My opening day bird
04-26-2006, 08:15 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ontario,Canada
Posts: 2,107
My opening day bird
Well I got him,yesterday on the opener my first time out
Woke up at 4:00 a.m,packed up some food ,loaded up my truck with my gun and gear and headed to the woods to meet my good friend for our first day of turkey hunting.
Met my buddy at around 5:15,drank our coffee and planed our morning hunt.We decided to try a hardwood ridge where I have seen the turkeys roost numerious times while bowhunting in the fall.He was to sit at the swamp edge with his hen decoy and call .I was sitting about 100 yards up the bush line at a fence where I have seen the turkeys cross from my treestand,hoping if they totally ignored the decoy and calling they would circle my way and I would get a chance at one.Well to make a long story short I didnt,he came up behind me and gobbled about 20 yards behind me,I slowly turned and he already had me pegged.He was a big tom,and decided something wasnt right and was gone in a flash.
We headed back to the trucks to get warmed up and have a drink.The temperature was 4c,windy,raining,snowing,and some sleet mixed in,all in all it was a terrable morning for hunting but that wasnt going to stop us.
We headed home and I decided to come back out at 3 in the afternoon and try again but this time myself,my friend had family obligations.I set the decoy up in the same location as the morning hunt and decided to do some calling.About an hour later I decided the turkeys are no where around so decided to move to the other end of the farm.I set up in a field bordering some open pines.I was calling for maybe 15 minutes and then heard some clucking in the distance and it was getting closer.I called a few more times and before I knew it there was a big tom with 4 hens crossed a clearing on the side of me but I couldent see them till the last minute.I thought to myself oh no,you blew it,then out came a jake heading to the decoy.He looked my way for what seemed like an eternity and I froze.He finally got himself relaxed and looked at the decoy,ruffling up all his feathers and started clucking at it,thats when I put the bead on him and squeezed the trigger.A paced off 30 yards and he was mine.I looked at my watch and it was 6:30.Here in Ontario you can only hunt till 7 pm.
I tagged him and headed to the station to register him.I only got a couple pics of him on my digital as I was by myself and got my buddys wife to take pics of me and my trophy with her 35mm camera for a blown up pic for my wall.
He is not a big one but he is my first and I think I am hooked now,what a rush.Hopefully this weekend I will be heading out for another.
I took the bird to the taxidermist to get the tail feathers and beard mounted as he is my first and I want to show him off.
13 lb jake
4 inch beard
1/4 inch spurs
I am hoping to have some better pics of me and the bird in the next couple days
Woke up at 4:00 a.m,packed up some food ,loaded up my truck with my gun and gear and headed to the woods to meet my good friend for our first day of turkey hunting.
Met my buddy at around 5:15,drank our coffee and planed our morning hunt.We decided to try a hardwood ridge where I have seen the turkeys roost numerious times while bowhunting in the fall.He was to sit at the swamp edge with his hen decoy and call .I was sitting about 100 yards up the bush line at a fence where I have seen the turkeys cross from my treestand,hoping if they totally ignored the decoy and calling they would circle my way and I would get a chance at one.Well to make a long story short I didnt,he came up behind me and gobbled about 20 yards behind me,I slowly turned and he already had me pegged.He was a big tom,and decided something wasnt right and was gone in a flash.
We headed back to the trucks to get warmed up and have a drink.The temperature was 4c,windy,raining,snowing,and some sleet mixed in,all in all it was a terrable morning for hunting but that wasnt going to stop us.
We headed home and I decided to come back out at 3 in the afternoon and try again but this time myself,my friend had family obligations.I set the decoy up in the same location as the morning hunt and decided to do some calling.About an hour later I decided the turkeys are no where around so decided to move to the other end of the farm.I set up in a field bordering some open pines.I was calling for maybe 15 minutes and then heard some clucking in the distance and it was getting closer.I called a few more times and before I knew it there was a big tom with 4 hens crossed a clearing on the side of me but I couldent see them till the last minute.I thought to myself oh no,you blew it,then out came a jake heading to the decoy.He looked my way for what seemed like an eternity and I froze.He finally got himself relaxed and looked at the decoy,ruffling up all his feathers and started clucking at it,thats when I put the bead on him and squeezed the trigger.A paced off 30 yards and he was mine.I looked at my watch and it was 6:30.Here in Ontario you can only hunt till 7 pm.
I tagged him and headed to the station to register him.I only got a couple pics of him on my digital as I was by myself and got my buddys wife to take pics of me and my trophy with her 35mm camera for a blown up pic for my wall.
He is not a big one but he is my first and I think I am hooked now,what a rush.Hopefully this weekend I will be heading out for another.
I took the bird to the taxidermist to get the tail feathers and beard mounted as he is my first and I want to show him off.
13 lb jake
4 inch beard
1/4 inch spurs
I am hoping to have some better pics of me and the bird in the next couple days
04-28-2006, 10:28 AM
#9
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ontario,Canada
Posts: 2,107
RE: My opening day bird
Thanks for all the congrats---I am still pumped.
I just received my other tag and will be back out on Saturday morn.Going to the same spot as opening day as the birds are still roosting in the same area.
Hopefully my bud or I get another crack at a bird in the morn.
I just received my other tag and will be back out on Saturday morn.Going to the same spot as opening day as the birds are still roosting in the same area.
Hopefully my bud or I get another crack at a bird in the morn.
