Zim

Surprise surprise. I did not expect to score with either of my Illinois tags since I was just using these to try out some public Id never been to. Well I found a spot while aerial scouting that looked promising. Went there yesterday morning and had a great hunt, viewing about a dozen birds, including three mature toms. One of these three was obviously dominant, easy to ID because three passenger side tail feathers were short/stunted. So this morning I returned and moved to a spot they favored. The two big toms beat me to the field but were way down 400 yards so did not spook. I put up a hen & gobbler decoys. They saw them but stayed henned up until 10:20 AM when they couldn't take it any more. The boss snuck in pissed off, spitting and charging until I layed the smack down on him from only 15 yards. No BB's in the meat! Haha. My heaviest turkey ever at 25# 0 oz. didn't score him yet. I am soaking in hotel tub with a very painful back. Score and photos coming.
This public property is right on the Mississippi River, near Pike County. These birds had obviously not been messed with. I was the only guy hunting the place.