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General Discussion => General Forum => Topic started by: WNY Bowhunter on May 07, 2015, 10:08:40 PM

Title: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: WNY Bowhunter on May 07, 2015, 10:08:40 PM
The birds here in NY are extremely henned up right now, they gobble a little on the roost then shut up as soon as their feet touch the ground.  I decided to hunt a gobbler that I'd seen for the past couple of mornings strutting out in a cornfield. He's had several hens with him so I decided that my best bet was to set my blind out where the birds have been hanging out and wait for them to show up.  It was extremely foggy this morning when I arrived.  I got set up and the gobbler I was after gave away his location at 5:15 right where I thought he'd be. He gobbled several more times and a hen started yelping about 50 yds from me. Her calling was driving him nuts. About 5:40 he sounded like he was on the ground...the next gobble was closer...the next was only 70 yds away. The hen flew down and everything went silent for the next 20 minutes until I could finally make out his outline in the fog about 100 yds above me in the field...

Decoys...

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/zDSCN0301.jpg) (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/WNYBowhunter/media/zDSCN0301.jpg.html)

Gobbler and hen...

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/zDSCN0303.jpg) (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/WNYBowhunter/media/zDSCN0303.jpg.html)

I made a few soft yelps on the Halloran Metal Mouth and he answered.  It was a waiting game now...as the longbeard, his little buddy jake and three hens slowly worked my way.  After another 20 minutes or so of intense waiting they finally made it in to 45 yds and I took my shot...

19.5 lbs, 8.5" beard and 7/8" spurs

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/zDSCN0306.jpg) (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/WNYBowhunter/media/zDSCN0306.jpg.html)

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/zDSCN0318.jpg) (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/WNYBowhunter/media/zDSCN0318.jpg.html)

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/zDSCN0337.jpg) (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/WNYBowhunter/media/zDSCN0337.jpg.html)

When I got home I learned that my dad had also killed a nice bird, on his birthday to boot!!!

His was 22 lbs. 8.5" beard with both spurs broken...

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/zDSCN0307.jpg) (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/WNYBowhunter/media/zDSCN0307.jpg.html)

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/zDSCN0349.jpg) (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/WNYBowhunter/media/zDSCN0349.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: mgm1955 on May 07, 2015, 10:52:42 PM
Congrats to both of you!! Great pics!!
Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: alloutdoors on May 07, 2015, 11:11:19 PM
Congrats!
Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: 55dougie on May 08, 2015, 07:42:51 AM
Nicely done, Congrat's...
Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: TauntoHawk on May 08, 2015, 07:44:46 AM
Nice man, congrats to both you turkey slayers  :turkey2:

I'm headed out tonight with my wife and dad to head to Greene County for our annual 4 day weekend. Its gonna be HOTTTT I dont think i've ever seen a forecast so hot for turkey season

Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: BABS9 on May 08, 2015, 08:21:34 AM
Awesome birds congrats!
Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: WNY Bowhunter on May 08, 2015, 09:15:06 AM
Quote from: TauntoHawk on May 08, 2015, 07:44:46 AM
Nice man, congrats to both you turkey slayers  :turkey2:

I'm headed out tonight with my wife and dad to head to Greene County for our annual 4 day weekend. Its gonna be HOTTTT I dont think i've ever seen a forecast so hot for turkey season

Thanks. I've got to work the next three days so I'll only get out till 6:30 or so, but I've got another potential victim picked out for the morning.  Good luck, hope the gobbling action is HOTTTT too!!!
Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: TauntoHawk on May 08, 2015, 09:35:32 AM
Quote from: WNY Bowhunter on May 08, 2015, 09:15:06 AM
Quote from: TauntoHawk on May 08, 2015, 07:44:46 AM
Nice man, congrats to both you turkey slayers  :turkey2:

I'm headed out tonight with my wife and dad to head to Greene County for our annual 4 day weekend. Its gonna be HOTTTT I dont think i've ever seen a forecast so hot for turkey season

Thanks. I've got to work the next three days so I'll only get out till 6:30 or so, but I've got another potential victim picked out for the morning.  Good luck, hope the gobbling action is HOTTTT too!!!

Yeah me too! It'd be nice to kill early and be out of the woods by 9am. She's up to bat for both hers first but I got some good places to start out this weekend for her. I swung into NY last sunday after hunting upstate PA for our opener on Saturday and called a two birds in for friends in PA they went 1 for 2 on kills and misses and Sunday I shot a nice 3yr old right at fly down. Got out to public land yesterday down here and killed a real nice bird so I can sit backa and ejoy calling for her and filling another tag is just icing.
Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: njdevilsb on May 08, 2015, 10:17:49 AM
Congrats to you both.  Nice birds.

We're going to see if our group is still around tonight for the morning hunt.  We had the same situation as you for the first 3 days of the season.  Decent gobbling on the roost, but not a ton, and silent pretty much once they hit the ground.  We had, at one time, 4 toms and 10 hens and they have since broken up some.  The 2 toms we were hunting had between 3-5 hens with them each morning.
Title: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: troutfisher13111 on May 10, 2015, 10:26:28 AM
Congrats on a good NY bird!

I punched my first tag on a 17lb jake. I thought he was a tom since he was a good bit bigger than the other jake he was with. Yesterday I took my son out and called a nice tom into 40 yards, unfortunately my boy is only good out to 30. Only action I had today was a group of 3 jakes, which of course would happen on a day my son isn't with me.


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Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: Rick Howard on May 10, 2015, 10:57:07 AM
Nice birds!  Congrats!
Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: Gooserbat on May 10, 2015, 01:39:23 PM
Congrats
Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: tomstopper on May 10, 2015, 08:34:33 PM
Awesome. Congrats to you and your dad
Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: Tunaguy on May 11, 2015, 10:56:11 AM
Awesome!
Title: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: Spring_Woods on May 11, 2015, 05:52:49 PM
Nice job love the pics
Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: 101st501 on May 11, 2015, 05:57:26 PM
Great job to the both of you.  Maybe it was the lucky flip-flops.
Title: Re: Finally punched a tag in NY...
Post by: surehuntsalot on May 13, 2015, 10:08:13 PM
great job