woolybear

nice!

I didn't read the whole thing, but alternative shot is not that much a compromise. The arguement will always stand, but the facts remain. Steel and copper based shot is just as deadly..... Proven by many... Pattern, pattern, pattern.

Sounds expensive. You can get a Mossberg 395kb to launch slugs and turk loads with the accu choke for around $100 if that. A good inexpensive, reliable gun to see where your bolt action shotgun wants to take you. Used of course. If not I have another viable option for you new that shouldn't break the bank either upon request.

Very nice replicas buckee! Almost looks like you had a straight shootin BB gun and a good taxi! Bird watching is fun!

Silence is golden. If you can hear a rustle outta your clothing upon draw... It ain't quiet enough. I'll second the wind as #1.

Lookin for work blows. Good to here there was a need in your field. Un-enjoyment aint all that bad though..... specially if turkey seasons still in.

I'm with you bro. Bout as clean as a swarm of flies after walking in their own filth.

Glad to hear all's well on your little girl. They bounce back soo easy it's enough to make ya cringe sometimes.

Found this gal nestin down at the fishing hole. Very protective birds. I can take a hint when a woman gives me "The Look" so I snapped these and moved on. I've been flogged before, lol!

Great job! I've used the shakers in past seasons with limited success. A time and place for everything I suppose, glad it worked out for ya! Congrats.

Back in one of our old appartments we had a blackbird doing the same thing. Couldn't figure it out for the life of us. Thought maybe it had flew in and started a nest while we were away. Partially right. Only when we closed the window would it do this, when it was open he would fly to his nest across from it under the neighbors eve which I'm assuming was reflected back to him causing the confusion. you may do well to take a look around a bit. I reckon that's where the saying "bird brain" came from.

Already at $2.44 here today.

Ok,...how'd you fan him out no hands??? Congrats!

Fine looking birds and a beauty of a shed to boot! WTG!

What you all are saying is the reason why so many public land hunters try to get in their heads and fall in that rut. An educated bird doesn't make the mistakes as often as we'd like as he matures and sees it all. While you're all out there waisting your time, beating yourselves up over a tom that is pre -occupied with hens of his own, Has heard it all from that loction,I'm gonna get out there and shoot "your gobblers" next door. Now for most that have been posting to this thread, it's been a wet season so far. Theirs a good chance that most hens that were bread early on have had their nests washed away or scavenged by predators.... what comes next you ask,??? Re-breeding and nesting again. By the end of the month most hens here will be done screwing around, and either raising a family of poults, or still warming a fresh nest. By June, it's not all that odd to see strutters still looking for love all by themselves with nare a hen in site. When you hit these birds late season like that, it's often the one thing that pushes them over the edge to commit to that one lonesome gal that remains, but if they have learned your routine... you're humbled. Just like to talk strategies here on toms like this, doesn't make any one of us right or wrong per situation, just a way of a different approach to a tough tom. Hopefully we can discuss some strategy a little more in depth from a seamingly simple question. Ain't trying to highjack here, there's just alot to be learned from such a thread from those who have been chasing them before many of us were even born.

New or used? What are you hunting?..., and what are you looking to spend?

While in the garage did you find anything you know you should have thrown away to get at what you were after and just moved it aside to make space? Or perhaps you just knew you have to get rid of eventually, but just are having a hard time parting with.

If this were a bird I wanted to kill that's given me these kind of fits so far, here's what I'd do to change up a routine your gobbler may have already learned from you. It sucks when they just seem to be untouchable and all you have left to throw at them is the kitchen sink. Far as I can tell your best to let this bird go for now and find yourself another that's willing to cooperate. Put some time in and work a few different birds for now. Chances are you have some sattlelight gobblers in the area that are just waiting for your seductive hen talk to move to in a tad closer to their home turf without getting their tail feathers ruffled by intruding into ole Ridgerunners strutting and breading zones. Take some time to locate as many gobblers as you can by cuttin' and runnin the perimeter of boss' range or further if you can. Your frustration may just turn into a new target turkey or the unexpected hunt of a lifetime once you find one that listens to what you're saying. Getting hung up on a particular tom can get discouraging, affecting your confidance in calling, set up location, and make one wonder too deeply into the mind of a bird with a brain the size of a pea the why and when he does what he does. Catch him by surprise one mid morning after he's hit the ground for a while you've been working over his competition for a while, or as I like to call it,.."taking an inventory of his neighbors". You just might find him more willing to kick their doors in rather than defend his own home. Falling into a routine on any wild critter is recipe for dissaster to those on the menu and they know that it's a matter of life and death. This joker sounds and looks like he's played this game before,.. it just may be time to pull a card from your sleeve and go all in when he thinks he's being bluffed! Walk away when you get beat, then come back to the table with everything you got. Go broke....., or go home for the day. The choice is yours to make, but when a high roller sees a sucker walk back to the table after defeat... they often underestimate them and make careless decissions when they come back and burn 'em where it hurts the most! Good luck on him!

Nice pics Ruth. That's a pretty nice cam you got.

Good job, another dandy NY leadhead.

Good lookin gobbler. Congrats on your best.

Who says a successfull hunt has to end with a trip to the taxidermist- WTG. Betcha can count on a full blind next time.

Most likely the older sibling of the 6'th gobbler I've ever folded looking for revenge!

Huh, sweet- gotta little Toby Keith jammin'. Thanx for the link, going right to my favs!

Lol... nothing in life is free my man! Trust me.