Yes, he is a nice bird and I'm hoping to get him down. I think we have one with a double beard. I saw him in the fall, but haven't seen him yet this spring. They were gobbling good last weekend and there were two strutters in the field Sunday afternoon with two other long beards. Gonna try to roost a couple Friday night. Three more days!!!

I do have a question. I haven't been seeing them in the fields in the morning. They seem to hang out in the woods until around 12 and then come out in the fields. They are roosting on four different ridges (100 yards from field) and seem to be dropping down in the woods and chasing hens around in the morning. Should I set up on one of the ridges for the morning hunt or setup in the field and try to call them in?

I think I would start off by hunting the edge of the field inside the woods. I would face the ridge where they are roosting. If you get too close to the ridge, you may bump them. Try some soft calling and see what happens. If nothing happens, you can try a little aggressive calling. I have called in many hens this season by being aggressive. You just may bring in the right hen with the gobbler right behind her. Just don't call too much. Maybe you can intercept one heading to the field later in the morning. Remember, that 11:00 to 12:00 time can be that magical hour.

That sounds like a plan. We'll see if it works Saturday morning...

superstrutter,
For the 2010 contest sticker just e-mail me & i'll send you my address [email protected] . I've been hunting hard trying to get a bigger bird so far no joy. I see we are in 3rd place hopefully the guys who hunt later can get those big swingers on the limb. Still waiting on pics for the 3 april bird hopefully tomorrow. Good luck all.

Hey guys, went out yesterday and did not hear one gobble or see anything in a place where I ususlly hear 3-4 birds. I believ ethe word got out on my honey hole for turkey on public hunting area. The birds have been pushed pretty hard this season. I am not going to have a chance to do any more hunting this season due to having to complete my two week annual training for the National Guard. I will continue to monitor the forum and I do wish everyone great success.

April 3rd turkey picture sorry it took so long. I really need my own digital camera

Superstrutter, if midsouth hunter has military commitments are we going to get a stand in team member? I'm retired military and know that it takes priority over most things. I don't think that he should be dropped from team 14. Can we keep him on the rolls and get another shooter? Just thinking, a gun short could make a difference.

Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Once you check in with your team, you are on that team, whether you hunt a single day or not. He's still on the team and we won't be able to get a replacement. It's just unfortunate that midsouth won't be able to hunt anymore this season. There's not much he can do about it. We have several guys on the team who's seasons haven't even opened yet, so I'm guessing a couple of them will score. I'm going to Texas in a couple days, so maybe I can add to the team total score for all birds. I'm hearing it's been really tough hunting where I'm going though, so I might have my work cut out for me. The numbers are down and they are henned up pretty bad. More hens and fewer gobblers can make it pretty tough.

I understand, and i thank and appreciate mid south hunter's service and dedication to his country and the will power he displayed by not making a field expediant bow or spear out of pool equiptment to put a stalk on that long beard by the pool!!!

My buddy and I got that opening day double we were hoping for. They came running right to the B-Mobile at 4:30 in the afternoon. Shot them at less than 10 yards. Mine had a double beard! It was 22 pounds 1 ounce, 1 inch spurs, double beard (9.5 and 4.5) Pics included. We are heading back out in the morning...good luck all!

Score = 22.0625 + 10 + 10 + 28 = 70.0625