Team #5 "TOM COMMANDERS" Official Site

[bmc]

HSO Team 5

Bassmann77

Rundrave

Benbosh

bmc

IlliniWalli

Scoot

All right guys!

Time to get to know one another a bit and see who's hunting where, when, and with what weapon.

I'll be trying to arrow a bird during the MN E season (May 7-11) in Wadena County.

I finally broke my turkey curse last spring w/ a nice bird....21# 9" beard and 7/8" spurs. Hoping to replicate those results this spring.

Brian

[rundrave]

I am still in pursuit of my first bird. I will be headed out in 2 weeks April 12-14th.

I will be hunting in Gregory county here in South Dakota. Here is a view of some of the ground:

[benbosh]

I'll be archery hunting season C, Blue Earth county. I'm 3 for 4 on my turkey seasons, my first year I had tag soup for the table and scored every year after (probably just jinxed myself). Last years bird was a 10 1/2" beard with 1 1/4 and 1 5/16 spurs if I remember right. The bow is dialed in, been shooting at least 20 arrows every day.

[IlliniWalli]

howdy, team 5 mates

hey, ben, i think we were on the same team last year and both shot toms that scored around 70 nwtf points. lets do it again this year!

thats some beautiful country you got to hunt, rundrave. used to go to oahe fishing every summer back in the day. love it out there.

this will be my 23rd year turkey hunting in west central illinois and i have tags in three different counties.

i respect guys who take the challenge of hunting turkeys with a bow, like bmc and ben. i got a lot of time to hunt this spring and am thinking about breaking out the bow for my last season.

scouted my no. 1 spot last week and the toms were gobblin like crazy on the roost. not much talking after they hit the ground but saw a couple strutters.

i am fired up and hit the ground runnin and gunnin april 14.

[bassmann77]

Hey guys. I am hunting in MN in the town of Grant which is near Stillwater. I have not been successful in the lottery for a few years, but got mine this year. I have shot a turkey before which was a blast, and I have taken video and called in a bunch for other people. I am in season C and the birds have been around the area I got permission to hunt on. This is my first time doing the team thing here on HSO, so I am really looking forward to contributing to the team. Good Luck everyone and let's take the title home!!

[benbosh]

hey, ben, i think we were on the same team last year and both shot toms that scored around 70 nwtf points. lets do it again this year!

Walli, I believe you are correct, I believe we were the only 2 to put birds on the ground on our team as well. Hopefully every one gets a bird this year. Yesterday morning I walked out the door to head to church and right away I heard a gobble on public land near my place. Sat and listened to him for a while gobble about every minute. I'll have 4 full days and the last morning of my season to hunt. If it comes down to the last morning I'll probably dust of the 870.

[bmc]

rundrave, I think you'll be hunting in the prettiest area in our group. Is that east river or west river? I used to pheasant hunt around Mitchell, SD.

Looks like we have some turkey killers in our group so hopefully we can hang some tom's on the limb this spring.

Brian

[rundrave]

rundrave, I think you'll be hunting in the prettiest area in our group. Is that east river or west river?

That is West river but not by much, east river I guess would be a mile across the bridge lol. Those pictures are just a small sample, these river bluffs go for miles along the Missouri river and it would take several days to cover it all.

Its all public so it also sees its fair share of pressure. I have no doubts I will see birds, the challenge will be getting them into gun range or spot and stalking them with out getting busted.

[bmc]

I see some teams are getting their team name figured out.

Let's all throw a few names out there and see what we like.

Morning Thunder

Strut Stoppers

Beard Busters

Let's hear 'em guys!

Brian

[IlliniWalli]

how about Tom Commanders?

i have a feeling we are all gonna be happy, happy, happy this season.

[bmc]

Tom Commanders!

I love it!!!

Happy, Happy, Happy!!!

Brian

[DonBo]

Let me know if this is official, and I'll change it for you.

[rundrave]

works for me!

I am curious if we are the only team made up hunters from 3 different states? If not were the only MN, SD, IL team lol

[IlliniWalli]

only the best from SD and IL are allowed in the contest

[rundrave]

only the best from SD and IL are allowed in the contest

those are pretty big shoes for me to fill considering I have never bagged a bird! Now I am really under the pressure! Have I mentioned that I am a terrible shot lol.

[IlliniWalli]

so what about our team name, guys?

do we go with tom commanders or does someone have something better?

seasons rapidly approaching; time to get this thing rockin and rollin

my opener is monday (had it wrong in earlier post; its 4/15 not 4/14)

lots of gobblin the mornings i have listened at my top spot

[bmc]

I like Tom Commanders!

Monday Walli?, you lucky so and so!

Sounds like your scouting has paid off and now it's just "hurry up and wait". I hate that!! LOL

Is this new storm that's brewing up out west gonna affect Illinois at all? Looks like it's going just south of me, but will affect my turkey hunting area. Still knee deep snow in the woods down there and the birds have had a hard winter, they definitely don't need this storm.

Best of luck to you on your hunt!

Brian

[rundrave]

well its not looking good weather wise for us now....weather is forecasting 13" to 15" of snow the next couple of days in the area I will be hunting.

I am slated to go this weekend which was originally looking to be a nice warm up after the storm but now they are forecasting more cold and rain.

[IlliniWalli]

bmc, looks like we are in line for some potential severe t-storms this evening but no white stuff.

forecast next week shows mid to high 50s with chance of showers a couple days down this way. great turkey chasin weather

ok, donbo, looks like team 5 is gonna be the Tom Commanders.

[rundrave]

Things are pretty sketchy here right now in Sioux Falls we have had about 1.5" of solid ice on everything and strong winds on top of it and its a war zone. I live a few miles out of town and we lost power last night and some trees. Its going to be even worse tonight. I wont be going hunting if it means I have to leave my family and house in rough shape.

As of now though we are still going out this weekend rain snow or shine. I figure turkeys still have to eat and get down off the roost so why not go. The snow is still deep in the trees any more and we will be able to reach them on their roost!

Looks like it will be tough weekend of hunting.

[sticknstring]

I hear ya! We're headed a few hours south of you tonight. Worried what the roads are going to be like. I hope they don't get all the snow that's forecasted - going to be ugly.

[rundrave]

well guys changes of plans. No I am not wimping out, just a little change of scenery. Instead of hunting up by HWY 44 we are going to move South a ways down to the Pickstown area. We are no longer able to stay at our usual cabin due to the weather etc.

Its completely new to our group but terrain should be very similar. Also this area only got about 4" inches of snow versus 12" the original area we were going to hunt got.

We are hitting the road around 2pm this afternoon and will get down there with plenty of time to scout and make a game plan for early tomorrow morning. Hopefully we can find where they are roosting tonight and go from there.

Its supposed to be really really windy both Sat and Sun which doesn't fair well for us, but its supposed to warm up to 45 degrees or so hopefully that will get them going after this last week of cold.

I will have a shotgun as my go to weapon but if need be I will switch to a rifle if necessary to help increase our odds. Wish me luck!

[IlliniWalli]

no way weather would cause tom commander to "wimp out"

gotta get out there to have a chance. i've taken several nice toms on really windy days. box and tube calls will reach out and get a bird's attention. keep the wind at your back if possible when calling. and look for sunny areas sheltered from the wind.

sounds like you got a good plan and best of luck to you and your group.

[rundrave]

Well we are on the board as I was able to shoot 2 birds. Details to follow when I get back home.

[DonBo]

Well we are one the board as I was able to shoot 2 birds. Details to follow when I get back home.

Congrats! Glad to hear of some early season success.