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I'll get the ball rolling on spring turkey season results. Last Thursday after two unsuccessful attempts to penetrate the brush surrounding the swamp bottom, I found an entry point on the other side. I had marked on my gps my last position where I was when I heard the birds still on the limb and consulted Google Earth and saw a woods road dead ending near the bottom on the other side of the swamp bottom. I checked it out the last time I hunted and was there in the dark Thursday morning. The bird gobbled. I oriented my wrist compass to his azimuth and went in. It was a little thick on the edge, but once I got in, the bottom opened park-like with large pines and hardwoods with a tight canopy and little underbrush. I set up about 100 yards from the bird which turned out to be two simultaneously gobbling. They answered me in the tree and I shut up. I then heard hen activity to my hard left with the gobbling in front of me. I saw one fly down. I called back and forth with the hens and the gobblers couldn't stand it. I eventually heard gobbling on the left. It was a third gobbler. I heard movement to my left and turned my head in that direction to quick draw. It was a hen and jake about 25 yards. They hopped in the air, confused, and started putting. I cut back at them and they calmed down, but the gobblers went nuts triple gobbling. I directed my attention to the gobblers. They had cut the distance to about 50 yards and I saw a white head above what little brush there was in the bottom. I then caught two fans coming to me behind the pines. They were bringing in a hen with them. I scrunched down more with the gun on my knee and sighted into the red dot. One cleared the trees, head up and I shot. He dropped without a flop. I reloaded quickly and the other bird came out, confused, agitated and started walking away. I cut, he turned and froze head upwards. Bang. He dropped and flopped at 32 steps. The other bird was motionless a few steps closer. I normally resist shooting two at once. I was expecting the governor to end the season on Friday so I thought I'd make hay while the sun shined. Turns out we can still hunt. The gun is a Yildiz single-shot .410 shooting a handload of 7/8 oz. #10 TSS. The gun as depicted weighs 3 lbs. 4 oz. It's been modified with a screw-in Sumtoy choke, trigger work and a red dot sight and mount. With black anodized aluminum receiver and satin chromed barrels, it offers corrosion resistance as good as it gets. #10 shot may raise eyebrows, but this isn't your grandfather's #10 lead shot. While I made head and neck shots on these birds, a pellet or two strayed into the breast the second bird. The shot went through the breast and was stopped by the skin on the far side. The calls on the birds are a box turtle shell slate and a rivercane striker. I made both; the shell from the remains of a turtle found dead in the woods and the yelper made from rivercane I cut in one of my woodcock coverts. I also used a diaphragm call in the hunt. It was all calls on deck for these birds. From beginning to end the hunt lasted about an hour and a quarter. It didn't take long for the thoughts and concerns to come back to what the country is going through. Briefly, the excitement and pleasure of chasing spring gobblers was a diversion in the woods where the presence of another within a mile is too close for my comfort. It was easy for me to transition from social outcast to social distant, especially during gobbler season. Stay safe. Gil[URL=https://www.jpgbox.com/page/59857_800x600/]

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Guest

Thanks for the ride, Gil. What a hunt! I'm not a turkey hunter, but I felt like one reading your report.

Way cool Gil . am always intrueged by that 410 and loads . Do have an old Mossberg 410 with the original screw on choke - looking to do that sort of action with it . A few of us still go over to the club on wed/fri to keep an eye on some landscaping going on . Go over early to scout , but haven't seen a bird except for the only rooster pheas in NY !! Very quiet , very unusual !! VERY early spring here .

Joined: 01 Oct 2007 Posts: 962 Location: Minnesota

Thanks for the story and congrats.

I really enjoyed your report , great hunt thanks for sharing ,
keep safe WJ.

Gil S,

Great Turkey hunt, glad you got out! Enjoy your birds! Real nice story also.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

How do you prepare those turkey legs? Do you roast them, put them on the grill or smoke them? Very Happy

Good Hunting,
Mike

Thanks, fellas. Mike, I put the thighs and legs in a slow cooker. It's tedious to strip the tendons from the meat, but the meat makes good chili, soup, etc. There's no way to roast them (that I know of) as they can become as tough as a old boot. Gil

Gil, loved your description “ opened up park-like”. It reminded me of some big woods from my childhood with a canopy so tall and dense ,once penetrated, it was like entering a vast cathedral- Old growth forests rarely seen these days. Also of Faulkner’s “Big Woods”.

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1377 Location: Denver, Colorado

Gil: Spectacular tale! Social distancing at it's best.

Joined: 26 Apr 2016 Posts: 369 Location: Vermont

Felt like I was there with you Gil. Great story and nice hunt! Congratulations on two nice birds. Joe

Member Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 1863 Location: Wisconsin

Nice job Gil, like the looks of those hooks, that’s the kind of bird you make sure is dead before you pick them up, you’re most likely like me with the scars to prove it. Reno

Speak of the devil! Wink

Good to see your post. Hope you had a decent season. Gil