Went down to Sesame Street this morning....


Ohiobucks

Recommended Posts

....and knocked down Big Bird. :D

Had a little luck here in Ohio this morning, nothing like waiting until almost the last minute. Season is over this Sunday at sunset. It has been in since April 19 and I have not been able to work a mature bird until this morning. It has been a strange season to say the least. It seems like the birds aren't on farms I have access to like they used to be. Can't really explain it.

So rewind back to last Tuesday afternoon, I'm on the phone with a customer of ours, who just happens to be one of my good friends of 20+ years. I used to hunt Mark's farm exclusively, but have been fortunate enough to pick up several thousands of acres since then through another friend and his family, so I really never looked back. Anyway, after we got our business talk out of the way, Mark and I got to talking about turkey hunting, he asked me if I have been having any luck. I told him my turkey hunting hardships, he told me to come on out. He has been seeing a lot of birds on his farm and on his neighbors place all year long. I figured what the heck, and went out there last Wednesday morning for a few hours. I heard a mature bird on the roost, along with a jake bird in the adjacent woodlot. I set up on the longbeard, only to get no response at all out of him. Not sure if I spooked him, or if he just didn't feel like playing. I went back to the same spot this morning, was in there well before first light. At 6:05am, 2 birds gobbled off the roost within 150 yards of me. They gobbled probably 50 times each, at my calls, at crows, at nothing, they just felt like gobbling. :cool:

Another bird started up as well, on the neighbors property. I could tell all 3 had flown down, and I kicked my calling up a notch. The closer 2 cut me off almost every time I put the striker to the slate on my bowhunter56 custom call (thanks again Andy). I put the call down, I knew the birds were coming. They were just over a rise about 60 yards out, still gobbling their heads off. I saw one pop over the hill, he saw my hen deke, and came to about 35 yards. His buddy stayed at about 45-50 yards, but both of them would not shut up. It was very exciting to say the least. I love hearing a drumming bird at 35 yards. It was 6:35am when I lined up the Winchester 1300 on the closer bird, and rolled him with a load of 3" 5's to the face. His friend stuck around for a few seconds after the shot, he didn't have a clue what just happened to his partner. I stood up, and he putted off.

This is my biggest bird ever, a whopping 22.5 pounder with an 11" beard, and matching spurs at 1".

2010turkey1.jpg

2010turkey2.jpg

Edited by Ohiobucks
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.