Team 4 = Gobbler Getters

[Gordie]

Ok Guys heres the official team site.

Bring on opening day.

I will be doing a bit of scouting this week for myself and the kids.

Have any of you guys been out scouting of seeing any sign of birds?

[IlliniWalli]

i am gonna start listening tomorrow morning to pin down the roosts on a couple of my huntin spots.

had a tom with a big ol paintbrush run across the road in front of me monday evening. he stopped about 80 yards away in a field so i stepped out of the truck and cutt on a mouth call and he gobbled a couple times.

heard one gobble about 10 this morning when i was mushroomin in one of my turkey spots.

come on april 16!!!!!!!!!!

[rkhinrichs]

yea im going home for easter this weekend so i will be getting up and seeing whats going on in the woods sat and sunday morning. but that all i can do intill 18th.

[rkhinrichs]

hey guys question... ok im thinking about using my bow to shot a turkey but can i also bring my gun out there, if they get hung up outside my bow range?

[DonBo]

As long as you don't hold an "archery only" license, I believe you would be perfectly legal in carrying both weapons. However (and there's always a however isn't there?) the sad fact is, while you're stowing your bow and trying to grab the shotgun, your bird will probably be long gone. Just my

[IlliniWalli]

awfully quiet in the team 4 camp.

any gobbler getters hunting yet?

went out and listened at my no. 1 spot again this morning and had 4 or 5 toms gobbling on the ridge i plan to set up on monday morning. and heard at least a dozen others on neighboring properties.

was surprised at all the gobbling since it was a crisp 35 degrees.

4 more days ..........

[Gordie]

I have 6 days until the hunt. I have heard a few gobble in my spots.

Getting fired up.

[rkhinrichs]

i start in 6 days too!!! driving home after class wed. scouted over easter saw alot. heard some gobbling sat morning. watch a lot from far away as well. a buddy who is a great caller is helping me out wed-fri. so i hope we make somthing happen!

[IlliniWalli]

looks like by the end of next week, the gobbler getters will have a big lead.

[rkhinrichs]

we are all going to apply heavy pressure in the first period! IlliniWalli hope you cant start the good mojo flowing!!!!!

[IlliniWalli]

20 more minutes and i am outta here and on vacation for NINE STRAIGHT DAYS!!!!!

look out turkeys here i come!!!! starting monday.

however ... i think my home computer died today, so hopefully i can get a bird posted if need be. wont be back in the office until april 24!!!

good luck to my fellow gobbler getters!!!!

[Gordie]

20 more minutes and i am outta here and on vacation for NINE STRUTTING DAYS!!!!!

Fixed it for ya walli

Good Luck and smack a BIG ONE

[rkhinrichs]

good luck!

[Gordie]

I saw quite a few turkeys today on my out and abouts this after noon they were struutin in the rain I guess its time to get used to this weather looks like it will be around for a bit but on opener it should clear abit and be lights out for the gobblers and birds on the board for the gobbler getters... Go team 4

[benbosh]

Went out last night scouting in a big chunk of woods, seen some tracks (couldn't tell how old, other than before the rain yesterday) tried the locator call around sunset and nothing.. sat around for a while listening for gobbles and nothing.. Seen one cross the road saturday morning on a different property but still waiting to hear back from the landowner.

[Gordie]

Checked out some puplic land today found slot of sign and a few great spot and tried a few locator calls and nothing so I went to check another spot and the darn turkeys were in the parking lot. I think they are waitng for me

[Archerysniper]

I went to check another spot and the darn turkeys were in the parking lot. I think they are waitng for me

I have had it many times on the walk back to the truck you come around the corner and they are strutting within 30 yards of the truck,they will drive you nuts.

[Gordie]

Good Luck to all that hunt in the Morning and lets see some birds pile up on the board...

[rkhinrichs]

Gordie sounds good to me. leaving school after 10:50.be home by 1:30 in the woods by 2:30!

[benbosh]

Seen a nice tom today at around 1030 with 2 hens or jakes (couldn't tell from half mile away but could tell the tom had a 8+ inch beard the way it was dangling when he ran). Just got a call back from a landowner and said it was alright for me to hunt and he said he heard one gobble the other day. The next 5 days i'm gonna be really itchy. Good luck to everyone going out tomorrow.

[Gordie]

Seen birds this morning but not close enough.

Spot #1 that I have been roosting these birds for a few days was taken over buy someone else when I had got there.

Spot #2 was alright but the Tom hung up with a real hen about a hundred yards out wouldn't make the turn to me he would sure gobble when I would talk to him.

This afternoon was very poor the wind was so loud in the pines you could n't hear a thing. saw on other tom but only for a second and he wasnt talking at all.

Be back at it in the morning.

[IlliniWalli]

gobbler getters are on the board!!!!!!!!!

finally .... after 3 plus days of hard hunting and a lot of close calls, shot a nice tom this morning.

lots of stuff going on in my world this week ... will get pics up and get him officially entered as soon as i can.

[benbosh]

Way to go IlliniWalli.

Scouted yesterday morning and as soon as I got out of the truck I heard one gobbling on the roost and I knew right where he was. He gobbled up a storm. I tried sneaking along a pond to find what tree he was roosted in but there is already too much leaf cover to see then while I was looking through the binocs he went silent for a few minutes and pretty soon he lets one rip in a different location away from the roost only 60 yards from me so i bee-lined it down the trail just over a small ridge so i wouldn't get busted and pretty soon he comes out into a clearing and starts gobbling again. Watched him for 15 minutes then headed out before I got busted.

Went to same spot this morning and nothing at all. Tried locator calls and still nothing. Hopefully he didnt't get shot yesterday afternoon byt as far as i know, no one is hunting on or near this property.

[Gordie]

Yesturday was tough I had to cancel the morning hunt to help my mom..

Got out in the after noon and heard a couple gobbling and found one for the morning hunt.

I get to my area and there is four trucks there bummer but gotta make the best of it so I walk in to my spot and sit down and wait and sure enough that roosted gobbler starts sounding off at day break.

I let a few clucks and purrs out as he was only a hundred or so yards away and then from behind me about 20 yards a henflys down and checks out the area and walks away from me and takes my tom with her

I got up to try and cut them off but just then another tom lets out a gobble and then another that was behind me only a couple hundred yards so I stay put and thats when the second hen shows up along with two deer.

these other Toms gobble abit more so now I'm on the move to find them they were headed to this field and I tried to cut them off.

I got into position and let out a few yelps and they answered back a few times so I'm waiting when out of knowwhere three hens come walking within 10 yards of me so I'm really pumped as I was hopeing the tom was close behind but he never showed. and never made another sound.

The woods just went dead not another gobble the rest of the morning they didnt make a sound after 9:00 am never had that happen before.

sat for another hour and then yet another hen showed up in front of me about 30 yards out.

Great weather and good to be out but man its tough to compete with all these hens and people.

[IlliniWalli]

got my first tag filled - finally - thursday, the fourth day of the first illinois north zone season.

2 of the first three days were extremely windy, which makes for the worst turkey hunting conditions in my opinion.

had 2 nice toms come in silent behind me on opening day and i was busted both times when i got up to move to another spot.

worked another longbeard on day 2 from about 250 yards away, down a hill, across a ravine with a small creek and up the hill he came to within 5 yards!!! but he was behind a big blowdown and i couldnt get a shot.

day 3, more high winds. went trolling at some smaller farms. lots of gobbling on the roost but across the road on the neighbors property. hunted until quittin time at 1 without hearing another gobble.

day 4 went back to original spot. lots of gobbling on roost but they wouldnt work after hitting the ground. hens everywhere. spotted a tom with 3 hens out in a field after they left, had him comin toward me but he lost interest at about 100 yards away.

frustrating start to the season to say the least.

so i bailed out and headed for another small farm down the road about a mile. was walkin down the hill toward the woods when i heard a gobble. i knew he was in an open field, so i hustled down the hill, across a creek and toward the field as much as i dared. i knew i had a fence between me and him but didnt want to risk moving across an opening.

hit my first yelp on a mouth call and he gobbled. 2 more calls and i could see him strutting about halfway down the ridge from the field. a couple dozen more yelps and gobbles and i could tell he wasnt gonna budge and he was about 75 yards away.

so i went silent to see what he would do. after about 10 minutes and a dozen more gobbles he moved to the west out of sight, which was just the break i was looking for. i hustled across the opening to within about 25 yards of the fence, knowing that if i called him back to the same spot i would have a shot. called again and here he came gobbling across the ridge. when he got about 40 yards away i hit him with a load of 3" no. 5s.

weighed 24 pounds with a shade under 10 inch beard with 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 sharp, hooked spurs.

now i gotta wait a week for my next season to start.

go get 'em, teammates!!! lets add a few more to the score!!!