- May
- Hunter:Terry Drury and Jared Lurk
- Location:Coming Soon
- Weapon:Coming Soon
- Animal:Eastern Turkeys
Stories coming soon!
- May 5th
- Hunter:John Mabry
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:12-gauge Shotgun
- Animal:Eastern Turkey
Coon Dog, Mark Drury, and good friend and former Major League Baseball player, John Mabry, set up on some roosted birds from the night before. The birds wouldn’t work worth a darn, and when they hit the ground off of the roost, they walked off gobbling. It was time to make a move on them, so Mark, Dog, and Mabry worked the birds as they were leading the guys through the timber and into a big pasture field. As the guys continued to get closer, the birds made it to the field and wouldn’t come back to their calling!
So with the gobblers strutting in the field within 60 yards and not coming to the calling it was time for the guys to crawl! John was able to make it to the fence and with 2 cameras rolling he was able to take his first spring turkey ever! John’s springs were typically filled with the first month of the baseball season so it was a real pleasure to be able to get out and experience a new season……TURKEY SEASON that is!
- May 4th
- Hunter:Steve Coon
- Location:Missouri
- Weapon:12-gauge Shotgun
- Animal:Eastern Turkey
It was the day of Coon Dog’s birthday, which is always a fun event at turkey camp. Mark and Coon Dog went in early, and the birds were gobbling already so they set up on an old logging road. They set out the King Strut in the middle of the roadway, and the birds came in just a gobbling and strutting! The pre-roll was awesome…the birds read the script and came in to 25 yards, and Mark gave Coon Dog the signal, and no shot was activated! Apparently, the shell wasn’t chambered properly, so Dog had to rack in another shell!
At that point, the panic button was pressed! As the bird was walking off, Dog was able to get off a shot, but unfortunately the bird didn’t go down, so Dog chambered the second shell and put the gobbler down! With all the mishaps with the firearm, Coon Dog stated that it just made the hunt all that more exciting! It was Coon Dog's 3rd birthday turkey with one of the Drury Brothers, and he couldn’t have been happier!!
- May 4th
- Hunter:Dave Kramer
- Location:Iowa
- Weapon:Shotgun
- Animal:Eastern Turkey
Bill and I decided to go back to bow hunting turkeys this year. As you could see, Bill was successful a week and a half ago on a big Iowa Eastern. For me it's been a real struggle getting a gobbler within bow range of our Dream Season blind and the King Strut decoy. So when the fourth IA season got here, I was (needless to say) more than ready to set down the PSE and try my luck with the shotgun.
Sunday morning, Bill and I were going back in to my favorite turkey roost, King Strut in one hand and my 870 in the other. On the way in, in predawn darkness, one of us stepped on an unseen twig causing a loud snap and eliciting a shock gobble from a bird within a hundred yards. We immediately decided to set up where we were and stuck the lone strutter at twenty yards. As daylight began to break, the gobbling increased as did the yelps from some nearby hens. Finally, when I felt that the gobblers were about to fly down, I let out one soft yelp and here they came.
The first bird lit at thirty yards behind a bush, and I wanted to make sure Bill got a little pre-roll before I took him. When he turned and walked straight away, I started to get a little nervous, but just then a second came gliding down to forty yards and dropped in to strut. I wasn't gonna let this chance slip away. I told Bill to get on the strutter and swung the gun around slowly. When I slipped the safety off, Bill must have heard it because he told me he was on him. At forty yards, the bird looked like he was going to follow his buddy, so I took the shot, and the rest is history. I was pumped to have finally taken my first turkey of 2008. Now It's time to pick back up the bow and see if my luck will continue on bird #2.
- May 3rd
- Hunter:Bric and Larry Steward
- Location:Illinois
- Weapon:12-Gauge Shotgun
- Animal:Eastern Turkey
Fifth season rolled around and I had doubts about me filling my tag this year. Having not gotten a bird roosted before the morning's hunt we were shooting in the dark as to where to go. I finally decided to try an Ameristep blind set that I had gotten close to taking a bird one week earlier.
When daylight broke we were eagerly awaiting a gobble to tell us we had made the right decision. 6:30 rolled around and we where only hearing ourselves wonder. When 7:00 turned up, we packed up and were on the move. Dad had to do a honeydo chore quick before our next stop, but in doing so we spotted a bird strutting in a field we were already familiar with. We knew where the bird was going to end up. Dad rapidly got his little chore done and we were
blazing to the next stop.
We were going to a farm managed by Ohio River Outfitters. It was the same farm and same spot Dad had taken a bird in earlier this year. We got "Elvis" our King Strut decoy in place with some hens and settled in for what we thought would be a waiting game. I started doing some aggressive calling with the Heavy Metal Crystal hoping the bird would hear us and speed him up.
All of a sudden to our right 6 big long beards were coming from our only blind spot and charging "Elvis". I barley had time to get the gun up and Dad barely got the camera on them before they got the gig. I took the rear bird rolling him!
With Dad also having another tag we traded equipment, he took the gun and i tried taking the camera. Dad got a clear shot and humanely took the bird. It was our first double together and our year is finished in Illinois for the birds. It's now time to start getting some Biologic in the
ground for this fall!
- May 3rd
- Hunter:Rick Malik
- Location:Pennsylvania
- Weapon:12-Gauge Shotgun
- Animal:Turkey
Well, the Pennsylvania season finally kicked off. Of course, I was traveling the weekend of the opener and missed it.
The second Saturday found Gregg and I on one of our best farms for turkeys. The weatherman was calling for rain, so we were unsure how much time we were going to have in the timber. First light found us set up in a great listening spot. Just at sunrise, we heard several birds in the distance, but nothing close! We decided to do some prospecting and made several moves trying to strike a bird.
After a couple of hours, we were right back where we started. Just then, we heard a gobble off in the distance on the next ridge. We could see several birds about 100 yards away on the next farm. As well, we heard one bird gobble in the bottom on our side. The rain was coming quick, but we decided to move down and see if we could get one of these birds to make a move.
As we reached the bottom of the field, we decided to make a call before crossing into the timbered bottom. As soon as Gregg hit the call, a different bird gobbled straight across the hollow. We were deciding where to set up when he gobbled again from our side! He was committed and coming fast!!
We quickly put out the decoy and set up in a bunch of brush and briars on the corner of the field. I moved out front and Gregg stayed back with the camera. I decided to let Gregg do all the calling, as usual! As soon as Gregg called, the bird hammered back just inside the timber. After a few more calls, I saw a full fan strutting right for us in the field. The bird took his sweet time working in. He would strut, then walk. What a show. He gobbled at least 4 or 5 times as he worked to within 25 yards. As the rain started to come down, I hammered him! This was our first turkey kill together in Pennsylvania on camera!! Stay tuned for more action as we have the entire month of May ahead of us.