OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

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Old No7
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Location: Southern Maine

OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

Post by Old No7 »

Hello all:

Had a little luck on Monday morning… Opening Day of the 2009 Maine Wild Turkey Season. Luckily, it took only 1 shot on Sunday afternoon to confirm the Tru-Glo fiber-optic sights that mount on the vent rib of my BPS were shooting right where I needed them. (Set them up 8 years ago, and as long as they don’t get bumped, they are failsafe when put back in the same spot each year.) Then all I needed was to get a Tom in range after getting 6 or 7 hours sleep…
Turkey Load 3in-2oz-No5 (Small).jpg
Yup, that pattern will work! But I only got 3 or 4 hours sleep -- was a little excited I guess! -- still, it was time to go out huntin’!

At oh-dark-thirty Monday morning, 5 or 6 Toms were gobbling across the road from where I was set up with 2 decoys. They would all “explode” when the first one sounded off, so it was really tough to tell how many were over there, but there was a bunch. 2 or 3 would occasionally sound off behind me too, on the right and also on the left, so “confidence was high” as they say on all those military movies.

Well by 6:15 AM, the woods were quiet… And quiet still at 7:15 AM... So the Toms must have met up with some real hens and were otherwise “busy”. But I had confidence in this area, so I did some work e-mails for Europe on my BlackBerry (honest to God, I did!), while keeping a watch on the fields and a listen for activity.

At 8:10, something inside me (and it wasn’t the CrackBerry…) told me to put down the foolish device and get ready for action. By 8:15, two Toms sounded off across the street, but sounding much closer than they were before. I gave a few soft purrs on my call -- the first calls I had made all morning -- and they responded right away. After a few more exchanges over the next 5 minutes, I saw the Toms cross the country road about 350 yards out, at one o’clock to my setup. So I gave a few more soft purrs…

The Toms could clearly see the decoys I had out and they were coming straight in on me, so I did something I’ve never done before -- I just stopped calling… Usually I would have gotten all excited and called much more -- maybe too much more -- but not this time.

Sure enough, the Toms came within 30 yards, and after waiting a few anxious moments for them to separate enough so I could harvest only one -- BANG! FLOP… -- and my season ended in about 3.5 hours. Yahoo, now I can get the house painted and the boat ready and do all those other things that I’ve been meaning to do this spring.

Here’s the Tom with my BPS Upland Special, which has a 22” barrel and straight English grip (handles sweet, just like an over-under), of course in this picture its 24” -- with 2” of extended choke tube. The Tom had an 8.5” beard, 1” spurs and weighed 18 pounds, although he felt like a lot more when carrying him and all the gear back to the truck.
Turkey May 4th (2) (Small).jpg
Oh yeah, for all those who have ever heard of, or experienced Maine’s infamous “Black Flies”, you’ll understand why I’m wearing the extra headnet in this picture. There’s no way you could hunt the spring season without one, in fact, the black smudges you see on this pix are those pesky flies. And believe me when I say… they SUCK!!!
Turkey May 4th (3) (Small).jpg
Now I’ve gotta find a good recipe for Wild Rice and Wild Turkey -- but served with Jack Daniel’s of course, per my avatar -- sorry, but there’s only one kind of wild turkey for me! And that’s the kind I can hunt! And eat!

Happy Hunting!

Old No7
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madman4570
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Re: OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

Post by madman4570 »

Old No7,

Nice score!
I have that exact gun,I love it.
Are them guns beautiful or what?
I camo taped for a couple years then took
it off back to original.I love the feel of the straight
stock and your right it handles perfectly.
Good Job/Great Bird/Great Gun
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Whit Spurzon
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Re: OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

Post by Whit Spurzon »

Excellent. Thanks for sharing! I'm hoping to get another chance at one soon. Last time out I kept getting busted by the hens... Patience, Patience, patience...
"There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves." -Will Rogers
95fan
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Re: OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

Post by 95fan »

Congrats on a successful hunt. I was not quite as lucky this year, we called a few in over 3 hunts, but could not get them to commit. Well there is always next season..............................
A perfect day can only be achieved while hunting
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Modoc ED
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Re: OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

Post by Modoc ED »

Good story. Thanks for the experience and thanks for the pictures.
ED
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Yer never too old
Rusty
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Re: OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

Post by Rusty »

Congratulations! Good hunt.
If you're gonna be stupid ya gotta be tough-
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It's easier to fool people than it is to convince them they have been fooled.
bigbore442001
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Re: OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

Post by bigbore442001 »

Good job. Maine is a great state for turkey. Sort of a sleeper which I hope not too many other people discover. :mrgreen:
Gobblerforge
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Re: OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

Post by Gobblerforge »

Good job. You have learned one of the best secrets of turkey hunting. Knowing when to shut up. If you make a call and the gobbler answers right back, then he knows exactly where "that hen" is. This is usually my last call for a while. Makes them more curious and they come looking. If you keep talking, the tom usually stays put and waits for the hen to come to him.
Black flies, huh? Let me take a moment to scratch Maine of my list of possible places to live.
There, thanks :D
Gobbler
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rjohns94
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Re: OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

Post by rjohns94 »

Awesome write up. thanks. I have got to do that some day.
Mike Johnson,

"Only those who will risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Eliot
dkmlever
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Re: OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

Post by dkmlever »

Maine black flies have driven me out of the woods more than once! They are nasty!
Nath
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Re: OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

Post by Nath »

First class and well done. Our Scotish midges take some beating, maybe they are the same thing!

Nath.
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gamekeeper
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Re: OT: Got Turkey??? (I did...)

Post by gamekeeper »

rjohns94 wrote:Awesome write up. thanks. I have got to do that some day.
+ 1 :mrgreen:
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