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Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
#5109280
05/12/14 02:15 AM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
For the first time I decided to turkey hunt on my own. No one to make decisions but me. My girlfriend and I went out to a ranch in Concho County with lots of birds for the end of the season. The general theme of the weekend was that I screwed things up over and over. Day 1 - Friday I called in a jake within ten minutes of setting up at 1 pm. He came in silently and surprised me. I spooked him and did not get off a shot. Then I spent the rest of the day watching hens at water holes and in fields. Day 2 - Saturday Called to one gobbling bird in the morning. Got some answers but the bird would not move closer and eventually got quiet. Then it got hot. In the evening I called in another jake, took a long shot at 40 yards. I hit him, he flopped once, got up and absolutely bolted. Crazy. I guess I should have been more ready to plug him again. Day 3 - Sunday (today) We set up on a big field (105 acres) we had scouted. There were birds in the field every time we looked. I put my girlfriend in a blind on the field corner next to a fence line turkeys had been walking. I set up in another blind on another field edge. We were 500 yards apart. It was very windy. Too windy for decoys or even effective calling. Fifteen minutes after sunrise, three mature toms walk out into the field 150 yards away. I called, they did not respond except for an occasional look, and kept walking. Later, over the next hour, a hen walked all over the field twice, coming in range of myself and my girlfriend. This hen spent tons of time just out picking insects out of the field. Eventually she left. At 9:30, I look up, and at least 700 yards away is a big tom. After inspection with binoculars, we see that he is a big gobbler. My girlfriend and I are texting back and forth. The turkey is walking directly towards her blind, just as planned. He's just taking his own sweet time, picking up insects as he goes. The turkey is about 400 yards away from her and I hear her shoot. Bam. One second later. Bam. One more second. Bam again. I see a turkey fly up in the air into the brush next to the field. The gobbler out way in front runs off into the thick mesquite. My girlfriend calls and tells me a big gobbler stepped out of the mesquite onto the road right next to her blind at twenty yards. She plugged him, he didn't go down so she shot two more times, hitting him each time. She had patterned her 20 gauge and it had patterned well. I don't know why she didn't kill it. She tells me she is going to go look. I tell her I'm packing up and coming in the truck. Before I get to the gate I hear the gun go off two more times. Right about then I'm thinking, "Crap, he's running and she's trying to finish him off." About a minute later I get a photo of a dead turkey. The relief I felt was immense. I get over to her location and she has the bird. She walked about eighty yards from where she shot him and there he was, on the ground, flipping just a little. After seeing my jake get away from the day before, she plugged him twice more in the head while he was in the final stages of kicking. She did not want him to get away. Here are the photos. The beard is ten inches long. Would anyone help guess the age based on the spurs? They were 3/4 of an inch long and quite worn. After all the trials we went through, I'm glad she got a bird and it was a good one. I'm also glad she had the readiness to keep shooting him when he didn't go down. I've also included a photo of a five foot long bull snake we found while driving a ranch road, which was released unharmed.
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5109320
05/12/14 02:38 AM
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 10,648
DQ Kid
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 10,648 |
Nice turkey and that bull snake appears much more docile than I took them for. Really cool pics, congrats.
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5109324
05/12/14 02:39 AM
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 35,900
txshntr
T-Rex Arms
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T-Rex Arms
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 35,900 |
Cool pics!!! Congrats to you both
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5109335
05/12/14 02:50 AM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
DQ Kid,
Bullsnakes are mostly bluster. They will hiss like crazy and sometimes gape with an open mouth, but most of the time if you pick them up gently and support them, they won't bite. I've picked up probably twenty five and only been bitten by two I think. I'm pretty good at dodging strikes though!
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5109342
05/12/14 02:57 AM
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 354
trash2
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 354 |
2yr old bird, congrats to her
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5109400
05/12/14 03:42 AM
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,817
dogcatcher
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,817 |
Combat Infantryman, the ultimate hunter where the prey shoots back. _____________"Illegitimus non carborundum est"_______________
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5109407
05/12/14 03:49 AM
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 6,098
Wilhunt
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 6,098 |
A good story and a nice turkey.
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5109567
05/12/14 12:59 PM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
Trash2, thank you for the age estimate. Are you basing that off the spurs? My very limited understanding was that spurs could also be worn down to look short like those in the photo and that beards continued to grow through their life, so a bird with a ten inch beard should be at least three years old. Not disagreeing, as I know very little about this.
I'm enjoying learning about turkey hunting and trying to get better at it. This type of hunting certainly is challenging.
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5109652
05/12/14 01:52 PM
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 14,768
jeh7mmmag
gramps
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gramps
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 14,768 |
�Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.� ~ John Muir
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5109654
05/12/14 01:52 PM
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 13
Coonass1
Light Foot
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Light Foot
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 13 |
Great story! Fantastic first bird! The spurs are not worn, they are dull because they have not grown long and sharp yet. Google 3 yo and 4 yo spur images and you will see the progress each year. Think of them as a horn that grows each year. 3 year olds are impressive, until you hold a curved and sharp 1 1/4" spur of a 4+ year old in your hand. The beards, in my experience, vary a lot from region to region. Turkeys killed in TX, LA and MS all exhibit their own character from my hunt log. Some times they wear them down from dragging it, or a mite or fungus may keep them short. Some research will even suggest wildfires may singe it and frozen winters may have snapped it off as they leave a frosty roost limb. One property near Fowlerton we hunted for 10 years wouldn't produce a beard much over 10 1/4", from 2 to 4+ years old (50-60 birds sampled). Most beards had a white tip to the brisle and we believe that this was a mite or fungus that made the beard brittle, keeping them short.
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5109662
05/12/14 01:56 PM
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 3,309
txvarminter
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 3,309 |
Nice bird. By spur length I'd say probably a 2year old bird
Love bull snakes. Have a 6+ footer that hangs out around the house that is cool as they get. It seams that the bigger they get the easier they are to handle. The little 2 footers that we find have a BAD attitude but the big boys are cool glad you let it go unharmed.
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5109755
05/12/14 02:41 PM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
Thanks for the information on aging birds, everyone. Now I want to shoot a four year old one day!
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5109877
05/12/14 04:07 PM
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 354
trash2
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 354 |
Pretty much summed up in the previous post, but there are always exceptions. Beards and weights do very little in accurately aging a bird. Have killed 3/4 yr olds w 4" beards. If they have a full fan and gobble ill assume beard rot and lay a short bearded bird to rest. The spurs will grow sharper and begin to hook at 3yr, a typical 4yr old bird should have 1 1/8+ spurs that are dangerously sharp and hooked. That being said I've also killed 9-11" bearded birds that have 1 or both legs missing any spur formation. The spurs are what make a trophy IMO. However as long as the bird is 2yr old there isn't any disappointment!! Congrats again!
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5110007
05/12/14 05:25 PM
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 19,100
dgilbert
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 19,100 |
Congrats to her, and she even handles snake!
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5110138
05/12/14 06:46 PM
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,593
Opening Day
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,593 |
No I offense but she has bigger ones than me. I don't do snakes!
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5110342
05/12/14 08:48 PM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
It's funny about people's reactions to the snake or snakes in general. I'm a herpetologist and she has worked at three zoos, so a nonvenomous snake is no big deal. She moves rattlesnakes out of the road with a pair of tongs all the time. People really exaggerate the danger from snakes, even the venomous ones. Deer kill more than thirty times more people in the US than snakes every year and everyone isn't killing every deer they see. Well maybe some people are.
Last edited by UTAhunter; 05/12/14 08:53 PM.
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5111274
05/13/14 01:49 PM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,045
Western
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,045 |
Heck of a Tom, real dandy! She got it done, even considering her guide LOL (ribbing you of course) Marry that girl, she hunt's, "aint sceered" of snakes like some "men" on THF and she's "purdy", so you wont find better
If at first you dont succeed, then skydiving is not for you..
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln Dennis
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5112658
05/14/14 04:11 AM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292
Duckhawker
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 292 |
Western, my guiding abilities leave a lot to be desired with turkeys! Maybe in a few years I'll be better.
I get the "you should marry her" comment about twice a month. I'm considering it.
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5113209
05/14/14 05:15 PM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,045
Western
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,045 |
Western, my guiding abilities leave a lot to be desired with turkeys! Maybe in a few years I'll be better.
I get the "you should marry her" comment about twice a month. I'm considering it. Well, I'll tell you what, you didn't go through anything that allot of us haven't gone through as well. That's probably the reason Spring turkey is so fun, just when it seems "simple", they throw you a curve-ball.
If at first you dont succeed, then skydiving is not for you..
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln Dennis
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5113230
05/14/14 05:46 PM
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 197
Niko
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 197 |
GOD has all the answers to your questions. It's your choice to follow his path or create your own.
May GOD Bless you all
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Re: Girlfriend's first turkey was a big one
[Re: Duckhawker]
#5115775
05/16/14 06:38 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 19,498
Erathkid
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 19,498 |
Western, my guiding abilities leave a lot to be desired with turkeys! Maybe in a few years I'll be better.
I get the "you should marry her" comment about twice a month. I'm considering it. "Considering it"? Buddy you need to drag that girl to the J.P. as quickly as possible. She's a goodun'.
Life is too short, as is. Don't chance it. Don't text and drive.
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