KYLimbHanger

Re: TURKEY TEAM #22 Checking in. KY is April 15th. Hopefully I can provide us with a couple KY limbhangers!!! Team Name suggestion: Spur Collectors

I own many shotguns but never really had one that I can use for anything and everything. For this reason, I wanted a new shotgun that could handle anything and everything I threw at it and use it from landing geese to running cottontails. Two Years of R & D The bug hit me about 2 years ago when fired three quick rounds from my uncle's brand new Benelli Montefeltro during a dove hunt. I was amazed with the style and performance of his gun and knew at that point, a Benelli was in my future. For the next two years, I spent hours upon hours reading all I could about automatic shotguns. NWTF, Realtree, Primos, ShotgunWorld, BenelliUSA, DuckHuntinChat, GooseHuntingChat, all have forums I visited regularly to find what people were saying about the new autoloaders on the market. A decision was made very quickly to obtain a Benelli. I understand other companies make very nice automatic shotguns: I have two 1100's that have served me well and are 25 years old. But, I wanted something different, something synthetic and something light in weight, Benelli fit the profile. I tried on the new Beretta Extrema II and it didn't fit me well and I didn't like the long forearm. The Beretta Urika was okay and I actually liked it better than the Extrema, but I was looking more into 3.5's. The Browning Gold's just didn't feel right either. And I already had Remington auto's. 3 vs. 3.5 This debate is as common as pumps against autoloaders. The 3 inch shell can pack a serious punch with a full 2 oz. of shot, but the 3.5 packs even more. I've used both in the past and I'm really not partial to a certain one. But, it was put to me like this: "The 3.5 inch shotgun is like a 4WD truck, you won't use the 4WD everyday but it is nice to have when you want to use it." Honestly this makes since, and, all of my trucks in the past have been 4WD. So, I know I will use the 3.5 inch shells every now and then, mostly for turkey and occasionally geese. Everything else I hunt will be fine with 3 and 2.75 inch shells. Order UP! I orded a Benelli SBEII Synthetic ComforTech with a 24 inch barrel (Benelli Item #: 10026). I decided to go with all black instead of camo for a few reasons: 1) I like black. 2) I do like the camo, but I know the camo will chip. 3) The camo pattern will become obsolete whereas black is always "in-style". Nothing against the camo shotgun owners, to each their own. I also took some time to decide what length barrel I would like. After picking up a few Benellis at the gun shop, I was hooked on the 24 inch. Turkey is my passion, and the 24 inch fits perfect. Also, I am used to shooting a 26 inch Remington 1100 for waterfowl. The overall length of the 24 inch Benelli is the same as the 26 inch Remington, so the Benelli felt quite natural. Some will say you should have at least a 26 or 28 inch barrel for waterfowl but I am a firm believer in shooting what you are comfortable with. I know guys that routinely take down many ducks and geese every year with 21 inch 11-87's and 870's. They may be louder in the blinds but kill just as good as the 28's. Knowing I was gonna drop over $1000 for a scattergun, I was diligent in finding the best price. Around here SBEII's all black can be as high as $1500 after tax. I was able to purchase mine through my local gun dealer for $1275 out the door. He didn't have any in stock so he had to order it. The Benelli arrived via UPS at his shop in three days, coming from Maryland. The Package Right off, I was surprised to know that Benelli ships the gun in its own carrying case. I guess I should expect that if I am paying over a grand for a shotgun! But, the case is nice idea. The gun breaks down to fit in a nice molded plastic case that is really compact. 5 choke tubes are provided that are cryogenically treated to match up with the cryogenically treated barrel. These choke tubes are longer than normal tubes as well. Provided was Cylinder, Improved Cylinder, Modified, Improved Modified, and Full. The Full and the Improved Modified are marked not for steel shot whereas the other three can be used for steel. Another thing that I thought very useful was the chokes have notches on the top representing what choke they are. So, there would be no need to remove the choke tube from the barrel to determine what tube was in the gun. My Remingtons are not like this. A nifty choke tube wrench was provided that has a thread cleaner on one end and wrench on the other. A shim kit was provided to adjust the drop and cast on the stock. A bottle of oil and manuals/warranty info was in the case as well. The Benelli Super Black Eagle II This gun seems like it was made for me. I have no need to utilize the shim kit for the stock. It pulls up perfect and both beads on the rib line up perfectly straight. To be a 3.5 inch hand canon, the gun is surprisingly light, weighing in at 7.1 pounds. This is a huge difference for me since I was coming from an over 8 pound 1100. The finish on the gun is nice. The receiver is anodized aluminum and seems to be very durable. The barrels matte finish doesn't exactly match up perfectly to the receiver, but it looks fine anyway. Another thing that I enjoy is the very slender forearm. There are no moving parts on the magazine tube, so there is no reason to have a big bulky forearm. Actually, the mag tube reminded me of my 870's, kinda weird for me to see an automatic with nothing on the mag tube. The forearm and the stock have AirTouch technology that is nothing more than tiny dimples in the synthetic material. It does feel good though, I am sure it will have a better grip with gloves on. The stock on this gun has ComforTech which is an integrated recoil technology built into the stock which is supposed to reduce recoil 48% and muzzle climb by 15%. The butt pad and the cheek pad feel squishy but not as much as LimbSaver products I think. Seems the Benelli engineers were really thinking on the recoil pad making it specifically for a right handed shooter. Meaning, the pad is angled to contour the shoulder pocket: the right side of the pad has more surface area than the left. The 24 inch barrel has a chrome lined bore and supposed to have a more consistent pattern due to the cryogenics. It has a ventilated rib with a small red fiber optic sight and a steel middle bead. Some think the front sight on Benellis are too small. For me, I think it is perfect. I don't really pay attention to the bead when I wing shoot AND the beads are small enough to where they won't cover up a turkey head either. The barrel has part of the receiver built on it. So, when you take the barrel off, you are removing the top half of the receiver. This yields extremely easy cleaning but a high price for replacement barrels. Also, the receiver is drilled and tapped and has plastic inserts in the screw holes. A sling swivel stud is on the magazine cap and a sling hole is molded into the stock. The trigger...oh the classic SBEII trigger! I honestly think it is fine. Really, fine enough for a shotgun. The trigger itself feels much better to me than Remingtons meaning it is curved a little more on the edges, rounded off more, more smooth. Remingtons to me feel like they have sharp rough edges. Now, I do think there is more travel with the Benelli trigger over the Remington, but that is something I will just have to get use it. Overall, the trigger is fine and I see no need for any alterations to it. The safety....oh the classic SBEII safety. Again, I think the safety is fine. It is a little tougher than other shotguns I have used, but honestly I noticed a huge difference in the "stiffness" after working the safety back and forth for a few minutes. I think in time, just like every other part on a shotgun, it will loosen up some and not be a tight as day 1 from the factory. Field Testing I was itching to shoot my new Benelli, but inclement weather was keeping me indoors. Finally the weather broke and I gathered my shooting gear. First thing I tried was a Remington Game Loads 3 ¼ dram 1 1oz. 7 ½ shot. Pulled the trigger, gun went bang, and the action cycled flawlessly supplying me with another round that I squeezed off rather quickly. I was impressed. I went on to fire two boxes of this load and the SBEII functioned perfect. Not a single hiccup. Now on to the turkey loads. I had a few 3 inch loads left over from last year from patterning so I decided to see how they did in my Benelli with the Primos Jelly Head .660 choke. All shots were at 40 yards and scored on how many pellets hit inside a pre-drawn 10 inch circle on a homemade turkey target. The Remington Premier HeviShot #5 had only 77 pellets, the Winchester Supreme HV #6 had 65 pellets, and the Federal Mag Shock had 92 pellets. Then I pulled out the $6 shell: yep, the Nitro H51013 4x5x7 Hevi Shot. Amazing, nothing but amazing. The Nitro’s hit just a fuzz lower than I aimed. If I lowered the ten inch circle about 1 inch on the target (or raised my point of aim), I put 245 pellets inside the 10 inch circle at 40 yards. I would have shot it more, but I need to save them for longbeards instead of paper punching. This is one amazing combo. Many go for the Rhino choke tube with Nitro ammo but I decided to give the Jelly Head .660 a try after reading many positive reviews. Looks like it will do just fine. I also patterned a duck round I use: Winchester Xpert High Velocity Steel Shot 3 inch, 1550 fps, 1 1/8 oz. #4 shot. I screwed in my Improved Cylinder choke tube and shot a 22x28 white poster board at 30 yards. To my surprise, I was able to put 185 pellets in an even, consistent pattern. That’ll work for me! I’ll pattern more waterfowl loads later this summer. Now to the recoil. Well, it is an automatic but it operates on inertia instead of gas so I was expecting a little more punch. My gas guns do feel great but I have never been one to make quick judgments on recoil. Besides, it is a 12 gauge shotgun, it’s gonna kick! Honestly, after much shooting, the SBEII did feel like it kicked less than my 870 SuperMagnum. And, I think the recoil is a little more than my 1100. Though some might think the ComforTech system on the new Benelli’s is hype or a marketing scheme, it worked for me. The recoil felt like it was managed very well and my shoulder was fine after a day of shooting light loads, hunting loads, turkey loads, and waterfowl loads. Since the gun cycles light loads fine, September dove season should be a blast! In a nutshell Benelli equals quality to me. I have wanted a Benelli for a long time. I know sometimes Benelli owners get categorized as being a member of an elitist group thinking a good ole 870, 835 or whatever is not worthy of taking to field. They are worthy and Remington sells a metric ton of 870's ever year. I decided to get a gun that I can throw in 2.75 inch shells and dove hunt with, 3 inch shells and duck hunt with, and 3.5 inch shells and turkey hunt with. Can other guns do this? Sure they can. Do you need a $1500 shotgun to do this? Nope, but I decided to do it anyway and I have ZERO regrets. Here is the funny thing, I have a Remington 700 BDL Custom Deluxe .270 with a Leupold scope that almost hits the $1000 mark. Is this crazy? Will my $275 Marlin .30-30 kill a deer? Sure, but there is nothing like a good lined up centerfire that can easily shoot 300 yards. Yet, people look at the deer rifle as accepted and the $1000 shotgun being overkill. This is the same with bow hunters. A new bow and all the goodies can very easily go over $1000. It is just personal preference people. So just buy what you want and use it. I really enjoy my new Benelli and wish I had gotten it years ago. It is a marvelous firearm and should last me a lifetime. When I go into the field, you can guarantee my Benelli will be with me. A few pics........ Case, chokes, choke wrench, oil, shims, and manuals Benelli SBEII Crio Barrel Crio Chokes: Full, Improved Modified, Modified, Improved Cylinder, Cylinder, and Primos Jelly Head .660 Front Fiber Optic Sight Steel Mid Bead Nitro H51013 4x5x7 HeviShot - 245 pellets at 40 yards. Winchster Xpert HV #4 @ 30 yards with Improved Cylinder choke - 185 pellets on poster board

Re: Repainted Jake deocy (pic) [ QUOTE ] What did you take the original paint off with? [/ QUOTE ] Very hot water and a thick bristled stiff brush.

Re: Repainted Jake deocy (pic) [ QUOTE ] I love the paint job, but the snood....or point on the head should be off gray or white....not red....then it will look truly natural.........al [/ QUOTE ] Well I have seen jake decoys with the snood red (Flambeau, Delta, CarryLite). But, on the full strutted gobbler decoys, their snoods are white. The snood on a gobbler can change colors and lengths anyway.

Re: Who scatters corn prior to turkey season?? Kinda differnent in KY. A baited site must be cleared of corn for 30 days before someone can legally hunt over it. Highly Illegal! But, hey, we sure can bait in those KY Booners!

Re: COUNTDOWN TO TURKEY SEASON !!!!!!!!!!!! April 14th in good ole Kentucky! Already I have a Benelli SBE2, a Primos Jelly Head, Nitro H51013 4x5x7 HeviShot, and a Primos B-Mobile on order. Should get all my new toys by the end of next week! Who knows what else I'll need....

Re: Repainted Jake deocy (pic) [ QUOTE ] What kind of paint did you use. Mine is really coming off. brush or air brush [/ QUOTE ] I bought some acrylic paint at WalMart in the crafting section. Small bottles around $.78 a piece. I bought red for the wattles and snood, light blue for the face and neck , golden yellow for the beak, black for the eyes, and white for the crown. I mixed the light blue and the black to make a blueish grayish color for the nostrils and ear. The paints are supposed to be weather resistant, indoor/outdoor. So, I guess I'll see how it holds up. I guess if it ever flakes or scratches, I have the paint to touch it up again! I have thought about a little more red on B-Mobile as well. Thing is, you can paint it red one day, and then paint it back white the next.

Re: Repainted Jake deocy (pic) Thanks. I heard of people taking their decoys to the taxidermist to get them re-painted but I figured I can do it myself. Hope it fools a gobbler this spring!

The paint on my Delta jake decoy was starting to peel off. So, I removed all the manufactures paint and decided to repaint it myself. What do you think.

Re: Free turkey targets

Re: Free turkey targets Here is a target I found.

Re: 2007 Forums Turkey Contest Sign-up KYLimbHanger Kentucky Adult Easterns

Re: got me a trophy buck.yesterday...pic\'s... Nice deer! Third picture looks like your buck has a drop tine!!!!! Maybe only 3/4 inch though.

Re: Turkey Calls with a Twist....... They look great RedBeard. I wish I could get back into call making. Can't find the time. I'll post a pic of one of my favorites.

Re: I love deer hunting but I always find my self Awesome, haven't harvested a gobbler with my bow yet, but hopefully soon. What broadhead do you use?

Re: I love deer hunting but I always find my self .... I find myself in the same boat. Every deer season, I yearn to turkey hunt more than deer hunt. I realize why my hunting passion is turkey hunting. Deer is a whole lotta luck and bow/rifle accuracy. Turkey hunting is a whole different ball game. Of all my gobblers I have harvested, the only reason that bird was in front of my barrel was because I called him in. Don't get me wrong, you can call a deer in. I grunted in my 9 point buck three days ago. But, there is nothing like witnessing the communication between a good turkey caller and a hot tom. Going to hunt the KY fall turkey shotgun to try to harvest a 7 inch bearded boss hen I have been watching all deer season.

Re: 2006 KY 9 pointer [ QUOTE ] Very nice buck and a great story to go with it. I guess I'm not the only one that ditches the orange when it's pic takin' time. LOL [/ QUOTE ] yep!

Re: 2006 KY 9 pointer i am pretty sure it is a leaf. I have other pics of him and no double throat patch.

The days are starting to get shorter, frosts are an everyday occurance in the morning, and almost every leaf has ended its short life. It is that time of year again. The time when all you have to ask someone is, “Did you get one yet?” and they know exactly what you are refering to. It is deer season, and for those who live for the hunt, it is the best time of the year. Recently I have put much emphasis on chasing wild turkeys. I was hooked when I bagged my first gobbler in high school. I had killed a few deer, but the elusive wild turkey seemed more challenging to me and I devoted all my time to pursuing them. But, this year seemed different. I have developed a new love for deer hunting. It all started when I purchased a trail camera to set out in the woods aimed directly at a corn feeder I put out back in the end of summer. To my surprize, I was getting multiple deer on camera. Opening day of bow season found eight does below my stand. After many fill-ups in my feeder and a few frosts, I started getting some small bucks on my camera along with a herd of raccoons. So, I started some scouting and found a few rubs, nothing big, maybe some work from the small rack bucks. After a few weeks, I checked my camera again and to my surprise a very nice eight point. This was the moment I gained a new motivation to deer hunt. I have harvested bucks in the past and have a desent eight point mounted, but this guy, oh boy: is a shooter. Maybe not a shooter in southern Texas, but for me, I will take him with a slingshot if lethal and legal. The buck came through two different times: once around 3:00 am and then the next evening just before dark. I hunted a few more evenings but didn’t see him. I had started seeing bucks in the field in the eveings now, so I put a ladder stand in the field around mid-day and hunted it that evening. At the edge of dark I look behind me and see a deer standing like a Greek statue. I slowly pull my binocs up to get a better look and realized it was the big one. He is around 150 yards away and just as calm as the wind. He mingles around for a few minutes eating grass and occasionally looking up and then he starts to act strange. Three shorts blows and there he goes. I really don’t think it was me that spooked him since the people on the neighboring farm were working outside and caused a lot of noise that evening. But, then again, he could have seen me and sensed danger. He didn’t get that big being stupid. Needless to say, but this deer has consumed my mind everyday. I look at the trail cam photos and marvel at his rack. The day before opening rifle season found me back in the treestand overlooking the field. Morning came and I saw a doe and her yearlings about 200 yards behind me. The sun came up and I decided I would start grunting and rattling. After a few sequences, I notcied a buck in the field coming my way. He would stop as if he was standing at an interesection, looking both ways before he stepped again. I grunted a little more and he took a few more steps my way. The seven pointer got with about 60 yards before he decided to check the wind then he sensed a threat and took two leaps into the woods. He was a decent size seven pointer, a deer I would have shot if I didn’t know a bigger deer lurked around the farm also. A front moved in that night bringing high winds and rain. Feeling lucky, I decided the rain wasn’t going to hold me back from hunting opening morning of KY rifle season. But, I soon found out that sometimes mother nature trumps everything, even my luck, and it would have been better to have caught up on sleep. The next day was a little more promising. No rain. The day was slow, only things moving was birds, thousands. Around 3:30, I had decided my opening weekend was over and had seen no deer. An hour later my hunting partner calls me on my cell and asks if I am still hunting. I let him know that I was home on the sofa watching TV and he let me know that he saw the big one. Yep, saw him in the field 50 yards from his treestand. He pulls up, shoots, and misses. He knew as soon as he shot that he missed the buck. He comes down and tries to find blood and hair with no results. He looks up on the top of the field and there he stood, broadside, just looking at him. The buck blew a few times and trotted away. He was crushed. Bittersweet I guess, he missed the big one, but the big one lives on, hopefully…. After practically living on weather.com, it looks as though I would have a few days of good weather to hunt. So I hunted the next day after work in the evening but didn’t see anything. Today: I woke up at 5:30, gathered my gear, and headed for the field. It wasn’t death cold, wasn’t warm, wasn’t windy, wasn’t rainy, it was cool, it was calm, it was a perfect deer hunting morning. I got in my tree, settled in, and watched the sky change from black to a faint amber. Fog started to rise and my viewing distance shrunk drastically. Out of the fog a deer came into the field, running. First thing I though of, as anybody that hunts the rut thinks of, is it could be a running doe. Sure enough, my Leupold validated that idea for me real quick. The doe ran about 75 yards then stopped and looked back. I focus behind her and there he stood. It was a buck with a nice rack. He came into the field about another 20 yards. I grunted at him and he looked my way but stood still. He walks about 20 more yards toward the doe and I grunt two more times. That was it, that was all it took. He came in like he was on a string. As soon as he quartered away from me, I let my Remington .270 have the glory of a 125 yard shot. He dropped like a brick and my hunt was over at 7 a.m. Completely awesome. He’s not a giant, but for my town, he’s a good’n. First thing, I gave the glory to God for allowing me the opportunity and for such an awesome deer. Passing up does and smaller bucks was difficult, but it sure paid off. I am pretty sure this is the buck on my trail cam.

Re: How many rounds do you take? Since I was a young lad, tradition was always to take an odd amount of shells. Supposed to bring good luck...and it has.

I have a Remi 700 BDL .270 that will hold 5 rounds. I normally take a few more rounds with me. This season, I think 5 sounds like enough, being that it should only take one shot to harvest. Wondering how many rounds you guys normally take into the woods: rifle cartridges or shotgun slugs? I know of some people that will take 15 to 20 rounds.

Curious if anyone knows how big a bucks home territory is? Also, by how much does it increase during the rut?

Re: My droptine story Good story, awesome DT. Grats!

Re: What\'s wrong with this Picture? [ QUOTE ] What's wrong with this pic?? [/ QUOTE ] The story to go with it.

Re: Hope I can get this buck! *pic* Thanks guys. I've had many people wish me luck on getting him. I don't consider myself a big time deer hunter. I've only harvested a spike, a 4 pointer, two 6's, a 7, and an 8 point that I mounted. Shot a couple does also. This season, I made myself let the small bucks walk and hold out for a big deer. It has been tough, but I now have a new feeling towards deer hunting: hunting those big ones! Hope I can post another pic of me holding up his rack for you guys. Thanks again.