I started turkey hunting last year, but was not able to take a bird.
Fast forward to today, which is opening day here in N. Fl. I didn't sleep much and was up at 0430 to hit the woods early. I was hunting a small piece of property near me which is dominated by a river bottom and an oak ridge.
I got in about an hour before sunrise and heard one bird gobble early. Worked toward him and called, but no response. I spent the next 5 hours moving slowly through the property, calling every 100 yds or so. I rotated through mouth calls, my 2 Sneed pots and a Lynch's foolproof. I got no response until I had worked my way almost back to where I came in at. I decided to move a little further down and hit the foolproof again. I got one gobble in response and found a spot to set up. I was in a tiny opening with little room to see a bird approach. I barely got my gun up and took my hot hen pot out, when I saw the gobbler's blue head appear. He had not made another sound and I had not had a chance to call again. He looked nervous and began to turn and leave. But I was able to put the bead on his head and at 12 yds the longbeard ammo did it's job.
He had 1"spurs, an 8" beard and weighed 17lbs.
I just want to say thanks to everyone on this site. I have learned a tremendous amount through the knowledge and generosity of the members here.
Thanks again and God bless.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170318/1f4f6c0c8ddf31e45c46f1c8b4dcde48.jpg)
I'm jealous! April 1st can't get here fast enough. Congrats on a nice first bird!!!
Congratulations on filling your tag. Now you know one way that will work. As the years go by and you accumulate more gobblers, you'll learn more ways that will work. Eventually, you'll have a bag of techniques that will work sometimes but not always and you'll have enough confidence to try a myriad of approaches until you discover which one works this time. That's the fun of turkey hunting.
Congrats. The first one is the toughest but you're on your way.
Nice bird, congrats...
:icon_thumright: :icon_thumright: CONGRATS!
Congrats man. That's a dandy first bird.
Nice bird and sounds like a fun hunt.
He made you work for it before he decided to play, didn't he? ;D
Congrats on a fine tom! :icon_thumright:
Congrats!
Congrats on a nice bird.
Very nice! Well done, congrats.
Congrats on a great first bird!
Congrats , nice job
Congrats good job
:turkey2: Nice bird and good story. Thanks for sharing. :turkey2:
:z-guntootsmiley: :z-guntootsmiley: :z-guntootsmiley: :z-guntootsmiley: :z-guntootsmiley: :z-guntootsmiley:
Nice shot! Looks like the longbeards hit the right spot.
Awesome! Did he have a full fan or was he a super jake?
great job.....nicely done.
Congrats.
Sent from my SM-G800R4 using Tapatalk
Congrats on your first bird!
Getting that first one under your belt is special...Congrats!
:icon_thumright:
Congrats!
Congrats! One of many to come for sure. You will never forget that moment he went down, I can still see my first bird drop like a rock every time I think about it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Congrats on the first one! and good luck on many more!
MK M GOBL
CONGRATS on your first gob!
Well done
Congratulations on your first bird...
I hunted my first season without killing a bird (and I had a healthy population of birds to hunt on a private ranch). When I did kill my first bird, I felt like I earned it, and it made the experience all that more rich. I also had a steep learning curve due to all my failures and mistakes.
Nice bird and well-earned!
Congratulations!
You poor soul. I'm afraid you're hooked now. Congrats on the first!
Wow, thank you everyone for all the kind words! You have built a special community here. I read a lot of forums and the level of camaraderie and friendliness here is not common.
I have spent a lot of time reading and learning on OG, which undoubtedly played a large role in taking this bird, again thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.
congrats on your "1st"
:happy0064:Very nice going,congrats
Congrats!!
Good job man! Congrats!
Congrats on your first bird!
Congrats! That's a nice looking turkey
Nice bird! Way to stick with it and make something happen.
Yeah......by the looks of that photo, he was surely 12 yards!
He don't feel so well. Good job.
Very nice. Sounds like a great lesson you have learned is to not head to the house an hour after flydown! Way to go.
Good job! Way to stick it out! Nice picture with the hot hen and the Lynch.
I have been reading on here for a few years and have learned a great deal myself. Great site! Plently of knowledge and tons of nice people.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Good job
:icon_thumright:
Congrats!
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk