gobblerroller

Well, figured I'd bump this thread after five years :shifty: Do y'all know who Matt Ryan is now??? :whip: He is the face of our franchise, along with a wide receiver you might have heard of named Julio Jones Still haven't gotten a Super Bowl, but he's lead us to a 57-24 record as of the end of Week 4 of 2013. Individually, Ryan has been a star. Our team has had a lot of playoff predicaments, and we've gotten off to a slow start this year, but the Atlanta Falcons have always been in the thick of the playoff hunt with Ryan under center. What was that y'all were saying about "bust"?

Saturday was opening morning and I hunted all day long and probably put about 5 or 6 miles worth of walking in. Saw a ton of gobblers, but they were all henned up and could care less about my calling. This morning NO birds gobbled off the roost. Heard one at about 8 and got him to start talking to me but he shut up and never would come in. I walked across a pond dam to another big field and belly crawled about 200 yards up to the edge. There were two big gobblers strutting about 150 yards away out in the field. They were stuck like glue to a hen. I called a little and they refused to pay any attention. I decided to sneak away and I stalked down through a creek and through tons of little pines to try and get close enough to shoot. Ended up getting about 50 yards away, but the hen was on the edge of the field instead of out in it, and the gobblers wouldn't come out far enough from the edge to give me a shot. They ended up following the hen down a firebreak, and I snuck through the thick stuff trying to get ahead of them. I didn't get ahead, but I got 30 yards behind them. I belly crawled out into the firebreak and let this one have it. Couldn't be happier with my second turkey!

I bought some Winchester High Velocity 3" #5's a few weeks back. Shot them through the factory full choke in my Benelli Nova 20 gauge. I got 45 pellets on a 9x16 target. I know the target is small, but that pattern is still horrible. The season starts in 8 days, and I'm hoping to order some different shells and a turkey choke before it starts. I'm trying to decide between Hevi-Shot Hevi-13 3" #7 with 1-1/4 oz. and Federal Mag-Shok Heavyweight 3" #7 Shot with 1-1/2 oz. Which do you prefer? I'm also totally clueless on what choke for my Benelli. Thanks for your opinions!

Maybe he got to spread his genes a little Nice buck!

I am actually writing this thread from Campina Grande, Brazil. Me and my family are here on a one month mission trip. My last day in the states was New Year's Eve, but my last chance to hunt was Friday evening, the 30th. I've hunted hard all season, trying to get a buck and this was my last chance. I chose to hunt the tripod, which is my honeyhole. As weird as it sounds, I'd never killed a deer out of there. It is a stand that you can hunt almost any time of the year and see a deer, but I had never pulled the trigger. I had left my rifle at my other grandpa's house, so I had to borrow my Papa's .270. He was going to check trail cameras and pour out corn on other areas of the property while I hunted. I got in the stand at around 4:00 PM and reflected over my deer season as I watched the food plot and the feeder, as well as checked for deer crossing my shooting lanes in the pines. After about an hour and fifteen minutes, I decided to take some pictures. I snapped a few, and didn't notice the deer because I was on 1x zoom and looking through my viewfinder. As I put the camera back in my fanny pack, I looked up and there stood a deer at the far end of the midde shooting lane, at about 120 yards. I got on her and knew it was a doe, and when the nub buck came out right behind her, I knew this was a deer that we've gotten on trail camera all year. On the opening day of gun season, these same two deer had fed all around me in the same stand, and now, over two months later, here they came again. But this time around, I was wanting to kill a deer; any deer. I decided that I would only shoot her if they got within 50 yards and she gave me a good shot. They came up the middle shooting lane, and go within about 45 yards when she gave me a broadside shot. I decided to not shoot and waited to see what they would do. She turned and went into the pines, moving to my left. I knew what she was doing. She didn't want to walk out into the open to go into the food plot, and she was going to the other lane to enter in from the corner. I got the gun where I knew she would come out, and there she was. She came into the foodplot and turned broadside at 10 yards. I put the crosshairs on the lower part of her shoulder and squeezed the trigger. She wheeled around and went into the left shooting lane, then cut back to the right and into the pines. She crossed the middle shooting lane about 50 yards out and she was running low to the ground so I knew it was a good hit. I got all of my gear together and got down. When I got to where she was standing, there was guts and bits of corn everywhere. Even though I saw that, for some reason I knew that I had made a good shot, even though it didn't make any sense. My Papa got there and I told him what had happened. We went to where I had last seen her and there was some bloody corn in the road. Papa started getting anxious and saying that I had gut shot her. I told him to just relax and that I knew where she went. I walked about ten more yards and I saw a white belly in the edge of the woods. She hadn't run 50 yards. The bullet had went into her shoulder and blew it up, and either the bullet or pieces of bone ricocheted and came out of her guts. We took a few pictures and then drug her back out the the food plot. We went and got the trail camera a few hundred yards away, and she was on the card that same evening. We loaded her into the truck and took her home to be skinned. I know this was really long, especially for just a doe, but under the circumstances of it being a day before I left the country and it being my last chance for the season, it is my favorite hunt so far. I only killed two does this year, and didn't do as good as I had hoped, but I still killed deer and spent quality time with both of my grandpa's. I can't wait for next season, as I know it will be even better, and turkey season will be here soon!

Congrats on the first deer to your brother! Those are all nice bucks.

Looking for suggestions on seed to plant for spring and summer. South Georgia hunting club that gets a good bit of rain in the offseason. Looking for something high in nutrition. I plant wheat and soybeans in the fall. Don't really know where to start in the spring and summer. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Forgot to mention that was field dressed weight. Probably around 175 on the hoof. I actually watched him breed a doe last season and I'm sure he's spread his genes around this year too.

It is a very "deery" area. Noticed you're from Locust Grove. I lived in the Tulsa/Broken Arrow area for 8 years. Loved it.

After getting this buck on camera so many times as a six point last season, we named him "Next Year", because we hoped he would turn into an eight point. I could have shot him three different times last season, but I knew he would turn into a better buck. We got him on camera this year, and knew he was a shooter. My Papa got in the stand at 4:30 and "Next Year" came out on him at 100 yards at 5:05 PM. Dropped him in his tracks with the .270. Would I liked to have shot him? Yes. Am I happy for my Papa? Yes. He weighed 160 pounds. Estimated him at 3.5 years. I know of another buck on our property that's a shooter, and I'll be after him. :yes:

Thanks!

I've been using a Remington 700 for most of the season, but also have a 20 gauge Benelli Nova. My question is, will my shotgun shoot slugs? Without having to buy a rifled barrel or whatever. I have modified, improved cylinder and full chokes. Will it shoot slugs through full choke or with no choke at all or will it not shoot slugs entirely? Thanks for your help!

Congrats! That's a fine buck.

I don't know about Northern deer, but down here in south Georgia, that would be a 4.5 year old buck.

Sounds good to me! I'm going to climb in the back corner of the property where the hardwoods/creekbottom meet with the planted pines.