Killer B’s Story Thread

[Yoder409]

Well...........   I wanked on the team by not having a scale again........

Killed a gorgeous blackwing this morning on a textbook hunt.  Probably 18-19 pounds with a thin 9-ish inch beard and one nice spur.......one goofy spur.

The hunt was AMAZING !!!!!

Pics and stories when I get home.   I got a room for the night in Georgia on the way back, now. 

[POk3s]

Awesome to hear Yoder!!! Glad everything worked out so well!!  Congratulations!

[Delmar ODonnell]

Congratulations Don!!! Can't wait to see pictures of your black-winged bird!

[Delmar ODonnell]

I was fortunate enough to score on this ivory spurred bird this morning. He'll definitely be an upgrade from my last, as he outweighed him by 6 pounds. The beard would have been longer if I hadn't shot some of it off.


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[twyatt]

Awesome! Congrats Delmar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Yoder409]

CONGRATS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great pic !!!!!

[zsully]

Congrats Delmar!!!!! Nice bird!!!

[Yoder409]

I told my wife as I was walking out the door last Thursday morning, "Turkey hunting vacations are never restful".

15 hours of driving later, cousin and I rolled into Alachua county, Florida.  Had a bit of a visit with our host and crashed out.

Morning had my cousin (who had never hunted turkeys in his life) going with our host and me going a bit farther on into the property.  The property is a lot of big pine stands with clearcuts, foodplots and sand roads spread throughout.  I picked a spot where a long straight section of road intersected three 5th rows and bordered a recent clearcut.  Figured it would be a good natural corridor.  Gobble time came and I heard 3 or 4 birds at distance.  Most of them in the direction of the other guys.  At 10:30, cousin connected on a SLAMMER.  18-19 lbs  10 3/4" beard  1 1/4" spurs.  I stuck it out til around 12:30 but never could coax anyone to come by.

On the way back to camp we found strut marks on the road.  I decided to try that area in the evening.  Got in there shortly after 4:00 and set dekes where a narrow foodplot came up to the road.  I got just a little ways off the road......back against a pine and a palmetto clump between me and the road.  Waited 5 minutes or so and started calling.  about 30 minutes later, a hen was on the road just off my left shoulder.  Clucking and purring.  CLOSE !!!!  But couldn't see her out of my peripheral vision. Too close for me to move a muscle.  She eventually drifted off behind me and across the road.  Purring as she left.  Probably 15-20 minutes later, I thought I heard a spit/drum way back the road behind me.  About a minute goes by and I'm SURE that's what it was.  Then I hear wings dragging and a louder spit/drum.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Closer. Closer.........  He appears out of the very corner of my eye.  5-6 yards from me, tops.  He struts past me headed for the dekes, then breaks strut and starts the mean walk.  Hammer gets eased back.  He goes straight to the hen first and drops into a strut.  Then spins and drops strut.  I had set up with my gun on the shooting stick pointed straight between the dekes.....red dot on.   A couple more steps and I sent it.  My first ever Osceola lay on the road at 32 yards.

The set:



The bird:



The happy guy:



So much celebration was had around the campfire that night.  Saturday morning we got up, bid our gracious host "goodbye" and headed to cousin's house on the Gulf.  Stayed near Clearwater that night and were on the road southeast at 4:00 AM.  We arrived in Polk county just a bit before gobble time.  Neither of us had ever laid eyes or feet there before beyond Google Earth.  We drove a ways into the property and parked the truck.  Walked back out the way we had come in a little ways and a couple birds started gobbling.  One to our east ....one to our west.  Both a half mile away.  We were standing there when two hens rounded a bend in the road about 300 yards out, headed our way.  It was DANG dark.  Never figured there'd be birds on the ground yet.  I sent cousin over to a huge oak and I plunked a decoy.  Got situated and called the pair inside of shotgun range.  But they weren't sure of the deke and slowly fed back the way they came.  Both gobblers had flown down by then and continued to hammer way off in the foggy distance.  We got up and decided to go back past the truck and farther into the big oak hammock.  The gobbler to our east was WAAAY across a huge savannah type field......gobbling in the fog.   We got a good ways in......the hammock bordered the big savannah field ........and I looked around.  Picture perfect setting.  I pulled out a paddle caller and let out some awfully loud yelps.  He hammered back !!  I cut him off and he gobbled again.  Hit him one more time and yet a third answer !!!  I told cousin that dude knows where we are anyways.  I pointed him to a big oak ad told him to get comfy there.  I set up a pair of dekes on the sand road in the hammock and joined him at the oak.

I started floating a few yelps and easy cutts on a diaphragm.  About 5 minutes and cousin whispers "turkeys !!"  Three hens were coming up the hammock the same way we had come in.........feeding and puttering around.  Coming right up our way.  I told cousin this was a good thing.  But I hadn't heard the gobbler since we had sat down.  I told him to keep an eye to the left......the direction of the savannah......because I figured the gobbler had gathered hens and shut up OR he was coming.  The words were hardly out of my mouth when out of the bright, sunny fog he appears and walks into the hammock 75 yards away !!!   He sees the hens and breaks into a strut and heads for them.  The are still coming toward us in a bit of a J pattern.  The longbeard drops strut and kind of starts a J to parallel them and in turn heads our way, too.  Cousin told me the shot was mine.  The tom came out from behind a small group of trees and went behind a palmetto clump.  Hammer back.  Told cousin he'd be in range when he stepped out.  He came out in full strut and then dropped strut, walking briskly, quartering our way......faster than I wanted to shoot at him.  His J pattern quickly had him walking almost straight at us and the dot rested on his wattles.  At 41 steps lay my second Osceola longbeard.

The set and the bird as he fell:



Those cool black wings:   



The (VERY) happy guy:



This second hunt HAS to rate as one of my most memorable of all time.  The insane, unique beauty of that central Florida country........... Going in on the total blind and coming out with a mature bird.........  The distance from which the bird came........  The fact he came in TOTALLY silent and I DIDN'T screw up...........   Has I sat down with pen and paper, I wouldn't have scripted it out so perfectly.

[Yoder409]

DANG, I wish I was smart enough to re-size those big pics.................

[zsully]

Congrats Yoder! Awesome story and beautiful pics. That country sure looks pretty. Hopefully I'll get down there someday.

[Delmar ODonnell]

That's an awesome story Yoder! So glad yall had a good time. Those birds are beautiful. Love the black wings.

[Mossyguy]

Congrats on the birds everyone! Hey Yoder...we're going to take up a collection and get you a dern scale 

Haven't been much since I killed the last one. I've been staying away from one spot as my dad had been trying to get his second bird. We've had some crappy weather today with more for tomorrow. After that it looks promising! Here in the next week or two we should have some of the hens laying so the boys should be getting fired up!

[Yoder409]

Congrats on the birds everyone! Hey Yoder...we're going to take up a collection and get you a dern scale 

Save your money.  Or buy me some lessons on how to not be a dumb arse with that money.   

Of ALL the things I needed to remember to take................

Hopefully I have a good Eastern or two from my home turf left in me.

[POk3s]

Awesome seeing the pics and reading the stories! Great job guys!!

[a_jabbo]

Freaking AWESOME Delmar and Yoder!!!! Man this season has started off on the right foot for you guys. I'm ready to join in on the fun.