View Full Version : Opening Day Turkey
pennywise
04-26-2008, 20:58
I passed up 4 Jakes, then this one came straight to me @ 0900. He is getting mounted. Notice! I said "He is getting mounted" not I am mounting him! SO dont start it! He rated 66.25 on the NWTF points scale. Not bad! Come on turkey hunters post yer best! I know that poacher Rod Knight might have something to say. Peace out ! Jimmy
Team Sergeant
04-27-2008, 09:04
Nice bird, I thought hunting in "parks" was illegal?:rolleyes:
Nice bird!!
Serious question though, are the turkey just normally smaller here? I've seen them putting around while out at McKall, and they look to be full bodied, and healthy. Most that I've seen are a little smaller than I'm used too. I've noticed that since I've been out East, and work my way South, the critters get a bit smaller. I love turkey hunting, and have not done it about 3 years. What did he dress out at?
What load, gun and call do you use? I'm a 3in Winchester Super X 1 7/8 #4's out of a Winchester 1300, Ext Full, and the raspy old hen mouth call. Sometimes I use the Rem 1100 if the tags are plentiful in MO.
I'm from Missouri and those birds are friggin' huge. Biggest one I've got was a tri-bearded 21 pounder dressed out. He was eating alot of corn and milo the whole spring and summer, come fall, he was to fat too run. That one was taken with an old Sears and Roebuck, Break-open 10 gauge 3 1/2. No recoil pad, just a steel plate. That one will wake you up in the wee hours of the morning. I have no clue what he'd take on the NWTF scale.
pennywise
04-27-2008, 16:55
I use the Remington 3.5 magnum with .660 choke and Hevi-shot#6. 50MM Red dot site. No calls! The birds around here are super paranoid, especially near Mackall. You have been hunting in MO, dude you were in hunting paradise! The turkey population around here have just recently reached the numbers necessary to hunt them. They transplanted a bunch of birds behing the Mott Lake compound in the late 60's according to a couple of the oldsters in the area. Yep I know the animals are not of grand size around the area but there are a lot of them to shoot, so I figure its a trade off . I get to shoot more! The birds weight was 24lbs when I shot him, the dressed weight is unknown, I am getting him mounted. "NIce one" TEAM SGT!:rolleyes:, the picture was taken at a buds house on the way to the taxidermist. That pond in the backdrop holds some nice bass! Got a 11 pounder on the wall from it! I popped a pretty nice coyote saturday morning . I had a friend and his son over to one of my leases hunting for their 1st turkey. I got him with one my match rifles!
turkey hunting... that's on the plate for next year.
I don't know a damn thing about it other than I know of an area of Nat'l Forest Land that I've just started scouting for deer that according to others "has a lot of turkey and turkey sign" . I wouldn't know what that was or how to figure out where to plant my butt to either wait or call them up.
I have much to learn.
pennywise
04-27-2008, 19:07
Heres what I did my brother! WHile you are Deer hunting this comming year, observe what goes on around you, ie turkey and their behavior. If you find a good spot where the turkey are crossing or you just happen upon where they are, get up high in the trees and watch. Then the next turkey season set up your ambush! This last one I got, I watched and kept track of since september 07. Forget the ground take to the trees for turkey. I in no way have alot of experience in turkey hunting either, but have found that quiet is good around this area , if you are going to use any call use and owl call(screech) before the sun gets up to locate em and try to set up according to the direction of the return gobble. I believe the hens are nesting right now and the Toms are all dressed up and no where to go, so decoys would be a good thing right now.:cool: Good luck
Ret10Echo
04-28-2008, 04:55
Maybe some shots off the deck....
This is from the family room of my cabin in PA :eek:
Divemaster
05-01-2008, 00:58
Pennywise,
Great bird and good call on the full body mount. My wife wants a turkey bad (some say she already has one), and here in Washington we can hunt three sub species. If you hunt turkey from tree stands, that is unusual and I could use you for a magazine article! :D
Heres what I did my brother! WHile you are Deer hunting this comming year, observe what goes on around you, ie turkey and their behavior. If you find a good spot where the turkey are crossing or you just happen upon where they are, get up high in the trees and watch. Then the next turkey season set up your ambush! This last one I got, I watched and kept track of since september 07. Forget the ground take to the trees for turkey. I in no way have alot of experience in turkey hunting either, but have found that quiet is good around this area , if you are going to use any call use and owl call(screech) before the sun gets up to locate em and try to set up according to the direction of the return gobble. I believe the hens are nesting right now and the Toms are all dressed up and no where to go, so decoys would be a good thing right now.:cool: Good luck
Gonna try that. I think I found an area where there might be birds. Haven't heard/seen any (but not a problem as I havent spent that much time in the woods being quiet). I can see large areas kinda scratched up like something was feeding... don't think it is deer... but there are deer tracks in the AO too. So i think i'm going to do what you suggest and prospect with an owl call in addition to getting into the woods early.
Probably the best thing I could do to find turkey is get into the woods in a treestand with a deer rifle. That should bring out the turkeys and every other kind of animal other than deer.
Mosby Raider
05-04-2008, 11:16
Be sure and check your state game regulations. In Alabama you're prohibited from hunting turkeys from an elevated stand. You must set up on the ground. You can use a blind though, which some of my friends do when turkey hunting with sticks and string.
kachingchingpow
05-06-2008, 09:20
Excellent bird PW! Nothing gets my blood-up like turkey hunting. Don't get me wrong, I love deer, dove, duck, quail, etc and they each hold a special place in my heart. However, the thrill and adrenaline rush of a big strutting tom coming into view is awesome compared to the rest.
I'm having my son's turkey (another thread) mounted in a "shoulder mount." My basement is finished out with bar and rec. room, and various animals on the wall. Not really enough room to mount any more full body mounts. I have 1 that's in the flying pose over a fireplace that closely resembles the old Wild Turkey bourbon advertisements of the 80's. Another bird is on a limb looking down in a gobble, as if it's on the roost getting ready to fly down. The shoulder mount is a good space saving approach, plus it'll be easy for my son to take with him when the time comes Hopefully he'll be filling his own wall one day.
Jbour13. Critters are definately 'overall' smaller in the southeast. Deer in particular. Not sure of the scientists name, but there has been quite a bit written about how natural selection impacts animal sizes in warmer vs. colder climates. Readers Digest version, is basically that genetically smaller bodied animals (deer in this particular study) don't survive cold winters for several reasons, so over the course of decades the larger bodied animals are the most prevalent. Conversely, larger bodied deer tend to struggle in the summer in the south. Mature bucks weighing in the 200-250 range in GA are considered "large," whereas Iowa and Minnesota commonly produce deer in the 300's. Heck, doe's in the midwest can be in the 200lb range, and a 130lb doe in GA is considered big.
I've never hunted in the midwest for turkey, but have looked at their record books quite a bit. I've probably killed 20 or so toms in GA from the mountains down to the FL state line, and have had 100's of close calls. The birds here are big by any standard. A full grown tom with a 10" beard should weigh 20-25lbs. Spurs being the best way to tell a turkey's age, obviously the longer the spurs the bigger the bird... 1.5-1.75" range are going to be on a 25lbish bird. Beard length is not accurate at all in determining age. Younger toms can actually have a really long beard. As the breast develops the older the bird gets, the closer the beard will get to the ground, causing it to drag more - wearing it. As far as jakes go, they'll run 16-19lbs here. I can't imagine NC would be all that much different.
Work has been so crazy that I've only made it to the woods a 1/2 dozen times this year, and our season ends May 15, a Thursday... WTF is up with that?
These last few years I have had an abundance of Turkey sightings on my land (out near Camp Mackall) I hope to be home one of these Turkey seasons to give it a try. I always heard it was one of the most exciting Game to Hunt.
As 10Echo said the Turkey population in SW Pa is quite plentiful. Pre-spring flocks in my area tend to run about 50 to 70 birds. I live Waaayyy out in the woods and the abundance of Turkey tends to drive my English Setter a bit nuts. I hope to be home one of these Turkey seasons to give it a try. I always heard it was one of the most exciting Game to Hunt.
It is an exciting experience, although the excitement is calling the Gobbler to you. When you do this, your making the bird do something completely against its nature. It is the nature of the bird to bring the hen to him. That is why Toms Gobble. There have been many times that Ive worked a bird the better part of the morning, called it in under my gun, and just let it go. I figured I had bettered the Wily Ole Bird and had won that round. Besides I hate cleaning them things, and Ive already got two mounted.