Team 1 Strut Stoppers
4/22/2017 at 6:05 am
Eastern Turkey
Beard = 10.0 inches
Right Spur = 1.0 inches
Left Spur = 1.0 inches
Weight = 23 lbs, 2 oz
Score = 63.125








Low quality video of the shot = Video after the shot = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMAF...ature=youtu.be

Very nice bird. Way to score one for the team. I enjoyed the video...that's some pretty country.

Nice job dragonx. RPD is right, beautiful country. That is a heavy bird.

Thanks! Here's something I thought was neat. I was cleaning the wing bones off the bird I just killed yesterday (my dad makes calls from the bones) and noticed one didn't look right. He most have broken his wing when he was younger and it healed back together. You can see where the two pieces of bone weren't quite together when they healed, and there's even a sharp spur of bone that looks a bit like a shark's tooth growing out of the area. I don't know if the bone will work for a call, but it sure is fascinating to feel like I got a little glimpse into this bird's life.

Interesting. On a side note, do you use a wingbone call while hunting?

Great bird! Congrats!
Today was the opener. Had a nice one I roosted last pm behind the house come in, but below me offering no shot.

Keep at it Western. Nice to hear and see all the stories since my season is over.
We just need another bird or 2 to take the lead.

I know there are 3 toms roaming the ridge by the house...

I know there are 3 toms roaming the ridge behind the house... 1 is huge... I couldn't connect on him last year. I think that was the one from this AM. They other 2 are respectable 2 year olds.
I spoke to a landowner where I shot my big one last year and she told me she's been hearing them every am.. so I will get there some AM this week as well.
4 weeks of season... i'll connect.

Stay on em Ma Hunter. Looking forward to a good kill story.

I wish we could hunt afternoons here in MA before the roost. I would tag out in 2 afternoon hunts!

had him on the roost again this am.. hit the ground and shut up... was all henned up and I had to get to work. I think i'll need to catch him later in AM when I can hunt later in the day... maybe Sat.

I know how to use one, but I don't take them out into the woods with me. I consider them more art than practical... if I was to put one in my vest it'd probably snap in half the first time I forgot about it and leaned over.

no luck this am.. had one going on roost... went the other way. When I got back to my truck and slammed my tailgate, 2 gobbled right behind house where I just was... I think they were both jakes. I had just walked through there... I hate having to go to work!

Just a matter of time Ma Hunter. Keep at em.

How's the season going Arrowmaster?

Only heard one distant gobble this am...
just drove past house on way from meeting and saw him in a neighbors yard 3 houses down... ugh

Ma hunter- I 2nd that. I hate going to work too, especially during a hunting season.

I'll catch up to him.. plenty of time left..

Swamp Slayer, when are we gonna see some pics and scores on your birds?

We are close to taking the lead, lets get those scores up asap. Make it easy on the team captian.

Who else is still hunting?

I have 3+ weeks left. Just opened the past Monday here...
It will happen...

Just ended my Maryland season almost four weeks early. This bird doesn't beat the score of my first, but it's still a big deal for me. This is my first ever public land bird, and the time I put into patterning him and his two equally decent brothers paid off.

I had a pretty good idea when and where they were gonna be, I was just hoping no one else messed me up because I was hunting maybe 100 yards from the road on the single heaviest hunted road in our state forest. I was settled in by 4:30am. Another guy parked nearby and went in on the opposite side of the road from me around 5:50am. Never heard a single bird gobble anywhere-- which is exactly what I was hoping for. Think I heard about 100 owls though. That guy decided to up and leave by 7:00am and he flushed a hen down to me who landed in a pine tree not 20 yards from me and sat there for almost 30 minutes before flying down and wandering off. Then it went quiet for a while.

Around 9:00am I heard a bird (not one I patterned) gobbling very far off and I'd give him a yelp now and then and I could hear him closing the distance and hollering back at me. About 9:15am I could see a hen milling about in the clearing of a power line about 50 yards from me, and the gobbling bird was probably within 250 yards. I was getting nervous by 9:30am since I had figured on the three birds arriving by 9:00am to my setup. Suddenly a guy decides to blow a hoot call halfway between me and the approaching bird, to which the bird responds. Great, well that one's a goner. I don't know what compelled the guy to hoot again but on the second hoot, three birds lit up about 80 yards from me. These were the three I was waiting on. They came into visual range and hung up at 50 yards, strutting for the hen on the powerline. The hen eventually made her way into the woods and away from me and my decoy. The gobblers looked like they were going to follow her. I started raking the leaves just outside my blind with my hand and gave a few very soft clucks. They turned and headed right for my decoy. The brush was thick enough that I couldn't make out which of the three was the biggest, but I'd seen them yesterday and knew they were all very similar looking so I took the first one that came in to range and presented me with a perfect, clean shot at 35 yards.

It definitely made for an exciting day. My heart took off the moment those birds gobbled out of no where in response to the owl call and I'm not sure it's slowed down yet.

Beard = 9.5 inches
Left Spur = 5/8 inch
Right Spur = 11/16 inch
Weight = 14 lbs 15 oz

I scored today on a nice tom, I'll post tomorrow the pictures and score.

Way to go Car and DragonX. Strut Stoppers are starting to put some points on the board!

DragonX...Congrats on finishing your season off with an exciting public land bird. We only hunt public land birds down here in Florida so I understand how things can be. Lol. What ever happened to the guy doing the owl hooting? Did you ever run into him? I enjoyed reading your post, it felt like many public land hunts we have been on.
Ray

awesome congrats. Im still at it. Cant seem to seal the deal.

Put a nice mass bird down today. I'll get pix and score up Monday. Nice longbeard. Fun hunt

Congrats Ma Hunter. Looking forward to the pictures and story.

It's been a strange season so far for me, most of the toms are still with hens and don't want to play. I called in all at the same time 4 jakes and 4 long beards. Not that first bird gobbled or went into a strut, even after seeing my decoy! As soon as I had a clear shot I took the biggest bird I had a shot at, the jakes were getting nervous and starting to leave and I was afraid the long beards would do the same.

beard 10'
left spur 7/8
right spur 7/8
weight 19.0 lbs

Congrats on a fine bird Car. I'm guessing your hunting in Ohio?

Nice job
DragonX
Car and
Ma Hunter.
Stay after them arrow master, it will happen.

Just need to get a score from Swamp Slayer, all those birds should put us in the lead.

Agreed. Swamp Slayer, I sent you a pm.

Yes I'm hunting in Ohio.

I killed a bearded hen in MO. It has been tough hunting this year with the weather and our turkey numbers being down. She weighed 13 lbs and had a 9 inch beard.

Onetohunt, How's the season going?

Congrats on the bearded hen. 9 inch is pretty big for a hen. I have seen a few but all had pretty small, pencil thin beards. Is your season over?

Never saw him. Maybe that single bird that was gobbling was closer to him and he headed that way. Or maybe he was coming towards me. From the time he hit that owl call and the three birds below me gobbled, to when I actually shot was probably only 15 minutes or so. And I'm sure once he heard the shot, he was out of there. I didn't see any vehicles parked near me at the powerline or as far as I could see up the road so it must have been someone doing a bit of walking and stalking.

Just entered my bird into contest.
Long story short, I had 2 gobbling on the roost below... a bit lower towards road than where I had expected they'd be. I moved down and set up. They were hammering at everything. I had a few hens roosted very close by and they were making a racket w/ tree yelps and were louder and more vocal than I had ever experienced before.
I heard a bird fly down below me... they gobbled but sounded like they were in the same place. Then I heard something "hop" the brook below me... I made a call and he hammered about 50 yards below me.... He strutted back and fourth below me for a few min gobbling quite a bit...I could see him, but no shot and too far / thick. Then one of the hens pitched down about 20 yards from me across the brook. Then another.. he heard that and heard them walking and broke. Up he came... a few steps... stop... look... gobble... and here he came... right up to me at about 20 yards. After I shot him I took some time to enjoy it... then I went up above where I heard some other gobbles and proceeded to call in 5 jakes to about 10 yards. I will be bringing my daughters (10 & 12) this Sat, so they will be all theirs! I hope to get out there again this week some AM for the other tom I know is there... I had a big tom come into my yard this AM being chased by a crew of jakes as well. I'm not giving up on him either...

Nice bird, congrats!

Very nice bird. Congrats