I finally got a tag on OK bird number one. It has taken a few days for the birds to start acting right since the storms, but this morning was beautiful. I knew were there were two birds roosted, so I set up where I thought they would fly down. Well, turkeys being turkeys, they flew the opposite direction into the pasture. I had left my binos in the truck this morning, but watching them strut I thought they were both full fanned gobblers. I used the hills and woods in the creek bottom to my advantage and got in front of them. I watched this guy strut and gobble and I still thought he was a mature bird. He stuck his head up at 40 yards and I gave him a 3 1/2 inch load of #6 Winchesters. He rolled and got up! He just stood there in shock, I guess. Well, I have lost a bird like this before, so I shucked another shell in the old 835 and gave him another one. This time he was down for good.
It turns out he is a big (if there is such a thing) jake. He weighed 15 lbs 12 oz, with a 4 1/8 beard and 1/2 inch spurs that were starting to get sharp. My guess is he is an early hatched bird from last year.
