Kill Story and Congratulations.

[bornagain64]

Share your stories and Congratulate team members here.

[wmahunter]

Got set up in mosquito hell about 20 yds off of a field edge where I had heard the birds yesterday and they were all roosted in the same locations...plus a few more!   Three were about 100 yds to my right, 1 at 200 yds left, 2 straight ahead at 300 yds, 1 behind me to my right at 300 yds.

The one to my left came down first but went the other way.  The three close ones came down and set up strutting about 60 yds ahead and to my right along the edge of the field.  It was open in front of me and to the left, open brush behind me and thick brush to my right.

At times I could see them strutting through the brush.  I hadn't done any calling until they were all down and I realized they were not moving.  Yelped a few times and they responded.  Next thing I knew they gobbled about 15 yds to my right in the thick brush!  The 3 of them, 2 toms and an jake, stepped out and spent a few minutes looking for the hen and all I could do was freeze because I wasn't set up to shoot that direction and there was always at least 1 bird that would have busted me if I had moved anyway.

They eventually went back the way they had come and set up strutting again.  I shifted around the tree to allow a shot to the right and called again but this time only the jake came to me.  He walked a circle around me and left headed up the hill behind me while the toms seemed to be moving farther away down the field edge.  Once the coast was clear I moved about 3 trees closer to the strut area and did some more yelps which were answered.  I shut up and waited and they gobbled again a good bit closer.

Eventually I saw them headed my way along the edge and they were walking and looking this time and not strutting so I got my gun ready and as the lead bird stepped out into the clear at 26 yds I sent a load of 9's his way and put our team on the board!

[Uhadme@gobble]

Really nice bird Jamey!! Way to start off!!

[timberjack86]

Congrats! Thanks for putting us on the board

[J.Davidson]

Nice bird Jamey

[wmahunter]

Bird 2,  3-24-2012

Had spent my week scouting and setting up spots for others to hunt and went this morning to a spot that I knew had birds but I had not scouted yet. (BTW, 3 birds were killed by the 3 folks I did the scouting for)

I checked the radar before leaving the house and it looked like I should be good until about mid morning.  I went to a spot in the corner of a field where I killed one last year and listened but the only gobbling I heard was very distant and off of the property I could hunt so I just waited until good and light and did a fly down cackle and a little yelping and then just waited.

I thought once that I heard a gobble close to me but it turned out just to be a tom mosquito showing off for the hen skeeters.   I hope the man who invented the thermacell is a multi billionaire!!!

Started hearing thunder so checked the radar on my phone and saw that a pretty good storm had popped up and I was directly in its path.  Was thinking about leaving when I looked to my right and out walks a tom.  His beard didn't look all that impressive and he was walking in grass so I couldn't see his spurs so I just let him step on out into the field toward my decoy which he went directly to and then just stood there next to it.  Looked at him with binos and decided he had good spurs so was just picking up my gun when something made a noise to my right (where he had come from) and he jumped and hustled further out into the field and out of range.  I thought the noise sounded like a tom spitting and strutting so I figured it might be good to see what else stepped out but after several minutes nothing did. 

Meanwhile the tom was putting on a real strutting show for my decoy and although he was out of range, he slowly was working his way back in.  I did a few soft yelps and waited until he finally made it back to the 40 yd point where I felt comfortable shooting, so I put the red dot on his head and gave him a dirt nap with my 20ga Mossberg and TSS 9's. 

Went out to retrieve him and laid him down with my stuff and headed to get the truck and the bottom fell out before I could get there and I ended up being drenched but happy!  His spurs didn't have any ground shrinkage but actually were larger than they looked through the binos.

Jamey

[timberjack86]

Congrats again!

[Uhadme@gobble]

your a beast Jamey.........congrats on no.2

[Uhadme@gobble]

Congrats bornagain!!!!!where's the story?

[bornagain64]

Bird #1 down.
scouted the day before the hunt and found this bird. We got to the spot early and waited for day light, he gobbled and we made a move on him.
He gobbled on the roost several times, flew down quite and snuck in. He had a Jake with him and they went right bye us. We let out a few clucks and they came back our way.
He gobbled at every sound in the woods , over 100 times and was only about 18 yds away.
We could tell by the way he was acting he was not the dominate bird in the area. After an hour of thinking about it, he blew up and strutted in nice and slow. Shot was less than 20 yds. There was not a lot of calling, but it sure was exciting having him that close for that long.

We checked a game camera in the area and there are at least two other birds bigger than him, way bigger. I have another hunt on this wma in 2 weeks, so I will be back.

            John

[woodwzrd]

Cograts John.

[wmahunter]

Congrats on your bird John! Let's keep running up that score!

[timberjack86]

Congrats John ! Thats a good looking bird

[wmahunter]

Set up this morning at the corner of a field that the birds like to strut in...right where a lane enters the field.  Had 2 gobbling within 150 yds and lots of hens.  Hens flew down and landed right in front of me and I think there ended up being about 12 hens but I didn't count to be sure.

One tom entered the field about 40 yds out and he looked pretty good but the most vocal one was still gobbling behind me so I decided to wait and see what he looked like.  He walked right past me at 10 yds but wasn't as good as the other (who was by now out of range out in the field) so I let him pass.

Fortunately, even though smaller, he turned out the dominant bird and ran the other, bigger one away from the hens.  The looser then started working his way along the edge and toward me so when he got to about 25 yds I had a good open shot and took it.  Missed!  He took off flying into the woods and the others all just stood out there watching.  Finally they all figured out something was wrong and scattered in every direction as they left the field. 

I was disgusted with myself for missing and after getting my stuff together and calming down for a minute I headed in the direction he had flown on the chance he was down...but he didn't act hurt by the way he flew away.

Did a grid search around a cypress pond and beyond for about 300 yds, found a couple of pretty good antler sheds while searching and then moved over and started searching my way back.  About 100 yds from where I shot I kicked a palmetto clump and out the other side came my turkey trying to run and flap but couldn't go very well!!  I ran him down and stood on his head till dead!!

At 64 points he scores less than my others so he won't help us in the contest but I sure was happy to have found him!

Prayer and persistence paid off for me today.

Jamey

http://www.flywayspecialties.com/forumpics/2012gobbler3.jpg

[jarbo03]

Congrats on the bird, that is a heck of a story.