing like a bunch of gobbling to get your heart pounding. As for the rest of you guys who havn't scored yet, keep after them and your time will come....

Umm sadly no I can't... My sister is getting married saturday.. Tomorrow and friday I get to miss school so ill try getting out on those days. Tomorrow I get my braces off so I might go that evening and then friday I have to help decorate for the wedding all day so I might try go early in the morning.

Well, good luck if you get out!! Big things happening this wk. end. You with your braces and your sister getting married. They must be trying to make you a little prettier for the wedding photo's. lol Have fun!!!

Dan

Awesome story man!! Pope, keep after them, you'll get one. May have to consider taking the shotgun towards the end of season? Either way good luck man. I'm pulling for a fellow Iowa hunter.

Well, I tagged out this morning. Been chasing this bird now for 2 weeks. He's a stubborn one, all henned up with at least 6 hens every morning. Wouldn't come to calls, actually would turn and go the opposite direction from the calling. He's evaded my 2 neighbors at least twice, and one other hunter last Sat. when Brandon and I where going to hunt him, but saw another hunter allready there, so we went someplace else. Yesterday again, I was on him for over 3 hours, and not calling cause I knew he would leave, was just waiting and hope to pattern him. He was with 2 other birds, a nice tom and a jake. But when they got too close, this bird chased them off, and went back to his hens. All the while out of gun range. After that, the cows got curious and came in and this tom and his hens moved off into the timber on property I don't have permission on, so I packed up and left. Today I got in there at 5:30 and set up with my secret weapon, Since he showed some dominace yesterday, I packed in my Feather flex Jake, and a jake tail fan I did 2 years ago. I set up what turned out to be, about 30 yards from his roost. Dekes facing away, with this jake tail fan staring him right in the face. He gobbled several times on the roost, but I only did 3 soft kelks in a row after his first gobble, and then put my call away. When I heard him fly down, I got my gun up and ready. When he came thru the fence, strutting, drumming and spitting, he proceded to gobble at my set up. He moved to about 15 yards of the set up, and about the same distance to me, and stopped and just gobbled his head off, then he would stand straight up, all puffed out. Thats when he got his fill of #5's.
He ended up being 20lbs, 10 1/4 inch beard, and both spurs were 1 1/4.



My set up this morning.


What he saw after flydown


View back at him from the set up.


And the important stuff.

Mastevt, Congratz man! Nice rig you had set up there.

Jepcho, no shotgun for me. My first turkey will be with a bow, no matter how many years it takes. I want my first one to be with a bow. Lol call me crazy but im fine with eating tag soup year after year. I just want to get one with my bow so bad.

Dan, I think that was the plan for me getting my braces off... Gotta look pretty for the camera. :D I just got back from my appointment and all of those erands me and my mom did. Not to brag or anything but I look pretty good. :D It feels very weird without braces though, considering ive had them on for almost 4 years!

WTG!!!!! Mastevt. That's an awesome bird. Man, I love those spurs. I've got just about the same setup as far as dekes. Older birds just can't stand it. Good job calk'ing to immitate a jake. That's a great call in this situation. He's gonna be tough with all that testosterone you fired up!!! lol

BTW- "Secret Weapon" is the name of my call company.

Dan

Andy- Feels real slippery, rt? but good!!! I wore em for about the same amount of time. Of course you probably had those fancy new clear one's. I had those old metal one's that made you look like a picket fence. lol Congrat's on gettin' them off-enjoy!!

Dan

Thanks, It was a rememorble hunt. May just take my oldest son Brandon out tomorrow, depends if he's all caught up on his school stuff. I'm all tagged out for the year, so I'm done, but still would like to call one in for my boy. So,....your call company? What kind of calls do you make?

thats a great bird mastevt!!!!! hes a big one. congrats and thats a great looking set up there. is that a camo tape wrap or what around the stock??

The stock camo socks were bought at Bass Pro. It's real similar to a wet suit. Turn it inside out, and roll it on the stock. Same with the barrel part. Easily removed to put on another gun if you want. The fan was origanally made for a real jake decoy I made two years ago. To make it more friendly to get in and out of the field I made the fan detachable. However, after several field tests, I found out it was a major pain bringing in the taxied Jake, and a separate fan, with all my other gear. Then trying to find the holes that the fan fits down into in the jake body in the dark. I decided to scrap the jake. I used the original wires that I had glassed into the tail, and installed some broken aluminum arrow shafts with a couple of small hose clamps. Bottom of arrows have field points on them for easier installation in the ground. I can now fold up my dekes and tote in my turkey vest, and carry the fan in an old pizza box to protect it. Much easier! But still a load to bring out when you got a big bird to carry on top of that, and the usuall 1/4 to 1/2 walk back to the truck. Makes one wish he brought along a cold bud just for the occassion. LOL.

great story. Congrats

Season open in MA, seeing toms just can't get them to leave the hens. Lots of jakes to be had but i am holding out for the the big boys as we only get two tags in MA. Found the same in NH last week during youth turkey weekend. Still plenty of time have no fear MA will be there.

Sirtoby (aka ED)

Hey Ed. good to hear from you. You sound pretty confident so I'll be standing by waiting the pic's and stories. Give em hell!!

Dan

going out this afternoon with a buddy of mine. going to be taking the bow out and the video camera. hopefully we can get a couple on the ground