Killer B’s Story Thread

[Meleagris gallopavo]

I've got a strutter that I've been after since I first saw him strutting with a hen Thursday morning.  Sat on him Friday and nothing, no gobbling, no visual.  Saw him strutting Saturday in the same place at the same time as Thursday but couldn't shoot because I had already killed one and I probably couldn't get on him anyway.  Sat on him this morning a little closer to where I think he's roosting, but only saw a few deer.  At lunch I scouted for him and he's out in the field pretty-as-you-please with his rope flying in the breeze.  I have yet to hear this bird make a noise of any kind.  Gonna try and roost him this evening and I'll be after him again in the morning.  It's hard for me to leave one alone after I see him in the same spot so many times.  Looks to be a nice bird.

[zsully]

I hear ya Dave. If I see one multiple times I would almost take it as a personal challenge to kill that bird.

I took the boys out scouting this past Saturday we put eyes on 15+ longbeards. Four of them were in a yard. Easton insisted that he wanted to hunt there, and said a boy that rides his bus lives there. Naturally I refused because the house sits on 5 acres. It's just not a big piece. Anyways he kept begging me to go ask permission so I figured this is a great opportunity to teach the boy a lesson. We had a conversation about shaking someones hand and looking them in the eye when you speak. We talked about safety and how we would set up in his side yard so we weren't shooting toward the road or the house and we talked about how we would only be asking for permission for youth day next Saturday. Then we talked about how we weren't going to be upset if he didn't grant us permission because we were asking to hunt really close to his house. We went over everything at the house before we left then I quizzed him again on the way over. Then I made him ask. Dang if my boy didn't strut right up to that door, shake that mans hand, look him in the eye, talk about safety and ask if we could hunt just once next Saturday and he got his permission!!! Easton has been floating on cloud 9 ever since and I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't dang proud of how he handled that! I'm looking forward to going back to listen for them tomorrow.

[Meleagris gallopavo]

I got a little "too" on him this morning.  I set up too close to the roost for the hen.  He was gobbling and answering the few calls I made but the hen started clucking like crazy at daybreak and flew off the roost away from me, taking him with her.  I may give them a break tomorrow, especially since I saw another strutter on some property nearby.

[POk3s]

You boys are getting me all fired up! I head east Friday after work!

[Hoosier2]

Boy I've had a tough season for 2021. Started last weekend in the opener of Kentucky. Friday night could not find a roosted bird. Sat am sat first 2 hours not a peep. Brother in law saws a strutter is out in a field. Gather everything sprint to the ranger and drive about a mile down the road and sure enough he's there. He was on the north side of a 15 acre block of timber. The block of timber runs next to the county road so when I pulled down the road he ducks into the woods and I drive to the south side of the timber to sneak around to see the field. First Yelp after making it 200 yards he hammers 50 yards but it's thick gnarly woods. As soon as I get him fired up with Yelp Yelp cut Yelp Yelp cut cut another bird gobbles to the east. There's a 5 acre patch on the east prop line within 5 min two toms pop out of the woods and see my decoys. They tuck wings and start charging in from appx 125 yards. Well this joker sees these two year olds come and he cuts them right off causing the two toms to hightail it back where they come from. He stays out in the field until I just can't fool with him anymore.

Sunday am had more of a game plan. Go to the same setup as Saturday and the birds were all over the place 4 birds within 400 yards. A few are across the pretty good ditch and don't think I have a play with those birds. A bird behind me across the county road seemed like the guy who would play. Well sure enough he hammers where he spent most of Saturday on the north end. Well his girlfriend decided she wanted to fight my hen decoy. Pretty cool experience. I've witnessed too many toms and jakes assault my jake deke it's almost expected but this was a first to see a hen with the similar response. Well I give out a few cluck n purrs and he hammers. 50 yards. He's not far behind her. Well she finally loses interest and moves on. I'm sitting there waiting for him to show up. 6 min go by and nothing. As I peak out of my blind window. There he is coming down the tree line. I was about 10 yards down the corner of the timber on e/w tree line and he was coming on the n/s tree line. He stops 5 yards of the corner and never comes in full to the dekes. As a pretty good kiss my   he gobbled about 3 times and spends the rest of the morning right where he was previously. That was the extent of my Kentucky trip. Damn fine encounters just no shot opportunity.

Indianas opening day yesterday was the worst opening day I've had in almost 20 years of chasing birds. 29 at first light. 2" of snow overnight. Birds did not gobble. Sat all morning until 1 pm and never heard a bird. Driving out of our property 3 strutters and 4 hens are out in the neighbors cut corn field. 2 really pretty strutters but watched for 10 min and they never gobbled. Heading back out Sunday as the weather should break. Taking my old man out we had a great hunt last year I was able to call a perfect 2 year old to 20 yards. My favorite memories are getting to share the turkey woods with my old man now being 32 and getting ready to have my first son in June! Keep grindin men


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[Yoder409]

Went out to listen this morning.  Today is our youth day.  But my daughter.........my BEST turkey huntin' buddy......up and quit on me.  Doesn't want to hunt anymore.   

So, I stood and watched 3 full fans strutting RIGHT where we would have gone.............

From that one place I had a minimum of 11 gobbling birds in 4 different directions that I could have walked in and set up on.  So, I'll be back out tomorrow checking up on things.  Then, hopefully, next Saturday, there's still at least one of those boys hanging out there.

[Meleagris gallopavo]

Sounds like you have some good hunting areas Yoder.  Look forward to the stories and the kills.


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[zsully]

Yoder, sorry to hear your daughter didn't want to go this year. It is nice to have a flock like that to listen to and chase.

This was my first youth day with my son Easton and to say it went well was an understatement. Preparations started a couple months ago with getting him comfortable shooting the little 410 I got at the end of January. The scouting started a couple weeks ago and we picked up permission to hunt a farm close to the house that had a good flock on it. This is where I would be completely ignorant if I didn't bring up the support of a friend like a_jabbo.  Over the last couple weeks we've both been scouting but he's really put the time in learning these particular birds. Last night while the family and I were at the baseball field practicing, Adam was watching the flock and tucking them into bed. After that and after I got the kids put to bed he and I went back out in the dark and set the blind up in the field. Last but certainly not least Adam did the calling so I could focus on coaching Easton through the hunt. With everything prepared and ready for the morning I went to bed. I felt like I had just closed my eyes when Easton woke me up asking if I was ready to go turkey hunting........it was 12:55am. He came back in three more times through the night to make sure we weren't going to be late, 1:55, 3:30 and 4:50. The last time I conceded and rolled out of bed. We got to the blind and didn't wait long before we heard the first two birds sound off to greet the morning. The gobbling was good and at fly down a hen landed almost in our set. Four gobblers and 3 hens hit the field low and drifted to our left where they picked up 2 more longbeards. As the large group drifted left Adam got a bird on our right fired up. But he was deep. 3-400 yards deep but he liked what Adam was saying and came off the ridge and entered the field. At this point we have 6 longbeards to left and one to the right each about 125 yards away. As the lone gobbler starts gaining ground on our set two longbeards from the group on the left break and it was the slowest race to the blind you've ever seen. The two from the left ended up in the decoys and at 15 yards Easton killed one and the celebration was on. The bird had a 9 & 3/4 inch beard, 7/8 inch spurs and weighed 20.38lbs. A real good bird for his first. I thought he was hooked before but now he is on fire for turkey hunting. Can't wait for many more years of chasing birds with Easton and Adam.

[Meleagris gallopavo]

Love this Sully.  Very well expressed.  Some of my happiest times were when my young son killed a turkey!  Congratulations to you both.


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[Yoder409]

Now, THAT'S what I'm talkin about, son !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATS to the young man AND to dad !!!!   That's the stuff the best memories in life are made of.  Enjoy every minute of it.  And don't blink.

Need to get that boy signed up on our team next year !!!!

[POk3s]

Awesome stuff sully! Congratulations!!

I'm hitting stride on my trip and have killed three birds in the last three days after going birdless the first 4 days. Have one more place left to hunt and 3.5 days left to get it done! Just tried to enter my best scoring merriams, which isn't much? But I forgot how much of a pain in the butt posting pics is!! I'll get them posted up soon!

[Yoder409]

Awesome stuff sully! Congratulations!!

I'm hitting stride on my trip and have killed three birds in the last three days after going birdless the first 4 days. Have one more place left to hunt and 3.5 days left to get it done! Just tried to enter my best scoring merriams, which isn't much? But I forgot how much of a pain in the butt posting pics is!! I'll get them posted up soon!

Sounds like you're having a heck of a week, bro !!!!!!!!!!   CONGRATS !!!!!!!

Let's go git 'em, PA boys !!!!   Hunt safely !!!

[Yoder409]

Very cold and very moonlit this morning.  A bit breezy too.

I had to cross a field in the moonlight so I got in early.  I was sitting by 5:00 or shortly before.  First gobble was back over my right shoulder at 5:10 !!!!   In a few minutes there were 3 various birds gobbling.  The other two at distance.  Closer daylight, they fired up in every direction.  Probably heard a dozen or so.  The bird I was hoping to target fired up with another at about 200 yards.  I laid down some tree talk and shut up.

First bird that came at me was a lone hen.  Came straight from the gobblers right past me.  Then two fat jakes followed her.  The gobbling birds were in a field corner and not talking much.  A raspy hen opened up where they were, so I went at her.  Wasn't long til 2 more jakes and 3 or 4 hens were coming.  Then the white head and full fan.........and another longbeard with a pretty good limp.  The hens just pushed ahead of the strutter like on TV.  He came straight into range but the limpy longbeard was RIGHT beside him.  Couldn't shoot without capping them both.  Something with the 2 jakes.......a scuffle or something.....I wasn't focused on them......and the longbeards kinda side-stepped and turned around, still side by side.  They started away slowly.......strutter still strutting.  I was thinking I may have to shoot Limpy when the strutter dropped about half way out.  As best I can remember, he's only the second spring bird I ever shot in the back of the head.  36-38 yards, I'm guessing.

So-so 3 year old or strong 2 year old.  19 lbs 9 oz     8 1/2" beard    7/8" spurs, but sharp.......which usually 2 year olds are still rounded here.

[Meleagris gallopavo]

Congrats Yoder409!  Sounds like it was a turkey-filled exciting hunt.  They were gobbling in NC early too this morning.


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[zsully]

Congrats POK and Yoder!!! Nice birds and three in three days is a dang nice hot streak!

Yoder, are you posting that beautiful thing in the harvest thread so we can add that to the tram score?

In other news. Had a great hunt with A_jabbo yesterday and as you gents can see he wrapped his tag around a stud bird! I'll let him tell the story but man did we have to work for it.