A Hunt with JW... According to Turkey Goddess
05-12-2012, 03:37 PM
#1
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Indiana
Posts: 655
A Hunt with JW... According to Turkey Goddess
It seems as though each spring during turkey season, something life changing happens. It might be one of the many reasons I am in love with turkey hunting... Good, bad or ugly I'm completely obsessed and addicted!!! This is a story of meeting a wonderful friend (JW!) for the first time for our first turkey hunt. As some of you know I got on to Hunting Net about 4 years back as a total green horn. I was laid off from work and was determined to fill a life long dream to turkey hunt. Hubby had never been and happily took an interest because I did. JW! (among others like Arrowmaster & Ridge Runner, etc.) spent many hours in chat teaching me. I went out for two seasons & fumbled through - learning more every single time,but no turkey. I don't think my friends could stomach another year with me eating a tag. LOL!!! So here is my invitation to hunt in Wisconsin with JW! And I jumped on it like a duck on a junebug and my story begins...
We had about an 8 hour drive to get where we were staying Saturday night. We met up with JW! (AKA Obiewan) And Roy (AKA Grasshopper) at about 9am Sunday morning. We shook hands and talked about what they heard that morning on the roost. JW! had trolled the area along the road and used an owl hooter. The turkey's were FIRED UP & loved answering to the owl hoot. They located approximately 10+ gobblers doing this. We jumped in the truck and reviewed everything they had learned by scouting the last couple days and we discussed strategy for the 4 of us to hunt in the morning. The area was impressive - very large and intimidating to someone like me who gets access to small areas of farms. This was like the Disney World of turkey hunting!!! Without taking the time JW! and Roy did to scout it would be a very tough place to hunt. We looked at spots - got out to see tracks and spent the remainder of the day talking strategy. Originally hubby & Roy were gonna go after "sh!thouse bird" JW! & I were gonna sit at a spot with tons of turkey signs. Sh!thouse bird earned his name after JW! used porta-potty and he was standing in road in front of it strutting his butt off. He was very vocal & we felt very callable so JW! bartered with hubby & Roy - he wanted me on Sh!thouse. Hubby & Roy didn't bat an eyelash, they were on board 100%. We didn't know how much pressure there would be in the morning, so we parked a truck at our backup spot (where there were tons of turkey signs) and we went to Sh!thouse in the morning. Hubby & Roy were on other side (several miles away running & gunning).
JW! and I got on Sh!thouse early we got set up quietly and waited awhile. Did not hear anything. No gobbling - no fly downs. Called on owl hooter - no answer. Waited til after fly down JW! did a few hen calls - no answer. JW! Waits a few minutes & says he doesn't like this - we're moving to the back up. We got out quick & quiet - both of us surprised that Sh!thouse was gone - we figure as vocal as he was someone tried roosting him last night & spooked him. We were hoping no one was at our backup. We got there & luckily our strategy with parking an extra truck there worked & we got in and set up by 6:40 a.m. We waited a bit & did some calling. JW! is a MASTER at the box call. I came home thinking I've gotta practice on mine! WOW!!! Around 7:30 am he yelps on his yelper. We got a gobble. Now, you wanna talk about watching a warrior spring in to battle!!! Baby, it was ON!!! JW! Snapped into action!Working that bird in to the palm of our hands! About 7 minutes later we see a beautiful red, white & blue head. With gun in my hand both our hearts were racing. He was still in the woods and suddenly made a move south of us. Walking away. JW! was trying to see where he went - he noticed that was a Jake. I tapped him on the knee & pointed directly in front of us. There HE was... in full strut with that big white head - coming our way. My heart was racing - palms sweaty - hands shaking. JW! made a few soft clucks an sat back in his chair, sipping his cup of coffee & whispers to me "Enjoy the show!". I was like W-W-What?????? How can you sit back & relax??? LOL. Then the Tom started moving in the same direction the Jake did. He was moving out of shooting range - JW! took my gun & had me kneel in front of him. I looked out my window because I couldn't see him earlier and THERE HE WAS!!! JW! Clucked at him a few times & got him to stop just long enough. Sitting in his chair he peeked through the blind so he could see the Tom. He whispers to me "When you got the shot, take it." "If you've got a shot ..." BOOM!!! Before I even knew what happened JW! had the zipper down & getting out of the blind. BIRD DOWN!!! OMG!!! I got up to follow him & he said "No! Keep your gun on that turkey!". Once he was out of the blind he made sure my safety was on & gun down & he ran to the turkey. I ran right after him! I really can't remember the last time I was that happy! I got there & I was so excited, JW! says "you're gonna be even happier when you see these spurs!". He grabbed for the leg and the turkey kicked scraping his middle finger with his spur. He got him good - IMO he needed stitches. Once the bird died we got a good look at him. He was beautiful! Big beard - HUGE hooks - gorgeous feathers! We got pictures, we hugged (about 15 times!) and we took him to the truck. He weighed 20.2 lbs, 9 & 7/8 beard and 1 & 7/16 spurs. He was a 5-6 year old. JW! was impressed by this bird - as a spur hunter himself, he had never gotten one with spurs that big. As happy as could be for me, a small part of him fantasized about me hesitating or choking! LMAO!!!
We put the bird in the truck - administered 1st aid on his finger and we finished that day & the next day hunting together & trying to get a turkey for JW! Unfortunately, I didn't get to see JW! kill a turkey, I was REALLY hoping to. Hubby & Roy didn't fill their tags either but being the wonderful men that they are - couldn't have been happier for me. I am getting this turkey mounted. It was an awesome trip and I would do it again in a heartbeat. JW! is a true gentleman & teacher. His heart still races & his hands shake every single time he sees a gobbler and I absolutely LOVE that about him!
JW! - THANK YOU for helping me kill my first turkey!!! The stars finally aligned for Turkey Goddess!
I'm so glad we got to do this together! I have a friend, a hunt, great memories & a turkey that I will CHERISH forever!!!!!!!!!!
Kim
We had about an 8 hour drive to get where we were staying Saturday night. We met up with JW! (AKA Obiewan) And Roy (AKA Grasshopper) at about 9am Sunday morning. We shook hands and talked about what they heard that morning on the roost. JW! had trolled the area along the road and used an owl hooter. The turkey's were FIRED UP & loved answering to the owl hoot. They located approximately 10+ gobblers doing this. We jumped in the truck and reviewed everything they had learned by scouting the last couple days and we discussed strategy for the 4 of us to hunt in the morning. The area was impressive - very large and intimidating to someone like me who gets access to small areas of farms. This was like the Disney World of turkey hunting!!! Without taking the time JW! and Roy did to scout it would be a very tough place to hunt. We looked at spots - got out to see tracks and spent the remainder of the day talking strategy. Originally hubby & Roy were gonna go after "sh!thouse bird" JW! & I were gonna sit at a spot with tons of turkey signs. Sh!thouse bird earned his name after JW! used porta-potty and he was standing in road in front of it strutting his butt off. He was very vocal & we felt very callable so JW! bartered with hubby & Roy - he wanted me on Sh!thouse. Hubby & Roy didn't bat an eyelash, they were on board 100%. We didn't know how much pressure there would be in the morning, so we parked a truck at our backup spot (where there were tons of turkey signs) and we went to Sh!thouse in the morning. Hubby & Roy were on other side (several miles away running & gunning).
JW! and I got on Sh!thouse early we got set up quietly and waited awhile. Did not hear anything. No gobbling - no fly downs. Called on owl hooter - no answer. Waited til after fly down JW! did a few hen calls - no answer. JW! Waits a few minutes & says he doesn't like this - we're moving to the back up. We got out quick & quiet - both of us surprised that Sh!thouse was gone - we figure as vocal as he was someone tried roosting him last night & spooked him. We were hoping no one was at our backup. We got there & luckily our strategy with parking an extra truck there worked & we got in and set up by 6:40 a.m. We waited a bit & did some calling. JW! is a MASTER at the box call. I came home thinking I've gotta practice on mine! WOW!!! Around 7:30 am he yelps on his yelper. We got a gobble. Now, you wanna talk about watching a warrior spring in to battle!!! Baby, it was ON!!! JW! Snapped into action!Working that bird in to the palm of our hands! About 7 minutes later we see a beautiful red, white & blue head. With gun in my hand both our hearts were racing. He was still in the woods and suddenly made a move south of us. Walking away. JW! was trying to see where he went - he noticed that was a Jake. I tapped him on the knee & pointed directly in front of us. There HE was... in full strut with that big white head - coming our way. My heart was racing - palms sweaty - hands shaking. JW! made a few soft clucks an sat back in his chair, sipping his cup of coffee & whispers to me "Enjoy the show!". I was like W-W-What?????? How can you sit back & relax??? LOL. Then the Tom started moving in the same direction the Jake did. He was moving out of shooting range - JW! took my gun & had me kneel in front of him. I looked out my window because I couldn't see him earlier and THERE HE WAS!!! JW! Clucked at him a few times & got him to stop just long enough. Sitting in his chair he peeked through the blind so he could see the Tom. He whispers to me "When you got the shot, take it." "If you've got a shot ..." BOOM!!! Before I even knew what happened JW! had the zipper down & getting out of the blind. BIRD DOWN!!! OMG!!! I got up to follow him & he said "No! Keep your gun on that turkey!". Once he was out of the blind he made sure my safety was on & gun down & he ran to the turkey. I ran right after him! I really can't remember the last time I was that happy! I got there & I was so excited, JW! says "you're gonna be even happier when you see these spurs!". He grabbed for the leg and the turkey kicked scraping his middle finger with his spur. He got him good - IMO he needed stitches. Once the bird died we got a good look at him. He was beautiful! Big beard - HUGE hooks - gorgeous feathers! We got pictures, we hugged (about 15 times!) and we took him to the truck. He weighed 20.2 lbs, 9 & 7/8 beard and 1 & 7/16 spurs. He was a 5-6 year old. JW! was impressed by this bird - as a spur hunter himself, he had never gotten one with spurs that big. As happy as could be for me, a small part of him fantasized about me hesitating or choking! LMAO!!!
We put the bird in the truck - administered 1st aid on his finger and we finished that day & the next day hunting together & trying to get a turkey for JW! Unfortunately, I didn't get to see JW! kill a turkey, I was REALLY hoping to. Hubby & Roy didn't fill their tags either but being the wonderful men that they are - couldn't have been happier for me. I am getting this turkey mounted. It was an awesome trip and I would do it again in a heartbeat. JW! is a true gentleman & teacher. His heart still races & his hands shake every single time he sees a gobbler and I absolutely LOVE that about him!
JW! - THANK YOU for helping me kill my first turkey!!! The stars finally aligned for Turkey Goddess!
I'm so glad we got to do this together! I have a friend, a hunt, great memories & a turkey that I will CHERISH forever!!!!!!!!!!Kim
Last edited by Turkey Goddess; 05-15-2012 at 05:07 PM.
05-12-2012, 04:50 PM
#2
Spike
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 17
What she's not telling you......Is JW was sitting back...telling her...breathe....squeeze the trigger, squeeze the trigger....BOOM!!
What is funny...is when hearing JW telling the story and seeing his eyes light up when telling it....the "enjoy the show" and he grabs his coffee, coaching her all the way....
When me and roy pulled up to our truck, and JW's truck...they were getting it it...Kim let a big ole wave to us...Roy said offhand...geez I see them..lmao...I told him...she got one!!
I could care less if I got one, when she showed me her bird, and I seen the sh*t eating grin on her face and the look in her eyes.
What is nice, I'm now, as a team,looking at many states going under our belts over the coming years on the quest to kill a turkey and meet many new friends.
And now...we got what I'm calling singing Pete across the road from us. I myself think, it's the same one I called in for Kim and she missed a few days before our hunt in WI. She heard him yesterday, and he spooked on us this moring. Maybe tomorrow last day of the season...more to come!!
What is funny...is when hearing JW telling the story and seeing his eyes light up when telling it....the "enjoy the show" and he grabs his coffee, coaching her all the way....
When me and roy pulled up to our truck, and JW's truck...they were getting it it...Kim let a big ole wave to us...Roy said offhand...geez I see them..lmao...I told him...she got one!!
I could care less if I got one, when she showed me her bird, and I seen the sh*t eating grin on her face and the look in her eyes.
What is nice, I'm now, as a team,looking at many states going under our belts over the coming years on the quest to kill a turkey and meet many new friends.
And now...we got what I'm calling singing Pete across the road from us. I myself think, it's the same one I called in for Kim and she missed a few days before our hunt in WI. She heard him yesterday, and he spooked on us this moring. Maybe tomorrow last day of the season...more to come!!
Last edited by deer_tracks; 05-12-2012 at 04:54 PM.
05-12-2012, 10:11 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Pine Hill Alabama USA
Posts: 1,280
Awesome Turkey Goddess! Congrats! That is a wicked set of hooks. You may hunt a good while before you kill one with spurs that long again. And you just thought you were obsessed before. Ha, you are truly ruined now. LOL!
05-13-2012, 03:19 AM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Sulphur,Indiana
Posts: 1,350
Great story TG! It is a joy to help a Hunter get their first Bird and I know JW was eating up every minute of it as he watched and coached you to success. I hope to meet you and deer_tracks in the near future since we live in the same state. I looked for pictures of your bird on your team post but did not see them,where are they I want to see them bad ass hooks that woke JW up from his dream and let him know that bird was for real. Great job and just like Deer Hunting your first is your most unforgetable. Looking forward to a hunt with you guys one day as well.
Last edited by doetrain; 05-13-2012 at 03:21 AM.
05-13-2012, 02:22 PM
#10
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Maine
Posts: 12,564
Congrats to you Turkey Goddess!! Also an awesome job JW! Helping her get her first turkey ever must make you feel great! I know it would me when someone new at it or someone who never has shot one scores with you.. Congrats on a job well done.