Leo

Re: Larry the Cable Guy "If guns kill people, then spoons made Rosy O'Donnell fat.", Larry the Cable Guy

For those who don't know I am still recovering from a serious brain injury from an auto accident 2003. Have some good days, some great days and some not so good. I know it’s been awhile since my hunt to Wilderness Lodge (April 8th, 2005). Have I forgotten that DHNA is responsible for introducing me to the place my first hunt there. NO!! I have been truly wiped out and exhausted from the experience though so please excuse me taking so long to make this post. First off Wilderness lodge has very steep terrain that is hard on the most able bodied. I found myself still very limited in what I could do there. I absolutely couldn’t keep up with my brothers so thank goodness Rog got his early and was able to help with my hunt. The fallow deer the night before flat stole my heart. As a result I wanted one bad. All I brought was my bow. I could have taken one easily with a bow the afternoon before. But alas I was weaponless. Plus this was pre-deal so I didn’t know I could actually try for one then. One brother was sponsoring the hunt, we worked out a deal. Probably gonna cost me later, that’s how sibling hunts go. Anyone who hunts with family knows what I mean. wink.gif Rog was gonna try and video the event. If I ran out of steam on the stalk, it was gonna be sit and wait time. We got to the gate and met Todd one of the guides with some other clients. I told him I wanted a fallow had he seen them in the area. Yep he said they are in the back field by the wallow. Rog and I knew where that was. That would be a walk for me. We decided to glass from one end of the field and plan a stalk if we spotted any. As we neared the bend I noticed some rubs and walked to the ridgeline to show Rog. There was a huge concentration of rubs there. These deer had been seriously wearing out the saplings in this area. Standing amongst the ruined saplings and one very worn spruce stump, Rog pointed down the spine of the ridge. “There they are!!!”, he whispered. And they were! A group of at least six bucks, all three color phases with two locked in battle. Color phases that naturally occur on Fallows are White, Chocolate and Brown with white spots. The biggest deer was brown with white spots and was one of the ones fighting. Rog decided to film from there and I kept the ridge in between the deer and myself. I was walking in one of the open fields but with the ridge between us there was little chance of being spotted. The sounds of their own fighting covered my approach. I popped over the ridge right where I thought they would be. I could have taken one right then, but decided I wanted a cleaner shot. Plus I wanted one of the larger white ones. The brown one with spots was out of range plus he probably would have commanded a substantially higher trophy fee. (Later I learned that was the right decision.) The deer started moving towards Rog so I backed back over the ridge and maneuvered to cut them off. I popped over the ridge again just in time to cut them off. I was standing in some serious thick stuff for cover. It was like a natural standing blind. Through the Bushnell rangefinder I read 38yds exactly on the best white one I had a chance at. I was shooting downhill so I put the 35yd pin of the Bowtech tight behind the shoulder. The Montec G5 tipped Carbon Fury arced through the air and the deer reacted to it striking a tree behind him. The deer had taken one hop and was looking at the tree my arrow was buried in. For a second I thought, “Did I miss?” Then very clearly I saw a red stain appear on the white coat of the deer exactly where I had aimed. And standing in the same spot he had jumped to the deer fell. No blood trailing required. Rog said, “Good Shot!! Good Shot!! I got the whole thing on video it was awesome!!!” Rog and I went back to the lodge. Walt and Todd both had good pigs. I didn’t let on I had succeeded yet and quietly slipped on the 4 wheeler with Bruce to collect my prize. I slept the rest of the afternoon. What a trip! We spent the rest of the time there reviewing the video we had and playing guitar annoying everyone. Fallow deer meat is outstanding. It is truly prime venison. Mary is thrilled as she likes it better than pork. We had fallow hamburger steaks with mushrooms and onions in a Creole gravy with garlic toast on the side as our first Fallow meal. Had to do some work on the photo. Took awhile.

Re: How good is a turkeys nose? If your poots sounded like YELPS but smelled like roadkill that would still be an effective call!

Re: Roosting Turkeys If you don't hear them fly up an owl hoot works best for me at roosting time. The birds will only shock gobble for fifteen to twenty minutes after roosting. 9 out 10 birds will sneak in on the ground and not gobble at all in the afternoon. Using a hen call when you aren't actually hunting is a huge mistake. Areas with lots of wild dogs and coyotes produce the quietest birds.

Re: WHERE DID THE LONG BEARDS GO???? The jakes will be next years long beards. Sounds like you have a good crop for next year. I would let them grow. Hammering the birds every year from the same place is really against the odds. My advice is to stick it out in the field longer eventually it will pay off. I passed on four jakes shortly before I got my twofer opening day this year. A band of jakes absolutely will not keep the mature birds out.

Re: I\'m in the magazine.. I scanned the article mmmmm! Limb Chicken :lol: Congrats Joe

Re: TURKEY CHUFA Most Feed and Seed stores carry it. Any field you plant can only be replanted in Chufas three consecutive years. It will come back a second year if the birds don't eat it all. But plan on planting it every year and decide on how you are going to rotate your plots. If you plant them all with chufas, in three years you will be sorry.

Re: 3rd day of Turkey hunting in South Carolina Thanks all Thanks for remembering last yrs bird Borch Redbeard, the land manager is one of my best friends. His land is private. Obviously he does a superb job managing it to NWTF Woodland program specifications. All the planting effort and preseason scouting is bearing fruit this year. We hunt alot together. Occasionally he lets out of state hunters on the property. But it is his choice.

Re: GOT ONE!! 25lbs and 22lbs are heavy birds. Both y'all got good'uns. Congrats to you both!!

Re: How many use decoys? I have put out as many as seven but the situation and what the birds are doing dictates this. When you stop seeing flocks, stop putting out multiple decoys.

Re: Mouth call practice in a truck. Don't worry when you hear the first gobble of the season your mouth will be dry as a bone

Re: My jake decoy was assaulted Truly cool pics But I gotta ask. Why weren't you there?

Re: How do you use a crow or Owl call? Typically Owl calls only work real early in the morning. Often a single hoot works better than the "who cooks for you" song. But don't just do the single hoot. After it gets good and light the crow calls seem to work better. A really hot gobbler will interupt your call so listen closely.

Re: 3rd day of Turkey hunting in South Carolina Spyderpancake I live in the Lowcountry in Beaufort near Hilton Head Island. And some people just come here for the golf!!

South Carolina has a five bird two bird per day season. Thank goodness. Opening Day God smiled on me, I really lucked out and got two mature birds with one shot. Both with 10in Beards and 1 inch spurs. I made the local paper and was elevated to status of folk hero for awhile . That alone would make any turkey hunter's season. If I didn't see another bird the rest of the season I could absolutely say God blessed me with a successful turkey season. However, the first Sat after opening day, I saw God had more in store for me. I found myself in the situation with two mature gobblers in range once again. A third just out of range and sight gobbling his head off and "Old broadbeard" within 120yds breeding a hen. I took the biggest of the two. He had a 10 3/4" beard and 1 inch spurs. I took Easter Weekend off because I had a doctor's appointment Good Friday and needed to be at my sister in laws 4hrs away for Easter. On another farm my good friend the land manager managed to help his girlfriend nail a nice gobbler before Easter service. It had a 9 3/4" beard, 7/8" spurs and weighed 19 1/2lbs. Her first turkey, congrats to Ann. This Sat. April 2nd. The morning was raining and wind was howling 35 to 40mph. In spite of the fact the weather was truly bad I decided to tough it out in a blind at the farm Ann got her's that morning. I sat in one place from daylight to noon, all I could hear was the wind blowing down dead pine trees. The light rain stopped but the wind continued. It spun the decoys like tops at times. After 6hrs in the blind, including a much needed nap I decided enough was enough. I couldn't hear the birds and they probably couldn't hear me. So I gathered up my stuff and started to make it back to the truck. The wind was gusting so hard I couldn't keep my hat on. One gust hit me with such ferocity that it actually sounded off the crow call around my neck. I stuffed the call into a shirt pocket to silence it. In spite of the fact the odds were severely against it I carefully surveyed the fields I had to cross to return to my vehicle. There were two fields between me and my truck. The first field held no birds, no surprise. But as I was about to step into the second field I noticed two blobs 300yds away. Glassing from back in the woods revealed two mature gobblers out in the field feeding. The wind was blowing from me to them and odds were in my favor they could hear me but a box or slate would not have enough volume to carry to the birds. Using a diaphragm with partially paralyzed lips is very difficult. I had been practicing compensating for this disability shortcoming and was about to be forced to put my new calling style to the test. I donned my headnet and stashed my hat. I belly crawled to the edge of the access road and stuck a lone decoy in it. I then belly crawled to a brush pile at the edge of the field and lay in it. I started to use the diaphragm (It was a Drury Outdoors triple reed I had left over from two years ago, the only diaphragm I had with me!). Some yelps and cutting got the birds attention. Surprising myself, I actually sounded decent. I could tell they were listening by their body attitudes. They did not break into strut and though it appeared they may be gobbling all I could hear was wind. This was unimportant though. It was obvious they could hear me. They also appeared to like what they heard. When the birds were 160yds away they stalemated for the next 30min. I decided a slate call might reach them and reached into my vest to retrieve one. I prompting dropped it slate down in the mud. I don't care how weatherproof your slate is, none of them are mud proof. I couldn't risk trying to clean it up to get it working again. I reached into my vest and pulled out a spare. This time my Lohman. Would have liked to use one of my homemade ones but that wasn't in the cards this day. I simply couldn't risk being seen reaching for it. I added some purrs on the slate to my diaphragm cutting and yelping. That did it. I broke the hang up and they began moving towards me again. At 35yds I started sizing them up and picked what I thought was the most mature of the two. While still on my belly I poked the muzzle through a hole in the brush pile and scored number four gobbler for this year. Thanking God I dragged my severely cramped body out of the brush pile to secure the bird. My cramped neck was relieved slightly from the adrenaline rush of taking the bird. Staying still in that position in a lot harder than it was pre injury. The calling session had lasted about an hour. I still have one tag left. Three hunting days and four mature gobblers is simply unprecedented good fortune. I probably should quit while I'm ahead. But the season doesn't close here until May 2nd. Most of the time calling a gobbler accross a field that far is a loosing proposition. Usually a hen responds the gobbling bird and spirits him away. In this case I think the same wind that was preventing me from hearing them also prevented a hen from hearing and intercepting him. Bird Four 2005 The small pile of sticks I was laying in when I shot this bird is directly behind me. How is that for sparse cover? This bird had a 10 1/2" beard, 3/4" spurs and weighed 18lbs. There is no doubt whatsoever that the NWTF Woodlands program implemented by Aubrey Jr. over four years ago, is paying huge dividends. I feel absolutely certain these same birds were jakes I passed on in previous years. I have no doubt in my mind this is so. I passed on four jakes so far this season and Ann passed on one. So far next years gobbler crop is well underway. There are for sure more trophy birds to be had on these lands, I have already seen them. I feel I have gotten more than my fair share already.

Re: Now That\'s A Spider.... Man what a mess that would leave if you stepped on one of those!!!! Who makes the gum with legs on it stuck on your shoe?

Re: BUG SPRAY? I use the Thermacell myself here as our deerhunting season opens in Aug. It does work quite well for flying bugs. Permanone is still the best way to go for ticks. I often use camo duct tape to seal my pant legs to my boots as well. The jury is still out for me as to whether or not the Thermacell spooks game. It may be they are new enough that any odor the deer picks up is not attributed with danger. One note of caution: Do not place the Thermacell in a ground blind with you. It is a fuel burning device and it can overwhelm you in an enclosed blind. Placing it just outside the blind on the ground works well.

Re: Caught a poacher this morning! Even if he did have permission from the adjoining landowner. Sounds like you still have an issue with the adjoining landowner. He only has permission to grant rights to his property, not "anywhere". It is the landowners responsibility to insure those he gives permission to are cognizant of the borders of his property. I would make that point with this guy especially since the "poacher" named him as giving him permission to hunt "anywhere". If I were the landowner and had showed him the boundaries, I would yank this individuals priviledge to hunt immediately. Getting this guys name and number is key. Make sure that is legit. I hope he gave you a license to copy from. The scary thing about dealing with poachers is some are truly outlaws and retaliate by damaging property when caught. This is why securing this individuals identity is so crucial. At least two people I know of have had this very thing happen. One had his hunting cabin burned to the ground the other had his camper trailer shot up. Both had recently caught and prosecuted poachers on there lands. Unfortunately they were unable to prove the same individuals were responsible for the vandalism

Re: BUG SPRAY? Permanone is poison and kills anything that lands on ya. It is like an invisible hand that swats everything and never misses. Don't get it on your skin!

Re: Lets see your turkey guns!! Me and my Browning BPS 3 1/2" next to this years Gobbler #3!

Re: HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE ! Back at y'all

Re: hevi shot vs lead Accepted Let's put some math to it just for grins and compare #4s from a 3in 12 ga. 1 ounce of Lead #4s is 135 pellets 1 ounce of Hevi #4s is 126 pellets (10% heavier means 10% less pellets per ounce) Standard lead turkey load has a payload of 2 oz which equals 270 pellets. Standard hevi shot turkey load has a payload of 1 5/8oz which equals only 205 pellets. Now let's say for example your personal shotgun patterns lead a pathetic 70% (it can be better I know but this is to illustrate the point) That means 0.7X270=189 pellets are inside the pattern circle. Now if as advertised you get the impressive 90% pattern with Hevi Shot then 0.9X205=185 pellets. Hmmm, looks like a wash to me Granted the Hevi Shot hits harder because it's faster and heavier. So theoretically range is increased by virtue of using it. But remember the pattern is still spreading. So there is more to this story than just figuring out how much comparative Momentum and Kinetic energy the hevi shot pellets have. IE. you still need to hit your target

Re: hevi shot vs lead [ QUOTE ] #4 loads have less pellets than the equivalent Lead load which is another strike against them. [/ QUOTE ] Excuse me but I don't think I missed the point at all.

Re: hevi shot vs lead Personally I have stoned ducks with #4 Hevi's since they are non-toxic they are the best thing ever for waterfowlers. For me the jury is still out on Hevis for Turkeys. My personal gun patterns Winchester XXs #4 very very well. I have done the math and the Hevi #5s don't offer enough of a pellet number advantage or downrange punch to entice me to change. #4 loads have less pellets than the equivalent Lead load which is another strike against them. The patterns would simply have to be alot better. That being said there is such a thing as too tight a pattern too close.

Re: Mossberg 835 getting a bad rep. The least expensive competitor out there always gets a bad rap of being cheap. Mossberg are functional and get the job done. Only a serious workout with the gun will expose any flaws. Honestly most folks won't shoot a 1000 round day and that is probably what it would take. Talk to a good gunsmith and he will point out the parts he replaces the most. And he will tell you how often. Or you can ask the local gunshops what guys have brought to an Argentine Dove shoot (someone in your area has probably been) and back. They will have useful war stories Depends on you, how much it is worth to you.