2011 Turkey Photo Contest

Announcing the iDoHunting.com 2011 Turkey Contest

Once again, we will NOT be judging on the measurements of the TURKEYS beard length, weight or spur length. Staying with IDO tradition, what we are looking for is the best 2011 Turkey Harvest Photos and stories. Along with the photo we are asking all entrants to submit a short story about the hunt. The winner will be voted on by a panel of judges from IDO. Please still submit accurate beard length, weight, and spur length – along with a total score from the N.W.T.F. Scoring Calculator.

To submit an entry, simply reply here and post a photo and story in this thread.

Like most photo contests, the pictures will have to be of good taste and convey the spirit of the hunt. The best picture you can take will be one of you in the field with the Turkey using the natural scenery as your backdrop. Pictures of the bird in the back of a truck probably won’t cut it. The winner of the contest will receive the following: Covert Hunting Blind, a Covert Hat, a coffee cup and mouse pad with the winning pic printed on them.

For a quick checklist, here’s a summary of the rules:

-This will be a photo/story contest

-Please submit a story and ONE PICTURE ONLY for each bird harvested

-Enter the contest as many times as birds you harvest

-Pictures need to include the Turkey AND Hunter

-Submit accurate beard length, weight, and spur lengths with NWTF score

-The contest will end on June 20th

A special thanks to Covert Hunting Blinds and Tom Donaldson for your generous donations.

Be safe out there and good luck to everyone!

My hunt began on Thursday, April 14. My dad, Dan Pearson, my uncle, Mike Pearson, and I got into our setup where dad had put 3 toms to bed the previous night. Mike and I were set up in the ground blind on the edge of the field, while dad was about 15 yards behind us calling. The birds were gobbling right away in the morning, which was exactly what I was praying for. The past several years I’ve been turkey hunting the birds havent been very vocal, and I have been waiting to hear those gobbles! So just hearing the birds in the roost got me all fired up! About 15 minutes after the first gobbles, we heard another lone gobbler sound off to the left of us, and it nearly knocked Mike right out of his seat! We weren’t expecting any to come from that direction, so it was even more encouraging.
After the sun came up, we had a bearded hen in the field right away, it just about walked right into our ground blind, and then made it’s way over into dad’s lap.
About 10 minutes after the hen left, Mike spotted a tom in the corner of the field. Out came 2 toms, about 6 hens, and 2 jakes. Everything was going perfectly. I got my gun ready, Mike had the camera going, and Dad was getting the toms all fired up with his calling. After a few minutes of watching these birds, I could no longer control the adrenaline running through my veins! I was shaking so bad that Mike told me to lower my gun for awhile until the birds came in closer so I could calm down a bit. (Even after 6 or 7 years of hunting, i always feel the excitement like it’s my first hunt) Turns out, they had no intention of coming in any closer than 31 yards so I was getting ready to put the shot on one of these toms. Unfortunately, I never felt comfortable taking the shot because the birds were too close together almost the entire time and I didnt want to risk getting two in one shot. After they strutted for several minutes, Mike said there was another tom in the woods to the left. I leaned foward to look out the window, and if you could have seen the sight of him, you would have thought it was from a picture. He was in full strut standing right on the edge of the woods..it was breath taking and it will be a sight I never forget. Unfortunately, the hens led the other toms into the woods without seperating and allowing me a shot. The jakes, however, put on quite the show after everyone else left. Finally, they walked off and we had to get going because I had to get to my 8:00am class. I had asked Mike if he could put the hammer back on my gun because I get nervous to do that while it’s loaded. He put it back, opened the action, and said “Well, it would have been nice to have had a shell in here”..as he’s laughing. My jaw dropped immediately because earlier in the morning as we were getting ready to walk out, Dad had gotten my gun out for me and I heard him open the action and close it again so I had assumed he loaded it already! So I guess I can be thankful I never squeezed off (and it also saved the embarrassment that would have been on video forever!)
After class, Dad and I went back out at about noon and decided to bring out the decoys..two hens and b-mobile. We also moved the blind closer to their strutting zone so we could hopefully have a better chance at getting one as they went to roost that evening. Dad said every time he saw them in the afternoon, it wasn’t until about 6:00pm, so we were pretty laid back for most of the afternoon. Dad called a little bit every hour, on the hour, but never more than that. At about 4:00, dad decided he was going to take a quick nap and I was going to keep an eye out.
Then at 4:25 or so, we heard what sounded like a tom spitting. Dad quickly lifted his head up, and the sound was confirmed when we heard it for the second time. Dad tried to get the camera going, and then all of a sudden I saw the red head outside of the blind. I said, “oh my gosh dad, he’s right there! don’t move, he’s right there!” He quickly strutted right up to b-mobile. Thankfully we had a pine tree in front of us that he went behind so we could get situated without being spotted. He was strutting around b-mobile, and got spooked so when he turned around again, Dad said, “take him now”. I put my bead on his head and pulled the trigger. After I was able to steady myself after getting knocked over by the blow of my single shot 12 guage, I quickly got out to claim my prize!
I can’t imagine spending my time doing any other sport and I love that I am able to spend this time with my dad (and Mike when he comes with). So, thank you dad for spending this time with me. I cherish it more than you know.
Measurements:
20.5 lbs
beard one: 2 1/4in
beard two: 9 1/2in
spurs: 7/8in

Your score is 20.5 + 8.75 + 8.75 + 23.5 = 61.5

Wow! Where to start? I have had some very memorable hunts over the years, many of which are with my brother Mike and this year will be hard to duplicate. A week ago Sunday we headed down to Fountain City to do some scouting and putting up blinds for our up coming season. We felt were in a perfect location with the blinds and could not wait to start our hunt on Wednesday.

Mike and headed down on Tuesday night right after work, got the trailer set up and headed out to put the birds to bed and grab a quick dinner. The next morning came with high anticipation of filling our tags early. The plan was to get a double on film. Mike would try with his bow, and I would follow up with my 12 gauge. Well that was the game plan any how…the birds never cooperated that day. The morning was filled with gobbles, and then there was a lull mid afternoon and they picked up again later in the day. However the only birds that showed up were a few jakes and one hen all day. The next morning we decided to sit the blinds one more time and if nothing showed up we would try another farm. Well the next morning as we walked to the blinds, we had a heavy frost and every step we took it sounded like a herd of elephants going thru the woods. There was no sneaking in that morning. And it seemed like the toms would gobble at every step we took. I thought to myself, if we kill something this morning it will be a miracle. Needless to say, it never happened and when the toms got out of the roost that day they did the same routine as the prior day. Obviously we were not in their zone and did not have permission to hunt the farm they were strutting in. Time for plan B.

We took off and headed to a farm up the road from where we were at. Game plan was to do a little runnin & gunnin. The closest we came to killing a bird was that afternoon. We were working a bird down in a valley, but he was not committed. We had a hen answering us, and she was close, but we were unsure how close she was. Mike ditched the bow and was behind the camera. He told me I should walked down the ridge to see if I could get that tom to answer me. I walked only about 20 yards and froze as I spotted a hen working her way up to me. She spotted me at the same time and quickly turned and went the other direction. She had a tom with her, but he never sounded off when we were calling. He never knew I was there a slowly turned and started to follow the hen down in the valley. After trying to get on a bird that afternoon we decided to call her quits and head back to camp.

Pat was going to join us that evening since he was able to help fill his dad’s tag Got back to camp, had some steaks on the grill, shared a few stories and laughs and at 9:30 I couldn’t keep my eyes opened and called it a night. And when the alarm went off at 4:30 the next morning I could have sworn I just went to bed.

We decided to go back to the farm where we spent the previous afternoon runnin & gunnin…we knew the birds were there and felt we would split up to better our chances. It was misting and raining that morning and pretty breezy and it was Friday! I would say I have killed the majority of my birds on Friday, so I was filled confidence that morning. Mike and Pat took off in one direction and I went another. The game plan was go to the first gobble we hear. That worked great for Mike and Pat, but for me the gobbles were no where to be heard. I couldn’t hear anything with that wind. Then finally I heard a faint distant gobble and off I go. Got to where I thought would be a good set up and start calling and had one working down the ridge from me. Called up a hen and thought this is working perfect. Then all of sudden I had gobbles out in the field behind me. Turned slowly and noticed 7 jakes in the field…one a super jake. It was around 7:15 and I hear Mike’s 12 gauge bark. I thought I would give them 40 minutes to take some photos and get back to the truck to meet them.

Before I left I noticed a tom right where I had been early that morning . Man, these guys are not playing fair!

Met Mike and Pat back at the truck, took a couple more pics with my camera and Pat is ready for some pancakes. I told him I was on birds and that all he needed to hear. The 3 of us took off and hit a valley where Mike and Pat had heard gobbling earlier that morning. We could not get anything to respond, and decided to work back up the ridge to where I had been working a couple of birds. Get to the field edge and notice a couple of hens and one strutter. Pat was calling, but the tom would not leave his girlfriend. It seemed like every time he would call, a different tom on another ridge would answer, but would not move. I decided I was going to drop back down the ridge and try a sneak up and kill him in the field. As I got to the edge of the field, here comes Mike and Pat up the tote road. They told me the birds made their way up and over the hill before I got there and thought we could get on the tom that was gobbling on the other ridge. As were were trying to decide what to do, Pat makes another call and Boom, the tom in the field sounds off! We all made a mad scramble to get hid and they appear just as we get settled in. Well I should say…one of us could not get settled in. Pat and I tucked ourselves behind a large tree and Mike was behind us about 10 yards or so. Pat was trying to get situated before the birds appeared but they were coming too fast, so Pat was forced to kneel in the fetal position behind the tree. As he would call he would have both the tom in the field answer along with the tom on the ridge answer.

What both Mike and Pat did not realize was there was a third tom…he stayed well behind the strutter in the field. As the hen and strutter closed the distance, the hen slowly started to make her way to our left and towards the wood line. I am a left handed shooter and could not move due to the fact that the hen and non-strutter kept looking in our direction. Pat kept asking me what he should do, I kept telling him…”Don’t move”. He would asked if he should make a call to bring him out of strut and I told him I was going to take the first one that gave me and opportunity. Finally the hen and strutter were behind the tree with no shot opportunity and Pat told me to shoot over him if I have to. There was no way I was going to do that! Now the non-strutter was closing in as well, all I need him to do is get to my one shooting lane. As I see his red head appear I bear down and let fly. Let the celebration begin with a few high fives and man hugs! Went out to retrieve him and Pat asked how far of a shot it was…ranged it back to the tree we were at and it was 49 yards.

Pat was under a lot of pressure that morning as both Mike and I decided to leave our calls behind and let Pat do all the calling for us! That was a first for me as all I had to do was concentrate on making the shot and let someone else do the calling. I can’t tell you what a great feeling it was to have you guys with me on that hunt. I appreciate it more than you know and will be a hunt I will remember for a very long time.

Here are his measurements and score: Your score is 21.375 + 7.5 + 7.5 + 20 = 56.375

Definitely not the largest bird I have ever shot, but one of the most memorable birds I have taken. Thanks again guys!

A friend of mine is in the guards and participated in the Camp Ripley Turkey Hunt. He’s never really hunted turkey before (once before) so he called me and asked me if I would join him and help.

I arrived at Ripley at 4:20 Sunday afternoon and we were scouting by 4:30. We saw a lot of good birds in a lot of good spots while we were scouting for the next days hunt.

Monday morning arrived with perfect weather. We had the blind set up by 5 AM and could see two toms in the roost just 180 yards away. The birds came out of the tress just like planned and then hung up at 80 yards gobbling and strutting their heads off for the better part of an hour. I had to tell Chuck to calm down and breathe multiple times. He was shaking so hard I could feel it. I must admit, I had a little buck fever myself. Man that’s an awesome feeling. Eventually the bird moved away and we went looking for another active tom.

We had a few other birds respond to my calling during the day, but no takers. Around 3:30 we were driving around checking out areas and we came across a lone gobbler meandering along a path. We quickly got ahead of the bird and got Chuck set up for an ambush.

It worked like clockwork until the bird was about 20 yards out and caught Chuck moving. The bird made a hard left into a swamp full of dense underbrush. Thankfully Chuck is a good shot and my turkey gun is a turkey killing machine. At 40 yards the bird looked back and that was all she wrote. A successful hunt with a nice tom to boot.

Turkey’s weight: 20 lbs. 3oz.

Spur length Right: 7/8 in. Left: 7/8 in.

Beard length: 9.20 in.

Your score is 20.325 + 8.75 + 8.75 + 18.4 = 56.225

After a dismal week of hunting during Wisconsin’s second season, I was hoping the weather and the birds would cooperate a little more during our 3rd season. My first week of hunting included lots of snow and very henned up toms. Neither of those things made for a successful hunt.

Wednesday morning I awoke to cool and cloudy conditions. There was a little mist hitting the windshield as I left home to hit the woods. As I was walking up the hill road I told myself that if the bird I worked last week wouldn’t cooperate, I was going to leave him and look for someone who would cooperate.

As I got to my setup, two toms thundered off with their first of many gobbles from the roost. I heard them fly down and I called softly to let them know Iw as around. They answered, but just like last week, they went directly away from me, gobbling like crazy.

That was enough to send me on a mission to the other side of the farm where I had worked birds in the past. I heard a gobble just over the crest of the hill when I arrived at the other side of the farm. Luckily, the previous days rain had quieted the leaves on the ground and I snuck silently within 80 yards of the bird. He gobbled to let me know exactly where he was. I softly called one time to let him know he had a girlfriend waiting for him. Then I put down the call and got in position for the shot. I could hear him strutting just out of sight. I didn’t know if he would come from the right or the left, so I held my gun in the middle. He gobbled off to my right, so I swung over to the right, hoping to see him coming over the hill in full strut.

As he crested the hill, he started to alarm putt. I don’t know what he didn’t like, but he was NERVOUS! I saw him at 50 yards for just an instant. I swung to the tree he was behind and waited. It seemed like an eternity for him to reimerge from behind the giant oak that hid him. He stepped out and I told myself, “its now or never.” I put the red dot on his head and sent 2 ounces of #6 Winchester Supremes on thier way. Soon he was flopping and I was walking down the hill to claim my prize.

I haven’t killed an opening day turkey in years and I haven’t been done at 6:45 am in 24 years of turkey hunting, but that all changed on April 27, 2011! I’m glad I gave up on that other bird and switched locations. It was good reinforcement of a lesson I learned long ago. Don’t get stuck trying to call in a bird that just doesn’t want to be called in. I quit on the loudmouth and went and killed the quiet one!

At 22# with a 9″ beard and 7/8″ spurs he scores 57.5. He’s not my biggest, but I’m proud of him regardless. The only thing that would have made it better was if I could have shared it with my sons who I got to hunt with during the week before.

I’m having a full body mount done for my son’s Father-in-Law’s cabin. He’s a tremendous fisherman but doesn’t hunt. He has a really nice cabin that he wants to decorate with any and all types of wildlife. So he’s getting my turkey and with any luck he’ll be getting my black bear I hope to shoot in September. I’m just glad I get to shoot them and not have to pay the taxidermy bill!

My First Tom:

Being relatively new to Turkey hunting, I wisely keep my hopes high, but expectations low. This was only my third spring in the woods, and with each new year came new lessons learned and new rewards. I’ve been lucky enough to spend each year with Joel Nelson, a great turkey hunter and an even better friend, whose experience gave me an undeniable advantage in the woods.

My first year provided me a mid-range shot at a Jake just off roost. Being a rookie, I was unsure when the ideal shot presented itself, but my coach Joel whispered “shoot” with a diaphragm call in his mouth, which yielded a muttered cluck. This of course turned the Jake’s head just as I pulled the trigger, and the bird escaped my pattern.

Missing a bird my first year, I put even more time prepping for my second season and patterning my gun. Placing over 200 pellets in a 10” circle @ 30 yds, I had plenty of confidence in my old pump, even after my lack of success the previous year. After four long days in the woods with stubborn birds that seemed impossible to move, Joel finally coaxed a Jake within shooting distance in some thick pines. The patience and preparation paid off; even with my heart pounding out of my chest, I dropped the bird like a sack of potatoes.

…Which brings us to this year: It was a clear, cold morning in the blind, and putting birds to bed the night before allowed us to set up near several gobblers. Just as the cobwebs were clearing from my sleep deprived eyes, we heard the first of several gobbles, which woke me up better than any cup of coffee ever could. Joel worked the birds off the roost, and at least three gobblers were vying for his attention. They were unfortunately on the back side of a swamp, and after a half hour of gobbling, they gave up on our position for the time being. We set off chasing the birds, but we were running out of land that we had permission to hunt. The rollercoaster ride that is turkey hunting left my morale a bit low since I thought we had missed a prime opportunity. We walked down a logging trail and made a few calls where we thought the birds may have been headed. After a few calling sequences, we heard a lone gobble in the distance. We got set up for ambush, called again and he was close. I wish we had a film crew, because this bad boy was nearly trotting in full strut up the trail, and the hunt was turning into one of those fairy tales you see on hunting shows. He finally came within range and once I had him in my sights, he stood no chance. Feathers flew and my heart raced. 3 years of research, preparation, and endless hours in the woods culminated in success. My only fear is that the bar is set too high for future hunts, but I suppose I can deal with that.

Beard: 9″
Spurs: 1″
Weight: 24 lbs 10 oz
Score: 62.625

It was a wonderful time with horrible conditions.

Our day

4/30/11

We had less than ideal conditions. With the wind setting us up for failure we made a set up next to a stack of tires used for cattle to block the wind. We were right in them and piled a few tires around all sides of the blind. The wind at the time was maybe 20 mph. As the morning past we seen one tom and he passed us at about 60 yards. With the wind picking up yes picking up. The hen decoy started doing 360’s on the stick. NOT GOOD! Then we were gonna pull them and then I spotted a few more coming our way 3 jakes and 2 hens. Decoy still spinning. They were interested but they hung around about an hour with one hen getting about 25 yards from us. They the jakes passed at about 60 yards same spot as the tom. The jakes followed the hen. Now with the wind blowing 45+ mph. Our Blind was caving in on two sides and we were constantly fighting the wind. We decided it was time to call it. 10 am and just down on our luck. We only have a few days to hunt and the wind isn’t gonna let up today. So we pack up. Decided to take a ride in the gator down the ranch were we hunt. We head down a ways(1/2 mile away) and spot some more turkeys headed towards where we were. So we drive back and park the gator along the fence line a couple hundred yards away. We decide to set up in a blown down tree. We tie off all four sides to the blow down. Then at about 11:30 we spot 3 Hens. They worked their way across the field and right in front of us. Scared of the blind the closest they got to us was 40 yards. Bingo we see the toms and they are not to far behind. So they did they same things as the hens but they ran across the shooting lane. Couldn’t stop them, I am sure they couldn’t hear us. So I opened up a window to the backside(not the side set up for shooting and I seen a hen. I put down my bow to open up the window she was gone. Then I grabbed my bow and looked out the window and Tom 10 yards out the window. I had a branch blocking me most of the window. I have just enough room to shoot. I settle in and made sure the arrow was gonna clear the branch and my site had just enough room to see the turkey. Arrow on the way and Smack down he goes. Then the other Tom was pecking at the head of mine. My brother nocks aims and shoots…….. hum… Turkey just starts walking away. Then I tell him get another arrow but by this time he walks out 5 yards or so and by that time he is behind some brush. Then he goes down. I jump out of the window and yell you got it. He lets down draw from his other arrow. I Go running out and his turkey pops up trying to run. I chase it 30 yards and jump on it. I break its neck. Then I am jumping around and screaming like a school girl. Happy as can be! He actually made a killing shot but I didn’t give it time to die.

What a hunt and some great luck to finish out our turkey hunting.

The 45 mph Merriams! Unbelievable!

We didn’t weigh them.

Beard length Mine was 9- 3/4 Inches

My Brothers 8 Inches

Spur Mine 5/8 and 3/4

Same stat for my brother.

How about one for each of us. My poor brother hasn’t heard a gobble all year and after this hunt still hasn’t.

Opening evening hunt

My brother came over and we sat were I knew some turkeys had been hanging out over the past few weeks. My brother wanted to try out his ghost blind. So we set that up and made a few calls. Nothing… Didn’t expect anything to call at 6pm. Then out of the corner of my eye I spot two jakes coming right into the decoy set up. I wasn’t ready the mad scrabble was on. Knock an arrow.. First shot was a miss ( I hit the blind and didn’t know) They had got even closer Knocked another arrow turkeys at 7 yards. Direct hit. The turkey when out about wobble walked 30 yards away from us and dropped. The second turkey was trying to have his way with the dead one. My brother knocked an arrow and bingo two birds in the bag.

It was the fastest turkey hunt and they are both jakes but we couldn’t be happier. Total hunt time less than 30 min.

This was our first Double with a bow. Pretty neat.

Didn’t weigh the jakes.

Beard length Mine was a double 4.5 inches and 1″
My brothers was 4″

Spurs…………. Well I think a solid 1/8″ and another might have hit the 3/16 mark. Pretty nice!

I am gonna put up this story for big hunter.

So Conditions were great as normal. Low temps. in the 30’s Highs in the Mid 40’s to low 50’s. Windy, rainy, everything a turkey hunter can hope for… Great…….

We set out on a property that i hunt and have very good luck haven’t hunted it all year. Things should be good even if the weather is less than favorable.

Little back story my friend Hunter. He shot at a jake with his bow last year and missed. This year he is looking for better results.

Day 1 – So we are just about in the same spot as the year before and looking for some action. Early.. Well nothing not even a gobble from the distance. It is a place were multi turkey hold always but for some reason or another not this time. We move around in a few spots hear some gobbles from the distance but no luck on these birds. Call it a day at about noon.

Day 2- New property kinda a sick feeling in the stomach from day 1 and the approaching weather. Not looking good on the different property. Morning time we seen the same hen twice and that was it. Rain is upon us. Sucks.. So we decide to drive around and I remember a guy I know from years back. We decide to stop in and get permission to hunt. GREAT! Do a bit of scouting the night before see 4 Toms and 3 jakes and the list goes on. We were just not in the right spot to send and arrow flying that night.

Day 3- It was sunny but with some wind and cold. Morning time with some renewed excitement from the night before encounters. We setup with few gobbles in the distance. The spot is in the woods were a bunch of scratching have taken place. I hit the call and one is gobble in the distance. I decide to move up over to the field.( I think Hunter is getting annoyed with my moving the blind all the time HeHe) The gobbling stops we sit and wait…….. Hen pops out then another…….then they disappear. 15 min. Later I see what looks like 1 jake and 4 hens. Turned out to be 6 jakes making their way to the decoy set up. Hunter get drawn up and I tell him he is gonna hit the blind with his arrow. He gets into a better position and the jakes were at 20 yards now are at 35 the must have seen something they didn’t like. Hunter settles in and I watch the arrow in what seemed like slow motion go towards the jake. Thhhhuuummmmp, Smack , Turkey goes down. We hang out watch the show for a few minutes. Great shot!

This is Hunter’s first bow kill. FIRST!

We didn’t weigh the turkey but

Beard was about 4 inches and spurs maybe 1/8″

The excitement on the NWTF Scale was off the charts. Can’t score that $%!+.

But you never seen someone ever so happy. I was pretty darn proud sitting next to him watching his first. What a great moment in the hunting memory bank.

Season 5 Mike invited me down to tag along with Tori and himself, so I bought an extra tag. Again, wind was a big factor as we were having a hard time hearing the birds. Even early morning, the wind was whipping pretty good. Had a hard time trying to find a valley where there wasn’t any wind. Was on a couple of birds on Friday but could not seal the deal. I also noticed that my front sight was very loose and wondered if that was contributed to the miss the week before. Got back to camp and tightened it down. Saturday morning came along, heard some gobbling down a ridge I hunted the evening before and took off after him. Didn’t happen, but had called in two Jakes that put on a show. Worked my way back up the ridge and was making my way over to Mike and Tori and set up on a field edge not too far from where I killed my second season Tom. About 5 minutes later I see two hens in the field. Gave a couple soft yelps and they started working there way towards me. The rain and wind started to pick up pretty good by now and noticed that the hens have company. A Tom is trailing behind them by about 50 yards. By the time he makes it to where I can shoot the hens are almost in my lap. Once he gave me an opportunity, I took it. Measurements were: 21 lbs, 1 inch spurs and 9 inch beard.

Your score is 21 + 10 + 10 + 18 = 59

Six season started with perfect weather, cool in the morning and no wind. Got my daughter Danielle on a bird, had him closing in perfect when she had a coughing attack and the jig was up. She hasn’t been feeling well so I took her back home. Went out to do some weed control on my clover plot and kept hearing gobbles to the south. After I finished spraying the plot, I grabbed the gun and call and took off after him. Hit the call and he answers me. Get set up next to the field, called again and he’s on his way. About 20 minutes later I can hear him drumming. Shortly after that I finally see him strutting to me. He has a Jake with him and when he’s 35 yards out he has had enough of the Jake and runs him off. Two close calls for the day, was a pretty exciting morning.

This morning Danielle and I head back to where I had encounter the Tom from the previous day. I have her set up in the Covert Blind. Had gobbles right away this morning, but he went the other way. Had 3 Jakes and a hen show up, but that was it. Danielle still not feeling well decided to stay put in the blind while I went out to try and find the gobbler. Didn’t take me long to find him. He was about a 1/2 mile away strutting and gobbling for his girlfriend. He’s in a field and they are making their way towards an oak ridge. I went to the opposite side of the ridge to see if I could sneak in and call them to my location. Worked perfect. Once I hit the top of the ridge I called and he answered. Called again and got ready, the only problem was it was pretty thick and I could not see very far. I heard him drumming and he’s closing in, then all of sudden he went silent. Waited 20 minutes and did some soft calling…at that a coyote comes running down the ridge. Took a shot at him but not sure if I even touched him. Figured my hunt was over, I started back towards Danielle. Walked about 300 yards made a call and he fires back up for me. They are in the field where I first spotted them this morning. I carefully took my time working my way down the ridge. Once on the bottom hit the call and he answers me again. Bound and determined to kill this bird I took off my gear so I can belly crawl in to position. I am about 25 yards from the field and can hear him drumming but could not see him. I slowly stand up and catch a glimpse of his fan. I stood behind a small pine tree waiting to figure out what he’s going to do. He finally makes his move and instead of working the field edge towards me he comes in to the woods where I am set up and is working his way right to me. He is coming right at me and I can’t move to get in to a shooting position. I slowly raise the gun and wait him out. He gets to 10 yards and finally realizes that something isn’t right, but before he can bolt he eats some Winchester #5 turkey load. What a show and morning. His measurements are: 22 lbs, 1 7/16 inch spurs, 11 1/2 in beard.

Your score is 22 + 14.375 + 13.75 + 23 = 73.125

Keep them coming guys…June 20th is the last day to enter!

I have to say it, turkey hunting is a love-hate sport, especially with a bow. This year by far has been the toughest year i have experienced hunting due to the weather and a decrease in the bird population. However, i was lucky enough to spend season D with my dad, and witness him shoot his first turkey with his shotgun. I told myself that i didn’t need to harvest a bird this year to feel satisfied because i was able to get my dad on a bird for himself. However, I soon forgot that hunting is my passion and becomes borderline obsessive for me This season, I spent countless hours in the blind, scouting, and gallons of gas traveling from roost to roost trying to get birds to gobble. With no success to show for it, i was becoming very discouraged and thought about hanging up the bow for the year. With only a few days left in the season however, i decided to hunt Tuesday 3/24 and Thursday 3/26 as long as i could. Hoping to seal the deal.
On Monday 3/23, i got off work at 5:30 and decided that i would have time to go to the gym before trying to roost some birds. I was running short on time when i got to the first roost around 9 pm. I forgot my Owl and crow call so i tried to improvise by using my mouth …nothing. I then honked the horn…..nothing. I quickly drove to two more spots and heard no gobbles. The discouragement continued…..
My plan was to hunt the first spot that i tried to get the birds to gobble. The corn had just been picked several days prior, and no one had hunted it for weeks. In this spot, the birds tend to roost less than 100 yards away on the bluffs and travel to one of the two fields in the morning i was closely occupying. I kept having a good feeling about this spot throughout the entire season and the morning prior to the hunt.
I got to the blind about 4:30 am, giving myself enough time to walk quietly, set Pretty Girl out, and remain undetected. As i was settling in, BAM a gobble at 4:42 This bird was less than 80 yards from me right where he was supposed to be Why he didn’t gobble the night before I have no idea Up until 6:00 am, this bird gobbled about every 15-30 seconds There was another Tom with him that gobbled about 6 times.
I began calling at this bird with some soft yelps, clucks, and the occasional purr. Every so often i was getting cut off by his gobbling, but i couldn’t tell if it was accidental or not. After reading Joel’s recent turkey hunting report, i knew this was a 2 year old bird, and i had a good chance at him! Finally, he flies down around 6:15. I progressively decreased my calling in hopes that he would become frustrated and come to me. However, his next gobble revealed that he was working away from me now
“what do i do now?” I remember reading an article on my lunch break at work and one of Joel’s articles about finding what the bird wants. Here, i began to imitate two different hens…i get cut off by his gobble I started to yelp a little more aggressively and get cut off again only this time he’s closing the gap This bird has now begun to walk parallel to the woods he roosted in. The only thing separating me and him is a windrow and a tractor road that runs between both fields. If i had my decoy facing this road, i would have had about a 30-40 yard shot at him. However, this bird would have to use the tractor road to get to the cut corn that Pretty Girl is in if he wanted her that bad.
As he continues to gobble, i can hear him spitting indicating that he is less than 40 yards from me I refused to turn my body and look at this bird because i didn’t want to risk blowing my opportunity at him. Instead, i waited with the release hooked and in my drawing position. This Tom is still behind and to the left of me trying to get the hen to go to him, but like a typical bird, he refuses to cross even the slightest obstacle. I now begin to softly purr and cluck and hear him gobble. This time 25-30 yards away A few seconds go by and i see him in my peripherals at less than 10 yards half strut and walking to Pretty Girl Once his fan went up, i drew back and waited for the right opportunity…….
This Tom circles and circles the decoy at half strut and i thought for a second that i wasn’t going to get him to stop with the noises i was making with my mouth Finally…he pauses and offers me a perfect 20 yard frontal shot and i take it! The Meat Seeker 2 blade entered his chest and passed right through his backside. He made no noise at the impact indicating that he had absolutely no idea what just happened He stumbled 15 yards and tipped over!!!! And just like that, i had killed my first Tom with a bow
I will take a 2 year old bird any day of the week if he puts a show on like this one did for me He went 20#, 9 1/4″ beard, and 5/8″ spurs. A perfect ending to a frustrating year
Your score is 20 + 6.25 + 6.25 + 18.5 = 51

And the winner is……

Protourbaits!!!! Congratulations Tom! Please see your PM’s for instructions on how to acquire your prizes.

Also, thanks to everyone who participated! It was a tough spring out there for many, so congrats on your success.

Lastly, a special thanks to Tom Donaldson and Covert Blinds for your very generous donations.

Congrats Protourbaits!

Great picture Protour , and the rest of you had some very nice ones also

Thank you IDO and judges

Congrats Protour!

Joel

Congrats Protour

Congrats PTB!

Great pic PTB and recap of the hunt as well!

Congrats and enjoy that new blind

Congrats PTB!! Great pic, awesome recap, and one heck of a double trophy for your “frustrating season.”

all the way