2024 Killer B's Story Thread

[POk3s]

Loving all these stories! Was forced to come back to work this week and well...what are work days for if not reading hunting stories and wishing I was in the woods! Congratulations to all! A 27 lb turkey!! Wow!!

[Tom007]

Congrats team! Great stories. This was my opening week. Got lucky from my scouting, very slim pickings this season. Birds sure were in a weird mode. The first one on Wed was alone, but very apprehensive to come in. Played him for 2 hours. He had a comfort zone he wouldn't leave. I went for broke, moved closer. Quick cuts on Slate, then soft clucks convinced him to come to the gun. Thursday, started one at daybreak. Waited him out. Showed up with a hen, but stayed at bottom of field out of view for an hour. I made a risky move down an opposite hedge row to get closer. Got the hens attention with OG Clucks, she came through hedge row, he was right in tow.  Shot was close, 20 yards. Wad hit him......



img]https://i.ibb.co/Kxwjtgv/473-BC362-38-A4-4-B56-89-F0-770-D5824-B766.jpg[/img]

[JeffC]

Great job Tom! Congrats again on 2 tags filled. See your rocking and shaking again today, must be all that shooting you're doing. Did hear a gobble around the time of tremor, didnt feel anything. Didn't hear any shots the past 2 days.

[Tom007]

Thanks so much Jeff. Your gonna connect, they can't dodge you for long....can't wait for your pics!

[Delmar ODonnell]

Way to go everyone! Love hearing all the stories. Mossy, you've had a hell of a season. Hoosier, you are going to spoil that young man with a turkey as big as him, and Sully, that picture is beautiful and surely has me beat. Congratulations and love those push pins, Tom, they are pretty calls; I've never used one.

I've been out of commission from OG trying to stay employed while hunting as much as I can. The first 2 weekends of April, I headed down to Louisiana and got my tail whipped. The first weekend, I didn't hear or see a turkey. Unfortunately for me, I don't have an excuse for the second weekend, as I had the same gobbler whoop me while gobbling to his heart's desire. The second day of that weekend, while approaching that gobbler, I caught movement behind a tree and thought it was another hunter standing up. Instead, a huge black bear standing upright pivoted from behind the tree at 5 yards. Standing up, she was taller than I was and making eye contact. Hearing noise in the tree above us, I look up to see 2 small cubs. She sat down and huffed and puffed until I was out of sight. It was an awesome experience.

I took last week off work with hopes of hunting Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois. After work on Friday the 19th, I drove to Oklahoma, where my dad was meeting me for the weekend. We did not see or hear a turkey the entire weekend. With my dad flying out Sunday afternoon, I decided to cut bait and head East early.

The father of a friend very graciously allowed me to hunt his property in Missouri. On Monday morning, I hunted his property on a river in Missouri that consisted of fields, some open hardwoods, and pockets of thick briars. It was obvious there were turkeys in the area, as 4 jakes and a hen pitched down in front of me at flydown, but I only heard three distant gobbles. Throughout the day, I spooked two separate gobblers, realizing moving was doing no good. I then proceed to take naps at 2 separate locations, went back to the truck at 3:00 to get more water, and headed back out, where I sat at a natural funnel between the river and a briar patch. After an hour and a half of dozing off and/or daydreaming and sporadically calling, a hen walked by me at 3 yards. I was completely horizontal using my seat as a pillow, and realized that if she was a gobbler, I would have been helpless.  I sat up and mimicked the cluck and purr then hen was making. Twenty minutes later, as I'm staring at a wall of green, I notice a spot of vibrant red that had not been there before. A gobbler steps out of the thick underbrush and into the open at 65 yards, intently looking my direction. Finally he drops his head and starts heading my way. As I'm counting down the steps until he is in gun range, another gobbler comes from behind me to the right at 15 yards at 45 degree angle towards the other gobbler, who is at my 11:00. I quickly swung my gun, and when this new unlucky gobbler stepped from behind a tree, I raised his head and killed my first Missouri at 34 yards at 6:15 PM.




The next day, as my Illinois tag didn't start until Thursday, I drove south to public land in Tennessee. After cleaning the Missouri gobbler and answering emails til midnight, I had slept in and did not arive until 8:30. The winds were howling that morning, and after walking in a ways, I was lucky enough to spot a strutter out in a field with 2 hens. They were probably 250 yards from the nearest treeline, of which there were two making an "L" shape. I sat and watched as the hens would yo-yo him from the middle of the immense field to the treeline and back. My calls were lost in the void and wind and it was obvious they could not hear them. As they moved back and forth, I meticulously and slowly moved from shadow to shadow, bush to bush, using the wind as cover. I eventually worked to a spot where I thought they would "yo-yo" back to, and I catch glimpse of them roughly 60 yards away down the treeline. I quickly get to a tree in front of me and look to where the turkeys just were. They were not there. My confusion was quickly answer by a drum behind a bush 20 yards in front of me. Shortly thereafter they step out into the open in front of me. I cut to raise his head from full strut. Instead, the hens come to full attention staring at the loud bush, while the gobbler doesn't react at all. Again I cut, and he poked his head out enough so as to not completely ruin him upon the shot. I killed my first Tennessee gobbler at 11:20 at 15 yards.




On Wednesday, I hunted a new piece of public in Missouri, where I had a gobbler triple gobbling and drumming at 35 yards just behind a bush. While I could have made a subtle move to the bush to kill him, since I had already found success in Missouri, I wanted him to "do it right." Unfortunately, after 15 minutes, he got tired of waiting for this unseen  hen to walk from behind the bush, and he went along the creek bottom with his one real hen. Despite not killing, it was an amazing turkey hunt.

Thursday morning was my first day in Illinois. My brother in law allowed me to stay at his cabin which backs up to a national forest, and Wednesday evening I heard a gobbler off in the distance. That morning, I positioned myself on the side of the ridge they were on, and they gobbled well. At 7:15, I watched as four! gobblers strutted, drummed, and gobbled down a hogback ridge 55 yards away from me. They were moving quickly, and after they left my sight, I hustled to get in front of them. Despite me having a much better angle of attack, they beat me to the spot on the bench I was trying to get to. I set up and listened. Suddenly, I hear the hens spook and fly up in the tree. The gobblers did not know what happened (and neither do I). They answered every cluck I threw their direction, but would not leave from below their hens. Finally, 20 minutes later, the hens flew down and silence ensured. Figuring they would continue the same direction considering the speed they were previously traveling, I made a huge, hour and half long loop to get in front of them. Nothing happened. Finally, I moved the direction I had last encounted them and struck them one time at 10:00 in the same spot on the ridge now opposite me. I began easing down to the creek, making content hen sounds and scratching as I went. I stop as I hear scratching from the ridge opposite. I see a gobbler making his way to me, and he eventually gets to 40 yards but remains in the shadows. After 10 minutes, I see him making his way back up the ridge. I wait 5 more minutes, make my way to a cut in the opposite side of the ridge, and meticulously make the steep climb to the top. I sit immediately upon cresting the top and make some content yelps to ensure nothing is within eyesight. After 10 minutes, I make my way across the top to a saddle leading down to the bench they were on. Here, I give pleading, yet not obnoxious yelps, and wait. 10 minutes later, I hear footsteps in the leaves, followed by drumming. I quickly swing my gun to my 3:00 and he cr sts on top at 25 yards in full strut. He drums one more time and raises his head. I kill my first Illinois gobbler at 11:50.





With three more days to hunt before returning to reality, I head over to Indiana. For all day Friday and until noon Saturday, I covered tons of ground with no gobbles and a couple cut hen tracks to show for it. I decided to drive 45 minutes south to check out some new areas. I found one gate in particular that would allow me to get deep into the forest away from all access points, so I figured I would walk in and at the very least attempt to roost a turkey before my last morning. After getting off the trail and easing down the massive ridge lightly calling, I stop as I hear scratching in the bottom below me. I set up thinking these turkeys are coming to my calling. Five minutes later 7-8 turkeys, consisting of a couple gobblers, jakes, and hens walked up the next rise parallel to me, again at 55 yards. I lightly called but received no recognition. I waited until they were out of sight and again made my way around and up the bench they were headed to. When getting there, I again called. With no immediate response, I layed down and took a 2 hour nap. Upon waking, I slowly made my way down the bench to where the turkeys were previously headed. Thinking I heard a gobble from the mountain opposite me, I picked up the volume slightly, not overbearing but enough to be heard, and a gobble answered 100 yards down the ridge below me. I set up and gave a series of light content yelps and clucks. Five minutes later I hear a deafening drum. The ridge was full of thin stemmed vegetation, so while not thick to walk through, when leafed out, did provide a visual impairment. I knew the drumming was from my right but within a 150 degree radius. He continued his series of drumming. I began answering with soft yelps. My heart is pounding as I'm awaiting a visual. Finally, I see his head and tail fan move as he drums again, now at 45 yards. He moves to 40 behind a tree and drums again. He then breaks the tree and heads my direction. He steps into a hole at 33 yards, I yelped to raise his head, and claimed my first Indiana gobbler at 5:35PM.




On my way home to Mississippi that night, I decided I needed to make the most of my trip and turned the truck west again to Missouri. I was greeted Sunday morning with wet weather and howling winds. I didn't hear a gobble, but I'm glad I went.

I am so thankful for each and every one of these hunts, as well as the hospitality and kindess of those who helped me along the way last week. The hunts in hardwood ridges were everything I look for in a turkey hunt. I cannot wait to do it again.

[Yoder409]

GEEEEEZ, brother, but you're having (another) banner year !!!!!   

CONGRATS on all your successes.

[JeffC]

Once again Great read and great pictures Delmar!! Congrats, only thing better would've been pictures of momma Bear and her chasing you!!!   

[Tom007]

Way to go Del!!!

[Happy]

Congrats fellows! Nice pictures and write-ups.

Good-looking and Platinum level member of the Elitist club

[Tom007]

New York Opening Day. Storms last night. Relocated my scouted bird, heavy t-storm. He moved down the ridge. Got lucky at 6:15. Nice paintbrush beard...Good gobbling today..

[JeffC]

"Mr. Push-pin Tom" strikes again!!! Congrats sir!!

[Mossyguy]

Very nice...Killer B's putting in the work 

[Tom007]

Thank you, appreciate it!

[Meleagris gallopavo]

Had trouble posting yesterday's kill, hope it is still acceptable.  Had to to really do some trial and error getting pictures up, I imagine there's new instructions somewhere I need to read.  Anyway, went hunting yesterday morning for a bird I had seen earlier in the week.  After I set up he started gobbling his head off, even double and triple gobbling.  Eventually he flew down, strutted all the way across a field to my jake decoy, got within 2-feet of the decoy and stopped and spooked.  He took off like a bat out of hell the other way and I don't know what spooked him.  Dejected and disappointed, I left, but talked myself into trying another spot.  I had seen a turkey there earlier this week but didn't have as much on this bird as the previous one.  I set up around a corner of the field where I wouldn't be seen setting the decoy out, found me a spot to shoot from and waited.  Just to be clear, I do use a call, and yesterday I was using a wingbone I got from Tony Ezolt.  I hunt fields, and the way I look at it that the call gets them to start looking my way and the decoy kinda seals the deal "most" of the time.  A black dot shows up across the field and from around the corner from where i set up.  The black dot starts coming my way and eventually becomes a gobbler.  He comes on in and I shoot him in the head as soon as he was in good range (25-yards).  I finally killed one I could hang on a tree limb.

[JeffC]

Congrats MG on the LimbHanger!!