Team 6 "Tumbling Toms"

[123fish]

O.k. guys what season are you hunting and where. Need a team name also. I'll be hunting far southwest Mn. season B. Team name suggestion...Tumbling Toms.

[bassmann77]

I will be hunting season D is the East Metro of the Twin Cities. I like the team name that 123fish suggested.

[Bowfin]

I'm up for season A in zone 508 near Milaca. Hope the snow melts.

I also like Tumbling Toms for our name.

[DanOmite19]

Jack will be hunting season A in the south metro. He was lucky enough to win the youth division last year with a sweet bird and is hoping he can repeat...

[eric29]

Im hunting season A, in the owatonna area. Tumbling toms sounds good to me.

[123fish]

Well that's three of us in season A, me in B, and bass man in D. Won't take long to know how we are standing.

[PFUNK]

Hey guys. Late addition to the team here. I'll be hunting the henderson, mn area april 21-25th. Things looked good last weekend scouting. Several toms already strutting on the ground i'll be hunting! I've got the itch.

[123fish]

Welcome aboard PFUNK. Sounds good for you. Another season B participant. We will know early how Team 6 will be doing this year. Are we going with Tumbling Toms for the team name?

[Bowfin]

Tumbling Toms it is!

[DonBo]

I can change your name if you're sure? Say the word.

[123fish]

Change it Don. When the toms start tumbling next week we'll be glad we did.

[DonBo]

Done! Good luck guys.

[PFUNK]

Good luck to all the season A guys. Let's get on the board early! I'll be checking in often from work to see how many toms you guys managed to tumble opening day!

[123fish]

Yes good luck to the Tumbling Toms hunting this first season. Looking forward to the stories and pics that are bound to come.

[eric29]

Well here's my morning check in from the blind. On my walk out this am I was sure glad I decided to set up two blinds. My first choice was on a south facing field line, but with this wind I walked right past it to my second choice which is in the wood out the wind. The bad news is I haven't even heard a peep from Turkey, but I'm hoping that changes before I get wet.

[PFUNK]

Some tough conditions out there for sure. I looked out the window at work at the blowing snow and was thinking about you season A guys. Hopefully the weather turns around and the birds get a little vocal for you.

[eric29]

On opening day, after a quiet early morning I had a couple groups of jakes come in to me. One of the group stuck around for about an hour and I could have reached out touched them they were so close. I also had a wolf pack of toms that I worked for two hours to cross a creek. They were up and down that creek several times, gobbling to every call I made but no luck.

Yesterday I had about six gobblers talking to me in the roost but quiet after they got down. Mid morning i had one talking to me from across the creek again. Worked him for about an hour, then he finally crossed and came in. He had hen with him and i had him at bout 35 yards. Then he turned at some brush and got behind me. To make it worse he was a monster. Ive been lucky enough to take a couple mid 90 point birds and this one was bigger. It was heart breaking.

This morning i had one gobbler in the roost and quiet ever since. I have a lot of hours logged in to sitting on the ground(over 20) so I hope pays off so i can start icing my tail bone.

[eric29]

Bagged a decent one this morning, pics and story to follow.

[123fish]

Way to go Eric! Looking forward to the pics and story. Keep it going guys.

[Bowfin]

No luck for me. Weather was tough - Last Wednesday the public land clover fields I hunt got covered with a foot of snow. Snow didn't melt out of the fields until yesterday. The Toms I saw for the most part were henned up on private land with no interest in coming over to the public land where I was calling. I hunted with my dad and son - we went 1 for 3 with my dad taking a Tom Saturday in the wind. The gobbling seemed to pick up the last couple days with warmer weather - zone B and later hunters should have more action in the area I hunt.

[123fish]

Gobbler down! Classic two year old. 7.5" beard, 3/4" spurs, 21.5 lbs. I'll try to get a story out later, have to go rake the yard before the wind blows AGAIN!

[PFUNK]

Nice work fish! I also tumbled a tom today. No measurements yet but i am guessing very similar to yours!

[123fish]

Here's my story (long). Went out Monday and had three jakes and six hens in the decoys along with a gobbler strutting at about 70 yards. Passed on the jakes and never did get the gobbler to come close enough. Went to a different spot this morning and set up in the dark. Absolutely quiet out and I was cringing setting up the blind and decoy with the noise I was making. Heard the first gobble at 5:25 a.m. about a third of a mile away. He gobbled off and on from then on. About five minutes to legal I yelped on the box call to let him know there was a hen way over there. Shortly after yelping on the box I heard a hen make some real soft tree calls. I was looking out the side window in the trees and spotted the silouette of a turkey in a tree. She was within shotgun range! It's now legal shooting time when a second turkey flies down out of the tree about seventy yards away. It half struts a little and I call to it on the slate and here he comes. Another jake. Now I'm debating if I should take him because I know the weather is going to go to heck over the next few days. I get out of my chair and get on my hands and knees because I don't want him to spook and blow any chance of the gobbler possibly coming in. I'm watching him through a quarter size hole through a side window. He gets behind my single hen decoy and proceeds to stand there in half strut for seriously at least 15 minutes. In the meantime the hen that I saw in the tree is on the ground and we are going back and forth a little bit which causes the gobbler to gobble and I can tell he is getting closer even though all I can see is the jake. Another five minutes passes and the jake goes out of half strut and starts to leave. I'm guessing the gobbler has hit my field and the jake is getting out of Dodge. One second later I'm looking through that little hole and a hen passes by and I hear what sounds like distant thunder. I peek to the side a little and holy dump that gobbler is at 20 yards in full stut and drumming. Now what to do? He gobbles twice while I'm watching and now is getting closer. He finally turns his back to me while strutting and I grab my gun out of the corner and whip it through the window knowing full well the hen is going to see me which she does. She does and her head goes straight up and two seconds later so does the gobblers just as I am getting my head down on the stock and I let her rip. Down he goes without hardly a flop. 16 yards. Almost too close. Standard two year old. That was the ultimate to see him gobble that close and especially to hear that drumming. Pretty hard to beat turkey hunting for a good adrenaline rush.

[pumper317]

Awesome story! Cool to have it happen, and even better to have it at 16 yards.

[DonBo]

Good job guys! Team 6 putting up some early numbers...