The Happy Eggshell Challenge Cup

[eggshell]

Dang Gobblenut, That sucks. I sadly can relate as I have had more than one trip go bad. I wouldn't call this a banner year by any means. My usually old reliable turkey spots in Ky were total bust. We had people boat in and hike up the mountain and camp right on where we usually kill turkeys. They were living with them and they'd set in camp and take off like a bullet soon as a bird gobbled. We hit some new ground and by the time we figured it out we were out of time. I passed a good bird our first day because I promised my buddy first shot and he didn't get a shot off.....arrrggg I shoulda killed the bird. We got a new farm this year and we total pooched it as every day we hunted was an off day and the land owner would say two days ago they were everywhere. I finally got a a shot at a bird there and of course it was in horse hair thick brush. I thought I had a hole to shoot through, but was wrong. The bird just ran out into a pasture looked bewildered and flew off. Thank God things held true at home. After killing a tree on opening day I Killed a my first the next day ( the double bearded bird, but light weight. I then hunted with a buddy or two and took a day off then finished off my Ohio hunting on the first Friday with a nice 21+lber. After that I helped a couple others and then took off for 10 days with the wife to visit our daughter in South Dakota and the black hills. I have friends out there and the plan was if I located birds I would try and hunt a little while still doing things with the family. I gave up after a couple days trying to locate birds, as all the locals said they had shut up. I never even bought a tag. The only birds I saw was in Iowa while we spent a couple days there. I just got home last Sunday and started remodeling the house MOnday. Not one of my more productive springs but I had plenty of fun. Honestly, this is the first time in 48 years I actually bailed on half a season. I never even finished Ky. So I only have two birds to score one 65+ points and one 60+ pts, somewhere I posted them. Now some "Happy" Fool may have done better but he ain't saying nothing.....hmmm

[Sir-diealot]

Sounds like we have all had interesting seasons. Later part has been better, got some relief to a toe that was making it miserable to walk the first part of the season, I will be getting that operated on soon, just waiting on a date from the doctor. Glad you got to see some family anyway eggshell, I was supposed to go visit family this year but I won't be able to til all the covid junk has ended.

GobbleNut glad to hear nobody was hurt.

[Happy]

Dang Gobblenut, That sucks. I sadly can relate as I have had more than one trip go bad. I wouldn't call this a banner year by any means. My usually old reliable turkey spots in Ky were total bust. We had people boat in and hike up the mountain and camp right on where we usually kill turkeys. They were living with them and they'd set in camp and take off like a bullet soon as a bird gobbled. We hit some new ground and by the time we figured it out we were out of time. I passed a good bird our first day because I promised my buddy first shot and he didn't get a shot off.....arrrggg I shoulda killed the bird. We got a new farm this year and we total pooched it as every day we hunted was an off day and the land owner would say two days ago they were everywhere. I finally got a a shot at a bird there and of course it was in horse hair thick brush. I thought I had a hole to shoot through, but was wrong. The bird just ran out into a pasture looked bewildered and flew off. Thank God things held true at home. After killing a tree on opening day I Killed a my first the next day ( the double bearded bird, but light weight. I then hunted with a buddy or two and took a day off then finished off my Ohio hunting on the first Friday with a nice 21+lber. After that I helped a couple others and then took off for 10 days with the wife to visit our daughter in South Dakota and the black hills. I have friends out there and the plan was if I located birds I would try and hunt a little while still doing things with the family. I gave up after a couple days trying to locate birds, as all the locals said they had shut up. I never even bought a tag. The only birds I saw was in Iowa while we spent a couple days there. I just got home last Sunday and started remodeling the house MOnday. Not one of my more productive springs but I had plenty of fun. Honestly, this is the first time in 48 years I actually bailed on half a season. I never even finished Ky. So I only have two birds to score one 65+ points and one 60+ pts, somewhere I posted them. Now some "Happy" Fool may have done better but he ain't saying nothing.....hmmm

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[Happy]

Allright, seasons over for everyone i believe. But before we move any further I will just say this.
Any turkey called to the gun and killed cleanly is a trophy. I don't care what it scores personally. Some of the highest personal satisfaction birds in my life won't measure up well against a tape measure. I find it an injustice that a guy can get up at 2 am, climb a mountain and work his rear end of to kill a bird that doesn't measure up well and some other fellow can just blunder to his blind(manage to not get lost) and wack a huge bird that has been fed corn all year and be considered the better man. But I say that being a fellow who values hard work over results and society isn't necessarily geared that way anymores. So Gobblenut cudos to you on your Tom's. Its impressive what you manage to do there in the mountains of Mexico.  I know it ain't easy even if they are Meriams.

I am prepared to just drop the whole thing. I already got what I came for and that was the opportunity to laugh and have some fun. Winning or loosing meant nothing to me and didn't change a thing in how I went about my hunting. To interact with some fellow turkey hunters was the point for me. Regardless of how it shaped out in the end it is satisfying to me. Don't get me wrong, we can still continue if everyone wants a final score but it really isn't important in the overall scheme of things. It was fun to harass and irritate ya'll.

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[eggshell]

I been killing the Saugeye (hybrid walleye) can I get some bonus points for them? If you give my wife a choice she'll say go catch Saugeye over killing turkeys, their pretty close to equal in my favorite things to do. I can catch and keep six of them a day. I'll probably keep about 200 this summer and fall. Stock up the freezer, have a fish fry and I give some to some veterans.

Happy, I will conceded the contest, wouldn't want anyone ( wink at gobblenut) to get their feelings hurt . We know what we done and that's good enough. Hey my opening day tree scored at least 150 pts. 

[GobbleNut]

Yeah, now that it is all over with and the ribbing has been suspended (at least for a day or two), I say we call it a draw!  Honestly, I never figured our little contest would ever get to the "who scored what" level anyhow.  For me, the contest (even the main one) has always been more about the exchange of rhetoric between OG members than it has been about scoring turkeys from around the country that, when truly examined, is like comparing apples and oranges.  The back and forth between everybody has been good fun.  Even though the contest is over, I hope it continues!
Jim

[Happy]

Oh it will. I was particularly impressed with eggshells willingness to announce the arrival of turkey season by shooting a tree. Thats sporting right there. Let them know your gunning for them before you start taking names.

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[eggshell]

well he didn't take the warning shot very seriously, because I killed his running buddy the next day and then I went back with one of my other buddies and he  killed him a few days after that....I guess they're just not to bright in Ohio.

My second bird was also quite satisfying. This one old bird would get on this log road and not budge and he had a view for everything around. He would never come to it on a regular time and I tried for three years to trip him up....well this year I was at the right time and place and I settled the score. I like killing them old buggers like that. Sooner or later they all make a fatal mistake. That's the sweet part of having your own land behind locked gates, you can chase the same bird over different seasons.

I like the easy ones too, but I love even more hunting the tough old nemesis more. I get almost giddy when someone says, I got this old bird I bet you can't kill, come try. Most of them don't understand that a new call and approach means more than any special skill level. I have carried my share of impossible birds out, and I just chuckle knowing it's not me but just the fact I was a new sound and approach. Free gobblers, Yeah !

Oh yeah, there ain't no fans, decoys or blinds involved....me, a call and an old bird is the game.

[Happy]

I can't say I had a second round with any gobblers this year. I had one day that I just managed to screw about everything up. Had a crack at a bird right off the roost and botched it. Then moved on and got another match going with another Tom. He made a move that as soon as he did it I knew my goose was cooked. I probably could have pulled a crawl and shoot but thats not my style. So they won that day. I tried gobbler #1 on the next day but he wasn't home. Another participant was found a while later so I guess he hopefully makes it to next year. I had a lot of fun though. I remember sometime this year someone posted that they thought turkey hunting was on of the most overcomplicated sports out there. After mulling that over a bit I have to respectfully disagree. Sure there are days when it seems impossible not to kill one. You get the right gobbler on the right day and its ridiculously simple. But when you take just a call and shotgun you are going to learn that those days are few and far between and you better figure out how to deal with some complications if you want to be consistently successful. Granted a lot of methods and equipment are being sold to take a lot of the complicated out of it but for me personally the sport looses its appeal. Sometimes we have to loose in order to learn how to win.

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