THA4
A Few Steps Ahead Of You
I like to complain about how things seldom go my way, which they usually don't. But, turkey season, as with my deer season this past fall, things seem to be turning around.
We are set to move to Minnesota during the first full week of May and that is rapidly approaching. Leaving this place I love is really setting in, and while I'm greatly looking forward to it, I'm dreading it at the same time. But, I have a couple of tags to fill, and I set out to do just that.
Nebraska was good to us, but noticing that turkey numbers were up substantially around my spots had me uber-excited. Numerous scouting runs proved it and I couldn't wait!
I took my son out a few times during youth season, but just couldn't bring it together for him. He was a trooper and I couldn't be more proud of him! I have dreamt of taking him hunting since he was born and we had a ball together! He took to it like I had hoped and I can see we will enjoy a lot of time in the field together!
The weather during week leading up to the season was awful. Not only was it miserable to endure, but it made scouting tough as the birds were just not out in the open enough to get some huntable patterns together. One spot in particular was showing some promise--the Legendary Gobby Knob--this would be the 8th bird I've killed here over four years.
I knew that a bird was all but guaranteed if I was willing to sit until he showed up. At some point during the day, birds were there, but the timing was inconsistent at best. I was going to dive in for the long haul! I set up the blind a day before, but massive winds blew it across the field (yes, it was staked down) and broke five rods. The good news was I had seven replacements, so I ran out and grabbed it and repaired it... But, there's always drama...
The Knob
I was set in the blind and ready to go by 5 AM Monday morning of Iowa's First Season. Based on the forecast, it was 38 degrees right away in the morning and supposed to hit 55 with sun by noon-1 (ish). So I dressed to accommodate it, and froze my nuts off! I can manage the cold, but this was the coldest I've been in the turkey woods...
But, I digress. A bird came out right after fly-down but chose to hang out on field buffer. This bird would prove to challenge me to a 3.5 hour duel without ever committing to checking out my dekes. It was frustrating for sure. But, I chose to stick it out hoping all the calling and gobbling would attract some kind of attention.
"The Challenger"
Sure enough, two jakes showed up and throttled my DSD jake for over half an hour, but they quickly ceased the attack when two longbeards showed up on the ridge. They worked to within one hundred yards before locking eyes with my DSD jake and committing to confronting him.
They came in on a string and with feet feeling like ice blocks, I took the first clean shot on the strutting bird as he worked the decoys. I managed to get lots of great footage, including the kill shot which made my day. In fact, I think this may be the best footage I have ever self-filmed!
I killed him at 3:12 pm. The waiting--although quite miserable--paid off!
As I ran out to get him, I was nowhere near prepared for what I was about to find. This bird had a handful of beards and long and sharp spurs. While I haven't kept track, I know I am closing in on 50 birds to my name, but not a single bird has carried multiple beards, let alone half a dozen. I was humbled....
In total, this gobbler weighed in at 23 pounds, had 6 beards measuring 47.5 inches and 1-1/4-inch spurs. While still unofficial, he scores at 142.5 making him 87th all-time on the NWTF "atypical" score list, and numba 3 all-time in Iowa. I'm not a score registry kind of guy, and those stats really don't mean any more than character to me, but I found it interesting.
What's better, my buddy JK killed his bird ten minutes before on a different farm. He did it totally hardcore with a bow, no dekes, and no blind... BadAssery.
We are set to move to Minnesota during the first full week of May and that is rapidly approaching. Leaving this place I love is really setting in, and while I'm greatly looking forward to it, I'm dreading it at the same time. But, I have a couple of tags to fill, and I set out to do just that.
Nebraska was good to us, but noticing that turkey numbers were up substantially around my spots had me uber-excited. Numerous scouting runs proved it and I couldn't wait!
I took my son out a few times during youth season, but just couldn't bring it together for him. He was a trooper and I couldn't be more proud of him! I have dreamt of taking him hunting since he was born and we had a ball together! He took to it like I had hoped and I can see we will enjoy a lot of time in the field together!
The weather during week leading up to the season was awful. Not only was it miserable to endure, but it made scouting tough as the birds were just not out in the open enough to get some huntable patterns together. One spot in particular was showing some promise--the Legendary Gobby Knob--this would be the 8th bird I've killed here over four years.
I knew that a bird was all but guaranteed if I was willing to sit until he showed up. At some point during the day, birds were there, but the timing was inconsistent at best. I was going to dive in for the long haul! I set up the blind a day before, but massive winds blew it across the field (yes, it was staked down) and broke five rods. The good news was I had seven replacements, so I ran out and grabbed it and repaired it... But, there's always drama...
The Knob
I was set in the blind and ready to go by 5 AM Monday morning of Iowa's First Season. Based on the forecast, it was 38 degrees right away in the morning and supposed to hit 55 with sun by noon-1 (ish). So I dressed to accommodate it, and froze my nuts off! I can manage the cold, but this was the coldest I've been in the turkey woods...
But, I digress. A bird came out right after fly-down but chose to hang out on field buffer. This bird would prove to challenge me to a 3.5 hour duel without ever committing to checking out my dekes. It was frustrating for sure. But, I chose to stick it out hoping all the calling and gobbling would attract some kind of attention.
"The Challenger"
Sure enough, two jakes showed up and throttled my DSD jake for over half an hour, but they quickly ceased the attack when two longbeards showed up on the ridge. They worked to within one hundred yards before locking eyes with my DSD jake and committing to confronting him.
They came in on a string and with feet feeling like ice blocks, I took the first clean shot on the strutting bird as he worked the decoys. I managed to get lots of great footage, including the kill shot which made my day. In fact, I think this may be the best footage I have ever self-filmed!
I killed him at 3:12 pm. The waiting--although quite miserable--paid off!
As I ran out to get him, I was nowhere near prepared for what I was about to find. This bird had a handful of beards and long and sharp spurs. While I haven't kept track, I know I am closing in on 50 birds to my name, but not a single bird has carried multiple beards, let alone half a dozen. I was humbled....
In total, this gobbler weighed in at 23 pounds, had 6 beards measuring 47.5 inches and 1-1/4-inch spurs. While still unofficial, he scores at 142.5 making him 87th all-time on the NWTF "atypical" score list, and numba 3 all-time in Iowa. I'm not a score registry kind of guy, and those stats really don't mean any more than character to me, but I found it interesting.
What's better, my buddy JK killed his bird ten minutes before on a different farm. He did it totally hardcore with a bow, no dekes, and no blind... BadAssery.
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