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Team #5 "TOM COMMANDERS" Official Site


bmc

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  • rundrave

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so ... you sliced his leg off? grin

big congrats, ben, lookin forward to pix and story.

score another one for the tom commanders. sounds like he might be in the running for big bird, too.

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Well here he is guys. I'll get get it submitted for the contest hopefully tomorrow but heres the story and some pics.

After scouting all of last week I knew right where I wanted to put my blind, same spot where I got those trail cam pics from. So Friday night at dark I snuck in there to the top of this oak/basswood ridge where 3 trails intersect making a "T". The top of the T running north/south and the bottom of the T to the east. I set up as quietly as a could on the east side of the intersection on top of the ridge with a pond to my right (north). After I got the blind set up as quietly as possible, I snuck out of there.

Saturday morning came, I got up a little earlier than I normally would due to the fact that there was ZERO wind and it was dead quiet, giving the woods a chance to quiet down should they hear me. I let out a few soft tree yelps early to let him know I was around. 5 minutes before legal shooting time, GOBBLE! He was roosted probably 100 yards straight west of me. I scanned the trees hoping to spot him but couldn't find him but figured he must be just across the river. He'd gobble about every couple minutes on the roost then a little after 6 it was silent. I knew he had flew down because all week scouting, as soon as he hit the ground he'd go silent. Finally 10 minutes later he gobbled but he was probably 300 yards across the river in the field, figuring he was with hens.

Knowing he wouldn't come anytime soon, I would call every half hour or so and he'd gobble every 15 minutes or so. Having confidence in this tactic, being I've killed 2 out of 3 of my turkeys this way (and one miss blush ) I kept at it until about 8. Finally just before 8 I noticed he started gobbling more, if he was with hens I figured they must of left or he got bored of them. I picked up the pace and intensity of my calling, about every couple minutes or so, he'd respond. I went silent for a little bit and he was still gobbling every 2 minutes. I went back to some real intense cutting, yelps and purrs and finally he let out a gobble, he was closer and crossed the river!

I brought down the calling to just some light purrs, clucks and a couple yelps and I finally see a red head bobbing along the bottom of the ridge from the west looking for this hen. He worked his way along the bottom, when finally he seen my decoy. He hit the trail that runs along the west edge of the pond, he was just 30 yards north/northwest of me at this point. I grabbed my bow, clipped my release to my loop and waited. He slowly half-strutted up the hill, gobbling every time he stopped. At 14 yards he stopped, brought his head up and did a little head bob look around. I thought he busted me, he must have been checking out my decoy because a few seconds later he was back to half strut and even threw a little spitting and drumming in for me.

He walks maybe another yard, stops to gobble so I drew my bow knowing he only had to take about 4 more steps to clear about 3 tiny twigs of a gooseberry bush and I'd have a clear shot. He took those finally steps, stopped to gobble one last time of his life, raised his head a little to see if he got a response out of the hen and THWACK! I let the arrow fly. He went 30 yards back to the bottom of the ridge where he came from and piled up! It was about 8:30 opening morning and I had my bird!!!

I went and got him, took a few pictures, then packed up. It was a long 1/2 mile walk back through a muddy cornfield to the truck but worth every ounce of energy it took, even though that was the shortest walk back I've had turkey hunting.

He weighed 22.2 lbs (22 lbs 4 oz), 1 3/8" and 1 5/8" spurs, 11 inch beard. Everything for the contest will be submitted hopefully tomorrow, if not, Thursday for sure!

Has anybody seen white in the tail feathers like this before?

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Impressive spurs on that bird! Congratulations!

I shot a bird once with white in the center tail feathers very much like your bird. I did a bunch of reading online and the basic conclusion was that it has to do with the bird's diet, or lack there of, while that feather was growing.

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Congrats - that's one heckuva bird! Wallmount variety! smile My MN bird last spring had white in the center like that. First & only one I've taken like it so far. Unique!

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WOW, those are some nice hooks and a great all around bird.

Congrats.

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Sorry Guys frown I stuck out this year. I hunted all day Saturday which started off great. I heard 4 different sets of gobbles at about 5:15. Right about fly down the coyotes started yipping and two of the sets stopped. At about 6:15 I had a nice hen slip into the decoys, but no tom around. Nothing the rest of the day. Sunday was dead woods. Nothing mad No deer, ducks, pheasants, nothing. Monday was the same as was yesterday morning. Well the weather today prevented me from getting out. The birds that I did see while driving around were with hens and the weren't gobbling at all. The private property that I was hunting hasn't got a bird so far this year. In the past we usually get 4-5 nice toms throughout the season. Pretty sure the weather messed up all of their usual haunts. Where they usually roost on the property had snow until yesterday. Sorry I wasn't able to help the team.

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Congrats benbosh- really impressive bird!

Sorry I wasn't able to help the team.

Well bassman, I've got a little more time to try chip in, but if things keep going like they have been for me, I'll soon be posting a reply much like yours. I've been kicked in the groin a bunch of times by these dang birds! I'm frustrated and irritated, but I'm not smart enough to give up! Some tags don't get filled no matter how hard we try... I hope you had a fun season trying, bassman!

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That's why it's called huntin' and not killin' bassman. I've had more than my fair share of un-filled turkey tags.

Benbosh, that's an AWESOME bird. LOVE those hooks!!!

Keep after 'em Scoot!!

Brian

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Thanks guys! I finally got him submitted. It's only my 4th turkey and it's gonna be a tough one to beat, but I also said that the past 2 years and every year I've killed a bigger bird than last. Couldn't have gotten any luckier with the weather for the C season. To everyone else still hunting, good luck!

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i'm still out there chasin the big one, guys. aint about to give up, even though this has been my toughest season in recent memory.

has been very, very difficult getting the toms to work. birds still flocked up in my neck of the woods - thats crazy for this late in the season.

the other day i was set up between two groups that had about 6 toms apiece firing off from the roost. after flydown, both flocks got together and moved off in a group of about 30.

about a dozen times i've had a tom within 75 yards, but he eventually would drift off with the hens. i've shot a lot of birds from mid-morning on cuttin and runnin but have struck only a couple gobbles this season.

i'm down but not out. my final season begins thursday. maybe by then most of the hens will be on the nest and the big boys will be out cruisin. grin

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Keep after 'em Walli!!!

My season starts Tuesday.

Looks like the weather will be really nice and I know the landowners where I hunt have heard and seen birds on their properties.

I'm really pumped as this will be my wife's 1st time hunting anything, ever!!!

Keep after 'em guys!!

Brian

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Anymore updates to be had from you fellow Tom Commanders? I was out on Saturday, but couldn't hunt on Sunday because of a Godchild's confirmation. It was another fun, frustrating day out chasing turkeys. We went to an area we haven't been at all this year and we found a bunch of turkeys. By and large, they just didn't want to come in to our deeks through. We had a couple cool interactions with birds, but man are those dang things cagey! ...and who says jakes are dumb and easy as heck to call in? I got the impression that every jake within ear shot of my calls would come blindly running in to my decoys? Nope, that sure hasn't been the case!

I'll get an update as soon as I get a little more time at work. I've take some fun pics this season and I missed some great ones too. In total, it should make for a fun little write up to this point. Our season closes the 19th, so we need to try get a bird into the decoys between now and then...

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Scoot it sounds like you may want to keep the decoys in your vest. Some times the best thing is them hearing the ladies but can't see them.

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I've only been doing the turkey thing two years, but if there is one thing I can say I know about turkeys (at least from my experience) is that they are unpredictable at best. What works one day won't work the next. What works on one bird wont work on his buddy. I find myself trying to call less and less though it seems like. Might be the elk hunter in me, but I've been having my best luck trying to get where I think they are heading and then getting set up and waiting for them. I've tried calling them in so much early on in the AM when they are gobbling and i'm all fired up.... But most often it sends the hen the other way from me. So i've been calling just enough early on to keep them gobbling so I can monitor where they are headed towards. Then I make a move and head to where I think they are going and wait. Saturday I called as a last ditch effort and the toms did break away from the hens, but this was midday and not early AM. Sunday late in the morning the birds came into my decoys and I never made a peep. Toms came in on a run to a jake decoy set up behind my hen which I have been putting on the ground and not staking up. I have been hunting on public ground that joins private though, and they are always on the private in the morning so I can't get in on the roost or morning "strut zone". I have no choice but to try to intercept them as I can't go onto the private, but it's been working pretty dang well for me as of late. For me, the birds have been working towards an old, isolated road and I am thinking they are headed there to pick gravel before heading into timber during the heat of the day. The morning has become a "listen and learn" time for me, and the afternoon is the time to get the vulnerable toms. Just some food for thought from an amateur who is still learning how to get good at this turkey thing!

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I struck out guys. Never heard more gobbling than I did this season, but I just couldn't get it done.

I'll post up a little re-cap tomorrow, after beating my head against a tree trying to figure these "stupid" turkeys out, I gotta ice down the dent in my head with a few Captain 7's. wink

I need some expert advice to help me w/ my sanity after this weeks hunt. LOL

My wife was a trooper though and stuck it out, which was great. We had a great time, even though neither of us took a shot. I was happy to share her 1st hunting experience with her.

Brian

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well, guys, put another one on the board for the tom commanders!

scored a nice tom yesterday morning that may be my best ever.

dagger 1 3/4 inch hooks, 11 1/4 beard and weighed 25 1/2!!!

and, yeah, i know, its all a just a bunch of B S (big story wink ) without the pictures. grin

but ... after doing the measurements and pics, computer wouldnt boot up when i logged on today.

computer guy had to take it with him and i am now on a loaner. hopefully the pics can be recovered from my hard drive; if not, i think they are still on the wife's email.

so ... it may take a few days to get him officially entered.

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hey rundrave, are you gonna enter one of them birds you got in SD or are you still hunting?

the way team 7 is knockin em dead, we need all the points we can get grin

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  • 3 weeks later...

hey rundrave, are you gonna enter one of them birds you got in SD or are you still hunting?

the way team 7 is knockin em dead, we need all the points we can get grin

My plans to hunt the black hills never happened, went fishing instead smile

I don't know if I should enter my "little bird" into the mix unless there is a smallest bird taken award.

It was certainly better eating then turkey tag soup I had the last couple years though.

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