Finally messed up Thursday afternoon. Not a whole lot of exciting details but I'd been after this turkey since season opened. I've hunted him 12 days and only heard him gobble ONCE! He refused to gobble, but I knew he was there because of the game camera pictures I'd get. Long story short I put 3 Covert cameras on plot watch mode and set them to take a pic every 3 minutes on 3 different plots. He would hit one of the plots only in the afternoon but only 3 or 4 days a week. My grandson was on spring break and he and I hunted Thurs morning until 10 o clock and never heard a bird, we ran home and tended to a few things then hit the woods again at 2 o' clock. I set him up at a 3 way intersection that was covered in tracks, showed him a tree to not shoot past then I went about 150 yards on down the road to a food plot. I clucked as I walked away from him then got settled in for the evening. I clucked and scratched a few more times then laid my calls out of reach to avoid the temptation of calling. My dad texted and asked if we were hunting and just as I replied and laid my phone back down I heard him PFFFFTTTT VRRROOOOOMMMP! I glanced up to the left and he was standing in a wide open shooting lane. He passed by one more thick spot before I could get my gun on him. A 28 yard shot anchored him and the hunt for that no gobbling sob was finally over! My grandson came running down the road to me and told me saw the gobbler walk out into the road and strut then come straight toward me. He watched the whole thing unfold. Anyway, here he is, 10 5/8" beard, longest spur 1 3/16"
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/dublelung/Hunting/20170413_153213.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/dublelung/media/Hunting/20170413_153213.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/dublelung/Hunting/20170413_152912.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/dublelung/media/Hunting/20170413_152912.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/dublelung/Hunting/20170413_154245.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/dublelung/media/Hunting/20170413_154245.jpg.html)
If you look at the far end of the food plot you can see him as he enters from the road. I was about halfway of the 130 yard plot on the left side (out of view). The time lapse camera got him about 1 minute before I shot him. The last pic is of my grandson and I as we had just ran to the gobbler! :happy0064:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/dublelung/Game%20Cams/IMAG0170-1.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/dublelung/media/Game%20Cams/IMAG0170-1.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/dublelung/Game%20Cams/IMAG0171-2-1.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/dublelung/media/Game%20Cams/IMAG0171-2-1.jpg.html)
Nice bird, congrats.
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Congrats!
Nice bird
Congrats. Great bird!
Great story. Congrats.
Nice! Congrats!
Nice turkey!
Nice gob, congrats!
Good deal!!
good job! nice hooks on him.
Nice bird!
I have an affinity for those hush mouth birds myself. The end result is usually a set of sharp spurs like you have there.
You put in the effort to finally take a closed-mouth bird and are to be congratulated. I'm not sure that I would have had the endurance to stick with what you accomplished. I'd have probably gone after a more vocal bird.
Good one, congrats!
Success after hunting that hard is all the more satisfying.
I'll bet you are going to miss him just a little aren't you? ;)
Quote from: Neill_Prater on April 18, 2017, 09:02:17 AM
Success after hunting that hard is all the more satisfying.
I'll bet you are going to miss him just a little aren't you? ;)
Yes I do! That's always the case when one you get personal with is gone. I'm elated to finally win but saddened by the fact I won't be able to hunt him again. I'd have gladly given him a break if there were any other gobbling birds where I could hunt them but he was the only game in town.