2022 Spring Turkey Season -

Wasn’t the big tom I was after today but I’ll take it.
Excellent start to this years spring turkey season.

The 2-3 Toms that started gobbling at 515 didn't want to play once they came off the roost.

Ended up hitting some nearby public land for a little Run & Gun.
This guy and two of his buddies came in like a herd of elephants.
Barely had time to find a spot to sit and get my mask on.

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Wasn’t the big tom I was after today but I’ll take it.
Excellent start to this years spring turkey season.

The 2-3 Toms that started gobbling at 515 didn't want to play once they came off the roost.

Ended up hitting some nearby public land for a little Run & Gun.
This guy and two of his buddies came in like a herd of elephants.
Barely had time to find a spot to sit and get my mask on.

View attachment 607902View attachment 607901

Very nice triple beard.

He has some “beard rot” which is caused by a vitamin deficiency IIRC.

Bob
 
Was out this am.
Had 3-4 gobbling from the roost at wrong end of the field. Constant from 5:30 to 6:00 with hens yakking it up.
They must have all henned up soon as they flew down as it was radio silence from 6-8:00...Couldn't make them budge.
Nice morning to be out.
 
I was out today...heard / saw nothing in the woods....except on the way home...a large tom was feeding nicely under a bird feeder in someone's driveway! :(
 
Been struggling in Essex County. The spots I scouted out earlier have all gone silent, haven't seen or heard a gobble all week.
 
Had Tom's gobbling all around us from sunup till 8am then nothing. Couldn't sweet talk any of them. One Tom circled behind us answering hen calls for over an hour. Saw one deer come through the field about 75 yards away. My calling didn't seem to alert her at all she just moved through feeding. Nice morning.
 
56 and rain over night, still raining off and On. My favorite conditions. Sitting in elevated blind. 5 deer so far. Quite a bit of gobbling. A big Tom about 150 yards away following hens. These three jakes split off from that group and came into decoys. I’ve got two Tom’s about 200 plus yards out gobbling in woods so let these three walk. The farthest decoy is 20 yards. These jakes about 25 yards out.

So the late day update, hunted to 11:30. I did not get a big one back into the field, so headed home empty handed. Tomorrow I may set up in the woods rather than fields.
 

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Heading to the spot I had picked out, bumped a deer around 4:45am. Got to where I wanted to set up at 5:00 am and sat. Started calling a little later, but nothing. Sat for a while, then decided to move on and set up a trail cam in an area I scouted for deer. Walked along, stopping every so often to sit and call, but nothing. Pretty windy. Moving along, I hear a gobble in the distance. Sit and try to get a conversation going, but nothing. Wait a while and move on again. Walking along the gas/power lines I see a jake walking along, about to come out of the woods about 30 yards in front of me, right across from where I set up first thing. I hit the ground, with very little cover. He starts coming my way on a path that will be a 15-yard shot for me (bow). He comes by, and I'm just about 100% sure it's a jake, but there's always that "I don't want to screw up in the heat of shit and hit a hen". He's decent sized, but really want all the signs. Looking for a spur, beard, etc. Just as he gets by, I see the beard, but he's moved behind some brush. He keeps walking along, away from me. He gets a little further and I break out a decoy and put it on the trail, then start calling. Now he's looking everywhere, but back in my direction. This goes on for about 5 or 6 minutes, then he finally starts heading back in my direction. The decoy is just laying on the trail, and I'm hoping he'll see it. He finally gets about 5 yards from the decoy and sees it, then heads towards it. 8:50 am, I nail him from about 10 yards away. 17 pounds, about a 5 inch beard.
 
Heading to the spot I had picked out, bumped a deer around 4:45am. Got to where I wanted to set up at 5:00 am and sat. Started calling a little later, but nothing. Sat for a while, then decided to move on and set up a trail cam in an area I scouted for deer. Walked along, stopping every so often to sit and call, but nothing. Pretty windy. Moving along, I hear a gobble in the distance. Sit and try to get a conversation going, but nothing. Wait a while and move on again. Walking along the gas/power lines I see a jake walking along, about to come out of the woods about 30 yards in front of me, right across from where I set up first thing. I hit the ground, with very little cover. He starts coming my way on a path that will be a 15-yard shot for me (bow). He comes by, and I'm just about 100% sure it's a jake, but there's always that "I don't want to screw up in the heat of shit and hit a hen". He's decent sized, but really want all the signs. Looking for a spur, beard, etc. Just as he gets by, I see the beard, but he's moved behind some brush. He keeps walking along, away from me. He gets a little further and I break out a decoy and put it on the trail, then start calling. Now he's looking everywhere, but back in my direction. This goes on for about 5 or 6 minutes, then he finally starts heading back in my direction. The decoy is just laying on the trail, and I'm hoping he'll see it. He finally gets about 5 yards from the decoy and sees it, then heads towards it. 8:50 am, I nail him from about 10 yards away. 17 pounds, about a 5 inch beard.
That story is so cool I won't even post my tale of today's fail.
 
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