knockemdown
New member
Hey guys,
Finally got away to chase them toms again & connected on a beautiful 2yr old tom. He wasn't the biggest bird in the woods, but he sure did have his BLING on for me...
DOUBLE BANDS baby!!!
I've been lucky enough to shoot a couple banded ducks & geese in the last few years, but never even heard of a double bander. Let alone on a longbeard! Showed him to a couple fellas at the gun shop and they were absolutely flipping out & taking pics with their camera phones. Bud snapped this off in the beautiful spring hardwoods where he lay...
As for the hunt, we set up in the pre-dawn listening for gobbles and only heard some far off. My bud & me struck off to run & gun leaving my uncle in a proven strut zone for a possible ambush attempt at a silent bird. He can't get around well anymore so off we went to rendevous by noon...
Got an answer about 9:30am but couldn't fire that one up so we began a circuitous route slowly working back toward uncle.
The woods opened up above a stream in what looked like very "turkey type" woods. You know what I mean if you've seen where turkeys like to loaf around in the middle day...
So now the time is 11:05am and it's game over @ noon in NY so this was probably the last set before hiking on out.
No sooner did we sit down and make one sequence when a hard gobble fires back within 100yds!!! Luckily, the late season greenery had covered our movement slipping through the otherwise open hardwoods. Anyway, I get spun around and Angelo has already got his gun up ready to rock. Either way, this bird is going down...
Within 1 minute, here comes the unforgettable sight of the "Black Hefty Bag" strutting on in through the green understory with a few Jakes in tow. The whole gang was coming for the show! The sight of a strutting tom is UNFORGETTABLE. Hearing his drumming is a shot of adrenaline straight to the bloodstream!
Well, Mr. Tom made the mistake of strutting down Mr. Benelli's barrel and got knocked down courtesy of a payload of Winchester Supreme HV #5s. Man, I love hunting turkeys!!!
Like I said, he wasn't the biggest tom in the woods, but his flight feathers were totally worn to the quick from strutting. And oooohhhh, that BLING!!!
Next day, uncle & I blew an an opportunity at an absolute monster of a bird right off the roost due to a lack of communication. He strutted right on by me and I let him go toward my uncle's waiting Mossberg. Little did I know, uncle had changed his position slightly lower on the hill for comfort and never did see that whopper in all his glory. This was an easy 4+yr old monarch with a head the size of a softball and a 10" paintbrush for a beard...
Well, that monster tom cut through into the woods directly behind me and stared me down handcuffed @ 15yds with no chance for a shot. Honestly, this bird was a true limbhanger and looked as though he could've eaten my bird from the following morning. But that's turkey hunting for ya...
Hope you guys are still after them!!!
Finally got away to chase them toms again & connected on a beautiful 2yr old tom. He wasn't the biggest bird in the woods, but he sure did have his BLING on for me...
DOUBLE BANDS baby!!!
I've been lucky enough to shoot a couple banded ducks & geese in the last few years, but never even heard of a double bander. Let alone on a longbeard! Showed him to a couple fellas at the gun shop and they were absolutely flipping out & taking pics with their camera phones. Bud snapped this off in the beautiful spring hardwoods where he lay...
As for the hunt, we set up in the pre-dawn listening for gobbles and only heard some far off. My bud & me struck off to run & gun leaving my uncle in a proven strut zone for a possible ambush attempt at a silent bird. He can't get around well anymore so off we went to rendevous by noon...
Got an answer about 9:30am but couldn't fire that one up so we began a circuitous route slowly working back toward uncle.
The woods opened up above a stream in what looked like very "turkey type" woods. You know what I mean if you've seen where turkeys like to loaf around in the middle day...
So now the time is 11:05am and it's game over @ noon in NY so this was probably the last set before hiking on out.
No sooner did we sit down and make one sequence when a hard gobble fires back within 100yds!!! Luckily, the late season greenery had covered our movement slipping through the otherwise open hardwoods. Anyway, I get spun around and Angelo has already got his gun up ready to rock. Either way, this bird is going down...
Within 1 minute, here comes the unforgettable sight of the "Black Hefty Bag" strutting on in through the green understory with a few Jakes in tow. The whole gang was coming for the show! The sight of a strutting tom is UNFORGETTABLE. Hearing his drumming is a shot of adrenaline straight to the bloodstream!
Well, Mr. Tom made the mistake of strutting down Mr. Benelli's barrel and got knocked down courtesy of a payload of Winchester Supreme HV #5s. Man, I love hunting turkeys!!!
Like I said, he wasn't the biggest tom in the woods, but his flight feathers were totally worn to the quick from strutting. And oooohhhh, that BLING!!!
Next day, uncle & I blew an an opportunity at an absolute monster of a bird right off the roost due to a lack of communication. He strutted right on by me and I let him go toward my uncle's waiting Mossberg. Little did I know, uncle had changed his position slightly lower on the hill for comfort and never did see that whopper in all his glory. This was an easy 4+yr old monarch with a head the size of a softball and a 10" paintbrush for a beard...
Well, that monster tom cut through into the woods directly behind me and stared me down handcuffed @ 15yds with no chance for a shot. Honestly, this bird was a true limbhanger and looked as though he could've eaten my bird from the following morning. But that's turkey hunting for ya...
Hope you guys are still after them!!!
