2nd and 3rd day Turkey season > Turkey pictures ... Cool !

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R.J.
Posts: 4505
Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2002 2:12 pm
Location: Innerkip , Ontario , Canada

2nd and 3rd day Turkey season > Turkey pictures ... Cool !

Post by R.J. »

April 26th , 2nd day into our 2017 Ontario Turkey Season Frank seals the deal on another beauty Tom in the morning fog ….

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I have a Tom coming down the trail when an ATV interrupts my hunt and the Tom flies right up over my blind …

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For an afternoon hunt , I spot a big Tom way back on a farm I have permission on . I stop at the house to check in > I confirm permission again for this year > they say no problem but I have to park at the barn and hike in .8 km ( approx. ½ mile ) to the back of the property ( freshly planted so no driving ) > Now .8 km ( approx. ½ mile ) doesn’t sound far but when you are packing a blind and gear , it seems a lot longer !

The Tom takes off as I hike to the back , but three Jakes show up within 5 mins of set up … Unfortunately , to ease the load , I had left my Pentax K100D Digital camera back at the truck , so no good pictures .

I have multiple sightings Toms / Jakes / a hen and a raccoon > the hen circles me many times , and finally walks off towards two mature Toms that were strutting in the next field … I watched multiple Toms strut and breed hens till the night is over but all on the next field over which is on another farm .

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I pack up , walk back to the truck and drive to the next farm over , to confirm I still have permission there > Farmer says no problem and “ Bonus “ the field has not been worked so I can drive right to the back to set up !

So I drive back and fill the ” Elevated Blind “ with some of my gear for the morning ,. The birds have moved off the field to their roosting area > Next 1.5 hour drive home to get some sleep > It’s gonna be another 3:30am morning start if I want to make it back to that location before next moorings first light ..

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My lovely wife made me enough food and beverage to fill my cooler because I was planning on staying the whole day now that I found a decent flock with many mature Tom’s !

April 27th > 5:00 am I arrive and drive right to the ” Elevated Blind “ and load it with food and gear including my good camera !

As on many previous hunts , I get to watch the sunrise look like fire thru the trees !

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Wicked wind makes it difficult to hear but on the other hand it carries my light hen calls to the roost area … I hear lots of gobbling on the roost , but nothing comes into the field that I am hunting .

First bird sighting is about 7:00am and wouldn’t you know , they come out way over to where I was set up last night ! …. Whatever , I continue to call off and on ( about every 15 mins ) .

Now I can see nothing in either field > So I take a bathroom break and a sandwich break > My wife packed me some Corn Chips and Salsa so I dug into them > Just when I finished the last one and was licking my fingers clean , I glance North and take that short deep gulp breath that comes when you see a big buck or nice Tom coming !

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It’s after 8:00am and I quickly get organized > My food away / camo mask and gloves back on / camera ready / gun ready …

This lone Tom is slow strutting/gobbling hoping the hen that I am pretending to be will come to him ! It seems like hours as he inches closer .

Then , more gobbles and I slowly turn my head to see other birds enter the field …

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Well to make a long story short , I spend the next ½ hour juggling camera / call / and gun ( BTW I’m shooting an old broken down Cooey Single Shot 12 gauge that I repaired and painted after it was going to be thrown out when my father in law passed away in February ) …. I’m sure he would have approved !

The Tom is in at 80 yards / the 50 yards when I take the last picture as he turns away from me so I can move to the gun … keep the gun on him.

Eventually he struts in to 28 yards > I tap my lunch bag with my foot ( it has my box call on top of it ) , the call squeaks one cluck and when he stretches his head to gobble , I drop the hammer and the Cooey barks a 2 ¾ Mag Round of # 6 shot . BBD Baby !

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He flaps a bit and next thing I know two other Toms run in to put the boots to him ! , I snap a couple pictures of them and then wave/yell to spook them away !

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What a fun season ! > Much quicker than previous years ! > We were in the right place at the right time > Weather was awesome ( only one rain morning ) > And lucky for me I finished early it the nice weather because as I type the sky has opened up and it is pouring out !

Of course that will knock out my rural internet connection and sure enough stalls my picture download !

Anyway > Good Luck to all that are chasing turkeys ! … Hunt Safe , Have Fun and take lots of pictures to share your hunt adventures with the other forum members !
Last edited by R.J. on Fri May 05, 2017 2:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.
See Ya. ... R.J. > " Remember , Trophies are measured by the time and energy expended to get them , not the size or quantity of the quarry "
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Carnivorous
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Re: 2nd and 3rd day Turkey season > Turkey pictures ... Cool

Post by Carnivorous »

Spectacular. I can't wait to get out again.!!! :)
A touch of frost has heightened your awareness and your heart steadily beats in anticipation. Your senses are suddenly alert to the movement on the forest floor and you realize that the moment of truth is at hand.
mr meat
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Re: 2nd and 3rd day Turkey season > Turkey pictures ... Cool

Post by mr meat »

Congrats on the tom,and another great story and pics!
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wabi
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Re: 2nd and 3rd day Turkey season > Turkey pictures ... Cool

Post by wabi »

Congratulations!!!!!!
A short successful season is hard to beat!
wabi
longbow joe
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Re: 2nd and 3rd day Turkey season > Turkey pictures ... Cool

Post by longbow joe »

Great pics. Thanks for taking the time to post.
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