New York 2010 Spring Turkey Hunt
Posted: February 24th, 2017, 3:35 pm
Day 5:
Each morning we drove separate trucks as Ron had to leave for work. Friday morning I hit the button to unlock all the doors so I could get my vest & gun from the back seat. I had left my keys in the cup holder as usual. I shut the driver’s door & tried to open the back door. It was then that I realized that I had hit the button the wrong way & did something I have never done before…….LOCKED MY KEYS IN MY TRUCK!!!!. “SON OF A B----!!!!” “What’s wrong” says Ron. “ I locked my freaking (or a word to that effect) keys in the truck!!!!”, says I. Luckily, I always travel with a spare set of keys. Luckily, again, The Roost was close so we headed back, got my keys, & still got set-up before the 1st gobble. Ron got a pretty good laugh about that, keep saying, “I’m laughing with you, not at you.”. I’m not so sure about that.
Today it was pretty much do or die. We got all the saplings trimmed down & settled in. Ron got things started early with the "Team Lucky Dawgs" traveling calls, eliciting a few gobbles from a bird behind us in the woods. He had to leave at 6:30 as he had some work to do before a couple of internments. At 8 straight up, I looked to my right & saw the backs of at least 2 birds walking down the drive lane at the top of the oat field. All I could see where the tops of the backs & had no idea what they were. I sent out a few yelps & purrs & saw a big, red periscope pop up. I figure he knew where the “girls” were, & shut-up.
About 20 minutes later, I looked right again & here came a hen. She was pecking here & there taking her time to get down to the 2 hens & jake dekes we had set out. She was only about 10 feet from me but never got any closed than 20 yards of the decoys. After purring & clucking for a few minutes, she headed back the way she came & disappeared into the woods. At about 8:45, I started to make a few soft yelps when I looked & noticed a big bird in the upper corner of the field. Again, I stopped calling & started watching. It moved a little close & I could see it was a tom. He fed & piddled close to where I had last seen the hen & I was afraid he would follow her but he kept on coming. Every once in awhile, he would go into strut, so I knew he had seen the dekes. There were some small limbs hanging between us &, when his back was towards me, I though I could move around & get a good shot on him when he cleared the branches. Suddenly, I heard this little, tiny voice in the far recesses of my mind (I hear a lot of little, tiny voice, but that’s a whole nuther story). That little voice said: “YOU SIT RIGHT THERE & BE STILL, YOUNG MAN!! AND DON’T YOU DARE MOVE!!!!” “Yes Ma’am.” So that’s exactly what I did. The Oat Field Gobbler finally started towards the dekes. I was ready & just waiting for the right moment to drop the hammer. The last time he went into a full strut, I could hear the pop. I was thinking: “Man, it’s a shame that I have to shoot you.” I got as far as “Man. It’s a shame I have to” when he dropped strut, BOOM, “shoot you”. It took over 30 minutes from 1st sighting to when I officially joined the Gobbler’s Roost 1 Shot Turkey Kill Club with full honors as he still had all his tail feathers. DON’TCHA JUST LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER!! It was 9:21, 2 hours & 39 minutes before my season was to end when the 11-87 sent a lethal load of Magic Pixie Dust (Fed Heavyweight #7s) into a wise old gobblers head. Maybe some day the skeptics will accept that the HW 7s are deadly. Nah, that ain’t a gonna happen.
Ron & Momma got to The Roost around 4. Momma planted a few flowers while Ron & I took pics, lotsa pics. Ron had a Friends of the NRA banquet that night so I was just gonna kick back at camp for the evening. Someone called with a ticket they couldn’t use, so I tagged along. Another 1st was this banquet & auction. Ron was good enough to swap me his steak for my chicken. It was a great steak. Thx Ron. It was a fun evening & the perfect way to end a great week.
Whenever I’m hunting with some one on their home turf, I always defer about 90% of the time to them. I figure they know a heckuva lot more about the birds then I do. That’s how it worked this time as well. Several times, I would make a suggestion & Ron replied that he had been thinking the same thing. The reverse also happened several times. This was a total team hunt & success.
Thanks Ron for a great week & an even greater turkey. He’s my best Eastern to date & my 2nd best turkey of any species. It’s always a great to spend time with a good friend & Ron is a gooder un. Thanks again Ron.
WHO: HUNTERGKS
DATE: 05/21/10
TIME: 09:21 A.M.
STATE: NY, NORWICH, CHENANGO COUNTY
SPECIES: EASTERN
WEAPON: REMINGTON 11-87 NWTF 25TH ANNIVERSARY 12 GAUGE
CHOKE: INDIAN CREEK .650
AMMO: FEDERAL HEAVYWEIGHT 3’ MAGNUM #7
BEARD 1: 10 2/16”
BEARD 2:
BEARD 3:
RIGHT SPUR: 1 1/2”
LEFT SPUR: 1 1/2”
WEIGHT: 19 LBS 10 OZS
This is what attracted the Oat Field Gobbler along with some sweet talk from a slate made by Cap’t Mel. More on that later. Cap’t Mel (Gotcha1) made a call for me from native Florida wood. I don’t remember the woods, so Cap’t, if you see this, please tell me again. It’s slate over crystal. It was the call I which helped got the gobbler fired up Weds. I used the slate side to bring him to the gun. Thanks Cap’t Mel for a great call.
The Oat Field Gobbler had the thickest beard of any bird I have ever killed. That’s a silver dollar covering the end of the beard.
The "Team Lucky Dawgs" traveling calls which Ron used to get things started.
With this years Call Host hat. Thanks for the opportunity to host again & I’m glad all y’all were so successful with my call.
Each morning we drove separate trucks as Ron had to leave for work. Friday morning I hit the button to unlock all the doors so I could get my vest & gun from the back seat. I had left my keys in the cup holder as usual. I shut the driver’s door & tried to open the back door. It was then that I realized that I had hit the button the wrong way & did something I have never done before…….LOCKED MY KEYS IN MY TRUCK!!!!. “SON OF A B----!!!!” “What’s wrong” says Ron. “ I locked my freaking (or a word to that effect) keys in the truck!!!!”, says I. Luckily, I always travel with a spare set of keys. Luckily, again, The Roost was close so we headed back, got my keys, & still got set-up before the 1st gobble. Ron got a pretty good laugh about that, keep saying, “I’m laughing with you, not at you.”. I’m not so sure about that.
Today it was pretty much do or die. We got all the saplings trimmed down & settled in. Ron got things started early with the "Team Lucky Dawgs" traveling calls, eliciting a few gobbles from a bird behind us in the woods. He had to leave at 6:30 as he had some work to do before a couple of internments. At 8 straight up, I looked to my right & saw the backs of at least 2 birds walking down the drive lane at the top of the oat field. All I could see where the tops of the backs & had no idea what they were. I sent out a few yelps & purrs & saw a big, red periscope pop up. I figure he knew where the “girls” were, & shut-up.
About 20 minutes later, I looked right again & here came a hen. She was pecking here & there taking her time to get down to the 2 hens & jake dekes we had set out. She was only about 10 feet from me but never got any closed than 20 yards of the decoys. After purring & clucking for a few minutes, she headed back the way she came & disappeared into the woods. At about 8:45, I started to make a few soft yelps when I looked & noticed a big bird in the upper corner of the field. Again, I stopped calling & started watching. It moved a little close & I could see it was a tom. He fed & piddled close to where I had last seen the hen & I was afraid he would follow her but he kept on coming. Every once in awhile, he would go into strut, so I knew he had seen the dekes. There were some small limbs hanging between us &, when his back was towards me, I though I could move around & get a good shot on him when he cleared the branches. Suddenly, I heard this little, tiny voice in the far recesses of my mind (I hear a lot of little, tiny voice, but that’s a whole nuther story). That little voice said: “YOU SIT RIGHT THERE & BE STILL, YOUNG MAN!! AND DON’T YOU DARE MOVE!!!!” “Yes Ma’am.” So that’s exactly what I did. The Oat Field Gobbler finally started towards the dekes. I was ready & just waiting for the right moment to drop the hammer. The last time he went into a full strut, I could hear the pop. I was thinking: “Man, it’s a shame that I have to shoot you.” I got as far as “Man. It’s a shame I have to” when he dropped strut, BOOM, “shoot you”. It took over 30 minutes from 1st sighting to when I officially joined the Gobbler’s Roost 1 Shot Turkey Kill Club with full honors as he still had all his tail feathers. DON’TCHA JUST LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER!! It was 9:21, 2 hours & 39 minutes before my season was to end when the 11-87 sent a lethal load of Magic Pixie Dust (Fed Heavyweight #7s) into a wise old gobblers head. Maybe some day the skeptics will accept that the HW 7s are deadly. Nah, that ain’t a gonna happen.
Ron & Momma got to The Roost around 4. Momma planted a few flowers while Ron & I took pics, lotsa pics. Ron had a Friends of the NRA banquet that night so I was just gonna kick back at camp for the evening. Someone called with a ticket they couldn’t use, so I tagged along. Another 1st was this banquet & auction. Ron was good enough to swap me his steak for my chicken. It was a great steak. Thx Ron. It was a fun evening & the perfect way to end a great week.
Whenever I’m hunting with some one on their home turf, I always defer about 90% of the time to them. I figure they know a heckuva lot more about the birds then I do. That’s how it worked this time as well. Several times, I would make a suggestion & Ron replied that he had been thinking the same thing. The reverse also happened several times. This was a total team hunt & success.
Thanks Ron for a great week & an even greater turkey. He’s my best Eastern to date & my 2nd best turkey of any species. It’s always a great to spend time with a good friend & Ron is a gooder un. Thanks again Ron.
WHO: HUNTERGKS
DATE: 05/21/10
TIME: 09:21 A.M.
STATE: NY, NORWICH, CHENANGO COUNTY
SPECIES: EASTERN
WEAPON: REMINGTON 11-87 NWTF 25TH ANNIVERSARY 12 GAUGE
CHOKE: INDIAN CREEK .650
AMMO: FEDERAL HEAVYWEIGHT 3’ MAGNUM #7
BEARD 1: 10 2/16”
BEARD 2:
BEARD 3:
RIGHT SPUR: 1 1/2”
LEFT SPUR: 1 1/2”
WEIGHT: 19 LBS 10 OZS
This is what attracted the Oat Field Gobbler along with some sweet talk from a slate made by Cap’t Mel. More on that later. Cap’t Mel (Gotcha1) made a call for me from native Florida wood. I don’t remember the woods, so Cap’t, if you see this, please tell me again. It’s slate over crystal. It was the call I which helped got the gobbler fired up Weds. I used the slate side to bring him to the gun. Thanks Cap’t Mel for a great call.
The Oat Field Gobbler had the thickest beard of any bird I have ever killed. That’s a silver dollar covering the end of the beard.
The "Team Lucky Dawgs" traveling calls which Ron used to get things started.
With this years Call Host hat. Thanks for the opportunity to host again & I’m glad all y’all were so successful with my call.