First time turkey

[pmer]

Finally decided to give Turkey hunting a try and lucked out with a nice tom. Just went out Friday evening and Saturday morning and evening. I saw turkeys each time and tried to circle in front of a tom Saturday morning but no luck.

I started with a BPS 10 ga and a #4 Turkey load but learned it didn't pattern and ordered a choke for it. Then got a Carlson's turkey choke and #7 tungsten at fleet farm for a 870.

Called him in from a wood line on my right while I was in a brush pile on my wood line. Just had a hen decoy and used simple hen clucks. Dropped him at 45 paces. He looked like he was going to get up and sent a finishing shot.

I'll have to get a pic uploaded

[Texas by God]

Congratulations, you are hooked now.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[smoked turkey]

Good job. They are delicious cubed and deep fried. I only take the breast and thigh from mine as the legs are just too tough to do anything with. Anxious to see the picture of the beast.

[pmer]

http://imgur.com/a/zE5imYb

Here is a picture, he has a 9 inch long beard.

We had him in a brine over night for about 15 hours and baked in a oven for 4 hours. There wings and drum sticks were too tuff but the breast was amazing. Juicy full of flavor and just huge compared to a hen from the store.

[megasupermagnum]

http://imgur.com/a/zE5imYb

Here is a picture, he has a 9 inch long beard.

We had him in a brine over night for about 15 hours and baked in a oven for 4 hours. There wings and drum sticks were too tuff but the breast was amazing. Juicy full of flavor and just huge compared to a hen from the store.

They aren't tough at all if you don't over cook them like that. I bake at 325 F and I take out when the center of the breast is about 162ish F. Even out of the oven, it continues to warm, and gets to the recommended 165F. It should only take about 2 hours. The legs are the best part baked. The breasts are even better grilled.

[chutesnreloads]

My favorite part of the wild turkey is the turkey salad with the leftovers. Little pieces of that extra dark meat gives a nice contrast to the salad.

[pmer]

Yeah I could've watched it closer it was 175 after it was out of the oven.

[T-Bird]

I turkey hunt and every hunt is different. Sometimes is is an easy "textbook" hunt, sometimes not at all. To me every bird is a prize. If you continue this, don't let the non textbook hunts frustrate you into quitting. it's all fun even tho frustrating at times. Congratulations that's a great bird.

[slim1836]

Well done, nice pic of the bird. Never turkey hunted myself.

Slim

[MrWolf]

Congrats. Nice pic. Scrolled down some and got hungry from the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich :drinks:

[missionary5155]

Congratulations !! That is a fine way to start hunting Ben Franklins national bird. Happily the others wanted a scavenger bird like most other countries.

[megasupermagnum]

I turkey hunt and every hunt is different. Sometimes is is an easy "textbook" hunt, sometimes not at all. To me every bird is a prize. If you continue this, don't let the non textbook hunts frustrate you into quitting. it's all fun even tho frustrating at times. Congratulations that's a great bird.

Everybody wants to get under a gobbling bird, set up, and have him come in full strut, while gobbling hard. It's as fun a moment as anything can be. That said, it's the ones that don't do that, that feel better the next day, and I also remember them better. Nobody cares about the one you called in 15 minutes with some yelps. It's the one you shot by belly crawling through the thorns in a lightning storm to come over the ridge, finding two toms fighting in the field that you remember. Yes, that happened. After sitting three days in grueling heat, not seeing a turkey, and only the sparing gobble. Day four was a thunderstorm, and I was so happy to see two toms fighting 200 yards away.

[Krag 1901]

I see five to seven of them like that in the ball field next to my house once or twice a month! I had two hens come with in fifteen feet of me the other day on the patio. Could have taken them with the air rifle.

[Tripplebeards]

#4’s never patterned well in my 10 gauge gold. I traded an old patternmaster tube I bought new back around 90’ directly to pattern master for a code black turkey tube. The old fold crimp grand slam 2oz #4’s patterns really good now along with the old grand slam #5’s. The new roll crimp ammo from federal won’t load in my tube or cycle. I will have to locate some #4 and #5 shot and start loading form the gold since the new roll crimp style won’t cycle. I did find 3 boxes of old federal 2 1/4 oz #4 for sale the other day. I might buy a box and check the pattern. Great job! I haven’t seen a Tom since the last week of April. Gobbling literally stopped completely in my area during the end of 4th week. Our last season ended Tuesday. I heard my first Tom in weeks gobble! He was coming in fast and then passed me by and kept going. I have been turkey hunting my property exclusively lately which is all thick woods it is impossible to see a bird till it’s in your lap so I might be toting my lighter 12 gauges from now on. It was nice to carry my 7lb beretta pintail vs my 12 pound Gold turkey gun up and down the ridge every day along with my decoys and chair. Twelve gauges knock em flat with the right load and choke combo. I sat 5 half days 4th, 5th, and 6th season blind calling with no Toms sneaking in or by me. Just a few hens graced my presence and none cared to visit my DSD decoys.