Team Knock on Wood

[DonBo]

Yeah, that kind of thing really puts a damper on a nice day. Hope karma pays you a visit soon.

On a different note, I took another nice tom in WI yesterday morning. Cell service sucks, I'll post a story and photos later.

Friday morning, had my friend Jimmy along with his bow.  This was to be his 1st turkey hunt.  Pretty quiet till later in the morning.  About 8:00 I heard this one gobble from a long ways away.  He answered pretty much every call, closer and closer each time.  Textbook. 

Finally he popped into the field about 50 yds from us.  He strutted and gobbled the whole time but never came any closer than about 35 yds.  Too far for the archery tackle, so I finally made the decision to take him.  This is the first bird to be shot at with a 20 ga. I put together this spring.  I've always used my trusty old .870 or archery.  The new 20 worked just great.  The shot was 38 yds, and he never even flopped.

He weighed in at 23 lbs, 5 oz.  10" beard and both spurs just over 1" and sharp.  A nice 3 yr old.  I'm mentoring for a women's hunt next weekend, then have one more WI tag the following week.

It's already been a good year for me,  good luck to the rest of the team!

Haven't heard anything from Dillon, totally addicted or paintbrush, what's happening with you guys?  Please keep us updated.    

 

 

[monstermoose78]

Not much early but  I am hearing soft gobble now. With any luck it is the 2 toms!

[monstermoose78]

Got real gobble that is fairly close

[monstermoose78]

Well there plenty of geese, cranes, wood ducks, and crows. No more gobbles I hope he slides in soon. But I know later might be better. 

This picutre of a bluebird

[monstermoose78]

I hear drumming and it ain't a grouse

I can't see him

[monstermoose78]

I have now heard 2 gobbles that cut me off. Time to focus on turkeys

[monstermoose78]

He is strutting behind my blind

[monstermoose78]

Well this morning there was no gobbles. About a half hour ago I heard 4or 5 gobbles. I am going with out decoys this morning. 

Well this morning there was no gobbles. About a half hour ago I heard 4or 5 gobbles. I am going with out decoys this morning. 

[monstermoose78]

A hen  came through but no tom following

[PFUNK]

Keep after it moose... Sounds like you are putting in the effort that will hopefully pay off for you.

[DonBo]

1 hour ago, PFUNK said:

Keep after it moose... Sounds like you are putting in the effort that will hopefully pay off for you.

Yep, what he said.

We sure could use some more points on the board.  I know Dillon shot one weeks ago, but has been a no-show ever since.

 

[totally_addicted]

I have been struggling to find time to get out guys.  I have been out two times with encounters both times that did not lead to any shots.  I am hoping to make it out this weekend, but with putting our house up for sale there were lots of honey-do projects I needed to complete that have been eating up my time.  Sorry gentlemen for not contributing to the conversation much.  I hope to get it done yet, but it might have to be more luck than skill with my limited time.

[monstermoose78]

No worries I got all weekend

[DonBo]

Took my buddy Andy (Powerstroke) out this morning.  What a memorable hunt.  Had 3 longbeards, 3 hens, and 3 jakes around us all morning.  The toms refused to come closer, the hens were right in our dekes for 2 hours and the jakes, after they chased one tom around the field most of the morning, finally came into range.

 

 

After a frustrating season so far, he was happy to attach his tag to this jake.

Maybe the most memorable part of the morning was watching one of the hens chasing killdeer all around the field.  Never saw anything like that before.

[Borch]

Congrats Andy!  Sounds like a great morning!

[paintbrush]

Well guys, so far I am striking out big time!  Nebraska was a bust as in 3 days of hunting  never even saw a longbeard while hunting. Called in 4 jakes the second day of the hunt and had birds gobbling all around every day but nothing developed. Roosted a bird the 2nd night and got within 80 yards of him the next morning and he gobbled good on the roost. Heard him fly down and that was the last of him. I'll tell you what, the public land around Springview NE. is some rugged stuff!

MN was a very frustrating hunt. Had 2 longbeards hang up at 55 yards the first day, a longbeard hang up at 80 yards the second day and a longbeard at 60 yards the 3rd day! ARRRGH!! The hunt was strange in that I saw several hens each day but always by themselves and several longbeards each day but always by themselves or with other toms.  The hens showed no interest in the toms and the toms not much interest in the hens. I did get 2 jakes in the dekes on the second day.

SD was also a bust! Saw lots of hens and jakes, but never got even close to a tom. Called in multiple Jakes all 3 days out there but never a tom. Next year could be good out there if the winter weather is easy on those birds.

I'm going to head back down and give the area around Granite Falls one more try around the 20-22 May time frame and hope that the birds mood has change by then from what it was on my previous hunt down there. Still got this MN. tag, and for that matter my NE. and SD. tags in my pocket.

That's my report so far guys, but I'll give it best shot on the 20-23 hunt.

[Archerysniper]

Awesome job Andy and Don,I would have loved to be in the blind and watch. 

[PFUNK]

Sorry for the delay everyone. Been really busy with work and life and haven't had much time to spare. I'll give a little recap of my season and then a couple photos. 

This year was different than the last couple in that I wouldn't be able to to use vacation time to chase turkeys around uninterrupted for a few days. My dad has also been trying to arrow a tom for the last couple years and I have wanted to be with to see it happen.

Day 1- I spent the first morning in the blind with him sitting on a field on a new piece of property we gained permission for that was a regular hangout for a bunch of birds. Aside from a few hens, a lone jake that was too nervous to come in, and some distant gobbles, not much happened. I had to head out around noon. I promise I was maximizing my time in the field though, as I was bringing my work clothes, a thermos of hot water, and soap/shampoo so I could go straight to work without making the trek home. Of course my dad would go on to arrow his first tom that night, after watching him travel ALL around him for 5 hours, gobbling often during the entire time. He finally made the fatal mistake of coming in after a second pencil bearded tom approached the decoys. He made a good shot but the old tom was tough enough to go airborne and flew out of view. My dad and uncle searched and searched and were almost ready to give up. They were at the vehicle when they spotted the glow of the lumenok and found the tom! He was a dandy, going over 24 pounds with one spur measuring almost 1.5 inches. His best tom ever, though the pouring rain left him looking pretty rough.

Day 2- I hunted a piece of ground where I shot a tom last year. This is a piece of ground that is mostly farm field with a few tree lines and grassy areas that provide nesting habitats. It never produces early on, as the birds roost on neighboring ground, but the birds always show up somewhere on the property a couple hours into the day. Unfortunately for me, the toms would skirt around us late in the morning, as would 3 jakes. Not wanting to risk spooking them, I stayed put in the blind and chose not to make a move, sneaking out at noon to head to work.

Day 3- I worked a 9-5 shift and had to take care of some stuff at home after work so I wasn't able to make it out. However, I did direct my uncle and dad to head out to the spot I hunted on day 2 and they sat close to where I thought the toms were that had skirted around us. After hours of a tom coming and going, my uncle was able to put the smack down on him when he finally worked within range. After he shot his tom and headed to the truck with a load of gear, another tom showed up while my dad was taking down the blind. After waiting for the tom to move off, he was able to sneak out of there.

Day 4- I headed back to the same area my uncle had his luck, and there were several gobblers on the roost on neighboring ground. They quieted down not long after flydown. This day I went without decoys and sat in a high traffic area. Had several hens come through but a tom never showed up, nor did I hear much for gobbles. I had run out of patience after 10 hours in the blind and called it a day.

Day 5- I hunted on my father in laws 120 acre farm where I was lucky enough to take a tom 2 years ago. That was an afternoon bird that I was able to take within 30 minutes of arriving... this year would prove much more difficult. My wife was able to join me for the morning hunt, which was largely uneventful as strong, spotty rains were blowing through. We did spot a tom strutting with a couple hens several hundred yards off, but they didn't stay out for long. My wife had to leave around 9:30 but I stayed put. That tom would come out again after the weather broke, and was very vocal. He gobbled all afternoon but he just would not leave the area he was strutting in. The highlight of the day was a mature hen attacking my decoy until she had it lying on the ground. (Side note: Bit the bullet and bought avian decoys a couple years back and while I don't believe they are necessary to shoot a turkey, I am firmly convinced birds perceive them differently and feel more comfortable around them). I would eventually try to make a move on this vocal tom in the evening, and while I was able to sneak in to right where I wanted to be undetected, that ol' tom didn't behave how I wanted him to.

Day 6- My dad and I would head back to the property from days 2-4, but would set up closer to the property line where the birds were roosting. It was a neat morning, as 3 mature toms and 6 hens would show up on the field a couple hundred yards away. A strong thunderstorm rolled in, and it was cool to see toms strutting with lighting flashing against the dark sky. When the rain came, it came hard and they retreated to cover. They would be back after the weather broke, but those toms would not leave the hens which eventually moved around us into a midday nesting area. Thinking I would be back for the final day, we snuck out in the opposite direction when the noon hour came. I would spend the night going back and forth between where I should head in the morning... back to the in laws where I knew there was a mature tom and a spot that provides much less area for the birds to elude me, or head back to where I saw the 3 toms (one of which was a real dandy with one of the thickest beards I have seen since picking up the sport) and where I heard many more gobblers on the roost.

Day 7- I put all my eggs in one basket and headed to the in-laws property. We got in early and set the blind up in the toms "strut zone" from day 5. He spent nearly that entire afternoon within 100 yards of this spot and I anticipated he was roosted further south, in fact I would have put money on it. It's a good thing I hadn't though, because I would have lost. If there is one thing I know about turkeys after hunting them for 5 years, it is that they don't always follow the patterns you think you have figured out. Turns out the birds were roosted north of me, and 3 hens flew down and into the alfalfa not 100 yards from where my blind had been set for day 5. The tom would come walking out of the timber to join them a few minutes lated. None of them made a peep this morning, and they al turned and headed north, away from me. Confidence was at an all time low at this point. The one tom I knew was in the area was walking away following 3 hens. Then a gobbler started going to the NE, and I had a little hope again. This turned out to be a jake who emerged from the timber a while later. He headed off in the same direction as the other 4. Just when I thought they were all gone for good, the jake came sprinting back up across the field and into the timber from where he had come. Then I caught a glimpse of movement just over the hill and a hen came into view. She was on a sprint in my direction and skirted around the blind within 30 yards. Next came another hen, quickly moving our way. Then the red head came into view, as the Tom steadily, but in no rush, came in our direction. They saw the decoys and began moving towards them, with the tom strutting all the way. When he got to 25 yards and turned in the right direction, it was all over. 

Can't really put into words how much of a roller coaster it all was. I was sitting in the blind absolutely kicking myself for not going to the area that I knew had several mature toms, all as I sat and watched a tom strut and follow those hens so slowly in the opposite direction. I was fully expecting to have to try to make something happen in late May when my license would become valid again. Then just like that it all came together. It proved to be my best tom yet, going nearly 24 pounds, 11 inch beard, and spurs just over/under an inch. It was worth the wait and a heck of a way to keep my streak of toms alive. Been chasing these birds for 5 years now, and only one of them was what I would call an "easy" one. Despite how simple it seems to be, they just have a way of making you work for it, which is just how it should be!

 

[Borch]

Way to go PFUNK! 

Persistence killed that bird.

[DonBo]

Great story (and bird) pfunk.  Thanks for sharing.  No one said this sport was easy, that's what makes it so sweet when it all finally comes together.  Persistence pays off big this time.  Congrats! 

[DonBo]

Dillon scored on a jake weeks ago. Here's a photo:

 

Sure hope we get to hear the story...

 

[monstermoose78]

I well I am going to give it a shot tomorrow night and Saturday seeing the wife is going shopping

[PFUNK]

Good luck tonight moose! Time for your persistence to pay off.

Edited May 13, 2016 by PFUNK

[monstermoose78]

Last was a bust and thus morning was cold. I am back at it and had jake with no beard come in

[monstermoose78]

My spread today