whiskey

my buddy's bird was a stud. 20 pounds, 10.5" beard and 1.5" spurs

A couple KY gobblers got brained this morning.

Saw some birds today and had a gobbler closing ground, but a hen cut him off. It was a long day sitting in a blind while it rained.

Some tom's get tired of getting beat up, so they won't come to strutter decoys. I never use just a hen, has caused me too many birds hanging up at 70 yards. I like to add a jake.

Probably depends on your birds. We set out decoys this morning in the rain and a couple hens came in, been here for an hour. Just need Tom to show up.

Good luck to anyone heading out this weekend. I'll be in Kentucky in the morning, for their opener. Then heading to Indiana for their opening day on Wednesday.

My buddy has these and you are right, they are big to tote. I really want a great looking pack able jake. I have killed most of my birds without decoys the last 2 years. I don't dislike them, I am just too lazy to carry them.

Nice bird Slappy! Which jake decoy do you use?

Took a guy this morning that had never been turkey hunting before. He didn't have a gun or anything, so I let him use my gun and I planned to just call. Well, having shot a couple birds already this year, I had depleted my spare shotgun shells I had in my vest. I forgot to grab another box this morning, so we went into the woods with 1 gun and two shells. I managed to call the boss away from the flock about 7:30 and my buddy closed the deal at 40 yards. He whispered, "there are two more gobblers coming." So he handed me the gun and I busted the second bird at about 45 yards. Another great morning in the turkey woods. My buddy is fired up about hunting now. :)

Good luck.

I have a Pure Gold .670 choke and I am shooting 3.5" Hevi Mag-blends. I have shot both the mag-blends and straight 7's and they both work well. I had enough shells for this season, but plan to switch to the Winchester Longbeards for next year. I shot a few and they pattern well with my set up.

Clarksville is where I live and probably always will. I've lived from Southern Alaska to southern Florida and lots of places in between. Clarksville area is hard to beat. As stated, LBL and Ft Campbell offer great public hunting and fishing opportunities. Also, I'm close to Big South Fork for real wilderness. Nashville is close enough for to fly anywhere else.

They are there. Got a buddy that travels over there each year for a hunt.

Hard to go wrong in the eastern third of Tennessee. The hunting is better in the middle, but for all around happiness, East Tennessee is high up in my list. I'd suggest you start with a realtor that specializes in hunting properties. Usually they can help you narrow down your region based on how much you want to spend and how near you want to be to a city.

Had a good opening morning trying to get a young boy his first turkey. Had a big longbeard come in and strut past the blind as close as 5 years at times, but the boy couldn't get the gun on him when he was far out enough to shoot. Still it was cool to experience it with him and his dad. This morning I wasn't sure I would make it out, but mustered the will on just a few hours sleep. Went solo this morning and set up in the woods close to where the birds had roosted the day before. Worked out perfect. I had two gobblers to my left and two to my right, about 100 years apart, me in the middle. At fly down they all come together in front of me but hung up about 80 yards out. Took me till 7:30 to get them in range. This one was the lead bird.

I'd run them down in the truck out of spite. 

Love beach fishing. Digging sand fleas was always my daughter's favorite. 

  Correct. TN regular season opens on the 4th. This weekend was the TN youth hunt. However, I was hunting at Fort Campbell. They opened this weekend and have a 2 birds a day / 4 per season limit. Birds killed on Fort Campbell are not counted against your state limits. It is a certifiable pain in the butt to hunt on post, but since I live close by, it makes it worth it for me.    I usually open my year in Alabama around the 15th of March, then Fort Campbell a week before TN season, then TN followed a couple weeks later by the KY opener. This year I am also hunting Indiana's opener on the 22nd of April. My wife thinks I have a problem... I think she is pretty kind. 

  Well, not that I recommend it, but I shot a bird stone dead at 57 yards (lasered) last year. My buddy had just shot one at 55 and I was set up behind him a couple yards and shot mine when he jumped on the dead bird. We both thought they were close than that. That said, I don't mind shooting to 45 yards. I am shooting a Pure Gold .670 choke in my short barrel Mossberg and shooting Hevi Shot Mag Blends. At 30 yards my pattern is about the size of a basketball. I went with a .670 to keep closer shots easier. The .660 and .650 chokes are pushing guns easily out past 50 yards.    You should look at doing a couple things to improve your patterns. Look for a good choke turkey choke tube, nothing wrong with the Jellyhead. Deep clean your barrel and get all the plastic wad build up out of there. I polished my barrel and it helped. You can google that if interested. BUT THE EASIEST... Go buy some Winchester Longbeard shells in #5 or #6. These things are amazing. Most of my buddies have switched to them and have 50-60 yard guns now. Not that you need to stop calling, and start long range killing, but it is helpful when you misjudge the distance.    By the way, I shot at about 15-20 yards this morning. 

Fort Campbell paid double this morning!

No youth hunters today? I hunted Ft Campbell today. Lots of birds, but not in front of me. Back at it tomorrow.

I'm sending a live one. That way he can pluck and regrow. Renewable resource. :p

I got you. PM me your address and I'll send you a care package. 

Kentucky and Fort Campbell require plugs for Turkey, just in case you venture out. I leave mine plugged since I hunt areas that require it. I don't feel like I am at a disadvantage with only 3 shots. Plus, I end is carrying around 2 less of those 3.5" magnum loads all day.

Next weekend is the youth hunt. I hope everyone is getting a kid introduced to hunting. Turkey hunting is a great oppertunity for kids. Toss them little bugger eaters in a bilind and let them take a nap till the birds get there.