5 long years later

[Purebred Redneck]

It's not the biggest one (10" thin beard and 22 3/4 lbs), but I don't care. Public land gobblers are hard to come by especially in textbook endings, so I'll take it. I'm going to be bored out of my mind the next 4 days with nothing to do.


A nice calm sun shiney morning and to my suprise I didn't hear a single gobble until 10am. Actually, I'm not surpised because every bird on this place has been screwed with hard the last few days. So nothing is going on for me so I decided to meet up with dad who also drew this lottery hunt.

We decided to go back to where I deer hunt because it's as likely a spot as any other with nothing gobbling. As soon as we get there, we hear a bird gobble within maybe 150 yards. We got the decoy out and I was walking to the tree I wanted to sit by. As I was walking, another bird not 50 yards away in the brush heard me and gave out a gobble. Imediatly after checking that I didn't wet myself, I got to the nearest tree I could find.

One call and he was right there on top of me at 25 yards and I could hear him strutting. The only thing I could see was his red head and there was some small weeds/saplings inbetween us. He stood still not wanting to move and I couldn't tell if he was still strutting, getting nervous, or just looking around. I didn't want to let him walk because he would have came up behind and to the right of dad who was covering the low side --- not a good situation. I'd rather miss than not shoot at all.
All I saw was that red head turn broadside through the brush, I shot, he collapsed, I jumped up, and sprinted over there as fast as I could not knowing how much of the pattern made it through.
No need though, because he got hit about 15 times in the head with no hits to his body since I aimed square at his head.

It doesn't happen often, but that's what it's all about. ;D

[deputydon]

Congrats Red!!!!!!! Nice bird anywhere!!!!

[Jack]

Congrats, Red!
Nice looking bird!

[jabba]

Cool. Nice.

In Indiana a 22#er ain't bad. There are some 26# ones... but most are 21-23.

Jabba

[jimh]

Dang Red i've just now read this. that's a amn fine bird anywhere and you know it!

i got to think when he sounded off so close after that other bird aways some sounded off that your adrenalin sliked a tad ;D

Did you guys even try to call the other bird in after you shot that one? anyway it's a good looking bird, home you saved the tail and beard on that one.

[Purebred Redneck]

The can regularlly get up to 30 pounds. In parts of the ozarks, they can get quite a bit larger because back in the Depression there were some domestic turkey farms that went under - they just let their stock free into the woods. You still see huge birds killed with domestic-like markings on it.

Apr 25, 2010 8:14:28 GMT -5 jimh said:

Did you guys even try to call the other bird in after you shot that one? anyway it's a good looking bird, home you saved the tail and beard on that one.

I've got it drying
www.huntingfirearms.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=art&action=display&thread=5449&page=1


Ah yes, the other bird ;D ;D ;D
Like all public land gobblers, the thing kept gobbling but walked in the opposite direction.

My suggestion was "why don't we just bury this bird in the leaves and come back for it later?"
For what ever reason, that was a horrible idea so I proceeded to just carry the damn thing for the next hour and at least a mile further away from the truck
About that time, I heard "Yeah, I guess we could of burried it..."

I just couldn't go at the pace needed to get in front of that bird I had to go back to the truck and drove around to another parking lot and waited.

Dad did catch up to that bird. Apparently it didn't cooperate too well and stayed on the right side. So when it hit a dip, he switched positions and was going to try a left hand shot. Then the enevitable happens the bird wants to go left and straight to dad. ;D
The thing finally spooked at less than 10 feet.


Talk about someone who was pissed. He F'd up on 3 birds in 2 days. And he hasn't killed one in 5 years either.

[jabba]

Some new, better camo wouldn't hurt you guys any...

Jabba

[Purebred Redneck]

I had on bibs and a sweatshirt too. I think he had on a coat.

I try not to wear clothes too faded

[jmarriott]

Congrats on the bird Red. You are correct a public land bird is a treasure. We use to canoe into the hoosier national and hunt were the road hunters could not get into. Back then we could only until noon.

[dovehunter]

Nice bird Red! Did you call him in using your Primos "Lil Betsey" slate call?

[Purebred Redneck]

Man, there was no time to get any of the calls out. All it took was one series of 5 yelps from a mouth call and the bird was in sight!!!

I gave my dad one of the Betsy calls too because he said he's been wanting a slate. He was monkeying around with it and called in birds 3 different times within shooting range. I called in 1 gobbler and a couple different hens with it. It seemed like the birds over by me tended to like the Fool Proof box call better, which I don't normally find too often. I was in the open fields, so it's entirely possible the box call sounds better in the open and the slate sounds better in the woods
who knows...

[jimh]

or everyone else in the area had been using slates and your box call is the only one that sounded different.

[Purebred Redneck]

Apr 27, 2010 11:35:11 GMT -5 jimh said:

or everyone else in the area had been using slates and your box call is the only one that sounded different.

That was the spot where at least 6 hunters were on about 50 acres. It's just sometimes impossible to get away from people over there because of the road system.

Yeah, people just don't use box calls anymore. Slates and mouth calls just sound clear and sexy whereas the box calls sound very scratchy. It's just like the 50 different colors of fishing lures - it's mainly for the buyer

[jabba]

All my buddies use box calls. I don't. But most of them do. And they all kill turkeys and I don't.

Jabba

[deputydon]

Apr 28, 2010 6:36:53 GMT -5 jabba said:

All my buddies use box calls. I don't. But most of them do. And they all kill turkeys and I don't.

Jabba

Any thing learned ?