Phil from Maine

First and foremost I want to congratulate JW on his retirement. I too had retired back at the end of January. When people ask me how I am doing with it.. I tell them it’s the best job I have never had.. I simply love it!

Now onto my turkeys! I had been on these forums for quite some time now. When I first tried turkey hunting I had absolutely no idea on what I was doing. Shot my first bird in the fall with a bow after 3 years of trying to get one. But with the help of everyone on the forums I learned a lot on how to get it done. Turkey hunting in this area was all new to everyone.. I only really had these forums to learn it from.

This year I bought my permit 3 days late. Then I tried a big Tom for 4 days before I was able to get it done. He had from 8 to 12 hens with him most of the time and wouldn’t play. On the fourth day I was running around a half hour late and he was already on the ground with only one hen. I saw him and tossed my DSD submissive hen out and got behind some small fir trees. I was able to bring him into around forty yards and no more. He kept doing the half strut and gobbling at the decoy. So I figured that I could get it done and smoked him at the forty. It was a 20 pound bird with a 9 1/2 inch beard one spur 3/4 inch and the other 7/8 inches. Awesome bird for these parts.
My next bird I found while driving a dirt road along a power line. I kept stopping in areas that I have known to get birds out of while using my pot call hoping to hear a gobble. I finally heard gobble and he sounded close to the tree line. So I picked a place to hide in and drove the Jeep down the road a short distance where I could park it out of sight. I walked back to where I had figured was a good place to hide and called. Just using my pot call and he gobbled quite loudly. Then calling and waiting without any decoys out was a different hunt for me. But after an hour and 15 minutes of playing this game he was strutting around twenty yards from me. So I took the opportunity and smoked him. Yessa yet another 20 pound bird down. He had a 9 3/4 inch thick beard with both spurs being 1 inch. Another awesome bird for these parts and to top it off as I went in to pick him up there was an awesome four point deer shed laying near by it. How awesome is that? I also wanted to add that any bird in this part that’s 20 pounds is a huge bird because of a lack of farm lands and the like. My birds were shot 20 to 30 miles out away from any houses so they weren’t around any feeders. But anyway thanks for all the years on here and what everyone has taught me it was another great year in the turkey hunting world for me!!

I tried to upload a few pictures but I can’t appear to do that. Thank you for taking the time for the long read..

Photos added

Oldtimr

Wayn to go Phil

Bocajnala

Email me your photos Phil. I'll post them

Phil from Maine

Thank you Oldtimr

Phil from Maine

pm me your Email address and I will try to send them to you

disregard I just saw that you already had sent it

Rob in VT

Congrats! That’s awesome when 20 pounders get knocked down.

Phil from Maine

thank you Rob

Bocajnala

From another new(ish) turkey hunter- those are great birds!

I didn't even get my tags this year. Schedule didn't allow for it. A neighbor boy got the gobbler I'd been watching so that's good.

-Jake

Bocajnala

Photos added to the original post also

Phil from Maine

Thank you Jake as well as posting the pictures up for me..

I am sorry that you didn’t have time this year but congratulations to your neighbor boy on getting one!