Well, with our states March 25th opening date long past, the long, cold, wet winter weather finally looks like it's starting to turn to spring. The ten day, long range forecast shows quite a few sunny days coming up and I've received some reports that a few Toms have started to gobble down in the valleys. With that said, I wish to thank last years champions, the great fellows over on the Goats Strategy board with providing me with all the suggestions for a proper hunt this year. In time for this hunt I was able to purchase a Redhead decoy stake, a Funky chicken, an E-call, one case of Depends, three factory fresh boxes of TSS, a cassette tape of Marty Robbins greatest hits, a 14" Bowie knife in case I find myself inside the belly of an alligator and one copy of the NIV. So with new found confidence in my inabilities, I'm heading out tomorrow.
Good luck brother.
Good luck my friend, stay safe. Are you hunting with your son?
Go get'em tiger.
Quote from: JeffC on April 19, 2023, 08:19:20 PM
Good luck my friend, stay safe. Are you hunting with your son?
Yah Jeff I'll be hunting with him till I die, it'll be a good way to go :icon_thumright:
Quote from: Happy on April 19, 2023, 09:06:42 PM
Go get'em tiger.
I'm going to try Happy, thank you.
Me and Muzzy61 will be at it this weekend, which is our last. We have a big bird that is giving us fits.
Good luck Snowman and Muzzy, hope to scout Jersey for opener on Monday..
Quote from: snoman4 on April 19, 2023, 09:27:53 PM
Me and Muzzy61 will be at it this weekend, which is our last. We have a big bird that is giving us fits.
Those are the ones you remember, good luck.
I'm getting the car packed up and should be outta here in the next hour or so. :wave:
Tapatalk is not my friend, I've written an update three times and it keeps timing out, moving it to a draft and now it looks like it deleted it. Suffice to say I had a bird down yesterday afternoon, it was an exciting hunt. Pictures will have to follow when I get back home. Score 55.4. Heading out this morning to try our luck again.
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See us old guys still can hunt!! Way to go Lacire!! Looking forward to story and pictures. :happy0064: :anim_25:
Quote from: lacire on April 21, 2023, 08:22:27 AM
Tapatalk is not my friend, I've written an update three times and it keeps timing out, moving it to a draft and now it looks like it deleted it. Suffice to say I had a bird down yesterday afternoon, it was an exciting hunt. Pictures will have to follow when I get back home. Score 55.4. Heading out this morning to try our luck again.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Heck yeah Congrats!
Quote from: lacire on April 21, 2023, 08:22:27 AM
Tapatalk is not my friend, I've written an update three times and it keeps timing out, moving it to a draft and now it looks like it deleted it. Suffice to say I had a bird down yesterday afternoon, it was an exciting hunt. Pictures will have to follow when I get back home. Score 55.4. Heading out this morning to try our luck again.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Congrats, Good job!
Quote from: lacire on April 19, 2023, 08:10:58 PM
Well, with our states March 25th opening date long past, the long, cold, wet winter weather finally looks like it's starting to turn to spring. The ten day, long range forecast shows quite a few sunny days coming up and I've received some reports that a few Toms have started to gobble down in the valleys. With that said, I wish to thank last years champions, the great fellows over on the Goats Strategy board with providing me with all the suggestions for a proper hunt this year. In time for this hunt I was able to purchase a Redhead decoy stake, a Funky chicken, an E-call, one case of Depends, three factory fresh boxes of TSS, a cassette tape of Marty Robbins greatest hits, a 14" Bowie knife in case I find myself inside the belly of an alligator and one copy of the NIV. So with new found confidence in my inabilities, I'm heading out tomorrow.
Glad we could help out! ;D :angel9: :toothy9:
Oh,...and congrats on your success. It appears you followed our expert advice pretty well... ;D
Quote from: GobbleNut on April 21, 2023, 02:31:58 PM
Quote from: lacire on April 19, 2023, 08:10:58 PM
Well, with our states March 25th opening date long past, the long, cold, wet winter weather finally looks like it's starting to turn to spring. The ten day, long range forecast shows quite a few sunny days coming up and I've received some reports that a few Toms have started to gobble down in the valleys. With that said, I wish to thank last years champions, the great fellows over on the Goats Strategy board with providing me with all the suggestions for a proper hunt this year. In time for this hunt I was able to purchase a Redhead decoy stake, a Funky chicken, an E-call, one case of Depends, three factory fresh boxes of TSS, a cassette tape of Marty Robbins greatest hits, a 14" Bowie knife in case I find myself inside the belly of an alligator and one copy of the NIV. So with new found confidence in my inabilities, I'm heading out tomorrow.
Glad we could help out! ;D :angel9: :toothy9:
Oh,...and congrats on your success. It appears you followed our expert advice pretty well... ;D
Oh yah I've learned a lot over in the Goats threads.
No oatmeal cream pies???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Not OCPs it didn't happen. Just the facts. Nothing but the facts.
(http://blob:https://imgur.com/30544bf0-3ff0-4c4d-86dd-5405785981db)
Congrats on the bird. Glad we could help you out with our expert observations and stratagerisms.
Congrats!!
Quote from: Spellnj3 on April 21, 2023, 09:18:55 PM
Congrats!!
Thank you
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Quote from: Happy on April 21, 2023, 07:32:29 PM
Congrats on the bird. Glad we could help you out with our expert observations and stratagerisms.
Thanks Happy.
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Quote from: reflexl on April 21, 2023, 05:10:13 PM
No oatmeal cream pies???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Not OCPs it didn't happen. Just the facts. Nothing but the facts.
(http://blob:https://imgur.com/30544bf0-3ff0-4c4d-86dd-5405785981db)
I agree, I have the pictures I just can't get Tapatalk to cooperate from where I'm at, I'll have to post them when I get back home.
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Update, I won't be posting pictures of the first bird since today I just upgraded it. :icon_thumright:
Pictures to follow in a couple days when I return home.
Heck Yeah! Congrats on your second bird brother!
Noice! Congrats sir. Your rollin!
Sounds like a productive trip. Congratulations
Congrats Lacire, you better give your guide a great tip!! :TooFunny: :icon_thumright:
Quote from: JeffC on April 23, 2023, 06:22:50 AM
Congrats Lacire, you better give your guide a great tip!! :TooFunny: :icon_thumright:
I think we're headed now to do a little small mouth bass fishing, but yah he's a very good guide. On this trip I did have to help him fix his garage door, sharpen all his knives and clean all his guns. :TooFunny:
The winter must have been very hard on our turkey population this year. In places where we've seen flocks of birds before we'd only see one or two hens and in most places none. We revisited one valley that was productive for us two years ago and did a lot of calling but no responses and only spotted one lone hen. We then moved onto another and nothing. By the time we were at our third spot it was well pass 11:00, we began glassing some grassy hills lined with brush, hardwoods, pines and poison oak. A narrow dirt road crisscrosse's the hills and winds itself up to the mountains top. We glassed up another hen slowly moving up a tree line and then watched it disappeared. A little farther up we noticed movement, walking up one of the hills was a lone tom and as soon as he was onto the dirt road he went into full strut. So by a different route we drove up to the mountains top and then dropped down above where we had seen the tom. This was almost right where I had killed my largest bird last year. We dropped down off the road and headed into the head high brush and pines and avoiding the poison oak. My son spotted the tom through a screening of oak trees below us but it look like the tom had spotted us too as he turned and started back the way he'd came. We cut over and keeping a lot of heavy brush between us and him we went down another fifty yards, then looking out through a small opening, we both froze as we spotted the tom again about seventy five yards below us and still moving away. My son moved like molasses placing a hen decoy in the opening below us and then slid back into the brush. He made a few yelps and the toms head flipped around looking. We both watched as the tom spotted the hen and turned around. A few more yelps and he slowly started moving forward. My son whispered "he's coming". The tom moved slowly and cautiously through the grass, up a rise and down into a small valley that was between us, as soon as the tom couldn't see us my son said "sit down and get ready" but I was already down with my gun on my knee going through my mental checklist, is my mask up, is my hat down, is my watch covered, is my sunglasses off, is my gun loaded, why'd I sit on this rock, to late now. My son made another series of yelps and the tom responded with a gobble, he was in the valley and getting closer, a few move yelps, another gobble, his head should be showing any second but no... another gobble and now he's to my right where the valley ends and there's a screening of oaks, I slide my gun to my other knee... another mental check, is the Benelli's bolt totally forward, is my safety off, why'd I sit on this rock... to late now. The minutes go by but then, I finally make him out through the branches, he's moving so slow and bobbing his head everywhere, it seems like it takes him forever to clear the oaks, thirty five yards as he moves into the open, I have the shot... but I wait, he can't locate the hen and he's still moving to the right towards some heavy bush, I didn't know it but my son is having an anxiety attack now thinking "what's dad doing, take the shot dad, he's right in front of you dad, don't let him get to that brush dad..." but sometimes it's just nice to watch them for a little bit. My son couldn't take it anymore so he let out a single yelp, I don't know if he was trying to stop this slow moving bird so his slower old man could finally get his bead on him and shoot or he thought I'd fallen asleep and yelping in my ear would wake me up. But at the yelp the tom stuck out his head and gave out a nice long gobble, took two more steps and down he went. But he had the last laugh. He flopped backwards, back down under the trees, down into the valley and was now resting in about a fifteen foot patch of poison oak.
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Great read, great pictures, especially with your granddaughter! :z-winnersmiley: Great job!! Please tell your Son Congratulations also. Congrats lacire, went from not thinking you were even going to get out to taking 2 Toms!!
As a wrap up I got back home yesterday, I caught 3 bass and my son caught 14... I taught him too well. :TooFunny:
Nice work La Eclaire,
congrats on your gobblers and fun hunts, way to go.
Quote from: crow on May 07, 2023, 02:26:45 PM
Nice work La Eclaire,
congrats on your gobblers and fun hunts, way to go.
Thank you, I always like spending time with my son, getting to hunt and eat some turkey is just icing on the cake.