shickoff Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 Check out the latest Realtree Turkey Blog post: Turkey Blog - [token_custom_node_title] | Realtree ® Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 (edited) Yep that's a big old three toed butterball! Too bad you didn't sling him over your shoulder. Steve asked "You ever hunt a turkey that was unkillable? What name did you dub that bird? Did you finally put a tag on it?" Sure to all 3 questions. Well sort of anyway...if I killed one he was killable though but he had already earned the status of being exceptionally wary. Those earning that so called unkillable status were certainly an exceptional challenge. In some instances I had to use some very unconventional tactics but still fair chase. With others it was a matter of catching them at the right time and place. Then there are those that certainly died of old age. Some of the names I gave to a few of those birds can't be repeated here. Some were named for the general area they used for their home turf. Then some were just called devil birds. I'd say more often than not a wary old devil bird that earns the status of being referred to as unkillable dies of old age. However, they often present such a challenge that the memories of hunting them last a lifetime. One so called unkillable bird that comes to mind that I bagged I dubbed the Four Beard Monarch...not because he had 4 beards but for the area he called home turf. The place earned that name for a 4 bearded bird a friend of mine killed near there ~15 years ago. He was one of those birds that expected the hens to come to him. He would gobble and drum to calling but held his ground. How did I kill him? Caught him late in the season when available hens were getting scarce. To make a long story short, shortly after flydown (after some loud gobbling & drumming near the base of his tree) I heard him gobble heading the other way with a vocal hen. After messing with another bird lower in the pecking order for about 2 hours he cranked up gobbling again. The trick that I believe coaxed him in was I repositioned within 100 yards of where he had roosted (where he sounded like he was moving back to) and broke out my gobble call to challenge his gobbling. One gobble from my call is all it took to coax him to head my way. That was after I had dished out some soft hen talk so he'd know an upstart was corting his hens. I had positioned myself in a spot where I couldn't see him and he couldn't see me until he was wthin easy killing range. I heard him drumming long before I saw him. Shot him inside the 25 yard line. Old warrior with 1 3/8" spurs and a rope over 11". Going back ~12 to 14 years there was another I just reffered to as the Clear Cut gobbler basically for where he ended up in a new clear cut area that he roosted near most mornings. This gobbler drummed so loud you'd feel like your guts were vibrating. I gave up trying to hunt him coming off the roost after 4 weeks trying to kill him. I decided to pick a spot in the clear cut and use a pile of brush pushed up out there to sit on. When he cranked up his gobbling on the roost I didn't even attempt to call. He always seemed to go the other way anyway and he also seemed to fly down to hens that he'd see from the roost. As usual...shortly after flydown he shut down his gobbling. I could hear drumming in the distance get fainter as he moved away presumably with hens. About 1 1/2 hours later he cranked up again. That's when I started calling, mainly with soft stuff. He worked himself up into a gobbling freenzy because that hen wouldn't come to him. On this particular hunt I used a decoy...I rarely use them but because I was sitting inside a new clear cut area I figured he'd have to see something he heard. It seemed like it took forever before he moved my way. At one point I saw him pop up on top of some trash to look for the hen he'd heard. Finally he came on in and litterly got nose to nose, stretched out his neck and gobbled in the decoy's face inches from it as if to scold her for not coming to him. Very cool!!! That was his last gobble. He's also the 1st bird I ever mounted...not for the size (1 1/8" spurs & 10 1/2" beard) but for the memorable challenge of hunting him. If you want to read about one that lived through the season check out last year. I had lots of trial cam pics of him too! I chased a devil bird around our place that baffled me what he'd do. One thing is he didn't understand that creeks were supposed to be an obstacle. No pattern to him whatsoever either. One thing he did know, like most old devil birds is, when you're bull of the woods, hens will come to you! He either died of old age or went silent this spring. Edited May 24, 2011 by Rhino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shickoff Posted May 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 Great stuff, Rhino. Yeah, it's funny about ol' Bigfoot. Not getting him sticks with ya as much as getting a bird like that by the feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 (edited) Great stuff, Rhino. Yeah, it's funny about ol' Bigfoot. Not getting him sticks with ya as much as getting a bird like that by the feet. Yep...that's the way it is. BTW...I think this season is the 1st in many when I didn't feel like I encountered an old devil bird like that. Worst overall gobbling season I can remember here though. Oh...just one more short devil bird turkey tale. Some 10+ years back I spent most of my MS season chasing after one particular devil bird, especially when I was down to my last bird. We get 3 here. He carried me from one ridge to another all over the countryside just about every time I pursued him. Had him once strutting a line on the top of a finger ridge off a larger ridge with the sun coming up behind him. I was on the next short finger a little lower than him. When he faced me the sun was behind him illuminating his huge fan...absolutely the most beautiful view of a gobbler I recall seeing in over 30 years of turkey hunting. Great strutting show for about 20 minutes. He stayed just out of my comfort range for a shot when a hen came through. He flanked her with fan turned to the side and over the main ridge he went with here. My chance...I moved to well within range of his strut line...let about 15 minutes pass and called. Didn't take long when I heard drumming getting louder and louder but no bird. Where the heck is he? Finally it got so loud I knew where he was...right behind me and CLOSE! :jaw: No idea how he could have gotten there since I was facing the direction where I last saw him go following that hen. Couldn't do anything. He finally got suspecious and left out my backside. I worked him several more times but he's another one that died of old age. BTW...A buddy of mine hunted the same general area a few times chasing other birds but funny thing is...he refused to waste his time chasing that old bird. You don't know what you're missing if you pass on chasing old warriors...and you sure are missing some valuable turkey hunting lessons if you do! Edited May 24, 2011 by Rhino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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