POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

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Carol
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POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby Carol » Thu Apr 04, 2013 6:21 am

Start sharing your stories and pictures for the 2013 Turkey Contest here ~ IN THIS THREAD.

**** Please just post your hunt stories and pics****


****As much as we love comments please save those for a different thread / post. That will make things much easier when we all come back here to go thru them for VOTING purposes later on****



After the season on a date not yet announced we will invite the 500 club members of this site to vote on whom they feel should win the prizes.....

Voting will be based on the size of the turkey, the hardness of the hunt, the hunters ethics, the weapon used, etc...

Please keep that in mind when telling your story. Although big turkeys often win, in past years deer contests, we have seen a young man whom shot a fork horn win, and a button buck shot by a foreigner who traveled all the way across the ocean to hunt our much celebrated whitetails.

So enter every turkey you shoot if you like. If you shoot more than one and want to edit your story let me know and I can help you with that. All turkeys legally taken are eligible regardless of species or sex.

Good luck to everyone & Congratulations!!


Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then!

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gutone4me
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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby gutone4me » Wed Apr 17, 2013 8:29 am

Got this guy on 4/14/13 at 730 AM

Got set up on numerous toms gobbling their brains out in the tree. Once they hit the ground they got a bit tight lipped for about 45 minutes then got cranked up again. I had 2 toms come out into the field with 5 hens I could get them to gobble and take a few steps my way but they not break away from the real thing to come and investigate. Finally I see them break strut and make a bee line for the woods about 300 yards away. Here another Tom had got a little too close and the chase was on. The solo Tom made a break to get away and I cut at him and he turned my way and heading my direction. At about 75 yards it appeared he would skirt my position so I cupped my hand and softly yelped away from him and that did the trick ! He did a little half strut and came on a death march to just under 30 yards where I greeted him with a load of Federal 5's from my old 870 right in the face.

22 lbs
10.5 inch beard
1 inch spurs
NWTF score is 22 + 10 + 10 + 21 = 63

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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby Stanley » Wed Apr 17, 2013 10:45 am

gutone4me wrote:Got this guy on 4/14/13 at 730 AM

Got set up on numerous toms gobbling their brains out in the tree. Once they hit the ground they got a bit tight lipped for about 45 minutes then got cranked up again. I had 2 toms come out into the field with 5 hens I could get them to gobble and take a few steps my way but they not break away from the real thing to come and investigate. Finally I see them break strut and make a bee line for the woods about 300 yards away. Here another Tom had got a little too close and the chase was on. The solo Tom made a break to get away and I cut at him and he turned my way and heading my direction. At about 75 yards it appeared he would skirt my position so I cupped my hand and softly yelped away from him and that did the trick ! He did a little half strut and came on a death march to just under 30 yards where I greeted him with a load of Federal 5's from my old 870 right in the face.

22 lbs
10.5 inch beard
1 inch spurs
NWTF score is 22 + 10 + 10 + 21 = 63

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Nice bird.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby rizzo999 » Sun Apr 21, 2013 1:25 pm

Nice bird Pat. Looks like KY has been good to you in regards to being covered in deer and turkeys!

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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby Carol » Mon Apr 22, 2013 1:49 am

Rules are above.

Code: Select all

Reply with quote Post Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 12:21 pm
POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013
Start sharing your stories and pictures for the 2013 Turkey Contest here ~ IN THIS THREAD.

**** Please just post your hunt stories and pics****


****As much as we love comments please save those for a different thread / post. That will make things much easier when we all come back here to go thru them for VOTING purposes later on****


ALL COMMENTS HAVE BEEN DELETED.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then!

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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby gutone4me » Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:00 pm

Kentucky Tom #2 (tagged out)

Hit a "new to me" farm on Saturday April 20 and was super excited to be turned loose alone on 500 acres and swore I wasn't coming out without a bird in my vest. I worked my way around a big field owl hooting to locate a "playmate" when I finally got a reply it was almost fly down time. I rushed into a set up only to find out there were some hens and a creek between myself and the tom. That being said he did answer me every time I yelped to him. Well as luck would have it he hit the ground and got real quiet he would random gobble to let me know where he was but wasn't coming any closer. Now this isn't my first rodeo and I knew to stay put as he knew the "hen" was there when he was ready but my impatience got the best of me as another tom fired up about 150 yards away so I made my move.

After getting set up on tom number 2 good old tom number 1 gobbled from exactly where I had been set up. But now tom number 2 was on the move and closing fast. I finally see the white head and full tail strutting my directions in the field but suddenly he breaks strut and runs back into the woods putting I turn my head to see what got him and here is a coyote trotting across the field. Time for another move. I circle back to a couple hundred yards of where I started to sneak a peak at the big boy showing off about 25 yards from where I started that AM but couldn't figure out a way to get close to him and he paid no attention to my calling this time. Move number 4 now.

After making another huge circle to a spot I had seen turkeys the day before from the road. I set up and planned to sit and call for a while and see what happens. I no more than sat down when a bird gobbled over my shoulder to the East. He would random gobble but not answer my call or come any closer. I pulled out my phone to take a stroll on the internet and pass a little time until something closer gets going. I set my phone aside and shut my eyes for a minute tops. They say when your take one of your senses away another gets stronger so with that in mind my hearing picked up on a faint pffffffft vroooom from the West. I did have to hear it a couple times to believe it myself. I knew if I could hear him strutting he was close I slowly opened my eyes to take a peak at a very nice Tom about 25 yards away on the field edge. Luckily for me I was in some tall grass and next to a big tree which allowed me to slowly get my gun and shoulder it.

The next dilemma was I am right handed and the Tom was on my right. I have practiced shooting my shotgun both right handed and left handed and was confident I could kill him left handed if need be but this is where my patience paid off. He strutted by at about 20 yards and right in front of my gun barrel. Game over !

My second KY tom weighed 23 lbs had a 10 inch beard and 5/8 spurs. It isn't surprising a sneaky 2 year old came in the side door quietly.

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Southern Man
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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby Southern Man » Thu Apr 25, 2013 4:41 am

One of the farms we hunt never has turkeys. The farmer always sprayed the fields early to kill the weeds regardless wether he planted beans or corn. And usually that's right before turkey season. After he sprays, the turkeys leave for greener fields. Last year the land owner got someone else to crop the ground. It was corn last year so this year, based on normal rotation it should be soybeans. The farmer hasn't sprayed yet, too early for beanfields.

So, we've been seeing turkeys on this farm, mostly in the afternoon and evenings. I believe they are roosting in a small section of pines in the middle of the farm. I've seen them fly up there back in early winter. There is a long narrow field bordered by woods running north to south. The pines are along one side, almost mid way up the field. I haven't had time to hunt this farm yet and we're half way through a 3 week season. Yeasterday I left work and got to the farm about 5pm. I sneaked back thru the tractor path to the field and looked, making sure there were no turkeys in the field yet. Not seeing any, I quickly moved about 1/3 of the way down the field and set up on the oppisite side of the side with the pines. I figured if they came into the field (from the far end) heading to roost, they would see my decoys and possibly come in. As soon as I got set up, I seen a turkey far down the field. I couldn't tell what it was (forgot my binos) but a turkey non the less. I called. No answer. I waited about 30 minutes and called again. No answer. The wind was blowing pretty stiff and I was afraid it was going to blow my decoys over. After another 30 minutes, I called again. 2 gobbles came from behind me down the ridge in a small little bottom field. It sounded maybe 100-150 yards away. I wasn't expecting that. I wondered which way he would come from (if he came), Thru the woods? Or along a small tractor path that led down to the field? I waited 10 minutes contemplating what he'd do.I really thought he'd come the tractor path, so I turned to that direction getting ready. I called. No answer. Hmmmm. I wondered if he'd already knew something was up and left, but in less than 2 minutes I heard him coming thru the woods. I looked and could barely see their heads thru the trees and brush. 2 gobblers! As soon as I seen them I knew where they would come out. There was a deer trail 25-30 yards from me that offered a good path to the field. I turned, got my gun up and shortly the first gobbler stepped into the field, stopped and eyed the decoys. I hammered him. The second gobbler might have been bigger, I don't know, I didn't care :mrgreen: A fun hunt. It lasted 1 hour, 20 minutes. Great evening!

18.6 lbs
9.5" beard
just a fuzz over 1" spurs

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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby trdtnlbwhntr » Fri Apr 26, 2013 10:37 am

Each year my dad and I try spend the turkey opener in a blind together. After checking the forecast for Wednesday we decided to delay our opener till this morning. The weather was supposed to be cold, but clearing skies were to give way to sunshine, something we haven't had hear in a long time. So at 4:45 we turned the headlights down the road in route to our farm.

As with most first hunts of the year, there is always a little delay in making sure everything is situated and in its place, and a check, recheck, and triple check to make sure you have everything. Confident we had everything we needed made our way down the tree line to our spot. A double bull perched in an open grass patch in the middle of a crp field, standing big old timber in front of us and a cut cornfield behind us. The idea was to get them as they passed through the crp on their way to strut and scratch in the corn field.

At grey light a bird let a gobble go and it was quite sometime after before we heard him again. I was concerned he might be the only bird in that area. Turned out him, a jake, and a bird far off were the only birds to gobble on the roost. Upon fly down he stayed packed up tight in the timber. The skies were overcast and it was cold, we knew that once that sun broke the veil of clouds the birds would start their march to the fields. after a few short calling sequences we had birds answering all around us. At 7:30 a bird hammered about a 100 yards behind us, I waited 5 minutes then gave him a soft yelp and he gobbled again. It was go time. He was hot and looking for love. He walked down a road that paralleled our set and up into the corner of the woods. He gobbled a few more times and each time you could tell he was working deeper into the timber. Then a few more birds started gobbling and he was on the march. Each time he gobbled it was further away, so each time he moved off I got more aggressive and adamant that he come back out and say hello. After 15-20 minutes of this he finally turned and you could tell he was moving quick.

At 8:05 he was in the field with us and you could tell he still hadn't seen our decoys. We had 2 Avian X hen decoys out and their new strutter decoy with hen fan in it. Once he got in a spot he could see the strutter you could tell he was committed. There is a point in every turkey hunt when you realize the bird you are calling to is going to die and this hunt it happened the moment he saw the strutter decoy. He strutted another 75 yards into our set. While he was doing this the other birds were making their way into the field. They saw him in strut and approaching the other decoy and went into attack mode. At one point we had 4 toms in our set. Trying to coordinate a 1,2,3 shoot moment was impossible. The big one that entered the field first was run off by the three birds and they proceeded to mount the strutter, flog it, spur it, and just overall pummel it. They were jumping, purring, and yelping at each other. At one point all three were in the air trying to spur each other. Red and white heads were weaving in and out, bobbing back and forth. This went on for a solid five minutes. I kept trying to get on a bird in the open but the moment I thought we had them, one would dive back in line with the other. Finally when a bird jumped up on the strutter and tried to molest it, I let the 870 bark and he crumpled off the decoy. The other two birds jumped up in the air and stood looking at their fallen comrade. Then my dad's 1100 let out a bark and we had just pulled off our first double.

They weren't the biggest birds and they certainly weren't anywhere near that big one, but the overall hunt couldn't be beat. Being a new father, its these moments that I have come to cherish more each day my son gets older. Seeing him grow, seeing him learn new things, makes time spent with my dad extra special. He watched me do all of this when I was a boy and he has helped to make me who I am, and he has made me the father I will be. I can't till him and I are sitting in a blind for our youth season as Lincoln folds up his first longbeard, or watching him and my dad enjoy the thrill of the outdoors together. This hunt kind of put it all in perspective. Afterwards we went and scooped up Lincoln from the babysitter and took him out to breakfast with us for our celebratory pancakes. Then we went home and took my all time favorite outdoor picture together.

What a great day afield.
20lbs
22 mm spurs
9.5" beard

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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby Cash 18 » Fri Apr 26, 2013 12:30 pm

Hunted all day last Saturday and walked a lot of miles. My friend and I glassed from the truck and hunted all Public land spots in southern wisconsin. We had one tom get to 70 yards and hold up a few miles back in the woods, but he wouldnt come in close enough. Sunday we did it again and I was pretty frustrated. Around 4:30 we tried one last spot and it paid off. We glassed some toms from the road and snuck in about half a mile through a marsh to get near them. We called and they came out. They didn't come from the direction we were expecting and held up around 50-60 yards. Finally, they got a little suspect, so I pulled the trigger and dropped this guy at 55 yards.

24 1/2 pounds
1 inch spurs
10 inch beard

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PJDylan13 by Paul Cashman Photography, on Flickr
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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby Ridgerunner7 » Fri May 10, 2013 1:21 am

For the longest time I thought chasing a bird around the woods was silly. My obsession with whitetails year round over shadowed any interest I may have had in turkey hunting. I just couldn't get excited about it. About 4 years ago...fellow Beast member JML2 kept bugging me about turkey hunting. It was one of his favorite times of the year and he thought I'd take to it pretty quickly. Well here I am 4 years later and come spring time I have long beards on my mind! It's so much fun and I kick myself for waiting for so long to enjoy turkey hunting.

Fast forward to 2013. JML2 and I do a lot of listening and scouting for birds..much like we do with whitetails. He had a bead on a group of birds that was not visible from any road and seemed to get limited pressure which is a RARE thing here in southern Michigan. On the morning of April 22 we snuck into out field an hour before first light. An exciting hunt ended with 2 passed jakes and several long beards just out of bow range. I was bound and determined to get one with my bow.

THE HUNT
On the morning of April 26 we were set up in the same area but slightly adjusted to movement we observed 2 days prior. The birds were active on their roost and we were seemingly surrounded by gobblers. We thought it was done deal only to watch every single male bird be carried away by hens up to a quarter mile from our set up. Talk about frustrating!! JML2 pointed out that most hunters would have given up for the morning as all the birds headed onto a property we couldn't hunt and were out of sight. We decided to stay put and see what would happen. About 9:30-10:00am we got desperate and let out a gobble call. 15 minutes later I here JML2 say.."You're not gonna believe this but I think they're heading back to us." Slowly and surely over the next 45 minutes the birds got closer and closer. Finally a good looking long beard locked on to our decoys and committed. He came in with his beard swinging side to side. My heart beating rivaled that of some of the big bucks I've encountered over the years. Now at 4 yards the long beard was locked on to my jake decoy and about to pounce.
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THE SHOT
I have to admit..the shot wasn't perfect. I hit him lower than I intended but was fortunate to nearly sever the legs at the hips. The bird ran off some but didn't make it far. I did require a follow up shot to put him down permanently. I had practiced from 15-20 yards the last month and wasn't quite prepared for a 4 yard shot. Lesson learned.

THE BIRD
Not knowing what I shot I approached the downed turkey. Upon inspection I saw spurs around an inch.."cool, decent spurs". Checked the beard out.."cool, nice 10" beard...WAIT there's 2..Wait there's 3!" I had just shot my first multi beard and it was a good one! Beards measured 10.5", 10", and 4.5" and weighed in at 23.5lbs. Not much into record books any more but this would rank number 1 in Ingam county for bow killed turkeys which I thought was cool. Never thought I'd say this but I will eventually be able to enjoy this bird as a full body strutting mount in my home.
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It was an exciting hunt with one of my best friends and turkey mentor. One of the best things..it was all captured on video. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndM_fa6kFeU

The very next day we took a youth hunter, JML2's 7 year old daughter on her first turkey hunt. Although she froze from excitement and no shot was fired I doubt she will ever forget this hunt!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMyTT0WsYLI
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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby browning3 » Fri May 10, 2013 9:30 am

Here are my two toms I shot this year. The first one I shot in week 2 - zone 3 and the second one I shot week 4 - zone 3.

First bird came in at 8am dead silent. His spitting and drumming gave him away as he approached in the blind spot of my ground blind. He was only 10 feet away, with only 3 steps to go, before it put him in my open window. I had left the shoot thru screens up on the corner windows and wouldn't you know it...he stopped directly in front of them and never took another step.

He ends up walking back behind me, in a clearing, where he struts, and gobbles for the next 30 minutes. He finally makes his way back over to me, but is directly behind the blind (blind is backed up to pine tree and brush). He struts and gobbles literally 3 feet behind me and all I can do is peek at him out the back window. All of a sudden something makes him change direction. He walks around the blind and stops in my open window at 10ft. I dropped him like a brick. He was a 2 yr old bird but heavy. 9" beard and 3/4" spurs. Sorry for the crappy pic as I was hunting alone and only had my phone.
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Second bird I shot at 7:30am week 4 (May 5). This kill wasn't anything spectacular and very different than the first. I had a buddy hunting near me and set him up on the best strutting zone on the property. I was just down the trail a ways on the edge of where the open areas and woods meet. I saw a few hens up in the clearing near my buddy when I hear a tom gobbling pretty close. I knew the bird was walking the powerline clearing and should make his way right to my buddy to put on a show for him in the strutting zone.

Well, the Tom gobbles a few more times letting me know he's getting closer. All of a sudden, I see a big bright red head come running full bore over the hill right toward me. I get my gun up but the bird is already through my open windows. I had one small slit open on a corner back window that I could get the barrel through. I put it through the hole and fired as the bird came running past the blind. Rolled him at about 15 yards. He didn't even twitch, kick or flop. Instantly done! My buddy had seen the bird and was all ready for him to come into the clearing. He couldn't figure out what spooked the bird. He said he didn't move an inch. There were some yotes in the area the night before and they could of been trolling through and spooked the tom to me.

This bird was older but not as heavy. 10.75" beard with 1" and 1 3/8" spurs.
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Few pictures of setup and misc....
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Rainy Day Recurve Bird

Unread postby jonsimoneau » Mon May 13, 2013 3:06 am

What a wet cold spring it has been! I setup in a spot where I had seen turkeys on a previous scouting trip. Despite the wet cold weather, birds were gobbling fairly good on the roost. They got quiet when they hit the ground but I stayed put knowing they were in the area. After a little while I game 'em some sexy yelps and excited cuts on a Crystal Mistress pot call by David Halloran. That did the trick. This bird started coming to me from a couple hundred yards across the field. I shut up and let him come. When he got about 60 yards out, he saw my decoys, but started to shy away. I figured it was due to the fact that my decoys were not moving at all. I gave him a few purrs and clucks to add to the realism and that did it. He turned around and came right into the decoys. I waited for him to face away from me then drew back, got the feather to my nose and drilled him with one of the BIG treesharks. I was somewhat astounded when he instantly took flight! My concern was not needed, as he went down in mid-flight. 10.5 inch beard, 1 inch spurrs. Unfortunately, it started raining right after I shot him, so there was little I could do to make the fan look pretty, but I couldn't care less! I shot him with one of my favorite bows, my old Habu recurve, and one of the 160 grain Simmons Treesharks.

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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby UntouchableNess » Mon May 13, 2013 6:02 am

Assassins First Blood

I picked up a used Bowtech Assassin earlier this year and I have spent lots of blind time with it. The Toms haven’t seem interested in the decoys, never had a tom answer a call until yesterday. He’d gobble back, but I could hear him heading away, figured he was following a hen.

Went back today and the Boss was gobbling from the roost. Today I played it silent. I heard him gobbling in a circle and my blind seemed to be the hub. I saw a hen come out into the field I was in, hoped he was soon to follow. Sure enough, he comes through the fence and stops occasionally to strut and gobble. The hen was pretty indifferent to his antics and her path was not going to bring him past me.

About this time, two jakes come through the fence. They are closer to me than the hen and Boss. I called a little with the slate and striker. The jakes craned their heads, saw my decoys and started jogging towards me. Now the quandary: will I shoot a jake if they come in? Bird in the hand scenario? The Boss started following the jakes, making the decision even more difficult. As I said, it's been many hours in the blind without any bearded turkeys in range......

The jakes cross the creek and get in the hayfield behind the blind. The Boss crosses and starts fanning for my decoys. I softly call with the reed, next thing I know he is sprinting for my decoys. It was a scramble to get positioned and draw before he got to the hen decoy. He stops short, goes into strut with his backside exposed. I put the pin at the base of his tail and hit the release; 7 yard Texas heart shot. He tries to do a slow run away, gets slower with every step, he piles up after 15 yards.

The jakes come down to visit him, I thought about doubling up with one of them since I have a second archery tag in my pocket, but let them live another day.

Beard: couple strands were 10.5”, most were 10"
Spurs: right was busted- 1”, left- 1.25”
Weight: 27lbs
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Black Squirrel
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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby Black Squirrel » Tue May 14, 2013 3:17 am

Double teamed Tom.
My son Jesse and I Teamed up on this Tom. It all happened really fast. We were stalking a different Tom with two hens, When this guy jumped up from a downed tree top. I put the first shot on him, my gun jammed and Jesse finished him off after a short chase through the pond in the background.
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Re: POST HERE; Turkey Contest Stories & Pictures 2013

Unread postby G3s » Wed May 15, 2013 12:40 pm

One tag...that same 2 words have run through my mind every season for the past several. In Michigan we get one tag to fill for spring turkey. I have known about this bird for several years and I have wanted to shoot him since the first time I saw him which happened to be about 20 minutes after I filled my "one tag" 3 seasons ago. For the seasons since I have told myself that it is him or nothing. Well I let time make me feel like it was almost gone and took opportunities at birds that were good birds but not "the one" This year was going to be different, I chose to take the last season so I would have a couple of extra weeks to find this bird and hunt him down. My first morning out I was sorely tempted by a great bird but he was not "the one" He had a great beard I would guess over 11 inches and he was plenty close to kill but I held off and just pulled out the video camera as he walked away.
[bbvideo=425,350]http://youtu.be/Mw-nDE9qL9I[/bbvideo]
Fast forward to the evening of April 13th, I had a short time to get out and hunt. I rushed to our turkey hunting grounds where I knew "the one" lived grabbed my bow out of the case and hauled buns for where I pretty much figured he was roosting. I got set up at a few minutes after 7 and settled in. Leaned up against a large maple I was gonna try to bow hunt without a blind and see what I could do. I had no more than knocked an arrow and kneeled back against the tree when I heard crunching leaves. i expected to see a deer walk over the ridge at any time when I see his big red and white heads coming straight for me. I put my binoculars up and could see that it was in fact "the one" I had been after for so long. I hid behind the tree as best I could and got ready to draw. While I was drawing I heard a alarm put from a hen that I had not seen come in, she had me and I knew my chance was going away fast. When she started giving me the business I just finished drawing and to my luck, he strutted right up to her perfect sideways to me at 24 yards. I let er rip and that Rage smashed him right through the wing but. He flopped a few times and it was over. It was a super short but very fun hunt I wont forget anytime soon. I tried to weigh him on my fish scale but he maxed that 25# scale out so I am not sure of his weight, but he is a dandy bird for a goofy ol bowhunter from northern Michgian.
Beard#1-10"
Beard#2-11"
Spurs 1" (broken) and 1 1/4"
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