jon 85,,first fall bird

[mark hay]

jon and i were standing in the sun in front of his barn when he spotted a flock crossing the road 'bout 1/2 mile away. nothing pressing to do so we geared up and lit out after them.we took our time to allow the birds to cross the property line and get well inside the 85. you know turkeys, they always cover more ground ,more quickly than you expect. i kept glassing to the right side where i could see the ground fairly well on the slope of the ridge. now where do you suppose those rascals got to? we turned to move ahead and there they were, 75 yards and we are busted!we stood our ground and they all went straight away and down a slope out of sight. we half circled them to within 50 yards , with jon about 20 yrds in between me and where the birds SHOULD be. i tried several calls to try and get their interest and a responce. NOTHING! so we back off and make about a 400 yrd half circle to get on the other side of them and into the cedars. we set up in 3 different locations inside the cedars where i began to mix it up,KEE KEE,,,KEE KEE RUN, HEN YELPS softly, HEN YELPS EXCITED, GOBBLER YELPS, GOB AND HEN CLUCKS,,,,NOTHIN'! WE got up again and started sneakin' toward the open timber. we had gone about 70 or 80 yrds and began glassing the big holler. AND ONE CLUCKED! they were still in the cedars. jon and i were both standing . slate call in my hand and the Primos Diamond Cutter in my cheek,,i began purring softly. about 30 seconds and i see movement,,,,HERE THEY COME JON! i whispered. i admit i should have stopped calling as soon as i saw movement, but what can i say? i am ALIVE and tend to get excited. i purred on the slate then i'd purr on the cutter. they came on but started to swing around us. finally a bunch got into a fairly open lane and jon ROLLED HIS HEAD!!!!. WE DIDN'T STEP IT OFF , but i'd say it was around 35yrds. yep! jons first fall turkey . there must have been 10-12 ,,,all this years jakes. 16# ,, pimples for spurs ,,,AND TWIN 1 1/2 INCH BEARDS!!! JON was delighted and me , well i was and still am GIDDY AS A SCHOOL GIRL ! WITH 2 MORE DAYS OF SEASON LEFT TO HUNT ,,,if i can find someone to go with that will allow me to CALL,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I CAIN'T GET ENOUGH!!

[zipperman351]

Awesome hunt MH thats cool,man sounds like your day was cool....zipperman

[mark hay]

mornin' Zipperman
thanks feller,, it was awesome. looking back on it ,as in most of my hunts, i can see all of my mistakes . number 1 being too impatient. evidently the birds were heading our way on the first set up after making the 400 yrd  loop. i'm confident NOW that they would have came in at that first set up. BUT!we managed to pull it off and possibly JON is now hooked. thanks agin

[NEbeardhunter21]

That got my blood movin' for sure. I'm leaving in about 15 min. for my next all day adventure. Hopefully today is the day I bag my first bird. Did you say turkey season is done in 2 days?! You sure are welcome out here, we've got all of December still. I'll keep you posted on my results.

[allaboutshooting]

Hey Mark,

Congratulations to you and Jon.

Thanks,
Clark

[mark hay]

hey fellers
thanks CLARK,BEARDHUNTER, AND ZIPPERMAN
IT WAS A MEMORABLE HUNT!! i get a real charge seeing GROWN MEN get all wound up and excited as a bird or birds are coming in. guess i'll have to get a digital camera so you all can see too!
later all                      ''OLDSCHOOLTURKEYTACTICS''

[NEbeardhunter21]

Hey guys,
      TODAY WAS THE DAY!!! Two less birds roaming the Earth. Unfortunately they are both hens but I'm gonna enjoy eatin em. We saw around 125 hens and NO BEARDS! Don't know where they are but they ain't showing their red heads. Must be a tom convention somewhere. It was a cool hunt as it was "run and gun" style. We spooked a group of about 30 and they took flight across the road and into the next canyon. Their mistake was stopping at the top of the next hill. We took after them and split up and dropped into the canyon from both sides and caught them half way down. I was hidding behind a spruce tree when they came down 30 yds away. I popped out and hit one running and got the other one about 6 ft off the ground and dropped him like a rock. It was awesome. Still dreaming of that beard but it will have to wait. Till next time.

[mark hay]

WAY TO GO!!!
CONGRATULATIONS BEARDHUNTER!!!
that run n gun style hunting will up the heart rate for sure. looks like your first year has turned into a very rewarding one . keep at 'em ol' boy and you'll be showing off the beard and hooks. good job

[trkyklr]

congrats beard hunter & yes congratulations mr.mark, 2 beards thats awsome!!!! lets talk about that for a minute what do YOU think causes a bird to have multiple beards

[zipperman351]

Awesome beardhunter way to hunt!! Sounds like your on the right track!!!!Conts and happy Holidays ,,,zipperman