Covehnter

Shane absolutely smashed that bird's noggin'! We've got some pretty graphic pictures.In two days I saw some birds de-beaked, literally.

That's the best thing we've found to do.....2 for 2 with it so far, like 0 for 3 or more with the other.

Reporting from the blind, join us. The action- longbeards face Scrappy Jr and loose again. Huntinguide puts in a full days work on a longbeards head at 16 yards and Poncho lays out the side kick! Post Hunt. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQBSgIom0K8

Leaving tomorrow. Here are the pics.

And with the 15.5 lbs he scored a 50.0. . . . . them swamp birds just dont add up on the charts.

Well guys, I got everything up but the sub form which i've gotta print out and scan. So we should offically be on the board. My first bird was the Osceola from South Florida so it not a whole lot for a score but he up.

Covehnter Team #6- The Gobble Theives With bird. . . . . Beard Both Spurs

And 3 dead gobblers later, huntinguide is now on his way back to Oklahoma.

Sounds like it was something to behold, congrats on the bird!

Nice pics. They should be nice and fat from all that yella gold!!

Huntinguide is about 4 hours away, already gotten 8 hours behind him. It's his return for another Georgia longbeard so hopefully we can gather him one up quick tomorrow while we've got some pretty weather. Wish us luck!! And btw, I toasted another public lander this morning and the big surprise. . . . another double beard!! 10 1/2 and 8 inches worth of double beard!! But i'll make a post about him when i'm able to get the pics up.

Scouting plays in a role in success. No matter how sternly this is preached it cant be stressed enough. Scouting and knowing where birds have been doing their "bird thang" slides the stack of chips maybe to the middle of the table and gives you at least a hint of a chance at havin' that longbeard tip over to your gun blast. In this I'm a very firm believer. I'd been in my favorite wma every morning for the week prior to the opener and with the good weather the Lord provided had a handle on the gobblin' turkey population which seemed to be doing very well. Opening day found me pushin' my hunting buddy under a bird that I had pinned better than any of the others and me headed out for another hilltop. A hilltop alot of racket was comin' from on the days leading to the opener. With the wasted time getting my friend in position, I was beat to my hilltop. . . . grrr. I dont like getting beat, it dont happen often. But, no hard feelings he beat me there and after a good morning exchange I struck out for another hilltop. He was a nice guy and I'd never want to crowd anyone in the turkey woods, thats not my style. I wasnt let down because due to my extensive scouting I knew there were alot of birds on my new destination as well. Daylight broke and a pair of birds lit up from a half mile away overtop where my buddy was sittin', I smiled to myself and thought. . . . I bet that woke him up, figuring he'd dozed off while waiting on daylight to arrive. It wasnt too long before several other birds chimed in across the steep terrain, one in particular was on my playground. I did the quick quiet step through the open pines closing the distance. After cuttin' the distance nearly in half another pair of birds shook my pine ridge with force. This pair was on the same ridge with the loudmouth in which i had already set my sights, just on the other end. This ended up being bad news due to the circumstances I soon found myself in. . . . too close to make another move but still not in the position to kill. I flipped on the camera mounted to the side of my gun to capture some of the now fevered gobblin' echoing through the steep North Georgia mountains, this morning was no different than those before. . . . beautiful, and every turkey that was any kinda turkey wanted to be heard- male or female. I was forced to park my eager rear until the birds left the trees and kept my fingers crossed I'd soon be able to shimmy up the hillside with all the action. I watched the pair of home boys pitch from one end of the ridge to accompany the groupies that had gathered under their perch. Moments later I watched the other noise maker sail down over the rise of the same hill, but still on his end. After a couple short minutes I could no longer keep my impatience at bay and had to make a move and get the ball a movin'. I took a risk at bumpin' the birds at one end of the ridge in order to close the distance on what seemed to be the less accompanied longbeard over the rise, in the end I got away with the entire move and remained undetected. Peeking over the ridgetop, coast clear, so I made it to a big pine where I had a nice view of the shallow adjoining hardwood knoll. From the sounds of things I figured my loner had moved on up the turkey infested hardwood hill to join the others and I was at this time playin' tag along, prepared to plead for some attention. A few aggressive clucks and short yelps later I found out different. Just on the other side of that shallow adjoining ridge the big boy let me know just how much he enjoyed me wanting to join this party. I flipped the gunside camera on just in time to hear his rapid footsteps making tracks up the adjacent hillside. In no time the stud trotted along the ridgetop, hopping up on a fell over pine to stop and show off this colors to any one lil lady that may be in view. The hens cuddled up to the other pair of gobblers spoke up, wanting to spark a conversation with the new gal in town. As my soon be opening day bird stopped only to again and again announce his pleasure in being included in all the talk, I tracked his movements down the hillside and then followed the noise of crunching leaves up to the rise where he came into the spot where our eyes met at 30 yards. Needless to say, I wasnt the guest he was expecting at the door and I'm not sure he would've invited me back if I hadnt of touch the trigger on the Remington and sent 2 1/4 ounces of Hevi13s toward his blue head. All those pellets must've been too much for him to digest cause when I arrived on the scene he was a floppin' 19 pounds of feathers sporting a pair of beards. The video was shaky and a little far off but you can still hear the excitement and it's neat to listen back on now. Even when it's just you and the bird, all alone among the hardwoods- it never gets old. 19 lbs, 9 1/2" and 2 3/8" beards, 1 1/16" and 1" spurs

Aint that just what makes it all grand!! Good Luck on slingin' one over the shoulder!!

I just hope in dont drop that horseshoe. Which I aint gotta problem with them one bearded one's either if they wanna gobble and die. So whats the deal? Them rocky mountain birds still got ya number? I've wrestled with one now for 3 days, got some good footage of him but still havent held him upside down yet and he's gettin' under my skin. Ah I love the springtime.

Need some help? I can't seem to find a turkey.

I could but the footage is not real good, got audio though. Problem is you can't zoom with the camera mounted cause both hands are on the gun. Therefore the 30 yard shot looks like 130. I've got a couple settings now so hopefully if.I am lucky enough to connect again it will turn out better.

Still gotta get a couple in AL and will be in OK for the first weekend of their season.

:D 19 lb public lander sporting a pair of beards- 9 1/2" and 2 3/8", Spurs came in at 1 1/16" and 1". First attempt using the camera mount on the gun. . . . it made some rough footage.

For knee high rubber, very comfortable boots that also happen to be snake proof and slip on- Woody Armors by the Muck boot company. For just good walkin' boots- Danner Pronghorns.

If you guys can remember, last year my buddy Poncho was able to kill his first longbeard with a bow. It was no ordinary turkey either, here is the story for those that may have missed it last year. http://www.realtree.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71998&highlight=limpy Now here is the footage of the hunt- Poncho behind the Mathews and me behind the call and camera. Prehunt Interview- game plan. The Hunt- WARNING: there is ALOT of hyped emotion after the shot and i'm embarrassed to say a few words snuck out that shouldn't have, nothing too awful though. I apologize, mods if it's unacceptable i understand. After the hunt.

The boys. My bird: 15lbs, 8 7/8 inch beard, and 7/8" spurs Poncho: 19lbs, 10 1/4inch beard, and a 1 1/16" hook and the other spur was broken off. This is a really nice bird for public land in South Florida, heaviest bird checked out so far and also sported the longest beard. Gotta love that Florida scenery.

Finally got a minute to get a few pics up for you guys to enjoy. I'll be workin' a story up hopefully sooner rather than later but believe it or not, this is my busy season. :D We were also able to get a few video clips, hope to get those up sometime. A South Florida speed bump! This was a really nice sized cottonmouth, just something you grow to expect. On the way out of Big Cypress with a deep swamp Osceola. Movin' on down the line. Poncho. South Florida Osceola huntin' on a budget.

I am here to tell you AL has seen the rain for the past 3 days as well, very persistant rain too. We scouted through it all. Today is opening day and I've been sitting in this ground blind all day so far, going on 6 hours now with not a feather seen. I don't like it much but it's been a consistant rain since daylight therefore my hands are tied. Hopefully ole long whiskers will make it worthwhile soon. .

Should be able to do a search and find what you're looking for, there has been a lot of talk recently about broadheads for turkeys. I suggest a large cutting diameter expandable and a stopper behind whichever head you choose.

I had no doubts that you got competition grade in those calls. Always fine artwork you push outta that shop Dean, congrats!