I managed to bag my first bird with my Exocet 200 on opening afternoon .
http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2 ... =1&t=61926
And then we moved around in search of another mature Tom … I was lucky to get permission on 3 new properties ….
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With a good Physio routine , I had a quick recovery from arthroscopic surgery on my right knee . ( Got the stiches out May 3rd and cleared for work May 6th ) Many of my turkey set ups were within close walking distance of my truck ….
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One of my recent favorite properties is a place that Monica knows ( VixChix ) hunted with me last season … There is an old sugar shack ( out of commission ) that I am able to drive up to and park my truck beside …. Then I have a little cubby of wood debris piled up that makes for a great hiding spot I can camo/blend into and it also provides great shelter !
I have a great view of the bush ( over top of a wood debris pile ) and a great view of the field as well .
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My parked truck never seems to spook turkeys and have had several encounters on misc properties where they walk around my truck with nothing more than a curious glance …
One afternoon last week , I had another one of those close encounters …. After waking up from a midday nap in my chair , I can hear Frank V. calling ( lone hen call ) in the distance ( about 200 yards West of my position ) … next thing I find , I’m surrounded by birds ! … One group of three jakes passes within 7 yards and I was able to get a quick picture , then another single jake passes by following them ( I had multiple hens around as well ). I took one picture of that Jake , then ….
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Then I noticed a big blue head bobbing thru the bush coming my way ( full fan tail with a couple other mature fanned tails behind him ) > He was strutting for two hens that were pecking under a bush pile ( the bush had been recently logged with many tree top bush piles around ) I had a hen real close so couldn’t raise my gun > Then when she left my peripheral view I slowly raised the gun as the big tom had his head behind a tree , I gently reached for my box call and gave a quick one handed cluck …
He stepped from behind the tree and lifted his head up / out to gobble and at the same exact moment , I slapped the trigger to launch a tight pattern of Remington 4/6 shot combo ripping towards his outstretched noggin …. BOOM and a loud echo thru the bush !
Then the walk up and pictures …. Frank hung out at his blind location > Saw many of the birds I had seen , but they all stayed out of range when they passed him … Later while reliving my successful hunt story , he had to laugh at the “ after I woke up part “ … Here are the pictures after the walk up … I gently spread the birds feathers out to display the awesome plumage .
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At home ...he weighed in at 23.4 lbs with a 9 inch beard and matching 1 1/8 spurs .
Also that week , I found myself in the right place at the right time again over and over for some real cool nature pictures > A fox/pounce/mouse series …
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A goose on a stump ?
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A ground hog after his run and duck in to his hole ….
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And a hungry Osprey !
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As more and more hens are bread the Mature Tom’s seem to be searching further now … Vic R. score a beauty last week as well …
![Image](http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/RJpentax/18.jpg)
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Fast forward > today May 24th ... Frank V in his first season chasing turkeys hunted 7 days with me and 4 on days on his own > many farms / many set ups and / saw many birds but none presented a good shot until today !
He connected on this beauty Tom @ 40 + yards with a Winchester 3" load of # 5 shot launched from his Remington V3 Semi thru and extra full turkey choke and dropped it in his tracks ! ... 22lbs 8 1/2 inch beard with the longest spur measuring 1 3/8 inch ... A beauty first bird !!
Congrat's Frank !
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Also forum member (CH ) and his son checked in last weekend > they closed out the season with a tom and a unique bearded hen > Cool !
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Good Luck to all that are chasing Turkey’s thru to the May 31st seasons end > Hunt Safe/Have Fun … and take lots of pictures !