Team Jellyheads

[featherslayer 1]

Congrats on a bird well deserved. Looks like we have 4 very nice birds for our team. That will put us over 200 + points with one member to hunt. Go JELLYHEADS!!

[rkhinrichs]

2nd place as of now!!!!!!!!

[bigbucks]

Great job guys! So what you're telling me is I need to shoot a BEEG bird a week from now then?

[Wallydog]

Bigbucks...........any report yet?

[bigbucks]

We'll have to see where we're at. I shot my bird Saturday am. He's not a monster, but he's nice. 21 lbs, with a double beard. No idea he had 2 when I shot him, but there it was. I took pics, but they're on my wife's camera & I haven't gotten them downloaded yet or filled out my sheet yet. The beards were 10+ & 7+ if I remember correctly & 3/4" or maybe 7/8" on the spurs. Not sure if that will be enough to push us to first or not?

I'll try to get the pics & get it submitted tonight or tomorrow.

[paceman]

BB that sounds like a great turkey!

[rkhinrichs]

O yes! that will get us the points we need!!!!!!!!! great work!!!

[bigbucks]

Here's a teaser, the poor cell pic I took with my dumb phone.

[ANYFISH2]

By golly, bigbucks, way to make it interesting in the 11th hour. Nice job, sounds like a great bird. Those 70+\- points looks to be enough to switch leaders, nice.

Congrats, can't wait for more pics and the story.

[Wallydog]

Congrats on a fine bird Bigbucks!

[featherslayer 1]

Congrats on the nice bird, I guess the pressure is off for you. Now to get it registered to see how we stand. Go jellyheads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bigbucks]

Well here goes on the story (part 1), Form and pics are on the submission thread already.

Season started Friday, 5/15. Was busy earlier in the spring so decided to wait, also had hunted in crappy weather the last two springs & wanted better weather, so much for that if I didn't get it done in the first day & a half... Also I wound up having a sinus infection during my C season last year, which sucked. Finally bought my G tag right before fishing opener, started getting sick on Mother's Day, seriously? I was a bit crabby about that.

Anyway saw a jake & a hen in my field at home Thursday night about 6:30, so decided I'd just hunt at home Friday morning as I needed to work that day because my boss was going to be gone. Drove the blind out with the truck & set it up at 4am, came in & got ready for work, other than the camo & hunted til 7:15, nothing. Heard gobbles 3/4's of a mile N of the river.

Friday night went to prime spot after my daughter's softball game. Wanted to set a blind for Saturday am & see if I could roost a bird. I was open to slopping into one that night if the opportunity arose... I wanted to setup on the extreme S end of this long string of fields, 1/2 mile from the road, as the birds always come out down there.

[bigbucks]

Part 2

The S end of the field is low hayfield, grass hay really. With all the rain there was 2-3" of water on much of the S end & I wanted to back my blind up against brush. I know you don't need to, but it's much nicer if you don't have to worry about try to see birds directly behind you. I knew I'd wear knee boots, but didn't want to setup the blind in the water since you couldn't set anything on the ground then. I decided to go back N about 200 yards against a little outside corner on the E side of the field. Sun at your back is naturally much nicer for an am hunt. The width of this set of fields is about 250 yards across to woods on the W from where I setup. Immediately N of me the hay juts back another 30-40 yards, so I turned the blind so I could peak back that way out a side window. I wasn't sure if birds would walk through that shallow water to the S of me or not.

I didn't see anything Friday night, sat until 8. Heard a couple of faint gobbles maybe a half mile to the S.

Plan was to be in blind by 5am. Always running late in am, no matter when I get up... Got to blind at 5:15, can see across fields, but still fairly dark, jumped a doe & 2 last years fawns 100 yards or so from the blind. Shortly after that heard a tom sounding off 100-200 yards in the woods immediately behind the blind & further S, PERFECT! I was a little worried he was too close & could see me walk in, but don't think so. Put out my jake decoy, zip the blind shut, opened the windows how I wanted them, & started pulling black hooded sweatshirt & black jacket on. I peaked out the left window to the S & I can see what I can tell is a big tom crossing the field from E to W, he's crossing the water & is already 75 yards out from the woods. What the heck? It's only 5:20am!

[bigbucks]

Part 3

The way this property lays is the whole W half is all tilled, not sure what's planted if anything yet, it's not up anyway, but it's black. The whole E half is alfalfa or grass hay, all if it rolling with some drainage ditches, generally sloping down from the road North to South.

I finish getting situated while watching the black tom. I'm confident he has no idea I'm there. He's gobbling & I also hear another one off the SW corner of the field. The first one hits the crop seam in the middle & starts N. The 2nd tom comes out of the SW corner & takes a 45 degree angle up towards the seam & soon they're both heading N, 5-10 yards a part. I'm thinking, MAN this is going to happen FAST!

They come up that seam until they're immediately W of me, 95-100 yards out. They're fanning & strutting. I call a little they gobble right back, this is fantastic. They hang there for a bit & then just keep working that seam N, they keep answering, but they won't come in. They angle to the NW & I lose sight of them behind a rise at maybe 250 yards. Later a hen comes out exactly where the first tom did & trots straight W & started picking in the black field. At this point I should mention if I'd sat up in the water in the middle of the S end where I wanted to go, all three would have come by within 50 yards...

[bigbucks]

Part 4 (sorry for the length, but I thought it was a pretty cool hunt, that needed some detail) I LOVE detail myself, so nobody's story is ever too long for me.

I'm still hunting, since it's all of maybe 6am. I hear some gobbling not real close, I'm looking NW, when I realize I'm seeing the tops of two fans on the horizon. Hey those two long beards are still up there a few hundred yards in the black field, they were just over the rise. They come more into view & then I realize there's two "hens" immediately S of them. I think ah hah, maybe they knew those were up there & that's why they wouldn't come in. I do some more calling off & on, between two different box calls & a slate I'd just bought & barely played with. Eventually all four start gradually working my way angling SE right towards my deke. I think, Hey it's going to happen! They get to the seam & are right in front of me at 100 yards fanning & strutting, but they won't come onto the hay field. They work the seam S & eventually go back SW, so they're about 300 yards & they fan & strut & strut, just teasing me. It's still not 7:00. They're right against the woods on the W edge of the field. No way to circle on them, the woods is on a different property I don't have permission on...

[bigbucks]

Part 5

They do this for what seems like forever, close to half an hour I'm sure. I'm pretty sure one of the toms breeds one of the hens. They're right up against the woods & 300 or so yards out, but it looked like he was on top of her. After that he gets off & checks out the other hen & the first one stays sitting for a bit. Then all four of them kind of go back to being normal turkeys, so to speak. It was almost like they brushed themselves off, rearranged themselves, said AAH & started feeding. They worked back to the seam of the field again & are maybe 50 yards from the S end of the field. I figure they're about 250 yards at this point. I decide maybe they'll be receptive now, so I decide to try the slate & the other push button box call a 2nd time. When I hit that other push button box it was like you'd just put a quarter in those two toms. They perked up & turned their heads directly my way. The change in body language was so obvious I wondered if I'd nodded off & was dreaming.

They started N back up that seam & they're both gobbling every time I call. Pretty soon they're straight W of me for the 3rd time at 100 yards. I'm just praying they step off the black field & get on the hay. I figured if they did that, they'd come in. Pretty soon I can tell the front strutter is maybe 5 yards into the alfalfa & then the 2nd one's on it too. The "hens" are probably 75-100 yards behind them on the seam & they totally break formation & just angle straight at my decoy & they're coming fast, probably not running, but a really fast walk.

They're now at my decoy 10-15 yards right & front of me. The one's a tiny hen, last year's I'm sure, & the other's actually a jake with a 1 1/2" button. He's legal & he's toast. I'm not opposed to that, but I really want one of the big boys. They're now working NE & are off the NW corner of my blind where I can't really see them & about 50 yards, to my right as I'm sitting. My son & wife are left handed, but I'm not. I duck down an inch or two & the jake & hen are so close we can't see each other. I lean over to look out the little window on the right & see the strutters angling closer, 35ish yards. I know they're definitely in range now & they've actually separated a bit, so I won't get a double. I'm pretty sure one is a little bigger than the other, but can't move enough to tell which one is bigger. It's time to shoot. With the angle I couldn't get my gun back far enough to get the barrel out the window. Finally I slide the stock under my shoulder, through my armpit to get it clear & then 6" or so out the window to get it back to my shoulder. I'm worried one of the four will see the barrel & bolt, but they don't. I put the bead on the head of the closer long beard going left to right at about 30 & BOOM, down he goes.

The other tom runs maybe 10 feet & stops. The other two run into my sight picture & also stop. Let's just say that multiples would have been NO PROBLEM. The bird's flopping & thrashing & paranoia sets in, maybe he's only stunned? I better get out there. I'm standing up out of the blind before the other birds figure out what's up & run off.

It feels like it's got to be noon. I've been watching these birds forever & had them almost come in twice before. I look at my cell phone, it's 7:29...

Very fun hunt, the fact that they didn't come in those previous times actually made it more fun, but talk about 2 hours of emotional roller coaster.

Anyway here he is. My wife took pics when I got home, which was about 2 miles from the killing field.

[bigbucks]

Hey guys I'm kind of stoked, according to the calculator my bird comes up 73.0 if I did it right. I think that will officially put us on top with just over a week to go!

[Borch]

Very nice tom and a great story Bigbucks!

Congrats!

[ANYFISH2]

Way to go Rodd! Great story and awsome bird! Congrats.

[bluehat28]

BB Was reading your post as you were posting (hurry up) Really cool Good bird and a great play by play. bluehat

[PFUNK]

Heck of a bird bigbucks! Thanks for sharing the story. Time seems to fly by when you are waiting on birds like that, but they tend to show you just how slow it really moves while going about their typical morning routines. No sense of urgency on their part, while we always want things to happen NOW.

[paceman]

Great recap Rodd! Dang that is a trophy turkey! Congrats!

[bigbucks]

Thanks guys. I really didn't do anything incredible, just had to stay put & hope things changed & like they occasionally do, they did. That whole double beard is just a gift from God, because I sure had no idea he had two. Very memorable hunt.

Pretty cool that we'll all be able to retire now if we hang on to win the contest...

Go Jellyheads!

[featherslayer 1]

BUMP!!! looks like we should be on top. Great job by all the team members and Congrats to all the other teams. Now to wait until spring again.

[Scoot]

Congrats fellas- nice work!!!