Stories from the hunt - Spring Turkey Hunting '06

[Hotspotter]

You the man Ray!

That's a darn-good bird.....no way could you pass on him. Even though the hunt lasted an hour, that's usually a good sign that ample time/preparation were spent scouting and planning.

Great job steppin' on the hens' calls. It's something I've been trying to do all spring, unsuccessfully. Usually I can pull it off a few times a year, but it's a difficult task that you excelled at.

Deer are a turkey-hunter's nuissance. A mulie cost me a chance at a bird (don't know if jake/tom) out west, and I had a whitetail shut down gobbling one morning in MN as well. The worst are the older does that stay just out of sight and circle you, blowing and wheezing every other step. That will close-down a hillside for hunting about quicker than anything. I get up and walk away when that happens now. When walking in and trying to sneak up on a gobbler on the roost, there's not always alot a guy can do. The thermals will kill you here.

I can't wait to see the pics either. Nowhere to go but up on the photo contest!!!!

Congrats again on a job well done.

Joel

[Swamp Scooter]

Nice bird, I understand what you mean by having days left to hunt. After getting our birds early on day 2 I am still thinking about being able to go out and do more. Yup I will be doing this again too.

[Ray Esboldt]

Well, I still have my Minnesota hunt coming up. So, I'll at least get another hour in the woods. All kidding aside, I probably have a tail kickin' coming. I have now hunted a grand total of 5 hours and 15 minutes over my last 3 hunts. I like bagging a bird, but I also like the learning opportunities you encounter while spending a day in the woods.

And, here's a picture of the bird. Now you see why I finished last in the photo contest last year. I ain't no photo choreographer.

[Borch]

Nice tom Zarkohl!

Got to love it when a plan comes together!

Ray I understand hoe bittersweet it can be taking a bird early. You're happy you got one but sad it's already over.

Good Luck in MN.

[brittman]

I love those hunting boots Ray.

What side of the lake to you live on?

[Ray Esboldt]

Brittman,

Like I said, photos aren't my game. That's after I sat down for breakfast at the farm and registered the bird.

I live on the south side of The Lake, near Sunrise Middle school. Yourself?

[brittman]

I have many hunting pictures with nikes on. More comfortable after a hard day hunting than keeping the boots on.

South of the lake - live in WBL but my kids are Zephyrs

[Sturg]

I finally took one with a bow. It was the 4th bird I shot at with my bow this season. I hunt WI and MN. I do taxidermy as a hobby and I mounted a stutting tom. Actually I have 3 of them because I have alot of family and friends always borrowing them. I hunt out of a Double bull blind and set the strutting tom 10 yds in front of my shooting window.

This year was my best ever. I took one with the gun in WI and my first with the bow in MN. My seasons overlap so I hunted 7 days and had 11 mature toms come into the decoys. Twice I had 3 toms comein together and once two came in together.

The last two really capped the season. I took a bowhunter friend on his second ever turkey hunt and he got his first bird. Two gobblers appeared out of thin air and went right to Turkey Lurkey (the strutting tom mount). As they were closing in, my friend asked me if he should draw (he couldn't see them coming from his angle) The lead bird walked in front of Turkey Lurkey and turned his back to us. Now he could see both birds so I told him to shoot. He asked which one? I said the one on the left, shoot him in the [PoorWordUsage] shoot. Both birds were strutting. He shot and the arrow was protruding from both ends. The tom walked about 10 feet and slowly melted to the ground. The other tom had followed him, stomped on him once and then turned and strutted at the lifeless body on the ground. I grabbed my bow and nocked an arrow and drilled him where his beard came out of his chest. He slowly turned and walked into the woods. We waited 20 minutes and found him a short distance in the woods. My bird weighed 22 lbs, had a 9 in beard, and 1.25 in spurs. the other bird weighed 18 lbs, had a 10.25 in beard, and 1.5 in spurs.

This is his bird, we were hunting for about 90 mins when they came.

[Hotspotter]

Sturg:

Congrats on your great season. That bow-bird is a tough one to get, and it's no surprise that it took a few shots. There are so many things that don't just have to go right, they have to go PERFECTLY. Of the guys I went out with, they were 0 for 6 arrows loosed. If things went a bit differently, and I mean by an inch, there would've been several birds killed.

Great job, hope you mount your trophy, as that's one hunt you'll never forget!

Joel