Popular Post mazzgolf Posted April 26, 2021 Popular Post Posted April 26, 2021 (edited) Story with pics to come later --- but got my first opening day A-week bird and it is a doozy!! Double Spurs!! Never saw or heard such a thing!!! What a morning!! Stay tuned... ---- UPDATE ---- OK... Here's the story!!! I'm gonna write a book here, so you can skip down if you just care about the pictures ... First, some background. Early last week we had invited a bunch of friends to visit at our house for a couple hours. Well, Friday afternoon we get the call -- "So-and-so has symptoms and is getting tested, but we think its COVID". I'm thinking, "Turkey season starts in a few days!! NOOOO!!! " Saturday comes around and "Confirmed. COVID." Over the past month, I've known a few people that are still down-and-out with this COVID virus - on oxygen, at the hospital, the whole bit. So now I'm worried - I'm thinking my entire turkey season is shot and it hasn't even started yet! Well, I turn to prayer and optimism -- a couple things are in my favor - I'm pretty sure I already had COVID (never did get tested thought; the symptoms didn't even last a whole day) plus I really wasn't close to this person the whole night - but still, it was my house. Who knows where that virus floated around. I might have it for all I know. But I'm just counting down the hours until Monday morning... "no symptoms, please, no symptoms!!!" This morning, I wake up at 3:30am and feel fine. Good to go, at least for today! Let's roll! Now, I have been excited to try a new place I just scouted about a month ago. A super-secret place - I swear if I didn't know it was huntable property, I wouldn't believe it. I did my research, checked local ordinances to make sure I was good (and printed them out and put them in my pocket!), and finally stepped foot on property a few weeks ago. I know turkeys are in the general vicinity, but I wasn't sure if they were on this specific property. During my scouting I thought I saw some turkey scratches ("could that be from squirrels, though??") .... and then... I saw one single solitary turkey footprint. Bingo! That's all I needed to know Put a couple waypoints and tracks in HuntStand and filed this place away in my head. I then returned last week just to get it back in my memory so I could remember it while walking around here in the dark, plus I picked out some spots I think would be good hunting locations. But saw no turkey sign that second visit. I wake up this morning - (no symptoms... phew! thank you, God!!)... and I drive over to my new spot. Of course, I have NO expectations whatsoever. Yeah, I saw a single turkey footprint a few weeks ago, but I never did hear or see any other sign. For all I know, there is nothing here. Wouldn't be the first time I get in the woods and hear and see nothing for hours. At about 4:45am, I get to a spot facing the grove of trees where I saw the one lonely turkey print during my scouting. And I wait. Sun starts peeking out and I hear nothing. Well, doesn't surprise me. Shooting time arrives... and I put out some yelps using my pot call. Nothing. I plan on sleeping next to a tree for the next few hours because I just have a bad feeling there's nothing here. Suddenly.... I hear something... ever so faint.. but "something". Was that a gobble in the distance behind me?? There were some geese flying over head - maybe that was a honk, and not gobble? I listen carefully... there it is again! I can't tell if it is a "honk" - I don't think it is. But then again, maybe that is just wishful thinking. These geese are annoying. Well, the clock passes 6am and suddenly I do hear it plain as day and getting louder and closer! Gobble, gobble! Directly behind me (in a completely different location where I thought turkeys might be - in fact, it's coming from the area that I used to walk in!!) Of course, I'm set up facing the wrong direction and am at least 200 yards away. Gobble gobble! I think I hear *two*!!! But I can't tell. I sit there for 10 minutes thinking: I have one or two birds directly behind me but far away... should I wait for them to come to me? Even if they come in, I'm facing the wrong way. Sounds like they might be hung up and stopped coming closer, but I can't tell because I can't see them and they are still easily 100 yards away if not more. Do I want to wait and hope that more turkeys are going to show up in front of me from the grove of trees where I originally thought that turkeys might be (where the footprint and scratches were?) I need to make a command decision right now. I have no birds in front of me.... I have birds behind me, but they are far away and I'm not facing them. If I'm going to target the birds behind me, I have to move now before they get too close and might see me. Decision made - I quickly get up and scurry closer to the gobbling Tom (or Toms, I still don't know if I have one or two birds here). I hurry up and sit next to a tree with some tall grasses in front of me. Gobble gobble! Honk! Gobble gobble! Honk ! Gobble Gobble! The turkeys are answering the geese that are flying over! HA! Giving their position away! I let out a yelp and some clucks and put the pot call away. I can tell there will be no need for any more calling. I can hear them coming in, getting closer and closer. I think there are two, but I have no visual. But at least one of them is clearly looking for this yelping "hen". Now my mind is racing - it's only the first day! I have never shot a bird on opening day ever (not for lack of trying!). But I love being out in the woods and I'm thinking, "Do I really want to end my A-week after just a single hour of hunting time?" If I shoot this bird, I'm done until Saturday. So I tell myself, "Patience... discipline! If it's a jake, let him walk... and come back tomorrow." Now that I know for sure turkey are here, I can feel confident coming back here again and getting some action. But then suddenly, it appears! One Tom. I don't know if he had a partner or if I was mistaken about there being two birds. But I have a bird right in front of me at 30 yards and he is slowly closing the gap between me and him. I quickly size him up - man, this looks like a really good bird!! This ain't a jake... I'm not letting him walk. He never went into strut but he was still walking through the woods with authority - his neck tall and straight-up. This looked like a confident bird searching for a mate. Well, he got within 20 yards and he presented just a perfect head shot, and I took it. He never saw it coming... and it was a quick end. PHEW! Opening day, A-week bird!! A first! And a nice bird at that! I start filling out the tag and taking pictures. And as I'm picking up the bird by his feet, something feels weird about it in my hand... like there is something wrong with his spurs. That's when I noticed it. Double spurs??!?!?!? I have never heard of such a thing! But sure enough, on each foot, the main spur had a tiny second spur right next to it! And the main spurs were nice! This bird could put a hurting on its rivals, that's for sure. And I didn't even notice until I got the bird home, but he had a triple beard, too! How about that? Triple beard and double spurs! He also had a big fat head, too! Talk about a rare bird - I'll probably never see this again. After a bunch of pictures and tagging, I pack up everything, and carry the bird out to the trunk for the joyful ride home. I'm done until Saturday, but no complaining from me! I didn't get sick, and harvested a bird in a new area that I put some work in finding and scouting! I love it when a plan comes together (it happens so rarely for me ) Tale of the tape: Adult Tom Weight: 19 pounds Spurs (double): 1 inch main spur Beard (triple): 10 inches main beard Edited April 26, 2021 by mazzgolf MasterBirdBlaster, JimmyScags, tpr1921 and 35 others 28 10
tpr1921 Posted April 26, 2021 Posted April 26, 2021 (edited) Congratulations. I killed one with double spurs sometime ago. There was a double spur on the opposite leg but I broke it off. Edited April 26, 2021 by tpr1921 Haskell_Hunter and LPJR 2
the truth Posted April 26, 2021 Posted April 26, 2021 1 minute ago, Nomad said: Double spurs? I just can't picture that.... I killed a double spurred Tom years ago. Think 2 tines coming off a main beam with a shared base. At least that’s how mine was and I was told it was double spurs
Nomad Posted April 26, 2021 Posted April 26, 2021 2 minutes ago, the truth said: I killed a double spurred Tom years ago. Think 2 tines coming off a main beam with a shared base. At least that’s how mine was and I was told it was double spurs Thanks! I'm trying to get him to post a picture.
bushden Posted April 26, 2021 Posted April 26, 2021 Congratulations HONOR THE FALLENhttps://thefallen.militarytimes.com/ Over the years the US has sent many of its fine young men & women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return, is enough to bury those that did not return. COLIN POWELL
Haskell_Hunter Posted April 26, 2021 Posted April 26, 2021 Sapere aude. Audeamus. When you cannot measure, your knowledge is meager and unsatisfactory.
rgw Posted April 26, 2021 Posted April 26, 2021 6 minutes ago, Haskell_Hunter said: I agree 100% Haskell_Hunter 1
hunterbob1 Posted April 26, 2021 Posted April 26, 2021 How's the book coming along Mazz?lol “In a civilized and cultivated country, wild animals only continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen.” -Theodore Roosevelt
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