2023 spring turkey
- Thread starter brybenn
- Start date
Dang, those make my Avian X ones look like the foam flambeau specials lol
Hah, I used to use Avian X inflatables. Nice looking, but I experienced way too many issues loosing air due to faulty valves. First issue was right out of the box. Next one was after a single season. I got fed up and switched. These new ones have taken long beatings from big Toms and my buddy put a few pellets into one, don't imagine inflatable decoys would hold up after such abuse.
Nice job, Waterfowler.
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
Oh. For some reason I thought you were hunting out in the Ottawa area
Nice colours on that one!
Yeah those are the ones i have, luckily no valve issues thus far (knock on wood). And i do have to make sure the turkey is well clear of them so they dont get deflated by a pellet lol
Mid morning bird. Athens ON
Nice, what did you use?
Chased this guy for 7 hours on Wednesday. Him and his buddy were on the roost at daylight but flew down 50yds out from decoys and strutted around for almost and hour but wouldn't come in. Wandered off but kept gobbling to my calls, tried to cut them off 3 times but could get ahead of them. Went back to the field around 11 and started calling again. This guy showed up without his buddy around 12:30, stopped calling and he slowly made his way in to my decoys. Shot at 25yds, he was still flopping around, bleeding like a son of a b%^$*. By the time I got his neck wrung I look like something from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, blood from head to toe, feather everywhere.
21lbs
10" beard
1" spurs
View attachment 676636
21lbs
10" beard
1" spurs
View attachment 676636Attachments
Probably because we did the snow goose hunt out that way... nope, I hunt the base of the Bruce. I went through a snow storm and a hail storm on the way down on Monday, but it cleared up over night, opening morning was cold (-2 C) but clear and calm. In scouting, there were a lot of birds around on all of my properties, but I never left the first one. Now a long year wait until next season.
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Haha i hear ya! My gloves were soaked through with blood after having to stretch his neck. Massive pool of blood on the ground before i picked him up. I feel your pain but lovely bird!
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KotKotofeich
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ottawa Valley
Nice idea on the turkey tote - I didn't have far to go but had to take a rest stop... I have a SS-211 as well, I should try it too... Normally I use a 870...
Mine came is at 17 lb dressed weight. Lots of fat on the breast, meat was excellent - soft and juicy. My 4yr old daughter asked for seconds and that's the best testament
Mine came is at 17 lb dressed weight. Lots of fat on the breast, meat was excellent - soft and juicy. My 4yr old daughter asked for seconds and that's the best testament
Mossberg 500 20 Ga turkey. Switched to the 20 last year and this was it's 3rd bird. I have noticed no difference between the gauges under 40 yards. Just had my second hip replaced-so it's nice and light to tote around as I recover.
Congrats Brent!
Nice idea on the turkey tote - I didn't have far to go but had to take a rest stop... I have a SS-211 as well, I should try it too... Normally I use a 870...
Mine came is at 17 lb dressed weight. Lots of fat on the breast, meat was excellent - soft and juicy. My 4yr old daughter asked for seconds and that's the best testament
Agreed! When the family enjoys it, that makes it even more worth while! I tested my ss211 setup out to 30yrds and wouldnt hunt that far with it (pattern opened up alot from the 25yrd), 25yrds still had a good pattern so i was all set for the 15yrd shot i ended up making.
I got the tote off a lady on etsy named shootingskulls, you can choose from a bunch of different colours, was a good price and helped a ton lugging that big bastard back the 800m to the camp lol
Thanks Bill!!!
We have had a great season. 4 nice longbeards so far. Three that were 3 or more years old and a 24.4 lb 2 year old.
More to come!!!
So did the annual trip down from north shore of Lake Superior to north of Barrie where I have access to a farm surrounded by large tracts of county forest. Unfortunately there were no birds on the farm and I was running and gunning on a section of county on the day after opening, when I had a tom circle behind gobbling on the adjacent private land where I didnt have permission to hunt. So I backed out with plans to be there the following morning at first light.
Hiked in well before legal and set decoys up where they could easily be seen from the private land. As the legal time approached, I heard a couple of gobbles and 30 minutes after legal I saw three turkeys fly down from some large white pines about 60 yards in front of me on the county forest. This is great - I do a quiet couple of yelps, tom gobbles and BOOM! A gunshot from the other side of the pines. A turkey comes flapping by, bouncing off trees and alights at the top of a maple tree up on a ridge.
I wait and about 5 minutes later, I can see a hunter coming through the hardwoods who stopped when he saw the decoys. I called out and stood up after he answered. I told him there was a turkey up in a tree and he said that he had wounded it. I pointed it out to him and he said- I know its not the way you are supposed to do it but I have to kill it - I told him do what he needed to do. He climbed the ridge and shot and the turkey came down, rolling and flapping all the way down the ridge, with the hunter running after it. It was dead when he got to it and I walked up.
Young hunter (20's), said it took him 5 years and that was his first turkey, and then apologized for ruining my hunt. I said it was no issue, was public land and congratulated him on his first bird. Then I asked him for his cell phone and took some pictures of him and his bird.
As much as I was disappointed that the bird didnt come my way, I was happy that a young (and very polite) hunter bagged his first bird.
Never had another bird come near me for the rest of the week, but thats the way it goes.
Sorry your trip didnt end with a bird to bring back. But good on you for helping the young lad capture his first turkey! At least you had a week in the woods, always better than a week at work
So did the annual trip down from north shore of Lake Superior to north of Barrie where I have access to a farm surrounded by large tracts of county forest. Unfortunately there were no birds on the farm and I was running and gunning on a section of county on the day after opening, when I had a tom circle behind gobbling on the adjacent private land where I didnt have permission to hunt. So I backed out with plans to be there the following morning at first light.
Hiked in well before legal and set decoys up where they could easily be seen from the private land. As the legal time approached, I heard a couple of gobbles and 30 minutes after legal I saw three turkeys fly down from some large white pines about 60 yards in front of me on the county forest. This is great - I do a quiet couple of yelps, tom gobbles and BOOM! A gunshot from the other side of the pines. A turkey comes flapping by, bouncing off trees and alights at the top of a maple tree up on a ridge.
I wait and about 5 minutes later, I can see a hunter coming through the hardwoods who stopped when he saw the decoys. I called out and stood up after he answered. I told him there was a turkey up in a tree and he said that he had wounded it. I pointed it out to him and he said- I know its not the way you are supposed to do it but I have to kill it - I told him do what he needed to do. He climbed the ridge and shot and the turkey came down, rolling and flapping all the way down the ridge, with the hunter running after it. It was dead when he got to it and I walked up.
Young hunter (20's), said it took him 5 years and that was his first turkey, and then apologized for ruining my hunt. I said it was no issue, was public land and congratulated him on his first bird. Then I asked him for his cell phone and took some pictures of him and his bird.
As much as I was disappointed that the bird didnt come my way, I was happy that a young (and very polite) hunter bagged his first bird.
Never had another bird come near me for the rest of the week, but thats the way it goes.
Next year...call me.
