Team 2 - Ppfftt-doom BOOM!

[Cheetah]

I spent some time yesterday painting my decoys. They needed a lot of touch-up work done to them... Going to try to figure out a better way to carry them as well so I have less excuses to leave them at the car this year. Re-taped my shotgun as well this year, went with some cloth type tape that I picked up at Fleet Farm last fall. It doesn't stick as well as the stuff I used before, but I dabbed the corners and every couple inches along the sides with a touch of super glue and that seems to be keeping it on well.

[goblueM]

well today was the first time I could get out scouting, been busy with work and school. Tomorrow is opener and it was pretty last minute, but we got permission on 400 acres of private land, the landowner said he sees turkeys occasionally but he doesn't hunt them so there are probably a few around, and his neighbor said he's been hearing gobbling. Walked about 2 miles around the property, and it was uphill in all directions, so many ridges and valleys!

Located a daytime feeding area and got busted by a big tom.

Hopefully he's still in the area tomorrow morning...

[Sorgy]

Good Luck time to put the hammer down!!!!!!

[hugonian1]

Good luck.

I will be a spectator for a while yet.

Watched 2 toms with 9 hens out my window this morning.

[goblueM]

thanks fellas. it'll be a lighter hammer as i am shooting my 20 gauge this year, my friend is borrowing the 12 gauge as he's never shot a turkey before.

i'll post an update in about 14 hours since we can only hunt until noon for turkeys (and not on sunday, for anything)

[goblueM]

well we had a tornado warning last night, woods were soaked this morning. very foggy. i set up in the lower field below a possible roosting area, and my two buddies (having never shot a bird) went to the prime spot on the other side of the ridge.

5 birds gobbling like mad all morning, about halfway up the ridge from me. There was a hen about 75 yards below me talking to the gobblers.... but they went toward my buddies, who called them in to 30 yards and missed them clean.

good to know there are birds in the area, hopefully we can get another crack at them

[Sorgy]

I went on a scouting mission this morning. No gobbles on the roost but I did find a pair of toms right at my first mornings setup It narrowed down my options for the first morning- A field corner that has nice hardwoods behind it. I will be there with a young intruder strutting for his hens

Was anyone else out this morning in the North Metro area? How was the gobbling this morning compared to yesterday? It was a little windy in Isanti County at wakeup time.

Good Luck

Steve

[Archerysniper]

I was out and they stopped gobbling by 6:15

[Wanderer]

i'll post an update in about 14 hours since we can only hunt until noon for turkeys (and not on sunday, for anything)

Geez, that makes me glad we're only cut off from new cars and beer...

My scouting yesterday went fairly well. We still have birds in the usual areas but I'd like to see a little more action around the farm house. I left me trail camera out where I shot my last bird to monitor the spot for the next couple weeks.

Aside from that, we did land smack dab in the middle of a large flock right away in the morning. The Boss only had about a 6 inch beard and there were a lot of jakes along with the hens. They wound up walking right to our hiding spot between a clump of thistles and a cedar tree. Man, we flattened out on the ground and layed as still as possible as they lightly putted and checked out at about 6 feet!

We were able to successfully imitate farm trash and they finally walked off, none too alarmed. That was a rush!

We did scope out a group of long beards on the other side of the valley though. About 5 toms all hanging out together. Between all the sparring the jakes were doing and the toms being on their own, it tells me the winter flocks are just about to break up and the boys are about to start figuring out who the REAL Boss is.

[Archerysniper]

We were able to successfully imitate farm trash and they finally walked off, none too alarmed. That was a rush!

Must be down southern mn up around home here we have to imitate trailer trash

[Sorgy]

Well guy's I up to bat tomorrow 6:00 AM Do I bring the big or little hammer with Hopefully the weather will somewhat cooperate. I am heading home after work, grabbing some gear, and setting up my blind incase of rain. I have my first spot set up and ready to rock

The tom's in 227 better be ready. I have the trailer trash sweet talking down

Good Luck to all

Steve

[Cheetah]

Good luck Sorgy!

[hugonian1]

Good luck tomorrow Sorgy.

[Sorgy]

Off to bed tonight. I hope the 3 "muscle relaxers"(cold ones) do the job tonight. 3:45 will come very quickly Set up a blind incase it is raining tomorrow. My main setup location is loolking good I want it to work out great but then it is over too soon

There are tons of acorns this spring. Could be why we arent seeing as many birds in the field More and more turkey sign every day in my area

Good Luck

Steve

[Wanderer]

Sounds like your spot is on the up tick.

Do you take a bird on the first day?? Eh, smoke em if you got em. Things can change in a hurry and our weather forecast isn't great.

[Wanderer]

Must be down southern mn up around home here we have to imitate trailer trash

Who's imitating???

[Musky hunter 82]

Well guys I'm heading out on Saturday to scout for next week. My tag is good from the 23rd to the 27th. Getting excited to go, i talked to the guy that owns the land today and he said that he's been hearing them gobble in the mornings, so hopefully I'll be able to stick one right away.

[Sorgy]

Well guy's - zippedy do da for me so far. I decided to sit today out. Yesterdays winds made for a very futile effort. I did not hear or see any turkeys.

Wedesday opener recap

4:08 AM walk out of the house to calm winds and 55 degrees

4:30 AM step out of the car at my hunting location- wind blowing and swirling

5:15 AM Decoys are set- wind is not as bad as I previously thought - I am optimistic

6:00 AM - Skunk walks by in range down wind and I let him walk I should have blasted him with a load of #5's -Still waiting to hear a gobble

6:02 AM The Rain starts

6:45 the rain quits and it is a pleasant morning- but the gobblers are all on the ground and not gobbling anymore- I suspect

7:30 A lone hen is sitting on the edge of the field- She walks into the edge of the woods and I waited for a few minutes - then I started some yelps and she yelped back

7:40 The hen came out of the woods and marched right over to B-Mobile - Then she circled the brush pile I was sitting in looking for the other hen. I directed my call in the other direction and she ran a big semi circle over to where she just came from- then she started getting [PoorWordUsage] off - Cutting me off with cutts.

That hen performed almost every call a hen can make. She hung around until almost 9:00 AM just back behind me and every time I made a call she let it be know that she was not happy playing hide and go seek

She made yelps, purrs, clucks, Cutts, putts and some other ungodly aweful sound like a bad box call would make

It is the experiences to interact with these birds that is so much fun and I was having a ball. She was so loud with her cutts and stuff that I just let her have it

Wednesday was a great day in the woods. I did not see or hear any tom's / gobbles all day

Well this evening is not looking any better - high winds and rain. Saturday and Sunday to follow.

Good Luck to everyone

Steve

p.s. I have worked out a fantastic folding fan holder for my B-Mobile and it gave some motion to the decoy almost all day without falling off. I used one of the folding fan holders that I got at Fleet Farm where you glue each feather into a bracket and then glue a string to the feathers to help hold a constant spaceing to the tail feathers once opened- It is a bigger piece of plastic than the Primos fan holder( I forgot the name). When you leave the wing nut loose the tail blows up vertical then falls back down into a 3/4 strut position and back. I had to go and add a strip of Velcro to the bottom of the fan holder and the other to the base of B-Mobile to keep the fan from falling off- it worked great

[Cheetah]

At least you had some action Sorgy. Surprised that hen didn't bring in at least a jake.

[hugonian1]

Good luck this weekend Sorgy.

[Wanderer]

At least you had some action Sorgy. Surprised that hen didn't bring in at least a jake.

Yeah, that surprises me too. Makes me wonder if any toms are around. I know you've been scouting but did the boys move on to another area?

Tough conditions to hunt in though. Who knows what D will bring but this weather is the reason I don't like early seasons.

Good luck Steve, we're pullin for ya!

[Sorgy]

Well we are on the board I went out after work and tried a different area. Just as the sleet pelets started hitting me the sacrificial Jake steped out in to the field. He was skirting by at 60 yards eyeing up the B-Mobile and floppy fan and my hen decoy- then the fan went up into the full strut position for 15 seconds and he closed the gap to 8 yards then started to putt and walk away. being a jake I was not to interested in getting the shot but if he went behind a tree and gave me the chance then it was all over With the forcast and the heavy pressure I saw the first two days I figured time to put a wrap on it.

I think that your chances of drawing "A" season next year are getting better with this weather

here are some fo the stats Beard 3 1/4 " left and right spurs 1/8" and 1/8" and a wopping 12.99 pounds

it would have been easy to sit back and wait for the wind to die but I had a spot in a little hollow. Cant kill turkeys from the couch

Good luck everyone

Pics ar on my phone and I may have to get some help getting them off tomorrow. Now It is up to the rest of the team to puch out 4 nice birds and put mine off the board. By the way what does he score?????

[Archerysniper]

Congrat's Sorgy and with the weather the way it is and what it's going to be makes hard hunting. Score is 21.9375

[hugonian1]

Congrats Sorgy.

Way to start us off.

No tag soup for you.

[Musky hunter 82]

Well I put up my blind yesterday, I was out looking around and came up on 3 toms around 1 hen. I actiually had them at 30 yards for a little while, the biggest tom tried to breed her while I was watching them, that was the first time I've ever seen that. Needless to say Saturday can't come soon enough.