i'm already...

[new2turkey]

having tukey dreams!! 

Last night I had a dream that I called in a big tom... No shooting in it, but called it in none the less.


Needless to say, I am PUMPED!   


Who else is ready??

[Duke0002]

Got some new camo I've got to wash.  Then put my stuff in order.   Will take one gun to the smith and will be ordering a new 835 soon.

Yep, getting pumped!

[new2turkey]

I've got my vest filled, bought my shells, patterned my gun, I'm ready...


Now I just want to print some turkey targets and wait for weather to improve 


And I'll shoot at 2 turkey targets just to verify kills.

[DMP]

Got a few new calls in the mail yesterday as well as my turkey tags and can't wait to get going.  Ill start scouting good here in another week.

[new2turkey]

Wish I could start scouting soon..  I took a picture for another thread, might as well show it here as well... 8 - 14 inches today, supposed to snow tomoro and sunday too... 

[DMP]

We had record lows and snow fall earlier this winter and now weve had spring like temps way to early.  Been in the 60's and low 70's for over two weeks now with trees starting to bud out already.. Way to early for it and most likely well get another frost and everything will get zapped. 

[new2turkey]

We had record lows and snow fall earlier this winter and now weve had spring like temps way to early.  Been in the 60's and low 70's for over two weeks now with trees starting to bud out already.. Way to early for it and most likely well get another frost and everything will get zapped. 

How does that effect the turkey??

[DMP]

From my years of turkey hunting a early spring gets the toms going earlier than id like to see but the hens are triggered by day light or the length of the day time hours getting longer.  If the biologist are right about the hens then it want effect them much but the warmer temps cause the toms to start gobbling  and gobbling more frequently earlier in the year.  Id rather see them start firing up a good week or so before the season opens and not a month or more before the season opens
A early spring also causes early green up which limits your hearing.  I had also rather go out to a morning hunt to a good cool morning.  From my experience the toms seem to gobble better on cooler mornings than those warmer mornings and not to mention cooler weather is easier on the hunter.

[derek]

Early spring or late spring.. make the best out of it and HUNT!  as much as possible.

Just trimmed the tape down on this years diaphragms.  Picking my favorites which will probably change 20 times before turkey season, and I'll end up with the same call as always as my number 1 call.  New treklite this year and a burris FFII on the way I look forward to setting up. 

Submitted apps for a 1 day refuge hunt here in MD.  I was drawn for the second day it was open last year but tagged out before that date came around.. bummer right?

Made my picks for the Jersey permit system, same as last 2 years. This areas been good to me and I'm starting to get to know it pretty well.  Lottery should be announced soon, hoping to luck into two 1st week tags again this year.

[pappy]

My heart is in it, my back is out of it and my mind says......forget the back and go, go, go ...cleaned my camo, getting new inner wear, got the new 870, getting it camoed, played with every call I got, scouting our hunting place with Google Map to make sure it is still there, got a list of things to put in the vest.......but something is missing........



oh yeah.....

[new2turkey]

Good to hear everyone else is ready.... This will be my round 2 with Mr. Tom.

We have a really big bird in the town of sanford that is estimated to be 24 lbs and its beard drags between its legs on the ground... It's a local bird, meaning everyone in the city of Sanford Maine knows about it, and no one has been able to call him in.

We saw him with a bunch of jakes a few years ago, the only time I've been out, crossing the road. My friend's dad knew where he was going, and set me up in the perfect spot. I was on the edge of a field, about 50x100 yards across... And my friend Jacob set up with his brother to my left at the end of the field.



With a 3.5" 870 in my hands, with Jacob's dad 20 feet behind me clucking and purring and stirring leaves, I couldn't see more than 30 feet ahead of me, because there was a small hill.

Then my heart stopped, when I saw this HUGE tom poke its head up and over the hill....

And I couldn't get the safety off (never fired a gun, and he told me not to let it click, that was my downfall.)

I finally got the safety off, and fired through a ton of twigs overhanding fgrom a tree, and missed. 


I actually was telling someone I met at WALMART about it, and he said to me "That old bird in the field with the barn that's rotted out next to the sand pit?" Bingo.

This was 30 miles away from Sanford itself... 

Who knows if the bird's still alive, I hope he is though. Maybe I can get him this year.. He'd be quite the first bird...

[BowBendr]

I'm almost ready....I think....
The camo stays ready, my calls are all squared away, and my vest is already lodaed !
Landowners...check, turkeys...check...

The only 2 things i've got left to do is to get a good set of scales for weighing birds and to put the new FF2 package from Gobbler74 on my 835 and sight it in.I'm really looking foward to trying that rig out this spring. I have good distance vision, but my up close and personal sight isn't too sharp anymore and I don't want to wear my glasses while i'm hunting, been there, done that last year during deer season and I still haven't found a way to keep them from fogging while wearing a head net.

With the ability to keep both eyes open and on target maybe this package will work out better. That little bitty bead out on the end of my barrel sure has become faint over the years.

Yep, i'm almost ready. 

[new2turkey]

I have to shoot with both of my eyes open, I have astigmatism and I'm near sighted in my right eye, but I have 20/20 in my left... Hasn't really affected me much though.