My best Spring

QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
Figured I'd do a full recap, all in one place, as we ride home from Nebraska.

I started my season in north Georgia. Drove down Thur 4/5 for a 3 day hunt. With weather moving in Fri night, I knew I'd better get it done the first day. He was kind enough to holler once on the limb thur eve, and I somehow managed the impossible Fri morn... I got around and above him with out spooking a single bird. Didn't matter, he hit the ground with hens and was gone.

Finally managed to get him to show himself to me, out in the high pasture, at 2pm. Figured out what they were doing and got where I needed to be. Neither he or his hens would pay much attention, but he was still dead at 3:15.
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Opening day in Virginia, 4/14. Absolute turkey silence from the drop, and I covered some ground looking for one. About 830 I got back to the truck and headed for another block.

I hadn't even got out of the truck when he hammered...knew he was in the powerline, so I eased up the 2 track for a sneak and peek. He was 120 out to my right, spinning and hammering on top of the hill, and his hen was 30 off to my left. When he turned fan to me, I spooked the hen.

Once he figured out he had misplaced his lady friend, it was candy from a baby. 9:05 am
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Sunday 4/15. Opted for a quick, close hunt on the wife's birthday, so I hit a small tract by the shop in Person Co NC. Almost didn't get there in time as he was gobbling when I opened the door, but I made it near as makes no difference to the edge of a 3 acre clover patch. I plopped down and watched him strut and gobble in a huge oak across the field.

He pitched out way earlier than I was anticipating, and landed over a rise in the lower end of the field. He doubled as soon as his feet hit the ground and I lit him up with my favorite mouth call. He went bananas, and came pretty much straight to me. I'll never forget that light bulb coming over the hill, and it so dark I could barely make out his fan. He hung up about 50, and i was letting him drum when a couple hens pitched out below him. He turned to leave, and I flashed the fan for the first time. He was 25yds at a trot when I rolled him. 6:28 am
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QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
Headed for Kansas with Pops May 5th. Spent the night in NW Missouri, and made it to the cabin before lunch Sunday morn. Hunted a bit Sunday, without seeing or hearing much for encouragement. Did get one roosted that eve, and got up Mon morn with bad intentions.

I probably got closer than I should have to that bird given the lack of foliage, but i wanted to be in his pocket. I got within 75 yds, but he didn't cooperate. I could catch flashes of head and fan as he moved out into the next clearing to the west. He decided he didn't like that meadow, and worked back across the bottom and out into the back corn field.

I kept up with him by crow, and found a spot to cross the creek. When I eased up a cut to the edge of the field, he was nowhere to be seen. Apparently he was in a dip in the field, because when I cranked up a prototype DH mouthcall, he cut me off about 150 out.

I eased up into a cedar tree as he strutted straight to me. He was standing there looking around at 40 yards, but I wasn't ready to kill him just yet. I pulled out the proverbial 6 shooters and started making him dance;) I've never been foolish enough to mess with one like that before, but he wasn't going anywhere.... I finally shot him after he'd nearly choked himself gobbling at me.
6:50 am 5/7, Kansas Rio
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Hunted hard all week, birds just weren't there for some reason. I found one Mon eve and went to him Tues, Wed, and Thur morning with nothing to show for my efforts but a whipped butt. Big bean stubble field birds, 1 tom, 6 hens and 5 jakes. I'd mess with them til they worked off property by 9 every morning. But I honestly didn't know where another longbeard was, so I kept going back...

Fri morn I was up bright and early, to try to get under them. After a trip back to the house for more clothes, I got where I wanted to be. It was summer when we went to bed thur and winter when we woke up.

Temps around 50, low clouds and a stout KS breeze kept him quiet until well past his normal flydown time. When he finally gobbled, in the wrong tree mind you, I immediately answered him. He liked that, a lot, so I kept doing it. He was straight across the field from me, 250 yds out in a finger. He flew down and walked out full strut 200 from me. About that time i heard a hen behind me, and saw another walk out the bottom.

He was coming, but I knew without those hens he wouldn't ever get close enough. I got into it with the hens still in the trees behind me and to my left, and when hens 2-5 all landed within 25 yds and started talking to me....I smiled and said checkmate! He was as close as 30yds, but he didnt clear the hens til he was at 52 steps. 6:25am

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QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
We finally left Kansas Sunday around lunch, and headed north. The first stop was more about seeing friends than killing turkeys. After that pseudo detour, it was time to get serious. We had to go all the way to South Dakota to find a room, but hey they had better grub in that town.

Got the truck unloaded Tuesday afternoon, rode around and checked out the properties we have permission on and went walk about. We were headed to the back side of a big corn field when turkeys started piling out of a cedar fence row. Well, one stood there and begged me to shoot him, so I did. Turkeys went everywhere at the shot, and there was strutting, gobbling, and flogging before somebody else finally hit one:rolleyes:

Wasn't much to it, but hey, I've earned a pile of turkeys that I haven't killed. I'll take one I didn't earn...
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Rolled out Wednesday morn, and was frankly disappointed in the amount of gobbling that was heard. Got up with Firedog and headed down and around the bottom side of the same big cornfield. Eased up out of the bottom and got eyes on 2 redheads up on top of the ridge headed north. Confirmed they weren't jakes and started in on them. They were close to 200 yds out, and they gobbled once or twice, and blew up some, but they lost interest quick and went back to feeding. I fanned em, and they got a bit more interested, but we could tell they weren't coming. FD hit em with a different mouth call and the dominant bird went straight to dragging wings and his head turned white.

Yeah, keep doing that I said! We lost sight of them for a bit, as they had to cross a swale in the field, but he hammered 60 yds out and I knew as soon as his head popped up he was in my wheelhouse.

SOP for us is shoot the bird on your side, 1 2 3 boom style. Well, the strutter popped over the hill gobbling in our faces, and the other one followed. Then I got told to shoot the left bird because he was further. No problem mon...1 2 3 boom...my bird fell down. The other one ran off...9:30 am, first bird I've ever had called to me by someone other than me.
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Wednesday afternoon, another walkabout. Dad dropped me and FD off on one farm and we planned to walk through to the next. Close to 3 mile of prime turkey ground.

First time we heard him, he shock gobbled at the spreader in the field across the creek. We got eyes on him about 500 yds across a plowed field, strutting for a hen in a shady meadow.

The only play was to back up and go over the bluff behind us, and circle out of sight. We got over there without getting spotted, and he answered a crow call. We started easing up the back side of a thick cedar fenceline, until I heard him drumming.

A few light calls, and both he and the hen were answering. I'd call and scoot up, knowing they were in range but not being able to see. Pretty soon the hen came looking, to about 8 steps from me, but he didn't follow. I could only see the top of his fan drumming figure 8's.

She figured out something was hinky and headed back towards him. I knew the jig was up at that point so I crept forward and sorta followed her. He finally gave me a clean shot at 35 yds. That was a nerve wracking turkey, being that close, that long. It was also a brutal 2 mile walk out at 90 degrees...6:45pm
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8 birds in 5 states. Be a long time before I do that again...
The end;)
 
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jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Yes sir ... you don't get much better than that.
Those kind of seasons don't happen too often. I have only called up 6 birds to the gun in a season ,...one time. My dad killed 2 of those gobblers in NC and I was able to get 4 between NC and Va. That was 2005. The next year I got for skunked for the first time.?
Congrats.
 
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Putt

Old Mossy Horns
That sounds awesome! One of these days my sons and I may have to ride shotgun with ya'll!!! They wouldn't know what to do out there with that many NC hunters out there!! :LOL: COngrats on the great season!
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Congrats QBD2. That’s a great season. It takes a lot of work and skill to make that happen.
 
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