I think I may have finally caught up with the gobbler that I've been chasing for the past couple of weeks. My wife nearly killed him yesterday morning but he slipped through our fingers. Had him going this morning til 7:00 but neither I nor the real hens could lure him down the hillside. Eventually, he just shut up and I figured he had crossed the road above us. I left and drove around to check out another area and on the way back through where I had worked the bird earlier that morning, I spotted two longbeards fanned out in a corner of field circling each other and getting ready to fight!!! I hurried to get into position to intercept them further up the field. I got to the field not knowing exactly how far from them I was and was contemplating my next move when a full fan suddenly came into view at 35yds!!! I didn't even have time to sit...I raised the gun...he was facing away...I got him to raise life his head out of strut and delivered a load of Longbeard XR's to his face. Game over at 8:50. The other gobbler and 4-5 hens stood there and watched as I ran out to retrieve him. Not bad for the subordinate bird...almost 22lb, 10.5" beard and 1 1/4" hooks. One of the two was the "youth season" gobbler I had been after. The other one will have to wait until next year. This is the latest in season that I've ever punched a tag but it was worth the wait!!! It's been a rough season plagued by close calls and a miss early on. I've only really hunted two spots but was within striking distance of gobblers nearly every morning but just couldn't seal the deal.
He lost a few tail feathers during the retrieval process. I also got a nice gash on my finger from grabbing his legs...
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/zDSCN1325.jpg) (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/WNYBowhunter/media/zDSCN1325.jpg.html)
LIMBHANGER!!! :happy0064:
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/zDSCN1327.jpg) (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/WNYBowhunter/media/zDSCN1327.jpg.html)
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/zDSCN1329.jpg) (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/WNYBowhunter/media/zDSCN1329.jpg.html)
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/zDSCN1352.jpg) (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/WNYBowhunter/media/zDSCN1352.jpg.html)
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/zDSCN1280.jpg) (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/WNYBowhunter/media/zDSCN1280.jpg.html)
Nice hooks. Congrats.
Congrats You gotta love those last min. birds...
Ouch! Nice bird!
Heck yes! I knew that tag was going to end up on a leg before the fat lady sang. I wish I was still hunting.
Very nice! I knew it was going to happen! That 835 has done you well! We have laid down some hawgs this season!
Sent from the Strut Zone
Nice. That 835 has done it again. You really need to talk your buddy out of that gun ;)
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Quote from: trkehunr93 on May 29, 2016, 08:24:26 PM
Nice. That 835 has done it again. You really need to talk your buddy out of that gun ;)
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I'm working on it! This is the first turkey that I've killed with a "lead load" in nearly 10 years...
Quote from: dirt road ninja on May 29, 2016, 06:15:39 PM
Heck yes! I knew that tag was going to end up on a leg before the fat lady sang. I wish I was still hunting.
If you ever find yourself up north in May, look me up... ;)
Quote from: WNY Bowhunter on May 29, 2016, 08:38:25 PM
Quote from: dirt road ninja on May 29, 2016, 06:15:39 PM
Heck yes! I knew that tag was going to end up on a leg before the fat lady sang. I wish I was still hunting.
If you ever find yourself up north in May, look me up... ;)
You may regret that, haha.
Sent from the Strut Zone
Quote from: davisd9 on May 29, 2016, 09:14:30 PM
Quote from: WNY Bowhunter on May 29, 2016, 08:38:25 PM
Quote from: dirt road ninja on May 29, 2016, 06:15:39 PM
Heck yes! I knew that tag was going to end up on a leg before the fat lady sang. I wish I was still hunting.
If you ever find yourself up north in May, look me up... ;)
You may regret that, haha.
He can't be all that bad, lol!!!
Sent from the Strut Zone