wooly

Flip a coin. I like a jake, but that's just what I've found works the best on birds in these woods.

There's no way we are all looking at the same picture here! The one on my screen is a fox without a doubt.

I would go with at least one decoy to put any interested birds in a predicted spot in front of the barrel and distract them from your set up. I would think a new youth hunters biggest mistake would be trying to follow an approaching bird around your set up until a shot presents itself. Much easier to just concentrate on that area around the deke and wait for the right shot to unfold. Set the fake up on the highest spot where a tom will seek out to be most visible to display. As for calling, it's hard to say what the situation will be. I like to let them hit the ground first and try to determine which way they're headed. If he's coming right to you, keep it super simple and light only when you feel it necessary to steer him to you. If he's heading away you're probably not gonna turn him back no matter what you throw at him, so that's entirely up to you how you want to handle that scenario. Sometimes it's just fun to see how fired up you can get them, and sometimes they just take off runnin' for the hills! Good luck out there!

Good job this year to everyone who got involved with ANY aspect of the youth hunt, whether birds were killed or not! I've grown to really enjoy the pictures and stories you all share here during this youth hunt. Special thanks goes out to Lou for orchestrating this contest again to help encourage getting the next generation of hunters off to a good start! I've said it before, and I'll say it again.... it's a great thing you do Lou putting it all together for anyone that wants to participate! Bravo buddy!

Dang.., just a common waning crescent! I thought for sure it was something special. Reminded me of a call I heard about a while ago called the WALKING DOWN THE EDGE OF A FIELD LOOKING UP AT THE WANING CRESCENT MOON CLUCK. Drives gobblers nuts on the roost!

I noticed that myself. Looked like a giant fish hook in the sky! Made me wonder what the name of this lunar phase is called, and I wanted to look it up when I got home but forgot to. Thanks for the reminder.

Hope that deke comes with a drain plug,lol Great series!

Haven't seen the pups out yet either. I hung a cam on my way out today to check up on them.

Day three and not a peep. When they're hot, they're hot..., and when they're not, it sucks! Keeps me interested...

Congrats! Perfectly legal in NY. Fire away if you desire! I never killed a bearded hen, but I'd like to..., just to say I have. Lots of turkey identification material online for you to research if you choose to distinguish between the genders better. Look it up and learn if it bothers you that much. If it doesn't, then don't sweat it. To me it would be a unique trophy!

Terrible morning for us. Didn't seem to be raining too hard on our hike in, but by the time we arrived at the blind 45 minutes away, we were soaked! Pretty cold and miserable by 8am but we hung in there till 10am. No turkey or turkey sounds this morning... no regrets bailing early either. There will be better days I'm sure.

Pretty sweet shot Eddie! Is that the same Machu Picchu place I always hear them talking about on "Ancient Aliens". Man I love that show,lol How were the skeeters down there...?

There you go again using the "silent- T"... Sounds like a good one! Shoot me a pic sometime and I'll post it so everyone here can see your horn!

Tough luck bud. Hope you catch a break and get back on track soon.

I like the positive attitude. Sometimes I think the creatures have access to the internet, so you should have mentioned you'll be sleeping in for the opener too.

Welcome home pardner! I see you've become fluent in French Canadian in the short time you've been away....., weewee..,lol?

Awesome man! There just ain't no way of fixin' a face like that,lol They sure are ugly for such a beautiful bird! That lens throws a nice tight pattern for sure! Glad you saw some action out there today.

Not a single gobble heard or any sightings this morning. Got one of my blinds moved and feeling pretty good about site selections. Will be back in it this evening to listen for some "roosters" in case they go silent again in the morning. Will sit past dark just to listen. Need to haul a couple chairs up there yet tonight and the drip proof tent topper. I have faith in my set ups, but since sis will only be able to hunt the opener and with the forecast looking like crap, I have my concerns. What did the rest of you guys see or hear today?

The field I've been watching over will be surrounded by neighbors. I could never get permission to hunt there anyhow. Now that I know where they're roosting, and with a little luck, them gobblers will never make it to the field. One more move of the blind tomorrow, and I have a olive drab tarp to stash up there in case starts coming down too hard I can drape it over the top to stay dry.

Very nice Burt- they did a great job getting rid of the tire tracks on your buck! Just kiddin'... they look great on the trophy wall!

Print them out and make them a TARGET for all I care,lol

I've been waiting to see what kind of "pattern" you shoot with that Canon! Good luck in the mornin'!

I don't sell them moog. This is just my hobby. I'm just south of Buffalo about 30 minutes or so. Here's two leftovers I have from this sit.

The ol' toms finally caved in and got tired of the young guys getting all the girls. The woods were ALIVE with gobbles from every direction this morning. When the sun finally broke over the horizon, I managed to pull this group in for some quick snaps. Had a beautiful sunrise this morning, but that quickly gave way to early morning cloud covered skies which really hurt the quality of this set of shots. C'mon Sunday!!!

Skillets fix..