Tell us what's happening in your nape of the neck of the woods.

[FullChoke]

If I read it right, we will have the final two on the team bolting out of the gates soon.

Those others that have been chasing, jump in here and tell us what kind of tribulations you are facing in the woods. I love to hear about close encounters almost as much as success stories. Your teammates are pulling for you!

Cheers 

FC

[gophert]

I've got a lot of non-success stories.  Seems like here in TN, the birds are just now acting like they are supposed to.  They fly down with hens and then are lonesome around 8:00 - 11:00.  I have had 3 close encounters with long beards.  The first one we set up under their trees before daylight (could see them in the trees) and put the decoys in the wrong place.  They flew down to my right (I'm a righty shooter) and could not see the decoys.  We couldn't get them on camera and the shot really never presented itself. 

Me and Leah heard a gobble one morning while loading up our stuff to leave.  We grabbed our gun and sprinted up the hill to the field and guess who topped the hill at the same time.  Yep...away he went.  CRAPPP!!!!!!

Set up on two long beards and got too close to them while it was too light.  They were all by themselves and instead of flying right down to my hen decoys, they sailed across a 10 acre field.

[Gagry]

Well I have had an interesting year. We have been covered up at work so its hard for me to take off and hunt. I missed the opening weekend in Georgia and haven't been able to get down their to hunt yet. opening Saturday here in NC was a bust. I was working on a gobbler about 150 yds below me on the mountain. When two doe came around the ridge about 20' below me. Yes we were looking eye to eye and they bolted down the ridge toward the gobbler. To make things worse they had to stop and blow before trotting off. No more gobbles. I sat there for about a half hour just to see if I could get him back Interested, but no luck. I moved around the mountain jumped 5 more deer. found a place to set down and call. Nothing happening. I did get to hunt two more evenings with no luck. Now Wensday was very Interesting. Got a call about 5:15 from my son my daughter in law's water had broke and they was headed to the hospital. she was due May 8. So my wife got ready and went to the hospital too. I had to call and rearrange my employees first thing and let them know I wasn't coming to work. So by then my wife called and said it would be a while to go on to work. By then it was about 9:00 so I went hunting above the house. Called in a nice bird about 10:00 he came in not making a sound. I looked over my left shoulder and their he was. when he walked behind a tree I raised my gun and pulled the trigger sent him a flopping. By the time I got back to the house and made pictures, cut the breast out, and disposed of the bird my wife called and said to come on to the hospital. We sat around the waiting room till about 3:15 when Branton was born. My first grandchild. I think he will be a trukey hunter too. What a glorious day!!!!!!!!!!!

[jakesdad]

Well here in missouri,the NE corner anyway,seems if its not cold,its raining,or both.was lucky to bag a bird the second day in a rain storm,but it has been verrrrrrrrrrrrry quiet and slow since then.several people ive talked to in the area have said the same thing.Have hunted a few times but only until around 9,then off to work.calling for a nice "normal" spring forecast this weekend so plan on huntin daylight to 1pm if necessary both days.hopin for a little more action this weekend but we'll see.

[surehuntsalot]

down here in Ms. I have been doing terrible,can't get nothing to work right

[FullChoke]

I will be heading out tomorrow to hunt on a buddy's property in Alabama. He reports that last weekend the birds had the vocals cords cranked up to 11. Of course, this means dead silence in the spring wood this weekend. We'll see. The weather calls for scattered showers, but that has worked to my advantage in the past.

I encourage everyone to get out and hunt your best hunt this weekend. Good luck, my brothers.

Cheers 

FC

[surehuntsalot]

had the best weekend of the entire season this sunday morning,no I did not take a bird,but I heard the most gobbling activity of the season.
2-3 birds gobbled 70-80 times from 6:30 until 9:00
hens were everywhere and very vocal,all in all it was a great way to finish out the season for me.

[FullChoke]

I had a great time in Alabama this weekend. Sat morning heard 4 gobblers all around us, but none were particularly interested in partying with the girls. Got busted Saturday evening by a bird I was looking for while setting out the decoys. Oh, well.

Sunday morning was interesting. I took out from the house early on their electric buggy and drove to the powerline so that I could get to a specific spot to put out the decoys under the cover of darkness. When I stopped, I head something next to me and the blasted family yellow lab had followed me 2 miles through the woods. I tried to chase him off, but it didn't work. I went ahead and walked down the powerline and set out 2 decoys in the middle of it. I got situated and the blasted dog is now wandering around amongst the decoys! I just sit there fuming, trying to decide what to do, and how to get away from Fido without him following me through the woods. After about an hour of this ridiculous futility, I had heard 2 different gobblers sounding off in 2 different directions. I decided to try the one to my right who sounded like he was on the neighboring property. I somehow managed to successfully sneak away from the dog and took out towards the bird. His gobbles were distinctive in that they ran on forever. He had to be big with a huge set of lungs to be able to gobble that long. I got to the property line and he was about 125 yards across an area of cleared pines. I hit him with a box call and he cut me off. At that same time I heard a hen start cutting at me from between the two of us. I figured that if I could get her over here, he would be right behind, so I started imitating her, but more aggressively. She wound up in my lap at 6 yards and just got a little nervous about that breathing tree and eased off. I looked over her shoulder and there he was. He finally made it to about 35 yards from me, strutting and looking hard for that other hen. I just sat there doing quiet hen clucks and he wouldn't come any closer. Eventually he wandered off gobbling. I moved further down the line and hit him with the box call again, to which he again cut me off with a gobble, but he wasn't coming over there again. It started raining, so I pulled the plug on this trip and headed back. The dog was waiting at the buggy and off we went back to the house.