Your first Turkey


Tom2008

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I don't think I've seen this thread before so I'll give it a shot. I'm getting pumped for this turkey season. Even though I have to wait till May. Here is my first ever turkey. Shot at 20 yards after 7 days of hunting. Shot during the last Season in MN in 2009.

19 lbs, 9 1/2" beard, 7/8" spurs

What was everyone else's first turkey?

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Edited by Tom2008
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My first turkey was a jake. Called in a pair of them and dropped one at 18 or 19 yards with a load of #2 shot from my old Winchester 1200. Called them in with a tube call I had made from a 35mm film canister, a rubber glove and some black electrician's tape. Only pictures of it are Polaroids stashed away somewhere.....I don't even know where.

That was 26 years ago.

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I killed my first 6 years ago. I think it was the second weekend of season, and my uncle took me to his farm to hunt with him. He knew where some birds were roosting and he had a blind built about 100 yards from where they were roosted. They flew down and about 20 minutes later 3 hens and one longbeard walked into our decoys. I killed the longbeard at 20 yards.

He weighed 25 pounds, had a 10.5 inch beard and 1 3/8 inch spurs.

I dont have a digital pic of me and the bird so I just snapped a pic of the mount a few minutes ago.

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March 16, 2001

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i'm pretty sure the stats are 17.5 lbs. ,10-3/8'' beard,1-1/8'' and 1-1/4'' spurs...it was a classic hunt....he comes in on wrong side and behind us, couldn't move,gun is facing wrong way...bird comes in silent, just a crunch , crunch, crunch of the leaves...gets right next to me and gobbles(i will never forget the fear that ran through my body) lol,he looks at me convulsing, walks away, disapears,then is called back in, still couldn't see it , i see it...God bless & boom........dead bird.:)

He got the last laugh, i went to grab him up and the spur got me, then walking out with him, something happened and i ended up on my butt, legs in the air,hands still on bird :) bird on the ground and i couldn't get up, lol......it was great.I lmao........

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the fan was nice until my daughter decided she was going to dust it with pledge:jaw: thanks for the walk down memory lane

Edited by HuntnMa
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My 1st turkey was a jake. Called in 3 of them with an old Lynch box call and almost lost the opportunity to kill one trying to figure out which one was the biggest. One got within a couple of steps from the end of my old Savage pump shotgun. I dropped him inside the 20 yard line with a load of #4 shot. If my cyphering is correct that was back in 1977 or 78. Ran out of fingers and toes.

Only pictures I may still have are Polaroids too and I couldn't begin to guess where they are now.

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I was nine years old when I got my first turkey. My uncle put me in a blind on the edge of a field, and gave me one decoy to set out in front of me. At about 8:00 a jake came in and down went my first turkey. Then at about nine o'clock my second turkey hit the ground. He was a little bigger two year old bird with about a six inch beard. This was my first ever turkey hunt, and before that day I had never saw a turkey in the wild. Took me almost ten years before I killed another one.

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My first turkey was when I was 15. I was on the youth hunt here in IL with my dad when he called in 2 jakes. I had to wait what seemed like forever before they finally came in to the decoys and gave me a clear shot. I was so pumped I ran out into the field screaming and lost half the calls in my vest. LOL

My first longbeard was taken during 5th season 2006 in IL which falls during early May. I was hunting by myself when I saw two turkeys about 800 yards away. I called and they hammered back. They came across an open field to my decoys and I hammered him. He weighed 18 lbs, had an 11.5" beard and 1 1/8" spurs. Needless to say I was just as or more excited than when I killed my first turkey. Here is a picture of the mount that dad and I did.

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Shot my first on the Sunday evening hunt of youth weekend in 2002, I was 12 at the time. I remember just walking through the woods trying to locate birds when we all of a sudden topped a hill and there were birds everywhere in the hollow. We somehow were able to drop to the ground and get me in shooting position. My dad hit the slate a few times and the birds came our way. I picked out what I thought was the biggest longbeard and pulled the trigger. 10" beard and 1" spurs.

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my first......lol.......Luckiest hunt ever I think......

I was 16 years old.....it was my first every turkey hunt. I put the birds to bed the night before and knew where they were. I got back at first light set up birds where hammering. I thought slam dunk. Then I went to load my gun.......first shell went in kinda....then I realized something was not right.... I had by accident grabbed 10 gauge shells and somehow got one lodged into my 12 gauge. :( I was so mad/upset.

I raced home, luckily that was just across the field. There I fought and fought my gun to get the shell out. FINALLY it came out I grabbed my 12 gauge shells and was off again. I figured now my hunt was over..... I got back to my set up and of course the birds where down out of the trees and not gobbling. I was bummed.

Then out of the blue I heard one gobbling. So I called and he hammered back at me. From lack of experience I called my butt off this gobbler must have thought there was 1000 hens out in the field I was set up. As luck would have it he came right out the field......at about 15 to 20 yards. He of course saw my swing the shotgun his direction....He went from strutting to ready to run in seconds.....again lady luck shinned down on me.....he putted once twice and BAM I blasted him.

To this day I am amazed I was able to make this hunt happen.... I laugh about it every time I look up and see him. Needless to say after that hunt I was hooked for life!!!!

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My first turkey was a tom on May 1, 1997. Weighed 22 pounds, beard was 22 inches, and the spurs were 1 1/8 and 7/8. I remember that there was still snow on the ground. I used my Remington 870 20 gauge.

That beard on the bird in the photo cannot be 22" unless I'm mistaken. :no: Does look really nice though! :cool:

Dakota :)

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