Six Days Until Turkey Opens!

[Ugly Sauce]

And Bessie is ready to rock and roll them Turks! Did some pre-season scouting with the Grandson day before yesterday, the Turks aren't gobbling yet as far as we could tell. Had some nice weather, but it's lightly snowing right now, predicted weather doesn't look great, so I don't really expect them to be gobbling on opening day. Bummer. I just hate slowly wandering the woods with a flintlock musket in hand. Terrible way to spend the day. !!!

Bessie says: "thanks for listening"!

 

[LoonWulf]

Havent turkey hunted in a while, our bearded season ends on the 15th.

Here wishing you and Bessie great fortune and enjoyable wandering!

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Best of luck to you and Bessie.
BTW, your loads intrigue Sir.
Can you tell more about them?

 

[DukeConnor]

A turkey almost tagged me last week. Dog kicked one up and it almost took my head off. I'm not ashamed to admit it scared the heck out of me.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Oh those are shot cartridges, it's a 12gauge plastic shot cup wrapped in grocery bag paper. Bessie is an 11 gauge, so it makes for a perfect fit. About two ounces of #4 shot. Then I have 100 grain 2fg separate paper powder charge "cartridges" in sammich bag paper. The little horn is my priming horn.

Bessie prefers 1fg but I have run out. !

 

[Armored farmer]

View attachment 1071623
And Bessie is ready to rock and roll them Turks! Did some pre-season scouting with the Grandson day before yesterday, the Turks aren't gobbling yet as far as we could tell. Had some nice weather, but it's lightly snowing right now, predicted weather doesn't look great, so I don't really expect them to be gobbling on opening day. Bummer. I just hate slowly wandering the woods with a flintlock musket in hand. Terrible way to spend the day. !!!

Bessie says: "thanks for listening"!

Best of luck to Bessie.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Thanks Farmer, we'll need it. Having a little bit of a cold spell, and the Turks aren't gobbling yet around here. Every year it's different, give or take a week or so depending on the weather. But, it's a long season, from the 15th of this month until May 31st. Of course when they do start gobbling, it's not for long, so you have to get out there while the getting is good. !!! But you don't know until you try, and maybe we'll get some dumb Jake or big gobbler to come in to the call who wants to start the mating season.

I had a ball still loaded in Bessie, so I popped it off day before yesterday to clean her out and load her up with shot. I put a paper plate out at 50 yards, aimed at the bottom edge of the plate, and dang if that's not exactly where that ball went. Bessie is a good girl.

 

[Duster340]

Good luck!

 

[Armored farmer]

I was lucky to tag my spring turkey on day two this year. I only get one tag because I'm usually so busy this time of year. This year I wish I had another tag!.
Food for thought....:
I have lately been leaving the decoys in the bag. Too many times I have had Tom's hang up about 100yds. I think they come in closer trying to find hens, rather than stopping to study the lifeless dekes.
Another thing that happened my buddy and me this time: ....we were walking out when we looked back and saw birds! We actually sneaked back into the blind and called them in. My point is that we had given up too soon. I am not sure that I haven't killed as many birds at 930-10am as I have at, or soon after sunrise.

This year's birds.

Opening day 2016. I took my bird with my BP 12ga sxs with 1¼oz of #4 over a veg wad and 90gr 2f.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I think they taste better when a muzzle loader is used. The smoke seasons them a bit or something. I did get one last year with my Great Grandfather's (or it may have been a gift from great-grand-dad to grand-dad) 12gauge double barrel shell-gun. But, I loaded the shells with black powder.

Sometimes I'll have good luck calling them in, then they hang up and disappear, other times they run up on my decoy so fast it takes me by surprise. I try not to give up, usually spend the whole day out if for no other reason than to run away from home.

 

[courtgreene]

They owned me today. Every time I had one gobbling it was far away. Then about ten they just stopped altogether. Finally got close to one and it spotted me and that was that. I’ll admit I’m a bad turkey hunter. It’s fun to try though.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

They owned me today. Every time I had one gobbling it was far away. Then about ten they just stopped altogether. Finally got close to one and it spotted me and that was that. I’ll admit I’m a bad turkey hunter. It’s fun to try though.

You ain't so bad. Sounds a lot like my turkey hunting. I'd kind of like to try for one with my bow, but that's a lot of movement to shoot, compared to pulling a trigger. If I get one early in the season, I might buy a second tag (you can buy a total of two, but you can get them one at a time) and try it.

 

[courtgreene]

You ain't so bad. Sounds a lot like my turkey hunting. I'd kind of like to try for one with my bow, but that's a lot of movement to shoot, compared to pulling a trigger. If I get one early in the season, I might buy a second tag (you can buy a total of two, but you can get them one at a time) and try it.

Honestly, I like being in the woods. Do I want to kill a turkey? Sure. It's not like deer where I have to put meat in the freezer for family economics though. It's more like, "I want to climb that mountain, I'll call and if I can get back in the car with a turkey carcass, that's a bonus." I am exercising and might also get a bird. Otherwise, if I was doing it with the single goal of getting a turkey, I'd drive myself insane.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Honestly, I like being in the woods. Do I want to kill a turkey? Sure. It's not like deer where I have to put meat in the freezer for family economics though. It's more like, "I want to climb that mountain, I'll call and if I can get back in the car with a turkey carcass, that's a bonus." I am exercising and might also get a bird. Otherwise, if I was doing it with the single goal of getting a turkey, I'd drive myself insane.

That sums it up exactly for me, as does "I like being in the woods". I think I belong in the woods.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Been out a couple times, but the weather has not been cooperating. Last time out, I sat down and did some calls just to locate a Turk, and one walked up on me without ever a gobble. As I was just sitting in the open, not expecting to actually see one, he busted me and left for the next county. In hind sight I may have nailed him, but I thought he might be out of range at the time. Had a hen with him.

Today I got a gobble right off the bat, but took a gamble that I could get my decoy out before he busted me. Wrong. Must have been closer than I thought. Should have just sat tight. Also got a gobble from across a big wet meadow, but no way was a Tom going to cross it. After that, nothing, and it got cloudy, and the wind kicked up. So I headed home at 3:00pm.

The pic is from my favorite blind, it has produced a couple of turkey dinners.