9 replies to this topic

[mac]

I know it's a couple months away, but I am very anxious about the upcoming Spring turkey hunt. I was going through some past pictures and thought I'd post a couple of bird pics my brother and I shot a couple years ago. Little bit of history/commentary to go along with the pics:1st day of the season, morning turned into a bust and we decided to hunt another area. My nephew decided he was tired and went back to the cabin to take a nap. We got to the new hunting location and no sooner than 15mins when we arrived - the tom's started gobbling. We call and they call back. My bother was calling and they were running in - the only problem was there was a creek with overground cover between us and the birds 60yds away...we can hear them on the other side...we called..and they called...all of a sudden 3 big toms fly over the creek and land within 35yds - they hit the ground running right towards us -- I busted one, my brother busted the other and my nephew was taking a nap! (he showed up about 25mins after we shot our birds, hence him being in the photo) Could've had our daily limit by noon. My nephew did get his bird the next day -- all of the toms had 9 - 10" beards.  turkey1__Small_.jpg   87.02K   19 downloads  turkey2__Small_.jpg   96.75K   19 downloads  turkey3__Small_.jpg   79.11K   20 downloads

[riobuster]

mac, nice birds! Yes it's 24deg. and falling here in Grass Valley but I can feel Spring calling!! I'm a RN and I am already filling out my work schedule for spring, or rather not filling it out. I can't believe after so many years my wife still doesn't understand why I can't work so much in April .Jim

[natural]

Those are nice pics. I havent hunted turkeys in like 3 or 4 years but Im getting ready for this spring for sure. I plan on hunting them alot this year good luck to you guys and post pics as they fall. -Andy-

[Cranky Farmer]

Nice birds. I would love to make it back to MO this year to hunt turkeys again but my schedule isn't going to allow it. But we will see, stranger things have happened.

[mac]

mac, nice birds! Yes it's 24deg. and falling here in Grass Valley but I can feel Spring calling!! I'm a RN and I am already filling out my work schedule for spring, or rather not filling it out. I can't believe after so many years my wife still doesn't understand why I can't work so much in April .Jim

Thanks. Btw, I grew up in Nevada City and my brother and his family (wife, kids and in-laws) + our my & dad live there still. He manages the GV SPD...you probably know him if you've lived there for a while...We've hunted turkeys all along the Yuba, Spenceville, but with better luck on property in Lake County --- seems development has hindered good areas to hunt in GV

Nice birds. I would love to make it back to MO this year to hunt turkeys again but my schedule isn't going to allow it. But we will see, stranger things have happened.

Thanks. Yea, I've always wanted to hunt in the mid-west and south. Califonia's birds are hybrids, but they are still a great challenge to hunt. We have a great time calling them in. We actually captured on video my niece's 1st bird last year...it was awesome...it came to me within 15yds...she was behind and to the right of me with a 30yd shot. I waited - she shot and ground pounded the tom...nice 9" beard. Not bad for her 1st bird.

[Cranky Farmer]

That's awesome that you were there when your niece got her first bird. How old is she? I'd hunt here in CA but it's cheaper for me to fly back to MO to hunt my own property than it is to pay to hunt here in CA. Crazy!

[mac]

she's now 16yrs old...she was 15 when she shot her bird. Yea, I hate paying for hunting. I've been fortunate enough to have been raised in the Sierra & Coastal foothills where I have access to property. I've only paid for 1 hog hunt and of course private bird clubs for pheasants. There are plenty of other fast flying winged birds that I hunt (for free) in the high-sierras, including grouse - awesome birds and quick...size of the bird is between a quail and pheasant.btw, not only did she get her first tom last year but she shot a 2x3 mule deer on a junior X zone hunt with a 25" spread. One shot to the neck with her .243. Made me look sorry - last year in calif I took a small forked-horn, but made up for it in Idaho. when i shot my small blacktail last year, she sent me a note asking if the buck was still suckling to it's mom when I shot it haha hey, it's all about venison in the freezer

[mac]

well, I took an early morning drive today - given we've had some warm weather this past week - and right when I entered an area that I typically hunt, I spotted 12 birds; 4 huge toms - one tom with a 12" beard and the others between 9 & 11"s (of course I was looking at them through my binoculars 80-100yds off. It was like watching the Out Door Channel -- 3 toms were in full strut, and two were chasing a smaller tom around...the hens were payng no mind to the toms as they were feeding away under a few okas in the pasture...only problem was, they were not directly on the problem I frequent...I figure with some careful negotiation I might be able to get in there as long as I can bag one for the lady who owns the land - that is, if she doesn't consider them "pets"

[Cranky Farmer]

Any idea where they are roosting?

[mac]

I know that there's some pines above the meadow they were in up the canyon, so I'm thinking that would be an area they'd roost...as a 3rd option I'm trying to get our near Collins Lake where a new acquaintance has 20 acres next to a wildlfe refuge and said he has birds on his property. He's not a hunter, so I am working him slowly You can imagine a bit of a safe haven for birds...that is until I get there