Leaderboard

10/1/4 in beard an 1/8 spears my sons first bird

Oh good .... so the piece of crap got to suffer a little bit. That's good news, I hope he was some pretty good agony.

That's a good pattern and , applied to the head/neck region of a gobbler, will result in a dead turkey, at least out to and somewhat beyond the distance that you fired at that patterning target.. When I started hunting turkeys in the 1960s, 3 inch magnum 12 gauge guns were just beginning to become popular... The "standard" turkey gun at that time was a 2 3/4" full choke 12 gauge, but many hunters owned only one shotgun and used whatever they had, often a 20 or 16 gauge with a modified choke. My first fall turkey was killed with with a 12 gauge modified choke and regular high brass #4 shot in 1965. A few years later, I took my first spring gobbler with a side by side 20 gauge. As long as the shot was taken within the effective range of the shotgun, turkeys were killed with amazing regularity. The simple minded creatures just hadn't LEARNED yet that it required 3" or 3.5 " magnum guns and $5 apiece shotshells to kill them. Fortunately for them, today's turkeys are much more sophisticated, and refuse to succumb to the crude , outdated guns and ammo that used to be effective on them.

Ya think maybe the show might be scripted and that the Lady whose property they tresspassed on knew the script also . With the show being televised , there is no way she wouldn't have eventually found out about the deer recovery and those guys would be in deep doo-doo if that wasn't so . I would even bet that the dead doe was placed there just for the show .

Thanks for the replies. I thought that was what the answer would be and I just wanted to make sure. I've looked for another barrel and the cost seems very high for just a barrel (upwards of $200). I think I will get a whole new gun before spending that on a barrel. Thanks again

Only way to kill a swamp donkey is to hunt the swamp. Fear no swamps.........................

I finally won a gun raffle!! I won a Benelli Super nova 12 gauge. Never owned anything but Remingtons so not quite sure what to expect? I haven't received it yet but hopefully I will have it within the next 2 weeks. I received a promotion at work at the beginning of the year and I purchased my first truck!!! Its a 2011 Ram 1500 with the HEMI. So hopefully by the end of the year I can finish with a big mature buck and put some blood on the tailgate!

At Molly Malone's in BayShore

With my son and his Boy Scout troop 253 on his first overnight camping trip and my first in 35 years at Camp Seton Greenwich CT. It brought back so many great memories. It was cold last night and this morning. Thank God for thermals and hot coffee. My son standing in front of a tent he helped pitch. Never thought I'd see my son doing KP duty

Its still better then 90% of the High Fence hunting shows on TV. Sent from my Droid

My daughter connected on a jake this morning! Her first! She missed one last year, so this one built up her confidence and gave her some redemption!! Possibly the most exciting/suspenseful turkey hunt I've ever had and her getting it was the icing on the cake! Talk about highs and lows and we both learned a few lessons!

Fun times when you can get a group of kids camping out and away from technology for any amount of time. I am also in my forties and decided an air matress is required for these old bones. We still go the route of tent camping though.

Please forgive, because you did not not ask for advice, Growie , and I realize that unsolicted advice is usually about as welcome as a dead whale in your backyard in August. However, looking at your pattern density, I'd definitely try going to # 6 shot in the same payload to thicken up your pattern a bit. Your 30 yard patterns are getting a bit sparse with the 5 s.. No problem with individual pellet energy with # 6 shot..It WILL cut the mustard inside of 40 yards.. I can really see NO advantage of using shot larger than #6 in a 20 gauge.. In a larger gauge with a heavier payload, perhaps, but not in a 20. Personally, I'd like to see "heavy for gauge" loads of premium 7 1/2 shot for 20 gauge guns..I think they would be awesome within 40 yards. Also, since your pattern seems to be centered low and to the right, I'd consider some kind of adjustable sights to move the pattern to point of aim.. Kentucky windage is OK, but when the adrenaline kicks in it is better to have a gun that shoots to point of aim.. There are a number of adjustable sight options, both optical and mechanical, that you can get for not a whole bunch of $$ that allow you to adjust your pattern to point of aim.. If your Mossy has a rib, there are several fairly low cost sight systems that can be attached right to your rib, and they allow for precision sight adjustments.

my nephew got this bird yesterday morning in the snow, it came in gobbiling with three other jakes.

Awkward

I have a few of my spots outlined on Google earth. I tell my fiance where I will be and she knows she can find it on Google earth. I've never needed to be rescued, thus far! Snakes are mostly not bothersome. Just don't take avoidable risks. Avoid injuries/lacerations and know how to apply a tourniquit. Paracord could be a useful lightweight cordage for emergencies. A flashlight, knife and a lighter are good items to have as well.

My son and I went out this morning and had a little action. He could have taken a shot at Jake but if it was 10-12 pounds and he decided not to shoot it. We also played with another bird in a different spot but did not get a look at him. It was fun but very cold with rain, ice rain and snow.

My nephew scored on a jake this morning. Called in a big ole longbeard with ten hens but he followed the hens. Two jakes came in and at 25 yards that was close enough. Bird has a 4.5" beard with 1/2" spurs and weighed 17.2 lbs. it was a real quiet morning till 10 am when I got a hen fired up. Thirty minutes later the toms came in.

What he said.......

One of your best freinds in a swamp can be a good walk or poke stick to test areas that look bad. The other is a rope strong enough to pull you out if you get stuck. And a cell phone.

From the age of 11, I trapped around and in swamps and survived to tell about it. That's not to say that you can be foolish when walking around in a swamp. There are features hidden under water. Slippery mud can put you into water over your head before you know it. When submerged creekbeds are totally under water and not all that obvious, slow things down and move with extreme caustion. Hip boots/waders can fill with water and put you into an "un-swimable" condition. Boots can get stuck in the mud so tight you can't move your legs. Snakes were never a concern for me (western NY). Beavers can make some pretty treacherous features that can't always be seen. Underwater ditches, pot-holes, etc. I have also seen under-water entrances for bank-beavers that had some rather thin ceilings on them. So a cave-in along the creekbed might all of a sudden slide you into water over your head. I have been in situations that I wasn't completely sure I was going to get out of, so some common sense and a cautious attitude can help keep you out of trouble but with no guarantees. I always had a walking stick to probe ahead of me when I wasn't sure of what was there. I also kept all my movements down to careful un-hurried and thought out progress. In our swamp, there was always a time of the year when you had to exercise a lot of extra caution. In the spring time, sudden thaws could elevate creeks and make surrounding swamp lands extra deep. There was even some parts of the swamp that actually developed a pretty severe current. Ice that was previously safe could develop soft thin spots overnight. In a race to save some of my traps that were in danger of washing out, there were a few times when I may not have used the best judgement.... lol. Just use your head and recognize that there are a few dangers there that you won't find on high and dry land, and you will probably do all right. But like I said, there are no guarantees.

I love my swamps and they never hurt me. No sinkholes or false bottoms. Snakes only in the warmer weather maybe seen one or 2 in May turkey season, their fine. Wasp and hornet nests, no different than anywhere else in the woods.

I think there are more hunters (after all it is addicting) and less turkeys (poor hatches last few years and more preditors) But all that said I will be out until I tag out and then I will call for any one who wants the company. I love the challenge!

calling before the season does not educate birds. Read Ray eye's Turkey hunting bible its usually human intrusion that shuts birds down, not calling.

One of the problems with lugging equipment (stands) is that in the one kind of hunting area that you want to get as far in as possible, is state land. It would be nice if you could feel comfortable leaving all that junk in there once you have dragged it all in. Sometimes going in with a full pack and stands etc. gets to be a little much for allowing you in as deep as is adviseable on crowded state land. Add to that the fact that a lot of state land consists of killer hills, carrying piles of equipment sometimes can relegate you to hunting where everybody else hunts ..... not far from the road or parking lot. For me, state land generally means traveling light. Of course I no longer use treestands, so that is no longer a concern for me. I remember once seeing another bowhunter who had just struggeled his way up the hill. He was lugging a pack, a pretty heavy-looking treestand and a few of those tree-step gizmos, and of course his bow. This guy was breathing like a steam engine, and had literally soaked through his camo. I'm not sure he had an ounce of fluids left in his body. He not only smelled like a horse from the sweat, but undoubtedly he was about to spend a long afternoon freezing from being soaked in the cold weather. That was really a whole lot more stubborness than good sense. But he did get a long ways away from the road.......ha-ha-ha.