It took a few days and a couple of misses but I was finally able to get a bird on 5/16/24. I tried some Federal 3rd Degree loads but finally went back to the tried and true Win Long Beard XRs. The Federals seemed to pattern okay but didn't do well on real turkeys. I shot this bird at the gas well opening near the center of my property. I didn't get a second tag this year due to the lack of birds last year. I can't recall even hearing any gobblers on my property last year and finally got a bird on another property over a mile away.

This year I'm still seeing and hearing birds. I had a gobbler walk along the edge of the yard and gobble twice right beside the house yesterday morning. I also heard a bird gobbling in the woods near the house about a half hour ago. The last two photos were taken by a trail camera on the powerline near the house two evenings ago (6/2/24). What a difference a year can make!