A West Virginia season to remember!

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flinginairos
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Joined: April 28th, 2016, 9:28 am

A West Virginia season to remember!

Post by flinginairos »

My personal 2017 spring gobbler season has come to a close and I am extremely thankful for the opportunities and the days I was in the timber!

Success came quickly on our very first outing on youth day. April 15th.

I had scouted out an area with a good bit of turkey sign and had watched a big tom and a flock of hens in this particular area two weeks prior. I wanted my 8 year old son to have a good chance at one so as daylight broke we were set up and ready! As the woods came alive several different gobblers were sounding off on the roost not far from us. After fly-down the birds went silent but I was able to call in a hen that passed by us at five yards and three jakes that never gave my son a good shot. We decided to run-n-gun for a while and couldn't get anything fired up so we decided to call it a morning at 10:30.

As we get back to my dads house and start unloading the Ranger I hear a gobble at the very back end of our field so I told my son to quickly grab his stuff (it was mainly me scrambling for gear :lol:) and we took off running to get to the top side of the field where I think the bird will come out. As we hit the field several birds sound off and they are just over the rise from us! :shock: We quickly go prone and start belly crawling closer all while I am holding my Montana jake decoy above my head. As we get to the top of the field I let out two quick yelps on the mouth call and a bird fires right back and I know they are coming fast! I told Austin to take the safety off and be ready.

About 30 seconds later a bright red head pops up and I can see its a jake with a 5-6" beard. I told him to take his time and make a good shot and he delivered a PERFECT shot with his Mossberg 500 20ga!

My sons very first turkey and a morning I will never forget!

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With my sons turkey done I was PUMPED for opening day, April 17th. I woke that morning with high hopes only to have them crushed when I pulled up the weather for the day. Heavy thunderstorms and rain/wind for the morning but with some clearing late morning. I decided I was going no matter what and that it might be awesome after the storms.

I keep a pop-up blind in my arsenal for days just like this and before daylight I was setup and ready in the same spot where my son and I had tried on youth day. I knew there was a big tom using the grassy logging road to strut just about every morning so I felt I still had a good chance even in the rain.
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As daylight broke the clouds opened up into a terrible downpour! I was REALLY glad I opted for the blind and for some odd reason I took satisfaction in knowing I could at least say I was out there ;)

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About 7am the rain slacked off just enough I thought maybe if there was a bird nearby he could hear me call. I stuck my head out of the left side of the blind and let out a few yelps, then moved to the right side. As I stuck my head out of the window I was SHOCKED to see the big guy in full strut at 40 yards, standing there like a statue in the pouring rain! :shock: As hunters we all have those "OH CRAP" moments, and this was surely one of them :lol: I SLOWLY pulled my head back in the blind just hoping he didn't see me and as I got my head in I gave a light yelp and he ripped a loud gobble that I swear I could feel!

It was clear he didn't see me and was locked onto my Montana decoys that were staked 15 yards in front of me, so I slowly moved my tripod with camera and got down on my knees to prepare for a shot out of the right side of the blind. He went behind a tree and was standing there in full strut. I could see his back half and the rain dripping off him was something I will never forget. I held the Mossberg at the ready just waiting for him to take three more steps. In about 30 seconds I got what I wanted and he walked out in full strut giving me a perfect 30 yard shot!

When I ran up to him I was surprised to see he was much bigger than I thought! 22lbs, 11" beard and 1 1/4" spurs. My best ever and killed in a rainstorm.

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While waiting to take pics the rain had slacked off some and I was able to find a nice handful of morels to go with my turkey 8-)
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And now to my final hunt, and for sure the most exciting of the year! April 26th.

This past week has been a tough one. It seemed the weather was bad every chance I had to go and then the days I did go there weren't any birds interested. Sunday morning I took a buddy to a spot I hadn't hunted and ended up hearing several on the roost but after fly down they went silent. I kept one spot in particular in mind where I had heard a bird that morning and made a game plan for my next outing...

Finally, the weather was finally going to be good and I was ready to act on my plan. I was set up well before light but as luck would have it not a single gobble from the roost! I was slightly discouraged since I had used vacation from work but decided I was going to sit and listen.

At 8am I heard what I wanted to hear. A gobbler let loose somewhere below me and was gobbling on his own. Game on!

I moved from my original spot and got about 200 yards closer and could tell he was somewhere near the bottom of the ridge. I kept working my way down listening to him to pinpoint his location. Once I reached the bottom I realized he was across the holler and on a bench about half way up the other side. He was on FIRE but with the lay of the land I was afraid getting any closer would bust him. With no other option I sat down beside the fourwheeler trail with little cover and pegged the Montana miss purr-fect decoy right beside me.

After about 15 minutes of listening to him he shut up so I just sat watching the hillside. It wasn't long and I spotted him walking across the hillside and starting to head away from me. I quickly zoomed in on him with my camera to get some footage as he got into an open spot in the timber. What happened next I will never forget! As he hits the open area he locks up, craning his head around the tree staring right at my decoy! He takes two steps backward never taking his eyes off the decoy and turns around. At this point I'm thinking "ok he's turned that's good...maybe he will walk down here..". He walks about ten yards and I can tell he's excited. Then all the sudden he takes flight and here he comes!

Pretty sure I said in my head "oh crap! Get the safety off this is gonna happen quick!" LOL. I clicked the safety off while trying to follow him with the camera and he landed right in the fourwheeler trail about 60 yards away just out of sight. At this point I knew he was dead if I just did my part. It wasn't a minute and he here comes strutting up the road. At around 20 yards I had a wide open shot and I dropped him with the Mossberg 500 20ga.

I'm a little sad to see my 2017 over, but with two great birds down and my sons first bird I am extremely thankful for the blessed season I had. Can't wait to do it all again next year!

19.25lbs
9" beard
1 3/16" spurs

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Thanks for tagging along and listening to my rambling :lol:

Jared
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soiltester
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Joined: March 31st, 2015, 8:04 am
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Re: A West Virginia season to remember!

Post by soiltester »

I'd ramble like that also, if I could :lol: Tough goin' on the land I hunt this year!!

Congrats on a great season and sure sounds like you have plenty of toms for seed for next year!! :thumbup: :cheers:
ever wonder where the white goes when the snow melts??
MAK
Posts: 532
Joined: April 13th, 2015, 8:08 am
Location: Southern PA

Re: A West Virginia season to remember!

Post by MAK »

congrat's - great memories. good job all around.
MAK
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SCtrkyhntr
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Joined: January 11th, 2012, 9:36 pm

Re: A West Virginia season to remember!

Post by SCtrkyhntr »

Congrats on a great season!
taylorjones20
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Joined: March 6th, 2015, 11:17 pm
Location: Beech Bluff, TN

Re: A West Virginia season to remember!

Post by taylorjones20 »

Congrats! And great pics.
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hookedspur
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Joined: May 24th, 2012, 8:44 pm
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Re: A West Virginia season to remember!

Post by hookedspur »

Great job ,,Congrats
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