Spur Collected Stories

[M,Yingling]

Good reads guys ,,season cant get here soon enough for me LOL

[dirt road ninja]

This morning was great weather, clear, cool, still, but the hunting sucked.

[davisd9]

My good buddy deacon came down Tuesday evening to hunt with me on my land in Clarendon and the public land that borders it.  We got to the land around 6:15 or so and saw a good bird in the back of a field.  He wanted to try to get one with the bow so we set up in an area that the birds roost in alot.  As we walked to the area through the field we saw some birds running, dang.  The field has corn stobbs sticking up from being cut last year and it is hard to see birds in it.  Got to the spot and set up.  After sitting down for 15 minutes or so hurricane winds started.  No luck.

Got out to the land on Wednesday morning.  We hunted my land first thing then was going to check out the public land late morning.  Got to the area I killed my bird opening day to listen for a bird to gobble.  Stood there until 7:00 am and heard nothing.  Decided to move to a more open spot to listen, nothing.  We walk around checking for fields and see nothing.

We talk and I say we can go set up on one field that birds really like.  I have a place in the back which they walk to on a ridge in the field and it funnels them into a smaller field.  Get back there set up and start making noise.  We sit for a hour or so calling every 10 minutes of so.  Eventually we decide we are tired of sitting and will go check the public land out, it is around 10:00.

Deacon goes to get up and says dang, three are running through the field.  He though he spoked them.  Nope.  He called about 5 minutes before.  They turned and three longbeards ran straight to us.  Neither of us had on a mask or a call to try to use.  All I will say about this situation was that there was obviously a problem with the shells we shot because not one feather flew, but three longbeards did, DANG! 

We go over to the public land and nothing is happening so we decide to go get lunch and get back out there around 3:00 pm. 

As we are riding back in we think we spot a bird in the field I killed the bird in Friday, same field we scared bird out of tuesday evening.  We sneak back and get to it and nothing.  Get back to care and we decide it has been  hours since those worthless shells made all the racket.    So we go back to the same exact spot.  We get set up and deacon hits the call.  His gun is on the ground still cause he is getting settled.  I look to my left, "There is a longbeard!"  He was running to us.  Deacon said, "You are going to have to shoot because I cannot get my gun up." 

Gobbler is walking fast to us, deacon clucks on his pot and he stops dead in his tracks, MISTAKE!  The ole 835 barked, with a good shell, and he looked like you kicked his legs from under him.  To the ground.  After the shot a bird we did not see fly up into an oak tree and we saw another run that direction.

We sat still and deacon got his gun ready and handed me the call.  I could barely work the dag um thing from shaking so bad from what just happened.  We never got the other birds to come back in. 

It meant a lot to me to hunt with my good friend deacon and to kill a bird that he called in for me.  If I would not have gone to Mississippi this year I would have mounted this bird for that very reason.  No finer fellow is around and we fellowshiped together in God's beautiful creation chasing a creature that we both love so much!  We will certainly do it again brother!

[trkehunr93]

The VA opener was a good one, had roosted this gobbler and his brother on Fri. evening but knew the ridge I was listening from had a couple of birds hanging out on it but I did'nt hear anything Fri. on that ridge.  The birds I heard were across the paved road but still on landowners property.  I got on the ridge I listened from again just to see if one would gobble from that ridge, well at 6:13A the birds across the road started up and they were hammerin' gobbles, so easy decision to get back in my truck and drive over where they were (no brainer!)  I get over there and no sooner do I get my stuff together than I hear 2 birds gobble from where I just left and I'm thinking you just screwed up.  I went after the two that were together anyway, they were gobbling like crazy.  I had to take my time easing over to them as it was getting light and by 6:40 they already on the ground but still gobbling.  I finally get as close as I can as they had already crossed the boundary to another property.  I set up and call on my box call and one answers, I call again and he is coming my way, I start scratching in the leave and clucking and he gobbles closer.  My gun is up and I yelp one more time with my mouth call and he gobbles dead in front of me and I can hear him topping the hollow they were in,  I see his head and when he comes out from behind  the pine in between us I drop him at 25 yards, 7AM on the dot.  I run over and get him and when I get back to the oak I was set up at the other bird gobbles again and is close so I just sit back against the oak and within minutes the other gobbler is 25 yards away and stands right in front of me for 30 minutes gobbling his head off, I wish I had a video camera it was fun to watch.   Here is a pic with my future hunter Jamison.

[davisd9]

Awesome hunt!  Textbook, love those ones that go the way you plan and can still get some breakfast!   

[dirt road ninja]

Went to the camp Friday night and we had bad weather all night. I woke up to still winds and unseasonally cold weather. I hunted till about 10 o'clock and didn't hear (heard 2 gobbles @ 0900)or see much, I got cold, so I headed to the camp for extra clothes and a bite to eat. A hour later I was back in the woods. Well I saw a few hens around 1:30, but still no gobbler. I sat until 3:30 and head back to the area I had heard the two gobbles that morning. Still nothing, sat till about 6:15 with no action. I decide to go to a roosting area and hope for the best, but as I was walking out I saw a ton of droppings. There were too many to leave, so I sat down and right away the wind laid down. Shortly after that I get in a clucking contest with a hen and she wanders off to my right. Then at 7:00 I see a big glowing white head heading to me. GAME ON now, he struts and drums as he zig zags down the logging road, but hangs up at a bend. He doesn't see a hen, so he drums and struts some more. My mouth goes dry, so I can't purr only cluck, which doesn't move him. He is in range, but not by much, and I'd like a little closer shot. He never offers it and he was in the clear, so I shot. He went down without a flop.

[davisd9]

Left my wife, brother in law, and I left my house to go home on Friday afternoon around 4:15 pm.  I changed into my camo and had my gear ready so that when we got down to the land they could just drop me off and I would walk.  Got down to the land after the 100 mile, 2 hour drive around 6:16 - 6:20.  Got out and got my things and decided to head over to where I killed my last bird a few wednesdays ago.  Get there and set up but the planted corn in the field is a good bit higher than it was, about knee high.  I know they will walk through it but it is harder to see them and easy to get busted.  Went ahead and set up.

Sat there for about 30 minutes or so.  Was thinking they just were not coming to the spot and my confidence in it was gone.  Decided to pack up my stuff and head to a field that I have not hunted hardly at all.  I have not hunted it hardly cause it is a huge field and your first set up better be good or you really do not have a chance.  Also it was planted late so I figured the corn should be around the right height that the turkeys would like it.  I was walking around another field going toward the field I was wanting to hunt.  There is a wood line between the two fields with a ditch running through it.  We have a spot to cross the ditch and there is a tower deer stand there.  I like to climb that stand a little to look over the field to make sure there are no birds in the field.  It is enough in cover you will not get busted doing this.

As I am about 20 yards from our crossing point a hawk screams above the field I am walking to.  Bam he sounds off, GOBBLEEEEE!  He is not to far in the field.  I sneak across the ditch and get under the stand and sit down.  He is out in the field about 120 yards with 4 hens.  He is strutting around between them as they feed. 

It is about 7:15 when I first get set up.  I am hoping they work their way to me and not down the 300 yard field.  He gets one hen broke away from the group and then gets her to lay down and breeds her, first time I have ever seen this happen.  Then he moves on to the another hen and about 10 minutes later he was breeding her.  One strange thing he would do is strut in front of one of the hens and stop and then go into half strutt and start shaking like he was breeding.  It was neat to watch but I have never seen anything like it.  It was as if he was dancing in front of them.  They would stop feeding and watch him to do it.  Anyone else ever seen anything like this?

Finally the hens turned and came toward me.  If they kept the same path of travel than he would have been out of range.  I was hoping please, angle toward me, please.  Finally the lead hen turned and walked straight toward me.  I did not call at all cause I was scared to gain their attention and have one of the 5 bust me as I was trying to get my gun up to shoot.  3 hens past me and the gobbler is about 5 steps from being down my gun barrel in range and he stops.  He has not broke strut the whole time except during his little jig and when he bred the two hens. 

He is standing there strutting and all of a sudden turns and walks away from me, what is the heck is going on!?  I see what is happening, the 4th hen is behind him and he walks out to push her.  He gets behind her and pushes her toward the others.  He gets to where I am again, just a little farther out, but still in range.  He walks into my shooting window and I cluck to break him from strut.  He stops still in strut.  Then takes a step and I cluck again but the tom will not break strut.  I do not like to shoot a bird in strut because I target area as grown smaller by a good bit but he was just about to where I could not shoot any more so I squeezed.  He drops hard and hens are flying in every direction. 

I know I hit him good but he is acting funny, not flopping my moving so I rush out to him and when I get about 10 steps from him he starts trying to get away.  Not running but using his wings to push him.  I stop let him get about 20 yards from me and BOOM!   He is down for good. 

When I shot the first time he must have stepped forward when I squeezed off and the shot hit him back a little instead of in the head.  He would have died but I did not want to loose him when he was trying to get out of dodge.  The second shot hit his head and it was over.  Now I have another reason I do not like shooting at a strutting bird. 

It was a great season with a total of 5 birds for me.  One in MS and 4 in SC.  I did not use one tag in SC but this is the best year I have ever had.  All were longbeards and they all died in different parts of the farm.  I am tired and once I catch up on sleep I will be fishing and dreaming of next April!  Good luck to everyone else and hope you have a great rest of the year.  I will be around hunting with the stories of the other members of the team!