2015 Spring contest pic and story thread
04-13-2015, 12:42 PM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Waipahu HI USA
Posts: 2,915
re-posted from Team #2 thread-
I busted my second tom at 35-40yds, but it was hardly a classic spring set up. I drove down a fire/forestry road to check some areas I have hunted before. I had a hunt lined up for the next morning on some private land loaded with big toms. But I had to scratch my itch. I waited a year for spring season to come along and I took off a week to hunt turkeys, so by gosh I was gonna hunt. I could always pass on any tom smaller than the 2yo I busted 2 days before. Since I was hunting in the public area, if I came across a decent bird, I'd probably pull the trigger.
I set up near an area I had heard a lot of gobbling. I worked 2 different gobblers. One moved off and the other went silent after 20mins on the ground. I moved parallel to him, but busted a lone hen who flew in the direction of the tom, and then I heard 3-4 turkeys fly off. Busted. It was fun, and I wasn't too dejected because I knew I had the next day lined up in an area full of good opportunities.
Later, I decided to drive the truck back to some areas I've hunted in the past. As I drove along the access road, I busted two small flocks of turkeys on the road. On Mauna Kea, when the grass gets wet from fog., mist and rain, the birds will often walk along trails and roadsides. When I got to a curving rise in the road, I stopped the truck and walked up to have a look-see over the rise. If there wasn't anything, no harm. If there was, I might have an opportunity. I threw a few yelps out, and got nothing as I got closer to the rise. As soon as I topped it, two toms gobbled. I was basically skylighted in the middle of the road. I yelped again, once, and they cut me off.
The next thing I know, there's two decent longbeards standing in the road. One gobbled, then turned and looked directly at me and gobbled again. I waited for them to separate, since I only had one tag left. The "gobbler" gobbled again and high stepped behind a bush. The second bird took a few steps away from me. Once his friend cleared the road, he stopped for a second and looked back at me...Boom! My Win 1300 dumped another Big Island bird.
The tree picture shows what the terrain looks like around 6,000ft.
I busted my second tom at 35-40yds, but it was hardly a classic spring set up. I drove down a fire/forestry road to check some areas I have hunted before. I had a hunt lined up for the next morning on some private land loaded with big toms. But I had to scratch my itch. I waited a year for spring season to come along and I took off a week to hunt turkeys, so by gosh I was gonna hunt. I could always pass on any tom smaller than the 2yo I busted 2 days before. Since I was hunting in the public area, if I came across a decent bird, I'd probably pull the trigger.
I set up near an area I had heard a lot of gobbling. I worked 2 different gobblers. One moved off and the other went silent after 20mins on the ground. I moved parallel to him, but busted a lone hen who flew in the direction of the tom, and then I heard 3-4 turkeys fly off. Busted. It was fun, and I wasn't too dejected because I knew I had the next day lined up in an area full of good opportunities.
Later, I decided to drive the truck back to some areas I've hunted in the past. As I drove along the access road, I busted two small flocks of turkeys on the road. On Mauna Kea, when the grass gets wet from fog., mist and rain, the birds will often walk along trails and roadsides. When I got to a curving rise in the road, I stopped the truck and walked up to have a look-see over the rise. If there wasn't anything, no harm. If there was, I might have an opportunity. I threw a few yelps out, and got nothing as I got closer to the rise. As soon as I topped it, two toms gobbled. I was basically skylighted in the middle of the road. I yelped again, once, and they cut me off.
The next thing I know, there's two decent longbeards standing in the road. One gobbled, then turned and looked directly at me and gobbled again. I waited for them to separate, since I only had one tag left. The "gobbler" gobbled again and high stepped behind a bush. The second bird took a few steps away from me. Once his friend cleared the road, he stopped for a second and looked back at me...Boom! My Win 1300 dumped another Big Island bird.
The tree picture shows what the terrain looks like around 6,000ft.
Last edited by JoeA; 04-13-2015 at 01:07 PM.
04-13-2015, 08:59 PM
#3
Typical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: colorado
Posts: 700
2015 Merriam Gobbler
DAY 1 started in the roost area with one gobbler and he wasn't talking, another hunter came up and spooked him of the roost just before fly down. In the afternoon I went to an area used often by gobblers and jakes and after a short while I heard a gobble I did some calling and thought he was coming in although he went silent, and then there he was 50 ft. from me but I couldn't move on him, he saw the decoys and didn't like seeing them then looked my way and putted, I hadn't realized my go pro light was flashing so that was that.
Day two I set up in the same area the gobblers like to use and soon I heard a gobble, I found a gobbler far off with hens and eventually called him away from his hens but he was still playing hard to get. After several min. the hens rejoined him and brought him right to me and he was all mine.
9 inch beard
5/8 spurs
Day two I set up in the same area the gobblers like to use and soon I heard a gobble, I found a gobbler far off with hens and eventually called him away from his hens but he was still playing hard to get. After several min. the hens rejoined him and brought him right to me and he was all mine.
9 inch beard
5/8 spurs
04-18-2015, 01:57 PM
#4
I got one yesterday. I think he was an operative for ISIS, so I called in an airstrike of #5's.
Seriously, it's been a wet week and I took a bet that during those breaks the birds might head to an open field to try to dry off. It paid off and I got a great bird on an afternoon hunt. Several guys in the club had tried to kill him, but he had eluded them. They are awesome hunters... I was lucky.
Seriously, it's been a wet week and I took a bet that during those breaks the birds might head to an open field to try to dry off. It paid off and I got a great bird on an afternoon hunt. Several guys in the club had tried to kill him, but he had eluded them. They are awesome hunters... I was lucky.
04-21-2015, 07:45 AM
#6
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Southeast Missouri
Posts: 647
Well it was windy as heck yesterday. When I got there, someone was already sitting there. landowner said nobody was supposed to be in there but he said he had permissiom. I said ok and asked if I was going to mess his hunt up, he said no. He is also a teacher where I work. Didn't hear alot of gobbling but heard a couple but they shut-up pretty quick. Well at 6:40 my other hunter shoots twice. I thought well crap, but was going to stick it out. I jump around a bit, me and wife, trying to strike one up. At 8:00 I peek into a field and I see a hen then I see a strutter. I get my wife into position and call once. At 20 yards just inside the woods a red head appears and I tell her shoot!!! She shoots and its down, so we sit tight and I keep calling. The rest of them left the field so I just deciced to wait it out for a while. I put out a full strut and hen decoy and start calling every 10-15 min. After an hour or so my wife says I see a strutter and some hens. Actually it was 2 gobblers and 2 hens. They fed around about 175 yards away and didn't pay any attention to a call. After a while 1 hen leaves and the other comes up field line twords us. She hits the woods bout 10 feet beside us and leaves. The gobblers look up after pecking around in the field and dont see the hen so they start coming our way. They hit a small dip in the field and when they got to top the seen my decoy. Game on!! 1 comes in looking and the other comes in running twords decoy. Had to wait till they seperated and managed to get him at 10:45. Awesome morning in the woods. Wife was on a streak of not getting one but she cahanged that. Mine was 22.17 lbs, 8 1/2" beard and 3/4 and 7/8 spurs. Wife's was 18 1/2 lbs, 9" beard and 3/4" spurs.
