The Strut Stops Here

[123fish]

What season is everyone hunting, with what and what area?  I am hunting season "A" shotgunning in the far southwest corner. Team name suggestion

team " The Strut Stops Here"  Next...

[monstermoose78]

I am archery hunting and my nephew is a shotgunning until we get one. We are hunting Sherburne, isanti, and Mille Lacs Counties. We say that’s a good name.

[DrJ]

I'm hunting 2nd season down by Freeburg Mn. Hoping to do a better job this year since I blew 2 opportunities last year. I'm fine with any name. Good Luck    DrJ ( great to be retired now)

[featherslayer 1]

Hey team im here, ill be hunting the A season with shotgun. Looks like ill be wearing white this year cause we have alot of snow on the ground yet. Tomorrow im going out and do a little scouting, ill get back to as what i seen. Good luck to my team members and im fine with what ever for a team name

 

[featherslayer 1]

On 4/11/2018 at 12:31 PM, featherslayer 1 said:

Hey team im here, ill be hunting the A season with shotgun. Looks like ill be wearing white this year cause we have alot of snow on the ground yet. Tomorrow im going out and do a little scouting, ill get back to as what i seen. Good luck to my team members and im fine with what ever for a team name

 

 

Well i didnt see any birds but i heard them and alot of them. Looks like ill be in the woods this year, cause in years pass with snow on the ground they stay inside. Checking on another piece on monday which has alot of birds and a standing corn field. Anybody else been out scouting? 

[monstermoose78]

Yeah I have been scouting my dads place has around 100 birds they move around some but they have stayed near the corn. I checked a few public land spots and have been seeing some Toms going from their roost to fields to feed.  I also checked a couple private pieces and two of them did not have any turkey sign and the owners said they have not see a turkey yet. One had 20 birds with 5 strutting birds. 

 

My my plan is to put my big blind up at my dads in the normal spot and hunt there with the nephew. On opening morning I am going to the one public spot to set up on the trail those Toms have made going to the feeding grounds. One nice thing with the snow is tracking a hit bird should be easier. My nephew is jacked up to hunt at my dads and he promised this time those Tom turkeys will pay for messing with him last year.

I got competition with Icehawk and I will get a bigger turkey then he does.

[123fish]

Well that sounds good for you guys. I haven't got squat scouted down here. Never many birds to start with and this "spring" weather has made it that much worse. Now they are talking freezing rain and everything else on Wednesday. Too old too hunt in that dump. We will see. Have to go blow about a foot of snow now.

[monstermoose78]

Well that snow added up last night dang. I have to see what happens this week.

[paceman]

I did a bit of scouting Saturday, walking around on the frozen snow was not to bad. Some of the fields have clear strips on the north edges. I'm guessing the birds will go there for food and to be in the sun. As the snow melts the plowed fields will turn to slop. I'm also guessing the birds will avoid those as they just suck to cross. I did see a few tracks, so know some are around. Just need to spend some time in the woods to figure them out and see how active they are. probably just use a hen decoy or none at all to start....

[featherslayer 1]

14 hours ago, paceman said:

I did a bit of scouting Saturday, walking around on the frozen snow was not to bad. Some of the fields have clear strips on the north edges. I'm guessing the birds will go there for food and to be in the sun. As the snow melts the plowed fields will turn to slop. I'm also guessing the birds will avoid those as they just suck to cross. I did see a few tracks, so know some are around. Just need to spend some time in the woods to figure them out and see how active they are. probably just use a hen decoy or none at all to start....

Ill be gitting this piece wed morning, tomorrow around noon ill be setting up the blind. This morning alot of birds in this area but none come o,So im going in.

 

[monstermoose78]

Holy moly was the snow drifted up. I was thigh deep walking back to my dads field. I know I am a fat guy and out of shape, but dang that was a workout. The spot my blind has set almost every year is on a slight hill and had less snow. I shoveled out the spot for the blind tied the blind down to my anchors I put in last spring. Put my chair inside and the decoys, so I don’t have carry anything else except my backpack and crossbow.not much for sign that I could see, so tomorrow should be fun. 

Photo 1 is looking east

photo 2 is looking west

photo 3 is looking South 

[monstermoose78]

Live up date it’s very cold someone forgot the heater. A few gobbles across the brook and nothing now. It will happen and this weekend should be better as it warms up some. 

[123fish]

Good luck and keep us posted. Just got done snowing here. Probably another six inches but melting. I will be hunting tomorrow.

[Borch]

Added pumper 317 to Strut Stops Here.

[monstermoose78]

Welcome pumper317

[123fish]

Welcome aboard pumper. I had one gobbling this morning but he had four girl friends with him . Try again tomorrow.

[pumper317]

Thanks guys!  Excited to be back, and thankful for the late allowance!  I hit may 2 - 5th.  Bringing my boy on his first time out this weekend with a gun.  Looking froward to it all!  Good luck guys!!!

[featherslayer 1]

I hit the woods yesterday morning and snuck into a little clearing and ended up being anout 50 yards from where they were roosting. They were very vocal and a few hens sounding off too. Soon as i started to call after they flew down the hens really got into it and accually pulled the toms to the west of me. I did get 1 to come in but only had like a 5-6 inch beard and 2 differnt groups of jakes so knowing there is around 20 toms in the flock of 80 or so i passed on him . Pretty hard to compete with that many hens. The snow is finaly starting to go so i think it will only get better. Heading out in the morning for a short hunt due to work.

[featherslayer 1]

 KooWell team i got a nlce tom this morning, longest spur is 1 1/16 and beard is over 10.5 " and i know he' s well over 20 #'s . Off to work and ill get pictures up later on. Heres one for now.

[featherslayer 1]

Heres a couple pictures we took after my work meeting and waking up the wife.

[featherslayer 1]

[123fish]

Congrats featherslayer. Very nice bird! I got  a decent two year old this morning also. Twenty pounds eight ounces, nine inch beard, and five eigths inch spurs. The strut stopped for a couple of them today. Try to get a pic up later.

[IceHawk]

Nice to see a few bird getting knocked down. Good job to those successful so far!  Are you guys out A season seeing a lot of responses to calls or decoys? 

[featherslayer 1]

Birds in my area are too responsive, and yes i had 2 big fellas come in to my 1 tom and 2 hen set up. Accually i had the whole flock coming in and it was load with the hens and all the toms. One thing i fogured out is if there is alot of birds dont be soft calling. I tried to top the old hen and thats what pulled them my way. Good luck to my team and hopfully everybody could have a morning like I did, it wont be forgotten.

[Borch]

Way to close the deal guys!