2021 Strut Stopper Story Thread

[birdman67]

Congrats KY on a nice bird!

[aclawrence]

Well amigos I've have been on the birds as close as you can get without pulling the trigger for the last three days. I've got this one gobbler pinned down almost to his roost tree but he meets up with his girlfriends before I can do anything about it. I think I'm going to go all in and see how close I can get in the dark in the morning and pray he's in the same spot. I called him in at 11:30 2 days ago but set up in the open too much and he wouldn't come all the way. Yesterday morning I had him just over the crest of the hill spitting and drumming at about 30yds but I couldn't move because of the hens. They finally worked off where I could watch him but he was too far then. This morning I had him about 75yds strutting with his hens and they drifted away. I thought they were coming my way today.  I've been so close. I hope eventually they're going to work my direction and I'll be able to out my hands on him. I found some other birds but I'm getting attached to this one!


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[Kygobblergetter]

I tagged out in Kentucky yesterday afternoon. I took my wife hunting to try and fill her first tag. Birds started answering the call but it was windy enough that I couldn't tell if they were far off or just down below the hill with their gobbles being muffled. Long story short they were just over the hill which resulted in an "oh crap" gobble at about 80 yards and a very quick, less than ideal setup. She kept her cool and made a last second move as the birds were swinging around to our hard left. 3 longbeards came in to 20 yards in the woods and she was able to kill one. I had no intention to shoot a bird but it was too cool of an opportunity to pass up our first double. After her shot she handed me the gun and  I started very aggressive calling. The other 2 birds gobbled and came running back in and I was able to kill one of them. Unfortunately he wasn't an upgrade but mine was an awesome double beard. On to Indiana in the morning!


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[Kygobblergetter]

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[bornagain64]

Congrats again guys. My season is probably over, I have been feeling like crap
The last few days, so I went to the Dr and  got tested. Good news is I do not have covid, but I do have Influenza/ Flu: so I am probably not gonna make it out for the last weekend of our season.

Everyone stay safe and keep at it, I am counting on many more success stories on here.

[aclawrence]

Congrats kygobblegetter!  I'm sure that will be a hunt for the memories.

Sorry to hear that bornagain64. That's a bummer. I hope you get to feeling better. I missed a whole week due to the stomach virus. I've been making up for this week though.


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[wvhoyt19]

Congrats everyone! Great stories.

Praying for you Bornagain64!

I've only hunted first 2 days in WV and birds are henned up and tight lipped. I'll be back at a few days trying to pull off an archery kill then I'm off to try for a Merriams!


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[turkey harvester]

Congrats on the bird!! Its been tough here in Mo. Windy, rain, snow, just plain crappy weather period. I've only got to hunt 1 day cause of school. Bad thing bout turkey season is its right in the middle of EOC testing time. Supposed to be a wash out tomorrow but gonna go anyway. Good luck guys
Hope you get to feeling better John

[dzsmith]

I came to Missouri earlier this week. Same as turkey harvested said. Rain , wind , cold weather , and snow. When it started snowing at lunch Tuesday I decided to leave . It's not even greened up where I am. I drove east to Kentucky to hunt public there for a few days hoping to escape the snow at least. Wrong ..... when I checked into my hotel that night after attempting to scout in 20mph winds it's snowed all night. I got up the next morning . Sick as a dog from being in the wind the last 2 days. I decided to go anyway. Picked a random gate to hunt. Crystal clear morning after the snow. Birds blew it out. I called one in right off the roost. Unfortunately with the bird being wet I could not see his beard and let him get into some thick stuff . He was very close but I didn't shoot him. I finally did catch a glimpse of the beard when he eased off , and mad did he have a rope. I wasn't able to strike any birds up the rest of the day, but this bird did come back to roost that's evening in the same area. He gobbled twice . Next morning , he was the only gobbling bird , and he gobbled very little. No idea why. I didn't really set up on him because he wasn't gobbling enough for me to know exactly where he was . Once again. I never struck up anything the rest of the day. I did however scout a different gate that evening and found a lot of turkey sign.... of course there was also a lot of human sign..... but that's part of it. I decided to hunt this gate the third and final morning before I was gonna drive back to Missouri. And the first gobble I heard wasn't even on my side of the road . I had walked several hundred yards down the road already . Anyway I did finally hear a bird behind the gate but he was further away than the birds across the road so I decided to cross the highway. I was really a little too late at this point. No matter how quickly I walked it seemed like the birds were the same distance away . When I finally
Caught up to them , I made a call and they did respond , but after 30 minutes or so they both gobbled again and they were further away again . So .... I decided to move . I chased a few random gobbles over the next hour with zero responses . Birds are henned up right now here . It was starting to rain so I decided to go back to truck maybe try the other side of the road. As I get near the highway I hear a bird back towards the last area I made a call......and I'm like dagnam, really we are gonna play this game . Well I said what the Hek it's my last day I have to try. What else am I here for . So I run back that direction , and I head another gobble but it sounds like he's already moved about as far as I could possibly hear one. No way right? Well it wasn't the same bird . But I had no way to know at this point . I decided I was gonna March all the way to the distant gobble simply because it kept gobbling . So I started scaling mountains , valleys , and creeks headed towards the gobble stopping occasionally to see if the birds was still gobbling. He was .... but once again it was as if I was gaining no ground . After 30 minutes of walking and climbing .... it appears that I may finally be in the game . Birds is across the valley over the next ridge . I decided to call... cut towards him and Yelp the other way. He responded. So I set up . He gobbles again and he's headed kinda up and away from me on his ridge. I make about a 20-30 yard adjustment on my setup . And call one more time . He responds again. Then goes silent for 45 minutes . His next gobbled his at the bottom of my ridge coming up towards me . I scratch the leaves on my left , and that's it. I can hear footsteps and he's coming to me . So he finally pops over . And he clucks , I can't see a beard .... any bearded bird is legal .... but I don't put in miles of my time for Jakes legal or not. Sorry ... I just don't. However ... last day, last chance .... he takes another step behind a tree and leans his head back to look my way . I can see top of beard and it's going down , but like he was barely crested enough to see anymore than that. Head was blood red . I decided when he passes free I'm shooting . As soon as his beak cleared the white oak . I pulled the trigger . This bird was very close 25 yards so he was about to be gone . Anyway. Turned out to be a nice bird. Had to earn him. Birds gobbled every day on limb and a little on the ground . I'm glad in decided to make that long trek towards him. Course it was a super long trek out , but it was with a sore elbow which is what we all want.

[Kygobblergetter]

Sounds like an awesome hunt dz! If I kill my Indiana bird tomorrow I might head to Missouri or Ohio. Maybe we could try to knock one down together


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[Dmason3]

Unfortunately I've only been able to hunt a few days so far due to family issues. I did get to go out yesterday morning and the flocks have finally split up. I had one cutting off every call and getting close but a utility truck got lost and drove down into our area in the middle of nowhere and I didn't hear him anymore after that. Hoping to go out tomorrow morning. Congrats everyone who's made it happen so far


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[Kygobblergetter]

Keep after em dmason it'll happen.

I should have pulled the trigger on an Indiana bird but had 2 coming and was trying to kill a double. Had no reason to think they wouldn't keep coming but they ended up getting behind some brush and doing what turkeys do. Oh well just more time to hunt!


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[aclawrence]

Congrats dzsmith!  Sounds like you earned that one for sure. That's a pretty fan on that one.  I've been tangling with a henned up gobbler. I'm going after him in the morning.


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[Kygobblergetter]

Knocked down an upgrade this morning in Indiana! Started off chasing birds that wanted to run out of the country and could never catch up to them. After a long depressing walk back to the truck we lucked out and heard some birds gobbling about 300 yards away. They gobbled enough for us to close the distance to about 125 yards without ever making a call. After we got set up I called and they answered immediately but after that they seemed to wait 15-20 seconds after my call to gobble. I flipped the script on them and started making them gobble on their own and then waiting 20-30 seconds and answering them with a few yelps. After a few minutes of this game they stopped gobbling at all and I knew they were probably on their way. 10 minutes later I saw 2 big red heads coming down the deer path along the creek bank at about 70 yards. We let them come to about 30 yards and then started the 3 count and killed our public land double. Both of them solid birds, called down the creek bank 15 yards from the line between public and private


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[aclawrence]

Nice, congrats on an Indiana gobbler.


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