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Post by Woody Williams on May 8, 2020 20:18:21 GMT -5
Congratulations High Cotton!
You toughed it out and made it happen. A gobbler well earned!
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Post by featherduster on May 8, 2020 20:26:09 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing the story and photos.
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Post by drfleck on May 8, 2020 20:30:04 GMT -5
Great bird Highcotton!
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Post by Huntnfreak on May 8, 2020 20:37:12 GMT -5
Congratulations HighCotton...way to get it done teammate!! I’m trying to get it done this weekend myself!!
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Post by genesis273 on May 8, 2020 21:16:01 GMT -5
Gobbler down! Details later! Hot dog!!!! Good job and congratulations!!!
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2020 2:26:23 GMT -5
Now that my phone has dried out, and the turkey meat is soaking in buttermilk, I can give a few details on today's hunt! Every hunt is special in its own way. This one is special to me as I used a wingbone from a gobbler my buddy shot when I was calling for him some years ago! And this was a different kind of hunt as I switched things up. I made ONE call with this ONE call! And NO decoys! Drenched like a rat and hunkered down in the driving wind, I simply sat in the weeds and briars at the edge of a field on our woods edge. Basically, I decided that it was time for me to "adjust" to the recent pattern I'd seen these Toms taking on a few of their routes. They obviously weren't going to adjust to me!! My one call raised a gobble in the area I was hoping for, so I figured my plan to intercept him might just work. It didn't take long and I first saw his blue/white head pop over a rise some 20 yards in front of me. It's thick right there and he came as close as 10-12 yards. Being too close, I just prayed he wouldn't make me. Sure enough, he kept moving to my south and onto a logging trail. Now, as long as he came to the field edge, instead of diving back into the woods, I figured I'd have a good chance at around 40 yards! And he did as I wanted! Into the cove near the edge of the field he appeared, in full strut. I waited for an outstretched gobble, but it never happened. Since he was broadside, I centered the bead of the ole Mossberg 500A on his gnarly noggin! Kaboom! I let the HEVI-SHOT fly! And he was a floppin'!!! I jumped up, a runnin' toward him... just in case he had any resurrection thoughts!!! Put a Boot to his head and that was that! I just shouted, "Thank you Lord! I got him!!!" He weighed 22 lb and 10 oz Beard is 11.5 inches Left spur is 1-1/8" Right spur is 1-1/16" I tried to dry him off a bit to make him "presentable." And figured the ole Black and White might give a different effect! He's not a true limbhanger so I had to zip tie him from a tree! Not sure he could have hung in the wind anyway! The longest spur: And a good beard: My favorite pic is this one! I never have gotten around to doing anything with this wingbone. I've thought about some scrimshaw or similar design. I guess I'm just not that artistic! I just figured I'd lay it across one of the gobblers tail feathers and snap a shot! Wow, what a great hunting story, and I bet, a hunt you`ll never forget. Congratulations doesn`t even seem to be enough to say, but I don`t know what else to say. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2020 2:37:31 GMT -5
Well, here we go, last day of the 2020 spring wild turkey season for me, and we`ll probably only hunt the morning and early afternoon. I`m blessed that my buddy is crawling out of a warm bed early this morning to take me out on land he has access to, and he`ll call for me. Clint likes to hunt the morning off the roost, then if no luck, we`ll head to McDonalds for breakfast on the tailgate, then one more hunt maybe till 1:00 or so.
I`m excited. Last season, on the last Saturday of the spring season, he called in a bird, and it was a heck of a show. It was "only" a jake, but he appeared over a rise in the field, and as soon as he saw the two hen decoys, he fanned out, wingtips dragging the ground, and came right in. The hen dekes were at 20 yards, and he walked right between them, to within about 10 yards of us. When he turned his back to us, I got the gun up, and when he moved out to about 25 yards and turned facing us again, I hit him with the Winchester Extended Range Hi-Density #6 shot right in the face. He never twitched a tail feather.
It`s going to be cold first thing this morning, everyone bundle up. Very best of luck to all the hardcore hunters still out trying to get a tom. Be safe.
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Post by 10point on May 9, 2020 4:44:13 GMT -5
Good luck. I'm set up ready to go.
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Post by huntnandplumbn on May 9, 2020 5:02:15 GMT -5
Just got set. Hear the gobbling not far away.
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Post by deadeer on May 9, 2020 5:19:05 GMT -5
Congrats HighCotton. One for the memory!
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Post by deadeer on May 9, 2020 5:21:22 GMT -5
Well, getting down to the nitty gritty! I am 30yds from a lane that extends onto a ridge top. The birds are gobbling as much as ever! This is probably our most consistent spot for seeing traffic. Cold and crisp! Fingers crossed.
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Post by genesis273 on May 9, 2020 5:25:01 GMT -5
Yesterday afternoon, as windy as it was, I had seen birds strutting all over. I seen one lone tom on my farm near the edge of the woods. The guy hunting next to me had already shot his bird on a separate farm a few miles away but, he was struggling to get his fiance on a turkey. I called him immediately and extended the offer to let them go after that bird. He said she declined due to the wind and chilly temps. Once I got home about 6pm CST, I seen a big strutter behind my house doing his best to seduce the three hens with him. Just 400 yards away on the opposite side of the ditch, there were 2 toms bidding for the affection of the single hen in between them. At 6:30 pm the neighbor boy (he's about 22 but I still call him boy) called me all excited. We had been talking off and on during the season and he's been sharing a lot of the same struggles some on here have had. Skirting decoys, refusing to talk much on the ground, call shy... He said he was on his way home, seen a bird strutting behind the small woodlot behind his house. Neither he nor I have seen birds there ever before. He jumped on his four wheeler, circled to the opposite side of the woods, did the Mohican Sneak through the woods. He had the tom at 40 yards when he out him down for a dirt nap with his 10 gauge. He was sure fired up! So I guess I wasn't too surprised to hear High Cotton pulled it off on an ol' soggy tom turkey. So keep after it ladies and gents! The fat lady may be stepping out on the stage but, she hasn't sung yet! The boy's bird....
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Post by HighCotton on May 9, 2020 5:30:30 GMT -5
Congratulations HighCotton...way to get it done teammate!! I’m trying to get it done this weekend myself!! Thanks my friend! I’m rooting for ya! Hoping for some good action your way!
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Post by HighCotton on May 9, 2020 5:33:16 GMT -5
Well, here we go, last day of the 2020 spring wild turkey season for me, and we`ll probably only hunt the morning and early afternoon. I`m blessed that my buddy is crawling out of a warm bed early this morning to take me out on land he has access to, and he`ll call for me. Clint likes to hunt the morning off the roost, then if no luck, we`ll head to McDonalds for breakfast on the tailgate, then one more hunt maybe till 1:00 or so. I`m excited. Last season, on the last Saturday of the spring season, he called in a bird, and it was a heck of a show. It was "only" a jake, but he appeared over a rise in the field, and as soon as he saw the two hen decoys, he fanned out, wingtips dragging the ground, and came right in. The hen dekes were at 20 yards, and he walked right between them, to within about 10 yards of us. When he turned his back to us, I got the gun up, and when he moved out to about 25 yards and turned facing us again, I hit him with the Winchester Extended Range Hi-Density #6 shot right in the face. He never twitched a tail feather. It`s going to be cold first thing this morning, everyone bundle up. Very best of luck to all the hardcore hunters still out trying to get a tom. Be safe. Looking for a Good day for ya buddy!
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Post by HighCotton on May 9, 2020 5:35:05 GMT -5
Well, getting down to the nitty gritty! I am 30yds from a lane that extends onto a ridge top. The birds are gobbling as much as ever! This is probably our most consistent spot for seeing traffic. Cold and crisp! Fingers crossed. Man you’ve sure put the time in! Pulling for ya in a big way!
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Post by huntnandplumbn on May 9, 2020 5:40:56 GMT -5
Bird down!!
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Post by HighCotton on May 9, 2020 5:54:49 GMT -5
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Post by 10point on May 9, 2020 6:05:22 GMT -5
Just watched two strut across field following a hen. If only she had come my way. They answered me but wouldn't leave her.
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Post by greghopper on May 9, 2020 6:05:57 GMT -5
Nice frost on ... dang
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Post by genesis273 on May 9, 2020 6:07:42 GMT -5
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