Our Best Year yet! Full 2019 season plus pics

[djrcm7]

My wife and I absolutely love Turkey hunting and the past couple of years she has become obsessed! Last year she had a really tough year so this year she was bound and determined to make up for it. She sure did. We started the year out in our home state of Missouri on her parents farm. After we both got birds in MO we packed up the camping gear and headed to Nebraska. After both tagging our first merriams we packed up and headed back to MO for the second week of Missouri season. After that we headed up to Michigan where I'm finishing school.
Following in the comments will be pictures and stories for each bird! Enjoy our 2019 story!

[djrcm7]

Opening day in Missouri: Anna's family farm:
We set up on birds we had roosted the night before. At fly down the birds immediately found hens and worked off the property. Just as we were packing up we hear a bird gobble on the far side of the farm! At what sounds like a field edge that we call "thunder ridge". We hustle up to the field edge and spot the Tom strutting in the field about 250 yards away with several hens. After calling and calling he doesn't break away. As a final effort, I give him the fightn' Purr and flash a fan at him. This does the trick and he comes on a line right to us. The last hundred yards he is hidden by the hill. We hear him drumming close! His fan emerges over the edge of the hill followed by his big white head. 30 yards. Anna says she doesn't have a shot yet. I make some soft purrs and clicks. He pops into strut and closes the distance. 20 yards. He starts looking for this hen he's been hearing which gives Anna the perfect shot. Bam! Our 2019 season is off to a great start. 25# 3 year old with 1 1/4" spurs and a 10" beard. And she has broken the curse from last year.

[djrcm7]

Day Two in Missouri: Anna's family Farm:
After striking out on the roost we head home to grab some breakfast. Only to find ourselves gazing out the truck window at two strutters in a family farm bean field just up the road from our first spot.
I call her uncle to make sure no one else is hunting that particular spot and when we get the go ahead, I grab the avian X strutter, my gun and jump in the ditch. I'd never done a reap/strutter stalk so this was a first. After belly crawling 200 yards through a field, one of the toms breaks and comes running! Being a heavy decoy, my arms are shot at this point.
As the Tom is closing the distance I'm trying to get the decoy staked and get my gun up. By the time I do he's at 7 yards. Swing and miss.
After adequate time pouting. My wife (who was watching it all through binos) calls me and says she sees two toms across the road in her uncles other bean field and to quit pouting and "let's get after em!"
We make a game plan and sneak into 200 yards. After crawling the decoy where they can see I tuck in behind a bush. After 20 mins of gobbling and strutting the toms are finally in my lap. The lead Tom pops out at 6 yards about to beat up the decoy. I didn't let him! First bird down for me!

[djrcm7]

Nebraska Public Land: Day one:
After walking 7 miles in the morning and hearing but not working any birds, we set up in a bottom to get out of the wind and hopefully roost a bird. I have the Jake and hen decoys out but neither of us are real hopeful after the long day we had. About 40 mins before end of legal shooting light we hear a gobble! Close. I call back and he hammers. 5 mins later were watching a beautiful, white tipped merriams strut to us. After pitching across a creek he's in our laps at 8 yards beating up on the Jake decoy . Me- "Are you on him?" Anna- *booooom!
I'll take that as a yes. Our first Merriam on the ground! And a beauty at that.

[djrcm7]

This is her merriams on his way in. What an experience!

[Clydetaylor1]

Nice!!! Love the stories.

[djrcm7]

Nebraska public land: day 4:
After many grinding miles, a few encounters, uncomfortable nights in the tent, and no Merriams for me, we start to wonder if I'll get my chance.
We set up on a tom we roosted the night before and long story short, i wiffed. Again. After pouting some more we got after them on another piece of public land. No luck, but we roosted one so I felt good about day 5!
Nebraska public land day 5:
After listening to this Tom gobble for over an hour in the tree, he finally flies down and works off. Leaving me drained and down. We decide to run into town and get a little pick me up breakfast. Come back mid morning and we strike a bird 300 yards from the truck! Alright! Well he took us for a wild goose chase that led to me spotting him through the binos about 200 yards away. After easing through the pine needle covered forest floor I finally closed the distance to 70 yards. With him just over the hill with a hen I knew I had to time it all just right or she would pull him away.
As I saw his fan crest the hill as he worked towards me I let him have a few soft yelps. Just enough to pull him over the knoll. Breath, safety, squeeze.
As soon as I got to him I knew he was big. A true trophy merriams! All the grind, miles, scouting, planning and lack of sleep paid off. I had a beautiful white tipped merriams that I've always dreamed of. He happened to have a 10" beard, weigh 25# and have 1 1/4" spurs. Unheard of for merriams. Definitely the high point of my turkey hunting adventures.

[djrcm7]

Missouri: My Family Farm:
After a long time my parents were finally able to purchase their own farm. 60 acres just outside of the town I grew up in. My mom said she had been hearing the birds gobbling in the mornings before work so I knew we would have a chance to work some birds. My dad took a day off work and we planned out the morning to come. He hadn't killed a turkey in over 35 years.
We got out to a small field that I thought they would use as it had been raining several days before. At first light we had one sound off about a half mile away. Off his land. So we set up the decoys and figured we would wait them out. Soon enough that bird was answering me and getting fired up! As he closed the distance I had my dad move to a different tree just inside the woods and I set the decoys 15 yards in front of us in a small open area. Unfortunately that Tom did come to the field we were originally set up in... well after watching him strut and gobble for 30 minutes I finally coaxed him into the woods with us. He was strutting at 20 yards directly left to my dad (who had a tree in the way) and directly in front of my wife(who had an unfilled second tag in her pocket). She showed some true restraint as that big Tom strutted and drummed for so long! The Tom finally worked to the right and up to the decoys giving my dad a perfect 15 yard shot. I gave a couple fatal yelps that brought his head off his strutting chest. He let him have it. My dads first turkey in over 35 years.
After the season we were having I didn't think it could be topped. But being a part of that hunt was a special thing for both of us. And something I'll never forget. All on my dads own farm.

[Yoteduster]

Congrats on some nice birds and thanks for the detailed stories and pics

[djrcm7]

As we prepare to end our spring tour we wake up at 430 and I am ready to sleep in.
Anna being as obsessed as she is now, really wants to go. So I give in. (How can you say no to a woman that wants to chase turkeys!)
Thank goodness I did. We get to the public spot after not hearing a thing in private. We decide to walk down a trail and get about 150 yards down when one gobbles 300 yards away. 7 minutes from first gobble he's flopping.
The cherry on top.

[djrcm7]

I've got one tag left in my pocket and a friend has one tag in his. I'm hoping to get him his first turkey ever this weekend so I'll update if successful!
Thanks for reading!

[Marc]

Awesome season!  Great photo-journalism there as well!!!

[deerhunt1988]

Excellent pictures. Congrats on the birds!

[tomstopper]

Great reads. Congrats to you and your wife on taking some nice birds

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[The Southpaw]

Great pictures! Congrats on a fantastic season!