Pygmy

Thanks for the update, Larry. That's a HAWG of a pickerel !! Got any tooth marks on your fingers ?

All I can say is that anyone who has not heard gobblers gobble at crow calls, owl hoots, or gunshots hasn't done much turkey hunting. The bird I killed a week ago today gobbled at 2 gunshots and several crows in the time that I was working him. I also have heard several birds gobble at barred owl hoots this spring.

Congrats on all of your good news, Larry... Good luck tomorrow..We'll have to get together soon.. I DO have some experience on Honeoye..

Two of my friends have had bears climb the tree they were in...In both cases the bears descended promptly when they discovered the tree was occupied by a hunter.

I'd have reached over and BITCH SLAPPED him.....<<grin>>....

Congrats, Partner...Nice bird and nice job. I love your photos..What a beautiful place to take a gobbler.

I've seen it frequently on birds here in Steuben Co. The fan ( from a 2 year old) that I use for my Pretty Boy gobbler deke has one central feather like that.

He's a dandy !! Nice fish... I love smallmouths... Fortunately we have a wealth of good smallmouth fisheries here in NY..

I don't think that is accurate, Belo. A few years ago when I was sec/treas for a local hunting co-op, this question came up. We did the research and learned that the landowner is NOT liable for injuries on his/her property resulting from normal recreational activities UNLESS the landowner charges a fee for access for such activities. Exceptions would be if there were blatant safety issues, such as booby traps, wires hung low over atv trails, etc. Basically saying that if you give Joe Blow permission to hunt your land and he shoots himself or breaks his leg stepping over a deadfall, you are NOT liable unless you charged him a fee to hunt your property.

Thanks for the heads up, Kevin... I guess I'll have to fish elsewhere for awhile. I understand that some of the other Finger lakes are a mess, too, but Keuka got hit the hardest.

You da MAN, Wooley !! Congrats on your double beard and succulent breasts....<<sly smile>>... I love the fan...Looks like a punk rock gobbler...

Les-B-Hens..... Did she look like Rosie O'Donnel ?

Good job...Congrats !! I haven't seen one of those metal groove calls in years.... I remember Penn's Woods used to make an aluminum one.

A friend of mine who used to do a lot of wildlife photography ( back in the 35 MM days)had lots of pictures that he had taken of a bearded hen over a period of several years. I do remember that he told me that the bearded lady had produced 43 poults in the time period that he had photographed her. I also read someplace that a significant number of hens ( perhaps 10 %) will grow beards if they live long enough. Kinda like Italian girls....

Yeah, Larry..It was a long drive, but worth every mile. In 3 years we killed about 10 gobblers between us, including our biggest ever birds, Gator a 26 pounder and me a 24 pounder. I also killed a 4 bearded bird there. The property where I killed the gobbler yesterday is the FARTHEST away place that I hunt on a regular basis. It's about 8 or 9 miles. Most of the properties I hunt are within 4 or 5 miles of my home here in downtown metropolitan Addison.

Okay, Guys...The Mermaid is off with her female friends to watch chick flicks. I told her to have fun and don't eat too much popcorn. When she gets back, I'll ask her if she can get the picture off my camera and onto the computer. I have faith in her. She's done it before. <<grin>>

It was DIY...Gator had a friend who owned 400 acres in Kentucky... The guy was living in Belleville, Ontario, and his wife was a high powered executive in Proctor & Gamble. They owned the farm in Kentucky, but it had been vacant for a number of years. Gator got to know him because they were both dealing heavily in M1 Garand rifles at the time. Gator went out there by himself the first year and killed a 26 pound HOG of a gobbler. He and I went down the next 3 years...Best turkey hunting I ever experienced. The place was LOADED with birds and we had exclusive access. We stayed in the abandoned farmhouse, which was full of junk, no utilities..We ate MRIs....We slept in our sleeping bags on army cots. It was wonderfull. The third year we hunted there the owner was building a big new house next to the old farmhouse. Not being a hunter himself, he planned to lease out the property to hunters for more $$ than it was practical for us to pay. The turkey paradise went away....It was nice while it lasted....<sigh>....

I've SEEN quite a few 10" beards killed by other guys, but I haven't killed many myself... Lots of 8" to 9 1/2" beards...I don't normally trophy hunt, but will take any adult bird (two year old or older)... My area of Steuben County is VERY heavily hunted....Birds are tough here and seem to get tougher every year. I used to be able to sit against a tree and call up and kill a gobbler, as long as I was camoflaged and did not move. The last few years this does not work for me. The SOBs spot me, like the one did last Sunday. In order to kill one, I have to be in a blind or buried in a brushpile so thick that it is hard to shoot out of it.

Hell, I'd vote for Jack the Ripper if he was running against Cuomo....Even if his running mate was Jeffery Dahmer...

My buddies and I have weighed a lot of jakes over the year. Most of them are 12-15 lb. I remember a couple of years following an early hatch year when 18 pound jakes were common. Heaviest jake I ever saw weighed 19 pounds. That one was shot by my buddy Gator in Ontario. For whatever reason the birds tend to average a little bigger up there than they do here in NY. Possibly it is because some of the turkeys originally stocked in that area of Ontario were trapped and transferred from Missouri. Midwest easterns tend to get bigger than our birds do here. Gator and I hunted Kentucky three years running and we shot several gobblers that weighed between 24 and 26 pounds.

Congrats....You should be very proud. You also have a couple of VERY attractive daughters. <<smile>>

Good job, Larry.. I have never seen a full fan jake, but you have proof right there on the tailgate. Dem Jakes eat GOOD !..Congrats..

I've been hunting the same gobbler for about two weeks.. He's been roosting in the same area and has been "somewhat" responsive to calls, but not to the point of being suicidal. I called in a bird there last Sunday that MAY have been him, but I only got to see his head and neck, and he spotted me before I could get a shot. Three days ago I called him into a field about 75 yards away from me and I got a good look at him, but a hen intervened and led him away. I could see he was a BIG bird, with a huge fan and a nice beard. This morning, things fell together...he gobbled early, and responded to (hot) calling, but eventually moved away, probably because he hooked up with a hen. Then about 10:00 AM he started gobbling again. He was across a road and a creek, and I never really thought he would come, but I started calling anyway. When I heard him gobble on MY side of the creek, I knew he had committed. I killed him at 10:45 am. At 22 1/4 pounds, he's the 2nd heaviest gobbler I have ever shot in NY. Spurs were 1 1/4" and sharp, making him at least a 3 year old. His beard was heavy, thick, and 10 ". I can count the 10" beards I have killed on one hand. I have pictures on my digital camera. If The Mermaid can figure out how to get them on email, I'll send them to someone to be posted. Meanwhile, I am a satisfied old turkey hunter.. Hunting a nice bird for a couple of weeks and finally killing him. Just don't GET no better than that.

Ammo is really not a big issue as long as you are hunting with it, rather than plinking with it. Lots of ammo available online for $1.50 - $2.00 per round ( probably plus shipping) but a couple boxes would last you a long time for a hunting rifle, especially if you are using iron sights, which rarely change zero, hence less ammo required to sight in each season.

Thanks for the input. I'm planning to put in the shatter-resistant forage beans. I plan to plan 4 acres of buckwheat right beside it... The reason for the buckwheat is to condition/improve the soil, but I'm hoping it will help take the pressure off the soybeans so they can mature. I mid August I'll plow the buckwheat under and plant 2 acres of oats and two acres of tunips/rape/radishes. I did the brassicas last year and they provided good late fall/winter forage. the deer loved them.