2005 Turkey Hunting Photo Contest

[ChuckN]

Thanks, and yes, it was taken within 5 miles from home. My first turkey hunt and I'm addicted.

[MJCatfish]

It is truly addicting, isn't it? I joined the Ottertail Lakes Chapter of NWTF as a committee member in about 1996. Couldn't understand why everyone was so gung ho about turkeys. Then I tried it, and have been hooked since. If you want to become a member, just let me know. We have a lot of fun with our banquet and we have a great time with our JAKES event coming up in June.

MJ

[Hotspotter]

Chuck:

Great story and bird. Glad to hear how good it is up there too. Addiction isn't even the word......i mean, an addiction can be kicked with therapy. But there is no rehab for turkey hunting. Who would want to?

Glad to hear that you're "off" the wagon like the rest of us!

Joel

[strat-o-caster]

My Black Hills entry

[Ray Esboldt]

Man, I've got to get a different pose. These are some really great pictures.

[Hotspotter]

Strat:

Dang the Merriams birds are pretty! Where's the beard? Is his body on it?

Joel

[strat-o-caster]

Yea, I laid the bird on it's chest. The beard was about4 1/2 inches long....Strat

[SCCO9803]

Bird taken Saturday May 7th 2005, 610am, zone 343.

[Captain B.R.K]

Great birds guys-- nice pics!

[stickbow]

Not sure if I can figure out how to post my pic!!! Got him with my Longbow! Was a blast! [image]!CID_820BAEO8AEO11D9B4FDBFCB44A320C8@snj-us-pcwp-702[/image]

[hanson]

Here we go!!

2 things...

CornPirateKiller- Are those crutches in your photo?? That makes the photo that much better for me. What a story!

And here's my bird. Sorry about the photo. I got blessed with a rainy morning for my 1st Turkey ever so he's a little wet!!

[koWALLEYEski]

Those are some really nice photos boys. Id have to say the mariam turkey is the better one so far. No offenses to anyone

[Mark Christianson]

Taken May 10th at 6:05 am

Zone 411

Weight - 21.5 lbs

Beard - 10 inches

[CornPirateKiller]

Hanson,

Yes, that is a crutch in my picture. I broke my neck about 20 years ago. Slowed me down some but I still get out and bag a few (with a little help from my friends). Got my MN bird on Friday. Pics to come soon.

[Hotspotter]

CPK:

Impressive.

Kudos to you for being a better turkey hunter than most of us who have never had a broken neck.

Looking forward to seeing pics and reading the story from your MN hunt. You're from PI right? If so, my condolences. I'm from rival CF.

Joel

[CornPirateKiller]

Friday, May 13, My brother-in-law on the left in the picture) and my brother (on the right) set up the DoubleBull in a field North of Rochester. Had two toms gobbling near us and a lot of hens yelping. About 6:30 am, we had two jakes follow a bearded hen across the field towards our setup. Thought maybe that we'd have a quick end to the season then, but they were on their own path and weren't impressed by the decoys or my calling. Later, more jakes came out into the field and were quickly chased out of the prime area by a mature tom. They tried to come back several times but the tom chased them away each time and the tom never came closer than about 80 yards to us.

About 9:00 am, the land owner entered the field to check on something and it spooked the tom away and pushed the flock of six jakes towards us. I did some soft purrs and clucks on my slate and it caught their interest and they moved up to within 35 yards. It had been raining all morning and the forecast was for high winds and rain through the weekend so we decided to take what was in our laps. Stuck the guns out the windows of the blind and counted to three. Boom! Our season was over. The birds were so wet that they looked like drowned rats.

All three jakes were roughly 15 lbs. One had a six inch beard, one had a four inch and one had a three. We roasted two of the birds on Saturday evening and had a big party. They were delicious!!

Joel, yes, I'm originally from P.I.

[ROZ]

Here is my entry, Story to follow in upland forum

25lbs - 11"beard - 1" and 0.75" spurs

I don't have the picts back from my WI bird harvested yesterday (double beard). This is my MN bird and more than likely my best photo.

[NELS-BELLS]

I shot this turkey near Morton, MN on 5/5/05. I was fortunate to have my kids with me to witness the hunt. This was there first time turkey hunting and they were as excited as I was. They've already asked me if they could go again next year, if I get drawn.

The turkey weighed 20lbs., had a 9" beard, and 3/4" spurs.

[QuackAttack]

Here is my entry

here is my dad's

Story to come in the turkey forum

[Dan Thiem]

Excellent photo Quackattack. Your picture really captures the light and shadow.

[hanson]

There are a lot of really great photos here!! This will be a tough decision for the decision makers!!

Nice Birds Everybody!

[QuackAttack]

I'm entering this for Mike.

[jeffyo45]

Entering this for my buddy Derron. The best part is his 6 year old son took the pic. He's definitely a better photographer than me: