April 25th 2013
Opening day of turkey season. Made the 1,400 km drive down from Thunder Bay to Grey/Bruce Country, arriving the night before the opener. Roosted some birds the night before, and had a good idea where they've been spending their time; in the fields feasting on hay shoots, and the remants of a tilled corn field.
I got setup around 5am, with a fresh dusting of snow on the ground, and a full moon. Well before legal light there were hens making every call in the book, with multiple toms and/or jakes gobbling back, while on the roost.
At about 630, about a half hr in, the first hen flew down, making a bee line for by decoys and landing within 20 yards of me. Within secods of her landing there was a flood of birds landing, surrounding me, with about 20 turkeys on the ground in about 20 seconds. Amongst the group were several jakes, and atleast one big longbeard that caught my eye. He quickly caught sight of my Carry Lite semi strutting jake decoy, and beelined straight for it. After several tense minutes, and trying to control my racing heartrate, and trying to raise the gun with 20 eagle eyed birds inside 40 yards, and waiting for a clear shot, the 870 roared, and my opening morning was a success, with a mature Tom, with 1 1/4" spurs and a 10" beard.
Amazing morning, and a great start to the 2013 hunting season.
Opening day of turkey season. Made the 1,400 km drive down from Thunder Bay to Grey/Bruce Country, arriving the night before the opener. Roosted some birds the night before, and had a good idea where they've been spending their time; in the fields feasting on hay shoots, and the remants of a tilled corn field.
I got setup around 5am, with a fresh dusting of snow on the ground, and a full moon. Well before legal light there were hens making every call in the book, with multiple toms and/or jakes gobbling back, while on the roost.
At about 630, about a half hr in, the first hen flew down, making a bee line for by decoys and landing within 20 yards of me. Within secods of her landing there was a flood of birds landing, surrounding me, with about 20 turkeys on the ground in about 20 seconds. Amongst the group were several jakes, and atleast one big longbeard that caught my eye. He quickly caught sight of my Carry Lite semi strutting jake decoy, and beelined straight for it. After several tense minutes, and trying to control my racing heartrate, and trying to raise the gun with 20 eagle eyed birds inside 40 yards, and waiting for a clear shot, the 870 roared, and my opening morning was a success, with a mature Tom, with 1 1/4" spurs and a 10" beard.
Amazing morning, and a great start to the 2013 hunting season.
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