Cold Morning MI Gobbler

[Spring Creek Calls]

Was gonna do a late morning hunt this morning as the temperature was 27 degrees at 5:30 am. Went out on the deck with my coffee just as the birds started to sing and was met with a gobble before I could close the slider. A quick change of plans had me scurrying thru the basement grabbing camo, calls and my gun. I managed to stick a diaphragm in my mouth and an Enticer aluminum call in my shirt pocket. Halfway across the back yard I realized I didn't have my turkey lounger so back to the garage. He was on the ground by the time I reached the high point near my back line fence and I was good with that. He gobbled hard at the soft calls on the aluminum pot. Cold and still,  I could hear his thrumming before I could see him in the quickly greening woods. First his fanned out tail then the white top of his head and finally the Carolina blue head. He stretched to find the hen and the load of Hevi 7's finished the hunt with barely a flap of the wings. As I kneeled to give thanks I realized it had been awhile since I'd shot a bird at or before sunrise.  He was just over 23 lbs on the digital scale, nearly no beard and 1-1/2" and 1-1/4" spurs. His breast where he rested on the limb at night was a large hardened scab, but no damage to the edible portion.

Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk

[chadly]

Congrats.

[SteelerFan]

...and that's how a good day starts! Congrats Mike!

[wdog]

Those are the best hunts. The ones when you least expect it. Ditto in not having killed one early like that in a while I have become more apt into sleeping in.

[TRG3]

It's a good feeling to have that gobbler tagged before breakfast. However, I'm like you in that I need that ground lounger 'cause you could be there a couple of hours trying to coax that tom in. That will be a hunt that you'll remember for years to come.

[Ozarks Hillbilly]

Congrats 

[Greg Massey]

congrats

[J-Shaped]

Congrats Mike!

[culpeper]

Wow, now that ole boy has been busy with the girls!!  he even burned off his band-aids   Congratulations

[kyturkeyhunter4]

Congrats! Nice turkey

[owlhoot]

Congrats on a neat hunt.

[suburbhunter]

 

[richard black]

Congrats on a very nice bird. Yes, it was cold in s.w. Michigan.

[Spring Creek Calls]

It's a good feeling to have that gobbler tagged before breakfast. However, I'm like you in that I need that ground lounger 'cause you could be there a couple of hours trying to coax that tom in. That will be a hunt that you'll remember for years to come.

I swore for years that I would never add anything to my gear that added weight,  but once I  sat in the lounger that changed forever. Now I  go for the lounger and got rid of the vest for a fanny pack.

[Gooserbat]

Congratulations and yes the lounger is NICE!.