Team #5 "TOM COMMANDERS" Official Site

[rundrave]

So, you blasted them out the window? Atta boy!

I should have specified that those pics were from Friday evening while scouting (1 day before opener) although the farmer told us we should take them all out hehe

[DonBo]

Na, just funnin' ya. Although I know a few farmers who'd tell you the same thing. "Kill em all!"

[Borch]

So did you have green and gold camo? Looks like it would be pretty effective in that spot.

[rundrave]

lets try this again.....

2013 SD turkey hunt recap.

Friday afternoon we hit the road for the small town of Pickstown along the beautiful Missouri River in South central South Dakota.

We made our way West of the river scouting the river bluffs in pursuit of birds. We had a group of 5 guys and 2 vehicles so we split up and each vehicle went our own ways. We were met with lots of snow and very few birds but when we did see birds they were often in large groups.

We came across a group of birds on some private ground with lots of nice Toms while the landowner was outside. (see pics in previous post) They were pretty tame in the yard but we were told once they left they got pretty wild. He said we could hunt there but only after a group of youth hunters were done Saturday. So we kept this as an option and continued scouting which was pretty un-eventful.

Saturday morning our group of 5 split up again. We got up early and made a good effort to be out before sun up on some public ground. Temp was about 25degrees with zero wind which was going to make it hard to get a stalk done. In addition with the all the snow on the ground we were met with another very obvious disadvantage. The top layer of snow had melted only to refreeze which made a very loud crunching noise with each and every step. Any bird out there could hear us a mile away. We still set out despite the unpleasant conditions and started to hear lots of gobbling. The sun was starting to rise so we set up in what we guessed was 100 yards from some gobble activity. We then hunkered down and waited for more daylight and called some. The birds were vocal and were responding to our calls so we hoped to call them in. We thought we heard them get down off the roost but didn’t sound like any made their way towards us. We waited it out a bit longer and the birds just stopped talking.

We set out back for the truck and on the way spotted some birds together. It was a handful of hens and 2 small jakes. We were able to get close enough but I opted to pass on taking one in hopes of shooting a nicer bird. One of the guys in our group did shoot one of the young Jakes though so we were on the board.

We then set out for some spot and stalks and climbed to the tops of some ridges hoping to spot some other birds and that the sun would melt the top layer of snow enough so that we could walk through it quietly. We couldn’t find anything close but with the snow they were easy to spot even if they were several ridges over. They seemed to be focusing on the sunny side of these ridges out in the open.The sun finally melted the snow which made it nice for following tracks

It was about this time that it got cloudy and the wind picked up and we no longer could hear or see birds. We continued to hike up and down and sit in areas with no luck or even a gobble. We did this until about 6pm and decided to hit the road and do some more scouting.

We found a couple areas that looked good for Sundays hunt but we opted to head back to the private land we saw the birds at on Friday. As we neared the property we found a flock of about 30 birds leaving the feed trough in the cattle yard heading down into a large open pasture. We inquired how the youth hunters did and were told they shot 3 birds. We asked for permission again and planned out our stalk. Even though the birds were downhill and out of site our plan was to use the fence and cows to conceal us from any stragglers and then set up on some hay bales directly uphill from the birds. Once we got to our spot to shoot the birds had already made some good ground away from us. We pulled out the range finder and they were at 357 yards with a strong crosswind. Although we were armed with rifles we opted to not fire for several reasons. We left and did some more scouting and more walking and called it a day.

Our 2 groups met back up for dinner and we discovered the 2 other guys were able to get their 4 tags filled. They had set up a blind on some public ground and they were able to see several turkeys throughout the day. They couldn’t leave the blind setup overnight but told us where they had set it up. We decided that another guy and I (who both coincidently had never bagged a turkey before) would set up the blind and sit there in the morning.

[rundrave]

2013 SD turkey hunt recap day 2

We got up extra early to insure we could get to that public spot before anyone else and set up the blind. We got settled around 6:15am and there we sat. The weather was downright awful so thankfully we were in a blind. It was a very cold, windy with a steady rain that at times was a heavy downpour. To make it worse there was lots and lots of heavy fog we couldn’t see more than 30-40yards at times.

We did some calling even though we didn’t hear any birds gobbling. So we roughed it out and just sat and sat hoping the weather would clear and warm up enough to get the fog to move out. It made for some long waiting and I am very impatient as a rookie turkey hunter but I knew we should stay in blind after the other guys had success there the day before.

Around 10 it finally stopped raining but the fog was still heavy. The blind was setup in a small opening just on the top of a big ravine. I knew the birds wouldn’t want to sit in the woods and they eventually would come out to feed and probably dry out. We said if the fog lifted and we didn’t see or hear any action by 11am we would move. 11am came and we headed back to the truck to warm up and get something to eat. We did some driving as the fog started to lift and we started to see birds everywhere!

We got back out and set up in similar areas where we were seeing birds. We found a great spot to sit while the 3rd guy set up about 200 yards away. It wasn’t more than a few minutes and we had jake come by us in shotgun range and I let the other guy shoot and we had our first bird of the day (his first turkey ever). It wasn’t more than 15 minutes and we had a flock of Jakes and hens come through. We both whispered what bird we were going to shoot and fired a shot each and we managed a double on 2 jakes (one being my first bird ever)!

No time to celebrate we grabbed our birds and set up in another spot that looked good. It wasn’t long and we spotted another jake a ways out so we tried to sneak up on it. We got close enough for a position to offer me a shot. He spotted us first but I got him on the run and with one shot my 2nd bird was down.

It wasn’t much longer and we heard some shooting off in the distance and come to find it was the 3rd guy in our group who also got his last bird which was another young jake.

*Disclaimer* So I know this is a team contest and I by any means did not shoot a trophy bird or a bird worth shooting IMHO. However I have been at this turkey hunting game for 4 years now and yet to bag a bird and it was time for me to stop eating turkey tag soup. If I didn’t bring a bird home I don’t think my wife would let me go back out again lol. I have always wanted my first bird to be a nice tom with a long beard etc, but I guess it wasn’t in the cards.

My 1 bird was just under 10lbs and no beard and 2 small bumps you could hardly call spurs. My other bird was 11.4lbs and was pretty much the same for beard and spurs. It doesnt score us much for points but the good news is I may opt to grab an over the counter tag and hunt in the black hills yet this spring.

Here is our group shot of our birds I am furthest on the left:

Have to say I am impressed with both my shooting and my choke pattern

I will wait until end of contest to submit my score, worse case scenario I contribute 11 measesly points, or I go out west and shoot a trophy.

Sorry for the dissapointment but I may improve my score. Good luck to the rest of you guys!

[DonBo]

No need to appologize for shooting a jake. Well done I say!

[benbosh]

Congrats, my first bird was a jake as well. No need for disappointment, any bird is a trophy IMO.

Got permission for my usual turkey hunting land but the owner said he hasn't seen or heard anything but yesterday I went for a drive around the area and seen 2 hens on the land next to where I'll be hunting so that's a start but with the weather starting to improve by this weekend I expect things to change... 12 more days for me!

[DrJ]

Congrats on your 1st bird. Your group hunted under some tough condition so my hats off to you. Thanks for the details of your hunt,now we can all dream about our up coming hunts. Good Luck to All. DrJ.........

[bmc]

Points are points rundrave!!!

More importanly, CONGRATS on your 1st turkey!!!

Nice pics and I was wondering if you guys got all Merriams because it looked like a bird or two on the right of the harvest picture had darker tail feathers like eastern birds.

A great hunt in some tough conditions, GREAT JOB!!!

Brian

[hugonian1]

First on the board should count for somthing.

You might as well as get it entered since your first bird is it.

It does not look like you wasted any meat looking at the picture.

It looks like you gave him a nice haircut.

I am curious- you mentioned no beard on the Jake. Is South Dakota different than Minnesota when it comes to the "visible beard" requirement?

DonBo would probobly be grilling up some of those bacon wrapped turkey cubes with those tastey Jakes.

[sticknstring]

Congrats rundrave! First birds are trophys no matter how big! Great recap and some great pics as well! The weather was definitely not conductive to good hunting, but you made the best of it.

[DonBo]

DonBo would probobly be grilling up some of those bacon wrapped turkey cubes with those tastey Jakes.

No question 'bout that!

[rundrave]

I am curious- you mentioned no beard on the Jake. Is South Dakota different than Minnesota when it comes to the "visible beard" requirement?

I had 2 tags to fill, they were for any bird Hen, Jake or Tom. So by definition I could shoot any dark turkey that bears the characteristics of a Merriam’s, Rio Grande or Eastern turkey.

[Archerysniper]

I love those "any" tags,they have saved the trip many times.

[rundrave]

i am about to head out the door for my season opener.

Any luck Illini?

Any one else geting out scouting or hunting yet?

[Scoot]

I'll be out early tomorrow and Sunday. I'll hunt Saturday, but I won't get out there until about 11:00 AM. It should be cold, but fun!

[bmc]

My "source" gets home from Hawaii today, if I was him I'd be staying there another month or so!

I'll start getting reports from him next week. Just have to get my wife out to shoot the shotgun a little bit and keep flinging a few arrows here and there till it's time to hunt.

Dusted off the snowshoes the other day, but hopefully we won't need them.

Good luck this weekend Scoot!!

Come on Illini Walli, the suspense is killing us! LOL

Brian

[IlliniWalli]

well, guys ....... still a big 0.

just got back from hunting through another downpour. its been a tough four days with cool temps, wind and rain.

lots of gobbling on the roost but very little gobbling once they hit the ground. its go time and hens everywhere.

got a tom to work each of the first three days and each day had one almost in shooting range before the "real hens" pulled him away. waited for the t-storms to subside today before heading out about 9. didnt go 100 yards until i struck a gobble. i knew where he was in a pasture but i couldnt move into the best position because i couldnt get across a small creek that was flash flooding after last nights 6 inches of rain.

got as close as i could anyway, called a couple times, he gobbled and there he was strutting about 75 yards away. he came a little closer and if he kept coming i was gonna shoot and worry about wading the swolen creek later but he stopped where there was a big lake in a low area.

i was hoping he would come around the water, but he stayed put, strutted and gobbled some more before heading back up the hill. i maneuvered closer, called again and two toms cut loose, but they werent about to cross the "lake" and eventually lost interest.

then about a half hour later, despite the "clear" forecast, the rain cut loose again and i got soaked to the bone through my "waterproof" rain gear slogging back to the wheeler.

got one more shot tomorrow on my first season tag and i have two more tags and seasons left after that.

so i feel pretty confident a tom is going down for the commanders

[IlliniWalli]

so ... any updates from the tom commanders?

sorry to say i struck out on first season.

had a tom within 75 yards each of the first five days but couldnt pull one away from the hens and into range.

didnt hear a single gobble friday. saw two strutters on the roost, they dropped down on the ridge and were joined by seven or eight hens. one tom dropped into strut for an instant but no breeding activity at all on the windy, chilly morning. i called them down the hill a ways and they hung around for half an hour with several hens getting close, but the toms stayed out of range before they eventually headed for a field. i circled to the other end of the field, but they were gone.

went to another woods, called a couple times and here comes a flock of 20 off the ridge, including seven longbeards. called softly, they all strutted but no gobbles. pulled a tom within 60 yards, but the hens - followed by the beards - drifted away onto an off-limits property.

back at em again starting friday ....

[benbosh]

Wednesday morning went to locate a roost on some public land behind my place. Found it and heard at least 2 gobbling in the tree along with a hen. Another gobbler was roosted about 1/2 mile south. Left and went and drove around for a while and came back to my place and sure enough the turkeys from the public land were up on the hill out in the field. counted 10.. 1 hen, 2 long beards, the rest jakes or toms with broken beards. They seen me after a while and ran off. Went back in took a short nap, look out the window and there was then hen, a long beard and 3 of the jakes 60 yards from the edge of my yard. The hen started wandering off and man did those guys chase after her like she was the only hen in the world.

Saturday morning, went to my usual turkey land which is private property. Got out of the truck and instantly heard a gobble and I knew right about where he was roosted. Didn't walk off the road with the crunchy snow and little wind I didn't want to get busted.

Last night, toughed out the rain and did a little scouting on the same land hoping to roost a bird but it was silent.

This morning, same spot. Walked out there early and he was roosted close to where he was Saturday morning. Waited him out hoping to catch a glimpse of him because some of the gobbles sounded "weak" making me think it was just a Jake but some of them sounded like an old gobbler. After a while it sounded to me that there may be 2 different birds down there. Heard a hen also but wasn't close to the gobbling. Scouting all this week and then its go-time come Saturday!

[bmc]

Sounds like Walli and benbosh are on the birds, so it's just a matter of time before we see some success pics posted.

My season doesn't start till May 7th, hurry up and wait stinks!!!

Keep after 'em guys!!

Brian

[benbosh]

On the birds indeed.. Had to go into work early this morning to push snow so I didn't get out scouting right away this morning. Around 830 I went home, grabbed the trail cam and headed to the woods. The trees had a lot of snow sticking to them and their branches so you couldn't see through them at all so I tried a locator call to make sure I wouldn't spook anything but got no response so I slowly walked along. Put my trail camera where 3 trails meet up just to see if they use them much or not.

Walked down the hill to a low, open spot with a pond/some trees on the east and north sides with woods and river on the west side. It's probably 80-100 yards from where I think they've been roosting lately. Found 1 set of fresh tracks and followed them for a bit but backed out because they went into the woods but I didn't want to follow them being visibility was low in the woods and was fairly quiet. Got back to the truck and 250 yards away on the road near the land owners yard I seen 2 of them. Couldn't quite tell what they were from there so I drove down the road, turned around and came back to do a drive by. Turns out, just off the road on the other side of an old fence was what appeared to be 5-6 hens and one strutting tom with a HUGE beard. Went home and drove by about 2 hours later and the tom was still there, couldn't tell if the hens were too or not.

[benbosh]

Kinda quiet in here but I'll update with my latest scounting.. Yesterday I went down to the private land I'm hunting and walked to my usual scouting spot on an oak ridge just south of where they've been roosting. Start walking up the ridge and I bust 2 hens out of the tree just on the otherside of the ridge. Wasn't expecting it at all because in the 5 years I've hunted this property, I've never seen a turkey roost in this spot. The tom I've been watching was roosted about 1/3 mile west of his normal spot, on a different property, but I did hear another gobble to the south end of my hunting area. I ran into work for a quick meeting then drove by where I'll be hunting and out in the field is the tom I heard gobbling right away in the morning to the south, hes with a hen.

This morning, go to my scouting ridge, carefully watching the trees this time but no turkeys roosted there thankfully. The gobbler thats been hanging around this north end of the property was in his usual roost. Checked the trail camera, got a few pictures of some hens on Wednesday night and a few more yesterday morning along with the tom.

Heres the guy I'm after (date is off by 2 days and time is off by 6 1/2 hours, FYI):

[Borch]

Looks like a nice one.

Good Luck Benbosh!

[Scoot]

Sick him, benbosh!!!

I'm headed out both days this weekend- if I don't get it done this weekend I've probably only got one day left after that. Busy schedule between work, kids, home... it's been tough to hunt as much as I've wanted to. I'll do my best to knock a bird down for the Tom Commanders though!!! Wish me luck...

[rundrave]

good luck guys!

[bmc]

Good luck guys!!!!

Brian

[IlliniWalli]

i am starting to think i am snakebit this season.

struck out on my second tag opener today and on the way home had a blowout. ended up buying a new set of truck tires. ouch

was hunting one of my favorite places on a big bluff where if you are in the highest spot on the property you can see the mighty miss in the distance.

had a couple gobblers oh so close off the roost but they wouldnt crest the ridge into the field and headed off down the draw with the hens.

hunted til quittin time at 1 and did not hear another gobble or see another bird. wind kicked up to around 20 mid-morning and when i reached for my tube call that was attached to a lanyard on my vest, it was shattered to smithereens after i apparently sat on it.

since this was my first trip to the property this year, which is an hour away, i think i have a better plan for tomorrow.

[benbosh]

Thanks guys! Got the blind set up tonight and its go-time tomorrow!!

Man, sounds rough Walli. Keep after 'em!

[benbosh]

Well fellow Tom Commanders.. 2 1/2 hours into my hunt this morning I happened to let an arrow fly at a critter with a spur that was 1 5/8".. we'll just leave it at that for now

Pics, story, and contest submisson to come later. Hate to leave you guys in suspense but it's time to go enjoy this weather!