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One Last Pre-season Story 2009 West Virginia Turkey Season

Posted: March 4th, 2017, 9:28 am
by HunterGKS
2009 West Virginia Turkey Season

Any reference to “the team” is to Mojo Maniacs traveling call team of which I was a member this season.

Day 3 – April 29

I was starting to get a little concerned about letting The Team down as I went into this morning’s hunt, especially since I was hunting a new area.

Last year we got on a lease with 5000 acres of land & access to another 5000. I have never hunted it & decided to try it this morning. I awoke at 3:50 to a misty rain. I picked up Dee at 4:35 & we drove to the Skyles cutoff. We drove back the lane, about 1 ½ miles to the old farmstead & sat in the truck until 6 when we moved to the front porch to listen. The farmstead is at the convergence of 3 hollows & is a great spot to listen. When we hadn’t heard anything by 6:30, Dee decided to walk back to the upper field. I sat there until 7 listening when I heard a gobble. I quickly set up in a stand of sycamores at the base of the mountain just to the side of an old logging road hoping to pull him down the road to the gun. The plan worked to perfection except it was a hen instead of a tom. She walked past me at 20 yards or so & went about her business. The gobbler had sounded off a couple of more times & then shut up. About 7:30, I heard the hen coming back yelping & cutting. Dee shot, the hen disappeared & I figured that Dee had his bird as he is an excellent shot/hunter.

It had started to rain heavier so I headed back to the porch to call a little & listen a lot. The rain finally slowed to a drizzle about 7:50 so I headed out to do a little calling & exploring. I walked back down the lane, crossed the creek into a bottom & went to the edge of a small depression. I got out the Traveling Call & my Hook’s Wonder Stick & prodded the crusty old hen hiding in the slate enough that she let out a few yelps & purrs followed by some cutting. I flipped the call over & awakened the young Beauty Sleeping under the glass. I coaxed her into singing her sweet siren song followed by her best Mae West imitation. (For those of you too young to know who she is, see the note at the bottom.) GOBBLE!!!! He was across the creek & lane & up the mountain a couple hundred yards, I would guess. I quickly found a tree right on the creek perfect to set up facing down the lane in the direction from which I though he would come. Again, the Traveling Call sent out some sweet talk & GOBBLE!!! even closer. I sent out 1 more set of calls which he responded to from a flat maybe 60 yards directly above me. I set down the call & shifted around to my right facing where he was. He gobbled once more & started down the mountain from the far left side of the flat! He fanned out a couple of times on his journey towards eternity. Now I was in a jam! I couldn’t move my body around as he would see me for sure. Every time he went behind a tree or some brush, I eased the gun around & twisted my head until I had the scope on him. I saw his beard swinging from side-to-side & thought to myself, “My goodness that certainly is a very impressive beard.” In reality, it was more like, “HOLY CRAP!!!! THAT’S 1 %&^*()%#$%%^^ NICE BEARD!!” He finally cleared the last obstacle & the HW 7s sent Ole Tom to his Glory in Gobbler Heaven at 8:30. This had to be 1 of my fastest hunts, from the 1st gobble until I fired was right at 10 minutes. BTW, you don’t have to call me Popeye, you can call me Scope-eye!! OUCH!!

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The Boggs Bad JUJU/West Virginia Jinx was finally broken. I won’t tell you how long it’s been since I killed a bird in WV but it’s been a loooooooong time. He was a nice 3 year old bird. And the best part, I DIDN’T LET MY MANIAC BROS & SIS DOWN AS THE TRAVELING CALLS MOJO WORKED AGAIN!!!!

WEIGHT: 20 pds 6 ozs
BEARD LENGTH: 10 ¼”
L. SPUR: 1”
R. SPUR: 1”

WEAPON TYPE: 25th NWTF Anniversary Model 11-87 12 Gauge Shotgun
CHOKE: IC .650
AMMO: Federal Heavy Weight #7
SIGHTS: Leupold NWTF 1-4 Turkey Reticule Scope

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NOTE: Mae West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and sex symbol, known for her bawdy double entendres. One of her famous quotes was: “Why don't you come on up and see me sometime.”

Re: One Last Pre-season Story 2009 West Virginia Turkey Seas

Posted: March 4th, 2017, 6:14 pm
by paboxcall
Another excellent story, George. May I ask what exactly is that tree with the purple buds? I see them often south of the Mason/Dixon line, someone once told me they are the Judas Tree. Is that correct?

Re: One Last Pre-season Story 2009 West Virginia Turkey Seas

Posted: March 4th, 2017, 6:25 pm
by HunterGKS
paboxcall wrote:Another excellent story, George. May I ask what exactly is that tree with the purple buds? I see them often south of the Mason/Dixon line, someone once told me they are the Judas Tree. Is that correct?
Thx. That's a red bud but it is also called Judas Tree.

Re: One Last Pre-season Story 2009 West Virginia Turkey Seas

Posted: March 4th, 2017, 8:07 pm
by paboxcall
HunterGKS wrote:
paboxcall wrote:Another excellent story, George. May I ask what exactly is that tree with the purple buds? I see them often south of the Mason/Dixon line, someone once told me they are the Judas Tree. Is that correct?
Thx. That's a red bud but it is also called Judas Tree.
Red Bud, thank you for solving that. There's a section I-68 through western MD that is just covered up with those trees in the spring, I love seeing them in bloom like that.