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Drastic Measures

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bvoss

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I was reading one of RENs posts on here about sometimes it takes "drastic measures" to kill a bird. I agree and thought it might be neat to hear everyones. I will go first:

I had spotted a longbeard on a farm that I had permission to hunt while I was on my way to ball practice ( I'm a basketball coach.)I knew I only had about an hour to kill that bird and be at practice in time, but he was by himself in the field just off of a ridge point and I could follow the wooded ridge and get within about 100 yards, call him up the ridge and kill him no problem ( or so I thought). All worked well until he hung up at about 60 yards. Strutting/Gobbling/Drumming I can still see the afternoon sun reflecting off of his big tail fan. I would call a while,look at my watch, call a little more, look at my watch, shut up, look at my watch. It got to the point to where I had ten minutes to be at the truck or I was going to have a gym full of middle schoolers trying to coach themselves. I was sweating bullets! All of a sudden he walked behind a big dirtpile and without even thinking I jumped up and just booked it towards him ! I got to about 40 yards and he stepped back out on my side, I shot right over him and he took off running up the ridge I had come in on. I took off running towards him and closed the gap a little. I stopped and fired agian and he rolled!! That is the only time I have ever jumped up and ran in on one, but in this instance it worked. I got him checked in and had him in a cooler in the back of my truck just in time for practice!
 
That is cool I spotted two gobblers one time in a field I ran about a 100 yards to the top of a hill in the field where they was and kneeled down and shot the gobbler at about 15 yards almost blew it as I was sneaking up on them both of them had there heads down feeding and I just saw the top of there backs and set down real quick. Good times
 
I was dealing with an old tom who had been hunted & called to quite a bit. I wasn't even gonna fool with the bird cause my buddy had been after him. My buddy says for me to try him one morning about 3 1/2 weeks into the season. Bird was roosted in deep holler & there was a little bench on the side of the ridge. I quietly eased onto that bench well before light. Bird started gobblin pretty good, 8-10 times. About 30-40 minutes after light, I slapped my hat on my thigh 5-6 times real fast imitating a bird flying down. I then started scratchin the leaves in the long-short-long rhythm. About 40 mins. later I hear the bird very slowly walking up the steep ridge towards the bench I am on. I am only about 15 yards from edge where it drops off steep. I have my gun pointed that way & am ready, bird pops his head up for about 1 second & pulls it back down real fast & gives an alarm putt. I hear him movin back dow the ridge fast, so I jump up & run to edge.He had stopped at about 40 yards but there was a big tree right between me n him. He stepped out to the left of it & I shot & got him. I never made the 1st vocal turkey call that day, just scratched the leaves & slapped hat on thigh.
 
Man I have some il post later that took "drastic" to the line son. There is very very little I won't do if I think I can kill him including swimming a creek in early April lol
 
well I was going to post individual stories but there is just to many so i will leave it as this i have done and would do again if need be lol


I have swam across a creek (chest high) in early april on a 40degree day to get to a field on the other side where some big boys where hanging out. best part is the FIRST TIME I did it i just went fully clothed and dealt with it...the SECOND time lol i stripped and carried my clothes to the other side and put them back on so i was not so cold.

I have crawled through cow pop countless times

I have layed prone, crouched and all other awkward positions needed until most of my body was hurting or fell alseep.

I have ran up and down hills with a partially torn MCL

I have finished one off with a rock when i ran out of shells, to which at one point i was not sure if the bird was going to kill me first.

I have laid in or crawled through mud holes

I have laid on other dudes laps in order to not be seen

I have literally hurled my self down ridges in order to get to a spot before the bird did.

I have lost COUNTLESS strikers and calls by running through the woods and forgetting to zip up my vest

I have let ticks and other insects just crawl over me in order to not move.

I have crawled through briars so think i was dizzy once I got to the other side due to loss of blood.

I have laid in a field with a decoy on my head and or hand to draw the tom in closer. (if you have been on here a while you would have seen the pics)

I have thought about creating a cow blank to allow me to get into fields without being seen.


there is more but you get the idea, there is VERY little i wont do if i think i have a chance to kill one.
 
REN said:
well I was going to post individual stories but there is just to many so i will leave it as this i have done and would do again if need be lol


I have swam across a creek (chest high) in early april on a 40degree day to get to a field on the other side where some big boys where hanging out. best part is the FIRST TIME I did it i just went fully clothed and dealt with it...the SECOND time lol i stripped and carried my clothes to the other side and put them back on so i was not so cold.

I have crawled through cow pop countless times

I have layed prone, crouched and all other awkward positions needed until most of my body was hurting or fell alseep.

I have ran up and down hills with a partially torn MCL

I have finished one off with a rock when i ran out of shells, to which at one point i was not sure if the bird was going to kill me first.

I have laid in or crawled through mud holes

I have laid on other dudes laps in order to not be seen

I have literally hurled my self down ridges in order to get to a spot before the bird did.

I have lost COUNTLESS strikers and calls by running through the woods and forgetting to zip up my vest

I have let ticks and other insects just crawl over me in order to not move.

I have crawled through briars so think i was dizzy once I got to the other side due to loss of blood.

I have laid in a field with a decoy on my head and or hand to draw the tom in closer. (if you have been on here a while you would have seen the pics)

I have thought about creating a cow blank to allow me to get into fields without being seen.


there is more but you get the idea, there is VERY little i wont do if i think i have a chance to kill one.
Click to expand...

I started having flash backs, so I stopped reading. :D
Great post, been there many times myself and hopefully many for times.
 
pic of one of the dratic measures hahahah

0420080828.jpg
 
hahah that was an after shot, originally i was crawling out in the field to put him out (usually dont even use decoys but today we decided to try out the big boy)

well i got half way out to put him up and to toms came running into the field so i was stuck. the grass was somewhat high so i just got flat and put the decoy on my head so i could make him move. My buddy was already set up and the birds where comeing from his right to left and i was over at his far left. once they got in range to his right he shot one.

i wouldnt recommend it and it has not been added as a normal practice, but at the time and place it was the only option lol
 
REN said:
hahah that was an after shot, originally i was crawling out in the field to put him out (usually dont even use decoys but today we decided to try out the big boy)

well i got half way out to put him up and to toms came running into the field so i was stuck. the grass was somewhat high so i just got flat and put the decoy on my head so i could make him move. My buddy was already set up and the birds where comeing from his right to left and i was over at his far left. once they got in range to his right he shot one.

i wouldnt recommend it and it has not been added as a normal practice, but at the time and place it was the only option lol
Click to expand...

Sounds like something I might have done if the opportunity came about like that.
 
For some reason or another, it seems most of my hunts wind up in a do or die kind of finish.... I haven't swam a creek yet, but I have waded cottonmouth infested waters to get around on a tom I had been playing chess with for 2-3 hours..... it wound up coming down to shoot or he is going to be gone on the adjacent property, out of my life forever... and it was the last day of hunting for me. I had an off-camber shot and took it.... the bird rolled, I jumped up and ran over to put the boot on him.... my head hurt a little, and I was sweating from the sprint.... I wiped the sweat from my brow and it was really blood.... yep, scope came back far enough to pop me... the awkward position I was shooting from didn't allow me a firm hold on the gun.... I was close to heat exhaustion but I had my gobbler.... and a battle scar.
 
I got 2 - I will make them short - Slow morning no gobbling and wind howling. I climbed up in a deer stand and watched a 50 acre cattle pasture. One come out at about as far away as one could. then a jake and a hen. I started blowing my mouth call as loaud and as much as i could. Ole gobbler would move 5 yards and blow up. In 2 hrs he had cut the distance 1/2 and he went down in a ditch that led to a food plot. Instinct took over and i dont remember climbing out of the ladder i just remember sprinting to the plot and thought i am 40 yards from that ditch and i slid to one knee and shouldered my gun and as the old ghost emerged. He never knew what hit him.

#2 - Bird gobbled his head off in a pasture i couldnt hunt. Our lease surrounded it. I called some to him and he ran directly away from into the edge of our lease which was medium sized pines. I could see him with binos just standing under a certain pine tree that i knew we had a trail that cut near there. So i high tail it out of there and get to the trail and i take one step at a time with gun ready. I take about thirty steps and i see him poke his head up at 15 yards. He never knew what hit him either.

As you can see calling had little to do with killing these birds.
 
Using a single cluck on one, and then having to strangle another one come to mind at present.

But, there are a bunch of other things that I did as a final attempt that ended up working.
 
Killem any way you can as long as its Legal.I would rather call one up textbook but it dont work like that every time.Heck I got spotted by one strutting in a field at 80 yards.He started puttin and walked to 35 lookin at me.Curosity killed the Cat I mean Longbeard.
 

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