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"ThunderStruck" - Official Site for Team #5


DonBo

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That's a great looking jake - any tom will want to run in and whoop his butt! I think I'm going to put one on my Christmas list!

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Had a great, productive morning with my Dad. Went to our #1 spot, still had birds gobbling from the pine ridge. We set a blind here last night to get ready for Monday morning.

Off to #2 spot. One hen in the field when we arrived, then watched two more fly down. A coyote came in and spoiled that fun. Never heard a gobble here, but three hens, can a tom be far away?

#3 spot. Nothing in our field, but just across the fence and headed our way - 13 turkeys! Four big strutters, one jake and 8 hens. This just turned into our #2 spot! smile

Monday can not come soon enough.

TWO MORE DAYS! smile

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Went out with my son this morning as he has a season A tag. Saw lots of birds on including several Toms. Fun time but kind of frustrating as the toms are all with several hens and pretty much ignored our calls. Had a couple answering our call and starting to come our way but they lost interest and went back to the real hens. Any suggestions when they don't respond to calling?

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Hey eric and CFD, hope your opening morning was as successful as mine! More later...

DSC03134.jpg

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Congrats Don! I was wondering what was taking so long! laugh

How'd the 'ol man do?

What a beautiful day for B holders.

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Great job Don. The ones talking to me this morning were walking away. I have plan intercept set up for morning. A lot quieter than in the past. Hope is still up. Should be ideal in the morning. Two days left. Hope to have good news.

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The intercept did not work out. I did work one for 40 minutes starting at 9:50. He would answer ever cluck but never came closer than 100 yds. Walked up on 3 strutters on the way to th e truck. One was at 45 yds but never cleared the hen. Wish me luck tomorrow even though it is a good chance of rain.

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Keep at it, don't let a little rain bother you. Some of my best hunts have been in the rain. They like to hang in big fields when it's raining if that helps you any.

Good luck!!!

Super busy at work, I'll get my bird registered when I have time. I can tell you he wasn't huge. 19 lbs, 9 1/2" beard, 3/4" spurs. A two year old I'm sure. We're gonna need some much bigger ones from you guys to win this thing.

Good luck to all!

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Okay guys, here's the story. I'm hunting with my 88 year old Dad this week. It's way more about him than me. Opening morning we were all set in my Double Bull blind at the end of a pine ridge covered with birds, at least 5 or 6 different toms gobbling from 50-150 yards away. Unfortunately most flew into the neighbors cut corn field. We never saw a bird on our property. About 9:00 Dad had enough and I had to go to work.blush

I dropped him off and was going home when I thought of another farm we have permission to hunt, it's right on the way. So I stopped just to "look". Well there's a tom out there strutting. So I grabbed my gun and facemask and one diaphram call and snuck through some thick pines to the edge of the field. There's two toms and a hen. I called a couple times and one of the toms (the smaller one by a long shot) dissapeared in a dip in the field that lays between us. I assumed he was coming so I just sat and waited and waited....I looked on the other side of the tree I was hiding behind and all I could see was his white head, already in range, I waited till his head went back into the dip and I got the gun to the other side of the tree. Soon his head showed again and was coming right at me, more of him becoming visible with each step. I waited till he was close enough I could see his beard and my tag was filled.

I felt like a real heel for shooting this bird while Dad was home, but what are ya gonna do? So now my mission is to get him his bird. We saw a bunch of birds yesterday but it just never happened. This morning it did! We set my blind last night at the edge of a new field. we saw several birds last night, but only a big hen anywhere near in range. We were back again early this morning. Only two distant gobbles were heard before this one just showed up right next to the blind. Dad saw him first, he ducked down and asked "is it a jake?" (he doesn't hear, or see very well anymore) I stuck my lips right in his ear and said "Big tom, kill him!" "Huh?" "KILL HIM!!!" So he stuck the barrel of his gun out the window as the bird ws just starting to run and down he went. God, I was so excited! He doesn't show much emotion, but you could tell he was pretty pleased with himself too. Way to go Pop!

DSC03139.jpg

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Sorry to say your father did better than me this year. Great for him. I had to return to work today. I had a gobbler standing along hwy 5 on the way home from work that responded to the call and came toward the car? I could have shot at one but was not sure the hens around him were not in danger. I would prefer to be safe. I had some chances but not all the stars aligned. They were in the fields yesterday but not happy to leave the sides of the hens. Sorry I let the team down.

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Hey, no worries CFD, that's the way it goes sometimes. It's all about the enjoyment of the outdoors on a beautiful spring morning, and the gobble not the gobbler. The contest is just a fun place to share stories and memories.

And isn't that the way it goes, work getting in the way of all our fun? grin

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Sorry for the suspense but i wasnt able to fill my tag this year. Definitively not for lack of trying, I spent all day every day out in the fields with no luck. Pretty sad but i was even too tired when i got home to get on the internet and check out how you guys did.

A couple of the adjacent properties from what i hunt got just slammed opening week. The other hunters filled 3 tags with nice toms on each of the two places. That pretty much turned them off to every call and decoy i had. I watched probably 15 different toms from a far just look my way and maybe a strut or two and the scurry away. I also had one come into bout 80 yds and strut but not any closer. One cool thing i got to witness for the first time was three toms mating at the same time about 150 yds from me. All of these toms were very tight lipped also. Not one gobble from them all week, not even in the roost.

On some other properties that i hunt i had 4 jakes come about 10 yds from me on two different days. I probably had them gobble at me about 300 times. I thought about it but i just couldnt get myself to pull the trigger on a jake. They hung out by me for about 3 hours each time no matter what i did i couldnt get them to leave. I even stood up a few times to relieve myself and that wouldnt even scare them. I took a few videos on my phone of them gobbling then i would play the video with the sound up and all that would do is make them gobble even more. At another spot i was able to pull a tom into about 10 feet behind me in the woods but i couldnt turn around and he wouldnt come out into the field. A hen that he was with eventually pulled him back away from me.

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Sorry about the tag soup eric, but sounds like you had some pretty good action, can't put a price on that.

2044mustang starts today. Good luck!

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Actually started yesterday, got a tom yesterday morning in the rain. I have to fill out the score sheet yet. Not a monster but a very old bird.

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Another opening morning bird. Good job! Can't wait to see the story and pics.

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My dad and I hunt turkeys together every spring we get drawn. This year was no different but we were hunting on different farms this year. Well let’s just say my turkey opener started out terribly, I went out Friday and set up the double bull in an area where I had hoped would be good. Fast forward to Friday night, rain and wind blowing like crazy. We stay in a pop-up camper on a farmer’s property. The camper is whipping like crazy and all I can think of is how far my blind has blown away/damaged or lost forever. Needless to say, little sleep for me. Get up at 4 head out in the rain, watching the woods edge all the way looking for my blind to be piled up. Well I get out to my spot and there it is, still set up just like I left it. Relief! I set out my decoys and wait for first light. With it raining and some wind still blowing I hear nothing. About 7 am I hear a gobble about 250 yards away. I call no response. About 15 minutes later I hear another gobble from the same area. I try calling again, and again nothing. 15 minutes later I hear another gobble this time a little closer, I call again and again no response. I decide to just stay quiet for a while, about 15 minutes go by, and about 100 yards out I see a turkey coming in the corn stubble. I check the binoculars and see he’s a tom, sneaking along. He’s about 15-20 corn rows below me (bluff country), he gets to a dip about 50 yards out and I can’t see him anymore. I’m just waiting for him to pop up from below. Time seems to be flying by and no sign of him. Finally I peek further to my right out the blind and there he is. He’s sneaking up behind my pretty boy, I let him come into about 20 yards and let him have it. Great end to a rainy morning. 21 pounds, 9 inch beard, spurs 1.25” and 1.3125”, he was an old wise bird. My dad struck out on Saturday but Sunday morning I went out with him and sat beside his blind helping him call. Had a nice tom come in and he put a load of #6’s into him. A great moment we shared together. And that was an end to another great turkey season for me. Thanks for reading my long winded story.

2012MNturkeyapril28006.jpg

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

I love hooks.

Congrats~

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Guys, I'll be off line till probably Sunday as we're headed to WS soon. Have a couple tags in my pocket and hope to fill one of those with my bow. Don't think anyone else is hunting this week, but let's not let ThunderStuck slide out of sight on the turkey forum.

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Our page sure is quiet with out Don on here. Hopefully he's having some good luck in Wisconsin!

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Dave and I both shot birds early in the week. I'm off to the lake for some fishing this weekend. I'll post a report on Monday.

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