Spring Gobblers

Anybody else a little bit excited about hunting Gobblers? Opens here in VA in 2 weeks....this coming Saturday if you've got a young one to take to get his/her first one. Both my son & daughter got their first ones that early Mentor day 15-20+ years ago.....her with a 35mm Minolta & him with a Savage. Wonderful memories for all of us. The huge gangs are splitting up, the old boy are fighting & their heads are turning blood red now. I heard one gobble on roost yesterday at barely grey......from my bed. Had the window cracked, mid 50's & no breeze. Gets ya up so much quicker than a clock & boy-o does my wife love hearing me calling back to 'em that time of day.
Every year have to go back & forth with which gun......the Savage 222/20guage or the Mossberg 500 "special" with my custom camo finish, 19",extra full choke. Had them both 40+ years now & fit like a glove.
Anybody else?

Co worker guided a young lady on a hunt last week. She got a gobbler at 49 yards with a 20 gauge! That will be a very memorable hunt for her I'm sure. She got a true Osceola in Florida.
Walker

I know of one person that uses a 10 gauge single shot for his Turkey hunting.

Uses 3.5 inch shells. Gosh! That must hurt (only once).

I remember back in the early 70s,there were no turkeys or turkey seasons in my state.

Now we have two seasons each year!!!

Wayne

There has been a great improvement in the population of game animals for sure.
And the varmits too (hogs, coyotes, etc).
Walker

We are starting to get them back.

I saw 3 together about 5 miles away a couple months ago and I thought I heard one one about Sundown one evening last week.

We live in a small city, 125,00. There is a flock of 30 +/- a few blocks from us on the edge of town. Been there all winter.

There are 15-20 that live/frequent our Gun Club all year round. They must know how what poor shots we are and they are safe there!!

I’ve got one. Browning BPS pump, shoots 3.5 inch shells. Has a 20” barrel and a 30” barrell. Invector choke system with all the chokes.

My wife got it for me for Christmas in 1993. I was so proud of that gun...

...until I shot it. I had it loaded with magnum 00 Buck. It almost knocked my shoulder off!

I just picked up the perfect turkey cannon. It is an Ithaca NID 10-gauge with 32 inch barrels. A real turkey blaster. Just like Elmer Keith’s!

You got to be TUFF to shoot them 10 gauges very much.

I got mad at the damn beavers once and decided to use my 10 ga. on ‘em that night.

The next day, I was so sore and my shoulder looked like my wife had been beatin’ me.

Coach, When I bought my Browning BPS 10 ga. 30" barrel, I asked the clerk if it was a teeth-rattler. He simply asked me if I was a MAN. I knew then I was gonna love my new goose gun. Six Tom's from last October.

Eric: My BPS is not so bad with STEEL shot.

Lead with magnum loads, however is different!

--Newton's 1st and 3rd Laws

Or Elmer Fudd's

Coach,
If you want a real treat,try out one of the Brenneke Magnum slug loads.

Touch that off and you know for sure that the bull really did it in the buckwheat!!!!

Wayne

Great picture Eric! So often in the fall when you see those younger boys together, the old boy with the 12+" beard will be 30-50 yards behind/to the side. They lived longer by letting the cannon fodder lead the way. If anything spooks them he tends to fly vs. run away.
You do gain a few yards with the 10 gauge but it is punishing and, as we all know, the well done choke, & matching the shell to your gun matters more than barrell length. Really ticked off my good hunting buddy (about 25 yrs. ago) when his brand new, much heavier 12 ga., 28"barrel "Ulti-Mag"shooting 3&1/2" shells was outshot by my 19" barell, shooting 3" shell.
Calling them in is such a thrill & teaching younger hunters so fun. Past 3 springs coyotes came to breakfast at daylight calls so now expect it.
The more you stalk, walk & talk to these incredible birds the biggest thrill is calling 'em in close, 10-15 yards for the shot. I'm so thankful it still gets my adrenaline up!

Duke:
I've called ducks, coyotes, squirrels, and crows. And, I have rattled up bucks. It is great fun for sure.

But we have never had Turkeys close by until just recently. I'm sure hoping that they do well enough so that we can hunt them. It sounds like great fun to me.
Coach

When I did Turkey hunt I used my Remy 1100 12 ga. with turkey loads.

Coach, Those 10 ga. steel shot, wakes me up every time.

Turkey was almost extinct on Long Island during my years growing up there. For about 10 years now they are quite prolific on the east end of the Island; talking big birds too. Now at times you can see many along the side of the highway. Secondary roads they are as bad or worse than deer.
Leave that alone for the moment.
So, I was fortunate enough to grow up on a beachfront home south shore east end LI. No Turkey,but ducks & geese abundant and we would bang away off in a beach blind until steel shot became law.
Oh crap, a cluster for sure.
Open up chokes, this and that....
Finally got tired of that and bought an Armsport 2700 O/U Goose Gun. That was the cannon that brought the house down. It was heavy, 32"barrels, didn't kill ya with recoil although then I was younger but got it done.
12-3" were just touching them, 10-3 1/2", down. Steel shot ruined everything at the time.
That 10ga evened the score. Cost plenty more to shoot but we didn't cripple as many birds either.

Some years ago,at a bowling pin shoot,one person brought a double barrel 4 gauge (yes,4 gauge) to show off.


And,believe it or not,he had some shells for it. We loaded up the pin table with a number of bowling pins and at 21 feet,one shot knocked them all down....and…..almost him as well.

I will stick with my 12 gauge,2 3/4 inch shells with light loads.


Wayne

Wayne--

Let's see...a 4-gauge means that the bore is the diameter of a 4-ounce lead ball (the gauge is the number of lead balls of that diameter required to weigh a pound).


Without even looking up the numbers, to get any velocity behind a 4-gauge shot charge means the shooter might need shoulder surgery afterward!

Larry

Good grief! A 4 gauge.had to be a mover and a shaker- if not worse.
Walker

...And DOUBLE BARREL!!!

When this man shot the gun,he only loaded one shell in the double. I guess he did not wish to experience what might happen if it doubled!!!!

That would have been interesting!!!!

Now,if Brenneke could make a 4 gauge slug load...………….

Wayne

My Grandson shot his very first turkey today.

He's hooked Eric. That smile tells the story. Congrats!

Thanks Warren, He loves it for sure. His younger brother is chomping at the bit for his turn.

Awesome!!!!

Who enjoyed it more, Grandson or Grandpa???????

Grandson for sure. He told me he only had to step on his head twice. He used a .410 with 3” shell.

That smile says it all!! Plus, he is one up on me, I've never shot a turkey. We have a decent season, but I never get a chance to hunt them.

Pap

Eric, congrats to your grandson for sure!
Getting a early start that can lead him all-around the country chasing them.
Walker

Eric,
410 with a three inch shell?

Was it one of those newly developed 410 shells for turkey?

Years ago,it was almost unheard of to use nothing less than 12 ga.

Anyway,that is super nice for the young man to get his first turkey!!!

Wayne

Remington 870 .410 using 3” #6 steel shot. He turns 7 in Sept. He also helped skin and clean deer during deer processing last year. He earns $5 a deer. His math skills are just as sharp as his right eye.

Sounds like my kind of guy. Math is what I teach.

Eric

Congratulations to your grandson. Great smile! He is way ahead of me.
I have been out twice, between deluges of rain, and have only got two ticks on me.

Eric,
Reminds me of when I was 7. Harvested my first deer in what would be now the 50 yard line at the Giants Meadowlands Stadium.

Of course this was way long before the Meadowlands were even thought of being built.

Used a 12 ga Iver Johnson single shot with a 36" bbl and buck shot.

Wayne

Hunting is for all ages. My grandson Ethan was happy about being able to feed my daughter dinner Sat. Night on him. I was blessed with an outstanding son in law that was by Ethan’s side the whole time he hunted his first Turkey. Ethan can help skin deer but he is still Not hunting deer this coming season. I was 12 my first year. Froze in the Pine forests of Fort Bragg. So, Wayne at 7 you still hold any record I know of. The first deer I killed was at 16 with a 1968 T-Bird. 460 rocket.

Eric,
Hmmm,1968 T-Bird is a pretty big gun!!!

Each year I would have to dispatch about 100+ deer that were injured by cars.

If they were not badly mangled,we had a person who processed the deer in his garage and bag them for Hunters for the Hungry.

This way,good protein does not go to waste.

Glad to see that your fine family properly utilizes that fine game!!

Wayne

Eric,

Congrats to you and your Grandson for a fine hunt! Teach them young and they will love the outdoors forever.

Tom Flynn

That was quite a wonderful experience for such a fine looking young man. I wonder who is the most proud the young hunter or Dad or Granddad. Everyone should be proud. I never took an interest in Turkey hunting although I did kill one early in my hunting life. I always enjoyed watching them. They are soo smart good thing they can't smell or they may never be killed by us hunters. I have an older hen that comes to my deer watering bucket and steeps over in the bucket to wash and cool her feet and legs. I have 4 big gobblers that stay around the house and many hens. When I take my dog out for a walk he is a coon hound and he just goes wild. The turkeys look to see if he is on a leash and go back to eating or taking a dust bath. When I come out to leave in my truck they hardly look up

Sid,
That looks really nice!!!

I could watch that all day!!

Wayne

Thank You, Neighbors.

Sidney, I love VA. Beautiful State.