Phil from Maine

We are all sorry to hear that Talondale.. Hunting can be real tough and tougher when someone moves in and shoots your bird on you.. I sure hope to see you get some luck next time around..

Well guys I went out this morning after working all night and had a Jake come in to a lone hen decoy.. I watched him for a short while and decided with our low turkey numbers this year i took him out.. I did not want to be empty handed this year and figured it will get me on the board.. I still have plenty of time for a bigger bird still to fill my other tag.. I will post the pics most likely tomorrow after I get up. He was huge for a jake in these parts weighing in at 16lbs.. Also my bird was number 6 at the tagging station so far this year due to how low the numbers are..

I will post your other pic tomorrow as well camokenny...

Talondale

Yeah, I just kept saying "You've got to be kidding me." all the way back to the car. I knew this one was coming in. He'd been gobbling since before six. He was one of the two that were calling back and forth, think he was the dominant. If I didn't have the funeral this weekend I'd be back, just not next to the neighbor (ha). Oh well, like you said it was a beautiful morning and lots of birds gobbling. Fun.

Congrats on the bird Phil!

jepcho

Congrats Phil!! At least you got one down! I hope you can get yourself a longbeard as well!

jepcho

Alright here are the rest of the pics and the stats on my 5th and final bird of the year.

20.5 lbs
1/2 inch spurs
9 1/8 inch beard
Total Score is 48.75

Like I said, not the biggest bird. Probably the shortest spurs I've ever killed, but decent beard and came in gobbling and strutting like he owned the place. I had taken a buddy out and was really focusing on getting him a bird. I was to the point where I really wasn't overly concerned with filling my last tag if I could get him his first ever. Anyway, we left work last friday evening and heading to a spot I've killed birds in the past but had yet to hunt this year. After about an hour of just being setup in what should've been where I thought they'd be and where they roost a lot of times, we heard one gobble in the woods to our right and slightly behind us. I thought we were setup perfect for him to follow the beaten path right to the dekes. Instead him came in directly behind us which is where I was facing. He was strutted in gun range for about 5 or 10 minutes and I started to realize he was gonna leave before long. It was drop him or most likely he would walk out of our lives. I whispered to my buddy, "I'm sorry man, I think I'm gonna have to shoot him." He said its all good, smoke him. Thats exactly what I did. I was thrilled but kinda bummed that my buddy didn't get him. He was just happy that we got one, the only thing he was bummed about was the fact that he never even got to see him until after I shot. Fun hunt though, and we have the next three days to try and get him a turkey.

kellyguinn

Congrats Phil on your bird. Talondale wish it would have gone your way but sounds like you had a good time anyway.

Looks like we will need a couple more guys to check a bird if we are going to have a chance at it this year. Total birds we are right up there but on best bird we are a bit short. I'm pullin for yall from my easy chair. Good luck fellas

kellyguinn

SouthernStrut56, bigc870 yall still getting after it?

Phil from Maine

Yes, I have a bird tagged and now I will try and hold off for mr big.. I have until June 6th to get it done.. So still plenty of time left and hopefully I can get it done..


Also thanks everyone for the congrats !!

Yes we do need to get a nother one or 2 that has not tageed a bird to hopefully get one as well.. Good Luck to everyone out there hunting..

Phil from Maine

Here is the pics of my jake.. I do not have working scales at the moment but the weight is from the tagging station here..

Weight 16 lbs.
Both spurs are 3/8 inches
Beard is 4 1/2 inches..

blackheel

Congrats to everyone!

I am done here in NC and most likely the season. I hunted hard 2 of the last 3 days of the NC season but didn't get anything in range.

Good luck to the rest of the team, the rest of the way!!

swampbuster

Guys, got back yesterday from Kansas. We only got one bird and unfortunately I was the one who shot it instead of my daughter. This was my fifth time in six years hunting the same area, and it was the toughest hunting I have ever seen out there. Birds were with hens just about all day. We came across two gobblers by themselves and could not do anything with them. They would not cross the field for nothing. They eventually went the other way. I can not believe that they are still with that many hens mid May.
However I did have a blast being with my daughter all week, she had a blast as well. She hunted very hard ( a lot harder than I figured she would ) never complained. I will post pics and measurements when I can.