jkratz5
Well-Known Member
Once again the 2018 Turkey Season was a blast.
Started off with an annual trip to Kansas to chase some Rio Grandes around. The trip started off quick with the crew hitting one of our evening honey holes as soon as we arrived on Weds. evening. As we hit the gravel we saw 3 long beards strutting in a wheat field working there way to a timber draw. We had easy access to the draw without the birds seeing us so we slipped in and setup. About an hour later three strutters appeared over a small knoll and 1 b-lined for the dekes. We let him pound on the Avian jake and a second bird broke strut and came running. With 2 birds now in full strut at 12yds and 5 guns on them it was about to get ugly. We gave them the ol 1,2,3 bang and we were on the board with the first two birds.
The next morning we split into 2 groups and my brother, buddy and I headed to one of our favorite spots. This is a 1/2 mile stretch of river bottom that we have historically killed quite a few toms on. We were not disappointed, as the birds started sounding off as soon as the first deke stake was in the ground. We got setup and as the morning began to break we had 2 toms within 200yds of us and another 15 or so along the 1/2 mile stretch. It was one of those "gobbling" mornings where the birds were absolutely going crazy and it was awesome to hear nearly 20 birds gobbling continuously. Just after legal shooting light, two toms flew down 150yds out in front of us and began putting on a show. They were hung up with a lady friend for about 15 minutes but finally I was able to Coax her into checking out the decoys and they followed in tow. I had just purchased the boss hen from Deception Decoys from Limb Chicken and to say that the real hen didn't like here was an understatement. She took quite the beating and then the boys decided to join in. Finally, my brother couldn't stand it any longer and said "lets kill them" and he and my buddy put 2 more birds down.
The rest of the crew was also successful killing a big mature tom that morning off the roost so we were sitting pretty with 5 birds in the first 2 hunts. The rest of Thursday was pretty crappy weather which kept us out of the woods but Friday morning was set to be great weather.
Thursday night we put a couple toms to bed in a new area that we had acquired and had a great plan for the next morning. We arrived earlllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyy, with the birds being roosted in a loan oak in the middle of a pasture and got setup about 125yds away on an old fence row. A lone tom started sounding off about 45 minutes before fly down, he was pumped up to get out of that tree!!! After about 200 gobbles he finally flew down and was met by 5 hens. They stayed about 100yds out for 30 minutes or so and put on a great show for us. The tom never broke strut during that time. Finally, I got aggressive on the call with some loud purrs and pulled the 5 hens over and the tom followed suit. My buddy Joel, let him have his way with the dekes for a bit before dropping the hammer on him. This was the best bird of the trip with 1 1/2" spurs and an 11" beard.
That afternoon I hammered my second bird on a fun reap. As we rolled up to the farm we saw 5 strutters a couple hundred yards out and there was a nice, deep creek that I was able to slide threw and get within a 100yds or so. I made my way threw the creek and popped out on the field/timber edge and 2 birds went into ass kicking mode as soon as they saw the fan, running straight at at me. They stopped at about 4 steps, close enough that I could see which bird had longer spurs, and I let the Beretta eat. This was a real nice bird, with 1 3/8" hooks and 10.5" beard
Meanwhile about a mile away two more birds had taken a dirt nap from a double reap, so we were just one bird shy of a limit.
Saturday was a complete wash, literally. Rain started early and didn't let up all day. We decided to take a mid day drive to see if any birds were out and what a mistake that turned out to be. We ended up burying a F250 up to the frame in the mud and luckily were able to get it out. After that we spent the rest of the day in the local establishments for a little R&R
and had the biggest Turkey fry you can imagine. Was a nice little break from hunting and some good eats.
Finally, bird #10 went down Sunday. It was a great way to end the trip with 6 Toms and 8 hens giving us the run around for about 3 hours before we finally sounded pretty enough to break one of the Toms off the pack. It was one of those perfect hunts where you watch the bird come across an open field from 400yds, doing the dance the whole time before finally getting to 75yds and doing the mean walk right to the dekes. My buddy ended up shooting him after he completely destroyed the spread, enough so that I am in need of 2 new stakes, lol.
Overall, it was a another great Kansas trip and I cannot wait to get back!
Started off with an annual trip to Kansas to chase some Rio Grandes around. The trip started off quick with the crew hitting one of our evening honey holes as soon as we arrived on Weds. evening. As we hit the gravel we saw 3 long beards strutting in a wheat field working there way to a timber draw. We had easy access to the draw without the birds seeing us so we slipped in and setup. About an hour later three strutters appeared over a small knoll and 1 b-lined for the dekes. We let him pound on the Avian jake and a second bird broke strut and came running. With 2 birds now in full strut at 12yds and 5 guns on them it was about to get ugly. We gave them the ol 1,2,3 bang and we were on the board with the first two birds.
The next morning we split into 2 groups and my brother, buddy and I headed to one of our favorite spots. This is a 1/2 mile stretch of river bottom that we have historically killed quite a few toms on. We were not disappointed, as the birds started sounding off as soon as the first deke stake was in the ground. We got setup and as the morning began to break we had 2 toms within 200yds of us and another 15 or so along the 1/2 mile stretch. It was one of those "gobbling" mornings where the birds were absolutely going crazy and it was awesome to hear nearly 20 birds gobbling continuously. Just after legal shooting light, two toms flew down 150yds out in front of us and began putting on a show. They were hung up with a lady friend for about 15 minutes but finally I was able to Coax her into checking out the decoys and they followed in tow. I had just purchased the boss hen from Deception Decoys from Limb Chicken and to say that the real hen didn't like here was an understatement. She took quite the beating and then the boys decided to join in. Finally, my brother couldn't stand it any longer and said "lets kill them" and he and my buddy put 2 more birds down.
The rest of the crew was also successful killing a big mature tom that morning off the roost so we were sitting pretty with 5 birds in the first 2 hunts. The rest of Thursday was pretty crappy weather which kept us out of the woods but Friday morning was set to be great weather.
Thursday night we put a couple toms to bed in a new area that we had acquired and had a great plan for the next morning. We arrived earlllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyy, with the birds being roosted in a loan oak in the middle of a pasture and got setup about 125yds away on an old fence row. A lone tom started sounding off about 45 minutes before fly down, he was pumped up to get out of that tree!!! After about 200 gobbles he finally flew down and was met by 5 hens. They stayed about 100yds out for 30 minutes or so and put on a great show for us. The tom never broke strut during that time. Finally, I got aggressive on the call with some loud purrs and pulled the 5 hens over and the tom followed suit. My buddy Joel, let him have his way with the dekes for a bit before dropping the hammer on him. This was the best bird of the trip with 1 1/2" spurs and an 11" beard.
That afternoon I hammered my second bird on a fun reap. As we rolled up to the farm we saw 5 strutters a couple hundred yards out and there was a nice, deep creek that I was able to slide threw and get within a 100yds or so. I made my way threw the creek and popped out on the field/timber edge and 2 birds went into ass kicking mode as soon as they saw the fan, running straight at at me. They stopped at about 4 steps, close enough that I could see which bird had longer spurs, and I let the Beretta eat. This was a real nice bird, with 1 3/8" hooks and 10.5" beard
Meanwhile about a mile away two more birds had taken a dirt nap from a double reap, so we were just one bird shy of a limit.
Saturday was a complete wash, literally. Rain started early and didn't let up all day. We decided to take a mid day drive to see if any birds were out and what a mistake that turned out to be. We ended up burying a F250 up to the frame in the mud and luckily were able to get it out. After that we spent the rest of the day in the local establishments for a little R&R
and had the biggest Turkey fry you can imagine. Was a nice little break from hunting and some good eats. Finally, bird #10 went down Sunday. It was a great way to end the trip with 6 Toms and 8 hens giving us the run around for about 3 hours before we finally sounded pretty enough to break one of the Toms off the pack. It was one of those perfect hunts where you watch the bird come across an open field from 400yds, doing the dance the whole time before finally getting to 75yds and doing the mean walk right to the dekes. My buddy ended up shooting him after he completely destroyed the spread, enough so that I am in need of 2 new stakes, lol.
Overall, it was a another great Kansas trip and I cannot wait to get back!
