Opening day # 1 Is in the books guys. I about blew the wheels off the F-250 yesterday trying to get home in time from Louisiana to roost a bird before dark. I Made it to the club in time but did not have an luck. I was able to pull most of my cards out of the cameras I had placed on all the clover plots before I left offshore March 5th. I had planned to let the camera do the scouting for me since I would not get home in time to physically scout. When I got home last night and went through the SD cards I had one gobbler on camera hitting one of the fields often with a group of hens.
I head to that field first thing this morning well before daylight. I get settled into a tree line an make a little natural brush blind around me. I wanted to be hid good incase all those hens showed up. As soon as the song birds started to sing I heard my first gobble of 2014. He proceed to let her rip as the geese honked and crows crawww. I lost count after 50 gobbles. He was roosted about 150 yards from me so I felt good about my chances. I let him get on the ground before I ever called to him. He cut me off with a hard gobble. I hit him again with another sweet 3 note yelp and he hammered again. I got quiet on him for 10 min then I let out another 3 note help to check him again. He hammered again and was much closer. A few minutes later I hear Spiitttttdooooom and I know he's close. I turn my head slight to my left an see him enter the filed in full strut. I give him one more light cluck and a soft yelp and he struts 60 yards to his death. It was freaking awesome to see him strut that far all the while spitting and drumming.
This was the madden voyage of my little Remington 870 compact. I'm shooting hand loaded TSS this year. This little gun is one bad light weight turkey thumper with TSS!!
He's a nice bird at 20.2 LBS 1" & 7/8" spurs with 10" beard. Here are some pics.
Day 2 and I got lucky on #2 today at 1:40. I decided I would sleep in this morning with the storms pushing through. Around 8:30 I checked the weather and radar. It looked like it was going to clear up around 11 on my Dallas Cty lease. This lease has a lot of crop fields along with some hay fields. I have always had good luck on this property after rain pushes through. The fields are like magnets to the turkeys down there.
I arrive at the camp just as the rain was quitting. I load my gear on the TAV (Turkey Assault Vehicle) an off I go to the 18 wheeler trailer. I arrive at the 18 wheeler an proceed to climb up to my look out spot. From the the little landing at the top of this trailer I can glass a lot of ground. I glass everything I can see with no luck. A few minutes pass and I hear a gobble. I could not tell what direction the gobble came from so I listen a few more minutes. He lets another one rip and I have his direction now.
I hope on the TAV and head his way. I get to where I think he is an glass that field and nothing. As I'm standing there looking around 4 jakes walk out several hundred yards away. I watch them a for little while thinking he may be with them. He never shows but he gobbles again. I have his exact location now so I haul butt that way. As i'm slipping down the edge of the field nearing where he's at I see a head pop up 150 yards away. I freeze as he stares me down, after a few intense minutes he drops his head and walks off. I get in the edge of the woods and finishing slipping to were I want to be.
I get to some hay bales and I sneak a peek over the top of them. I see him easing down the field edge so I give him a call. He goes into full strut so I know he's interested. I continue to give him some soft calls and he would just strut back an forth. At this point I don't have much faith in calling him to me in this wide open field. All I am thinking is just don't spook him and I'll have another chance at him. After 30 minutes of him staying put I decide to hit him with some aggressive cutting and excited yelps. This does the trick and he starts easing my way. He would walk 5 yards and blow up. I'd cluck and soft yelp and he'd drop strut an come another 5 yards or so. This continued for over 30 mins as he covered 100 yards. I finally felt like he was in range of the little 20ga and I let it eat. The TSS rocked his world and he folded up like a sack of taters.
He was a nice bird with double beards. He weighed 20 LB 13 OZ, 10.5" & 4.5" beards with 1 1/8" spurs.
I head to that field first thing this morning well before daylight. I get settled into a tree line an make a little natural brush blind around me. I wanted to be hid good incase all those hens showed up. As soon as the song birds started to sing I heard my first gobble of 2014. He proceed to let her rip as the geese honked and crows crawww. I lost count after 50 gobbles. He was roosted about 150 yards from me so I felt good about my chances. I let him get on the ground before I ever called to him. He cut me off with a hard gobble. I hit him again with another sweet 3 note yelp and he hammered again. I got quiet on him for 10 min then I let out another 3 note help to check him again. He hammered again and was much closer. A few minutes later I hear Spiitttttdooooom and I know he's close. I turn my head slight to my left an see him enter the filed in full strut. I give him one more light cluck and a soft yelp and he struts 60 yards to his death. It was freaking awesome to see him strut that far all the while spitting and drumming.
This was the madden voyage of my little Remington 870 compact. I'm shooting hand loaded TSS this year. This little gun is one bad light weight turkey thumper with TSS!!
He's a nice bird at 20.2 LBS 1" & 7/8" spurs with 10" beard. Here are some pics.
Day 2 and I got lucky on #2 today at 1:40. I decided I would sleep in this morning with the storms pushing through. Around 8:30 I checked the weather and radar. It looked like it was going to clear up around 11 on my Dallas Cty lease. This lease has a lot of crop fields along with some hay fields. I have always had good luck on this property after rain pushes through. The fields are like magnets to the turkeys down there.
I arrive at the camp just as the rain was quitting. I load my gear on the TAV (Turkey Assault Vehicle) an off I go to the 18 wheeler trailer. I arrive at the 18 wheeler an proceed to climb up to my look out spot. From the the little landing at the top of this trailer I can glass a lot of ground. I glass everything I can see with no luck. A few minutes pass and I hear a gobble. I could not tell what direction the gobble came from so I listen a few more minutes. He lets another one rip and I have his direction now.
I hope on the TAV and head his way. I get to where I think he is an glass that field and nothing. As I'm standing there looking around 4 jakes walk out several hundred yards away. I watch them a for little while thinking he may be with them. He never shows but he gobbles again. I have his exact location now so I haul butt that way. As i'm slipping down the edge of the field nearing where he's at I see a head pop up 150 yards away. I freeze as he stares me down, after a few intense minutes he drops his head and walks off. I get in the edge of the woods and finishing slipping to were I want to be.
I get to some hay bales and I sneak a peek over the top of them. I see him easing down the field edge so I give him a call. He goes into full strut so I know he's interested. I continue to give him some soft calls and he would just strut back an forth. At this point I don't have much faith in calling him to me in this wide open field. All I am thinking is just don't spook him and I'll have another chance at him. After 30 minutes of him staying put I decide to hit him with some aggressive cutting and excited yelps. This does the trick and he starts easing my way. He would walk 5 yards and blow up. I'd cluck and soft yelp and he'd drop strut an come another 5 yards or so. This continued for over 30 mins as he covered 100 yards. I finally felt like he was in range of the little 20ga and I let it eat. The TSS rocked his world and he folded up like a sack of taters.
He was a nice bird with double beards. He weighed 20 LB 13 OZ, 10.5" & 4.5" beards with 1 1/8" spurs.
