Ontario spring turkey 2016

Nasty morning... was set up by 5:30, howling wind and rain and a brief snow flurry... saw a huge gobbler here last night, but this morning only called in 3 jakes to 8 yards... twice. Big guy never showed... having a coffee before I run n' gun a big timber track where I have taken some nice toms... we put half a dozen gobblers to bed here last night.
 
fergie.17 said:
made it out this morning after less than 2hrs sleep with all the coughing I've been doing during the night. alarm went off at 5am and I wasn't going to go out but my wife rolled over and told me to get the hell out of bed so she could get some sleep before she goes to work........ so off I went. walked 350yards to my blind (I love hunting at home) and sat until 7am with not a gobble to be heard so my mom was putting the kids on the bus for me and I figured I'm sitting in a blind in the cold with the heat on my Milwaukee jacket, reclined in an old leather office chair, might as well have a nap........ as soon as my eyes closed I heard a gobble next door so I sit the chair back up and let out a few calls and there's three tom's answering. kept calling for 5-10mins and a hen came into the field with a tom following her and as soon as he saw my two hen decoys and my primos killer-b he came running in from 100yds and attacked the killer-b well that was it for him, I wasn't having any of that so it was over at 7:15.
9 1/2" beard and 1 1/18" spurs
pics to follow once my wife uploads the crappy cell phone pic she took before running to work.
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23lbs, wish joanne would have had time to use her dslr to take a pic, I hate crappy cell phone pics.
I'm going to have a nap now........
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Waterfowler said:
How do you classify a bird as a monster??
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1.25 spurs or more and 25 lbs or over usually fits the bill. When you see them they act different from younger birds and look like an old VW when strutting. They are akin to an old buck they don't fall for the usual tricks.

To all who have provided pics good work but one look at the pic of the over 26lber earlier and they just stand out as an above average bird.
 
thanks.
going to take my matrix 380 out later this week. should have had it this morning, this guy was at 15yds when I took the shot.
I was getting lazy on my way back to the house so dropped the bird half way and got the bike out ;) LOL
 
hunter148 said:
1.25 spurs or more and 25 lbs or over usually fits the bill. When you see them they act different from younger birds and look like an old VW when strutting. They are akin to an old buck they don't fall for the usual tricks.

To all who have provided pics good work but one look at the pic of the over 26lber earlier and they just stand out as an above average bird.
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Weight isn't an accurate indicator of a dominant bird. Most often they will weigh less than less dominant toms. As well, weight varies around the province as there are a couple different strains of birds in Ontario. East of Toronto a 22 lb bird is well above average.

Spurs are a shot in the dark. In the vast majority of hunting situations the hunter won't see the spurs until the bird is dead. But 1.25" are great hooks. I'd love to see a pic of 1 7/8" spurs.

The best indicator of a dominant bird is as you mentioned, behaviour.
 
Didn't say they were dominant birds from the size and in our area 25lb birds are becoming rarer than they were 17-19 years ago when I started chasing birds. Last two winters before this one have been hard on them size wise as well.

I am called a liar on a regular basis and big spurs are more of a trophy to me as to judge them is a usually up close and personal experience.

Here is a link to the last thread that called me on it : http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...7-Bow-hunting-turkeys?p=12188605#post12188605
 
Where I've been working the last two days is riddled with turkey gobbling and wing beating.. I counted 5 females yesterday and 3 today.
 
That coincidentally is the exact same spot I shot the one with the big spurs. I or some of my accomplices have shot more than 10 -12 birds in that spot over the years. That was until last fall when a dozer leveled it and a small swale to the right. It was an exceptional afternoon spot that now you never see a bird.
 
I really want to thank everyone for posting their hunts in here..... I recently took a job that, while lucrative, does a great job of limiting my hunting......

Anyone that knows me, knows that turkey hunting is a passion of mine and I have been struggling all week and last week to get ahead of work so I can get out there....... This has been great motivation......
 
Superbrad said:
I really want to thank everyone for posting their hunts in here..... I recently took a job that, while lucrative, does a great job of limiting my hunting......

Anyone that knows me, knows that turkey hunting is a passion of mine and I have been struggling all week and last week to get ahead of work so I can get out there....... This has been great motivation......
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We do what we can to help out! :cheers:
 
1963beretta said:
We do what we can to help out! :cheers:
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And I appreciate it...... Sincerely...... It's important for me to teach my boys the importance of education, getting a good job and providing for their kids.... But it is also important to teach values, time spent afield and shooting and the joy of hunting..... And most importantly, the importance of keeping your personal gas tank full....... I have been running on fumes these days...... And it's time to change that......
 
There's not much about Ontario that I miss since I left the province...but turkey hunting is one of those few things. Congrats to all, and good luck to those who haven't connected yet! :)
 
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