Uncle Nicky

Shot a bird yesterday that had CATFOOD in it's craw!!

Agreed, I first saw this on MSN news, the vegans and uneducated tree-hugger types were out in full force.

I will go against the grain, and say I would try and get to where you think they first land, if you can get up there early enough without busting them out of the tree, I'd skip the decoy if you are hunting in the woods; that would be Plan A. Plan B would be (since turkeys DON'T always sleep or fly down in the same spot every night), be ready to move once they fly down. You didn't mention which way they go once they have landed, but I'd be ready to try getting there ASAP without being spotted. It's a little easier now that the trees are leafed-out.

LOL...agreed. The longer I play this game of chasing turkeys, the more I realize how unpredictable & unpatternable they really are.

Not set up to raise chickens or turkeys in my current neighborhood, but I sometimes daydream about going a little more off the grid, and getting my own flock of turkeys. I'm pretty confident I'd become a contest-level caller if I had enough time to interact with live turkeys day to day.

Getting my second wind here....kiiled a couple in Georgia, one in North Carolina. Life kinda got in the way so I never made it to Virginia this year, drove all the way to Arkport to my camp 2 weekends ago, only to find the creek had risen too high, made it across once, got stuck good, didn't try to get back across after that (saw a lot of birds though). This weekend was a washout once again (yeah, I know I can set up a tent blind, just tired of cleaning all the mud and drying my vest out, and the guns getting rust on it). Have a few days set aside to hunt in NJ next 2 weeks, supposed to get together with a buddy in Maryland this weekend, and the weather's looking promising (finally) .

Shake and bake pork chops with country gravy, corn on the cob, and spaghetti squash. Picture coming soon. Lost the picture somehow...was tasty, could have used some red or green for color though...

Sweet!!

Way to go!!!

I wanted to edit the last post, but I guess it's too late....anyway, last thought on the topic is, if the only gun you own or have access to is a .22 LR or mag, no reason why you can't kill a turkey with it...only advice I have is take your time, get a good rest, pick your shot, aim for the head/neck, and shoot straight. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

You don't need a 7mm mag, any varmint load should do the job effectively, and shouldn't ruin much meat, provided you don't put the shot through both breasts. A .22 or .22 mag will kill a turkey, it's just not the best gun for the job (IMO). Too many things can go wrong, and all the turkeys I've seen in the woods are herky-jerky creatures, their head and neck never really stops moving. in my mind, it's similar to catching a swordfish on 10# test line, it's cool to say "look what I did", only with a fish he'll just break the line & swim off if things don't go right, with an animal and a bullet (or airgun and pellet if anyone wants to try that carnival trick), if something goes wrong, the animal suffers and becomes coyote feed. Here's a picture of one I shot in Texas with a .22-250, aimed for the crop/gizzard area, about a 100 yard shot, and that is where I connected. NO meat wasted whatsoever. Anyway, if you do decide to hunt in a state that allows rifles for turkey, good luck to you.

Turkeys move in the rain, they especially seem to head for fields (lots of theories on why). They don't seem to gobble much when it's raining, I guess they are miserable. This weekend will be my first chance to turkey hunt in NY this spring. Weather looks pretty snotty, cold & rainy, more like deer hunting weather. I'm going to set up a tent blind at the top of a field, Plan B will be sit in the blind if I get too wet or cold. Can't kill them from the couch, it will probably be my only chance to hunt in NY this year.

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No, was a 2 year old I think, 3/4" spurs. I think he was sneaking around breeding hens and got caught by the boss gobbler once or twice.

I shot one in NC last week that looked similar...not as pronounced red, but it is there (can't see it in this picture). Even weirder, the one I killed looked like beard rot at the 6" mark, but had a few stay whiskers that stretched out to 9". Bird really must have led a tough life, 1/2 of it's tail feathers were missing, and it's sternum was rubbed raw.

Well done Pygmy!

No, way too easy to just cripple one and not find it. Some guys use a .22 mag in PA here in the fall, but again, not enough firepower and you'd have to hit one just right. People say "aim for the head", but I'm not that good that I could hit a bobbing & weaving target the size of child's fist at 50 yards without a solid rest. I'd rather shoot one in the head with a shotgun, but if I was going to shoot one with a rifle, I'd use a .223 or 22/250 and aim for the lower neck area.

I thought it was one of Jed Clampett's kin, shootin at some food.

As soon as the first tweetie birds start, if I know where a gobbler is sleeping. I'll let out a couple chirps & putts, just to let him know I am there, then maybe an occasional pop or putt, but usually not until they hit the ground. If I am going in cold, I'll just wait and listen until they start gobbling (IF they start gobbling, LOL), and adjust from there.

It doesn't bother me that the kids get a couple days before us to kill a bird. It gives them a better chance than the rest of us to kill one since birds haven't been pressured yet and are usually gobbling pretty hard. It may make the difference between growing a potential hunter and having a kid give up in desperation because they are bored or it's too challenging.

Just my $.02, but the whole game of spring turkey hunting has changed in the last 5 years or so. Birds don't gobble as much as they used to, nor are they as easy to decoy. The weather seems to be a lot warmer before the season starts. I guess birds are learning to adapt to predators & hunting pressure, so if we want to kill turkeys, we have to adapt as well.

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Good luck!

They are usually pretty miserable after getting rained on all night, I'd be surprised if they gobbled much, that might change once the sun comes out & dries them off. Good chance they'll head for a field to get dried off and look for worms.