The Roaring 20s2020 Meet and Greet

[FullChoke]

Welcome back my brothers!

This is our own dedicated folder for The Roaring 20s2020 and this is where we will be posting team communications, instructions, scoring data, successes and disrespectings that we endure at the amusement of a unhousebroken bag of feathers who haunts our nightmares.

As is our annual tradition, please take a quick moment to introduce yourself to the rest of the team and tell us about yourself that doesn't already appear on a police blotter somewhere. Let us know your name, what you do for a living, where you hid the money, where do you live, how long you've been hunting turkeys, etc. etc.

As we have seen over and over through the years, our best teams have been the ones where everyone participates and feels free to discuss subjects that help us all be more successful in the spring turkey woods such as calling, callers, tactics, tricks, and so on. By openly and freely sharing information here, we all have the potential to grow as better hunters in this magnificent sport. And that's really what we want anyway, right?

Cheers. 

FullChoke

[TKE921]

Season is rapidly approaching!

I am CJ Broadwater, originally from north-central WV near Morgantown and WVU.  I now live in the mountains of SE WV near the Greenbrier.  Currently I am a pharmacist and If I knew where the money was hidden I would be a full-time gobbler chaser.

I believe I started turkey hunting in the spring of 06.  The father of my then girlfriend, now wife, is a big turkey hunter and some friends in pharm school encouraged me to try it so I asked him to take me.  The very first day we went out a big 3 or 4 year old bird gobbled his head off about 30 yards from me....though a small hump prevented me from seeing him.  I am confident in the age of the bird because that hump did not obscure her dad's view  .  That day got me hooked completely in this crazy pursuit. 

In 2011 I killed my first solo bird.  It had rained all morning so the FIL (Father-In-Law) and I drove back across the mountain to his house to go in.  Little did we know it was not raining at all there.  He decided to go in and take a nap anyway but her mom informed me that a gobbler had been hammering all morning on the farm behind the house, so off I went. 

I went to our favorite spot on the farm and called for quite a while and heard absolutely nothing.  I picked up my things and began to walk around the back side of a ridge and field calling.  When i got to the highest point I heard a bird probably 500 yards across the big hollow to my right and around the hill in a field on a neighboring farm.

I quickly made my way toward him, calling about every hundred yards or so.  He answered every call I made, and was closing the distance himself.  I had never been to this part of the farm and had never chosen a setup without my FIL so I was in very uncharted waters.  I picked my spot, got my gun on my knee and proceeded to try my best to make my WP-1 mouth call sound more like a turkey than a goose.  The gobbler apparently had a thing for hens with strange voices because he ate it up.

Within 5 min he was just up the hill from me, gobbling his head off but walking back and forth.  I later learned there is an old fence up there.  It is open on both ends and he could have easily went around it....but then it wouldn't be turkey hunting would it.

After about 10-15 min of him gobbling at me through the fence mother nature decided it was time for player 3 to enter the game and the gobbler and I were now faced with a full on thunderstorm.  The wind blew, the rain poured, the thunder cracked and he gobbled at everything (including my calling).  I sat there soaked, freezing, with rain running off my hat bill like a faucet but still hopeful because he was gobbling.

After a while of this the first bolt of lightning came and I decided my 11-87 was not meant to be a lightning rod so I ran back to the house, dejected.  Upon arrival I found my FIL fast asleep on the couch and knew better than to wake him without a dead bird to show for it, so I put my camo in the dryer.  Within 30 min my clothes were dry, the sun was beaming, and he was still snoring.  When i was folding my clothes, still dejected, I realized I had lost a glove in my scramble to not get fried.  Since the FIL was still sleeping I grabbed my gun, camo, and just my one mouth call and headed out.  The time was 11:30.

I retraced my steps and found my glove within 3 feet of where I had been sitting, so I took this as a sign and sat right back down.  Upon making the first call I realized signs are for roads and public buildings because my gobbler answered about 150yds out the hill from where I had left him.  I was admittedly very excited about this because I had been over there a couple times and knew some places to set up.

I got to the base of a big oak tree I had sat against a few times and let out the first yelpish sounding call and was greeted with a response that was further out the hill than the previous response.  I was undeterred, mostly because ignorance is truly bliss sometimes.  I let out a few more calls and even tried my best to make a cluck.  He responded at my duck-cluck and I believe he was facing my way this time.  Several more calls produced absolutely no response so I decided I hated that turkey and he had realized I was a fake and left.  I then began to contemplate the events of earlier and how that gobbler had heard tons of my calling but did not seem to care I sounded more like a Hooded Merganser than a hen turkey.   Not long into my deep contemplation I noticed a white head bobbing around and coming toward me about 15 yards lower on the hill than I was.  I pulled every fiber of my being together to stop the shaking and to manage a quiet duck-cluck to get him to stop.  I have no clue if I ever stopped shaking or if my duck-cluck was quiet but he did stop and my aim was true.

Upon picking up my trophy I realized he was an old bird because of his curved and pointy spurs.  I was quite excited and could not wait to show my FIL.  In my jubilation a severe mistake was made.  I did not want to walk back to the house the same way I came over because the rain had made the hills very slick.  I decided to take a slightly longer, yet more gradual path out of the area I was in.  Someone, who shall remain nameless, took the wrong path and ended up on the complete opposite side of the farm.  The heat of the sun coupled with the humidity of the drying rain and the weight of my hard-won trophy all added up to every bit of my clothes being drenched in sweat by the time I made it to the house.

It was all worth it to be able to wake my FIL to show him my trophy.  I don't believe there has been a time when I could tell he was more proud of me than that moment.

Good Luck to everyone this season

cjb

[3bailey3]

great intro CJ, I am Dwayne Bailey and I am back I think for my fourth season with the team, I have been married to one great women for 33 year now, we have had some great times together and also had to wade though some tough times, I love the spring woods, been after them for some time now but I can't tell the exact year I started chasing them. I have worked for UPS for 39 years, about ready to give it up but they have a very generous vacation allot meant which I use to chase these great birds. Good luck to all!

[3seasons]

Glad to be back on the team again this year. My name is Scott McDonald and I live in South West Mississippi. Been married to the girl of my dreams for 6 years, she supports my addiction 110%, not sure if that's a good thing or not lol.  I hunt mostly public land.  Been blessed to be able to take birds in 25 states as me and a great friend of mine are chipping away at the US super slam. I work for a company that hates for you to have a life outside of work and this year she's really mad. We start an outage in late February that will probably run through late May and possibly into June. Needles to say my spring isn't going to be ideal but I'll make the most out of it and hunt a little every morning since I requested midnights. And we're leaving for the north east on May 9 for a few days to hopefully knock out a few more states. A little depressed because of work but excited for a new season. Hope everyone has a safe and eventful season.

[FullChoke]

Brothers,

My name is Norman Sisson and I live in Madison, MS just north of the capitol city of Jackson. My wonderful wife and I will celebrate 40 years of marriage at the end of this month. I lost my mind in April 1976 in the spring woods of Lowndes county, MS when I stood over that flopping longbeard and the searing realization rushed over me that he was NOT GETTING UP! I still vividly remember that day like it was this morning.

I primarily hunt public lands here in MS and the wattled PhDs that live there and really just want to continue living there, thank you very much. About 3 years ago, I underwent cardiac stent implantations which knocked my season in the head.  I believe that the turkeys around here paused for a moment of silence when they found out. Through a dietary change and regular exercise I have not had any problems since then.

I am proud to be the Captain of this team and look forward to your stories and pictures of success and the lamentations of being bested by this arrogant feathered Frat Boy that we love chasing.

Be safe, have fun, kill gobblers.

Cheers 

FullChoke

[xarcher]

Howdy all.  Glad to see some of the old team back and letting me hang out with you all.  Also thanks again to Norm for being captain/president/adult supervision.  He's the best. 

I'll make this quick since I'm not the best when it comes to writing and story telling. 

My name is Jeff and you probably already know what I like to do.  Been married 37 years.  3 adult children.  First grand young'n due in April.   Already bought him one of those Savage model 310 single shot 410s.  Can't wait for him to lay down his first gobbler with it but there's some time before that happens. 

The big news is come April 3, I am retiring.  Am blessed to be able to do that before I turn 60.  And it's no coincidence that I picked a retirement date on the eve of my favorite hunting season. 

Live in PA but always try to visit a few states each year to lengthen the season.  Not sure how that will play out this year with our first grandchild due in April.  But the possibilities are AL, SC, NC, TN, WV, OH, MD, IN and NY.  Won't hit them all, but most likely only 2 or 3 of them.  Just have to see how events play out. 

Not much more to tell.  Let's go hunt. 

Good luck to all and be safe. 

[TKE921]

Congrats on the retirement Xarcher! I am envious.  My friend just bought his little girl one of those 410s as well.  It looks to be the perfect gun for a little one to start with.

[harleytom]

Hi gang. My name is Greg Crane and I live in N. MS but usually hunt NW Alabama also. Been a member of this bunch of killers about 4 years now, I believe, and look forward to sharing experiences with you each year. I've got to say I'm envious of the retired folks out there. Hoping to join the ranks in a few more years. I have 4 grandsons, the oldest of which turkey hunts with me from time to time. Always set a few goals each season to keep me focused. I've got my eyes on 1 old bird on my family farm that has eluded me the last couple of years. We'll see how that plays out. Thanks to Norman for making everything see easy and enjoyable for the rest of us. Good luck to everyone, MS season opens 3/14 and I plan to be out there rain or shine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[xarcher]

Congrats on the retirement Xarcher! I am envious.  My friend just bought his little girl one of those 410s as well.  It looks to be the perfect gun for a little one to start with.

I've already put a red dot on it and will take it for a test drive or 2 over the next several years. The plan is to eventually take him hunting with it except he thinks its mine and I'm just letting him use it. Then when the time is right I'll give it to him. Hope that time will be standing over his first turkey kill.

[paintbrush]

Hi Guys! Bill Bongs here from the frozen state of Minnesota. Going on my 3rd year with this great team!  I'm 63 years young. I tried to retire this winter from my painting business, but got way to bored so I went back to work with another painting outfit. I now run the interior painting crews there. Turkey season just can't get here fast enough. I'll be hunting 3 or 4 states this year up here in the MidWest, so I'll try my darndest to put a longbeard or two on the board for us.

[mightyjoeyoung]

Good to be back on the team fellas!  My name is Don and I'm from Erie, PA.   I'll be 47 April 1st and I've been chasing turkeys around Penn's woods for going on 37 years. Ow. Started out trying to keep up with my old man AND learn to keep quiet and see more than just the woods, but everything in and around you.  He cant get around like he used to now at 85 years old but boy did he lay em down in his day. He has shoe boxes full of beards and spurs in his gun room and I'm happy to say I was there for at least half of those memories. I'd like to think he taught me well-to read the land, the weather and the birds and deer and to be able to think like the game I'm chasing. I've been a nurse for going on 13 years now and before that I was a major electronics and appliance retail manager and then sold guns and sporting goods for almost ten years and before that I was a security police officer in the USAF.  I'm married to my high school crush now for 3 years this June and she understands that when April rolls around I kind of well...disappear.  I have 2 grown step kids, Logan and Katelyn.   Logan is army intelligence and just got back from Afghanistan last November and Katelyn is making a family, expecting her second child in April,  less than a year and a week after my granddaughter, Maggie was born.  I'm already planning for their hunting futures, and have a couple presents already waiting for them when they're old enough.  Except for her birthday on may 3rd, I'm a ghost every day I'm not working and you'll find me in the turkey woods any chance I get.  I've been running 20s almost exclusively for going on 10 years now and haven't carried anything bigger but maybe a few times since buying my first 870 "little monster".  I've hunted a few other states, including NY, OH, MO, KS, TX, and NE chasing these crazy birds and hope to one day hit a few more states.  Grateful to have been asked back by Norman, aka, the MAN and hope I can contribute to the team this year.  Good luck guys!

[yelpaholic]

Hello Team,

      Glad to be a new part of the team..I'm Chris from Bay Springs MS. Ive been chasing these crazy birds for 32 years. Ive been on the forum for several years just decided to try and be a team player this year..  Ive been married to my lovely wife for 24 years have two kids in college, and self employed  which allows me to hunt almost every morning weather permitting.  I hunt mostly private land but grew up hunting public and learned the game there.  Can't wait to get started chasing them in a few weeks..  Here's hoping we all have a safe and successful season..God Bless

Yelpaholic..

[BBR12]

Hello everyone,

I'm Bradley from Brookhaven, MS. one of the new guys and look forward to being on the team. I am a power plant operator by trade (shift work) and that gives me quite a bit of time off every other year, unfortunately this is not one of those years. I will make the best of what I get and hunt every day that I am off. I hunt mostly public land now days due to the untimely death of most of the trees on all the land I can turkey hunt. I have two boys, the oldest doesn't care much about hunting but I usually get him to go turkey hunting with me a couple of times, the younger one loves hunting and trying I'm to keep the fire alive with him. I have a great wife that lets me hunt like I want too when turkey season rolls around. I'm planning to hunt in LA this year once they open and then planning a late season trip up into the north country after some yankee birds. I also just got in a small lease in MO, but will probably only be able to get up there once for a couple of days and I will take the kids to do the shooting if we can work it out for them to go.

Good luck to everyone and be safe this year!!

[zelmo1]

Hello peeps, my name is Al Baker. I am from NH and am 53 years old. I was a welder and moved up to GF and now am a manager of a structural crew. I live to hunt turkeys. My wife and daughter hunt also. Last year we tripled and it was the best day of my life. My wife and I have been together for almost 23 years. I make pot calls and am addicted to turkey hunting and calls. I enjoy calling birds for new hunters more than killing them myself, but I do love that too. 20/28 gauge with TSS is my bag. I reload for both. I shoot trap and sporting clays as well as fish and camp. Simple critter here. I will do my part, good luck to my new teammates. 

[3bailey3]

welcome Zelmo to the team, from your past stories I know you are a killer! nice team you have put together Captain!