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2025 Turkey Season

bonehed67 said:
I waited 2 months for them to get some in. There were less fliers with it than with the Trulocks. Beauty of a Bird BTW......

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Those are my favorite chokes. After seeing what the patternmaster puts on paper I’m going to run that for now. I’m pretty sure having the duplex load and all those 10’s helps. It’s throwing a great hunting pattern and not too many fliers. Similar to what the BCO videos show.

I brought my 935 out this morning. It’s been so good to me over the years but I swear it feels twice the weight of the SA-28. Wild part is the patterns are similar between both shotguns. I can see myself letting the 12ga stay in the safe moving forward. I really like that 28.

Best of luck to all you turkey hunters this season! I didn’t intend to fill up this thread with dead bird pics like this… it was a blessed weekend for sure.
 
I have 2 tags for the 5th season here in Illinois, starting May 8. One of them is on State ground, so I'm planning on a tough season. That 1st sunrise cleanses the soul no matter what the date......

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went out on public locally, ~630 acres and heard one gobble about 300-400yards off a clearcut before sunrise. made my way into the hardwoods and worked my way around a ridge, runnin' and gunnin' with no answer. came back out on a logging road where there were some tracks in the clay, called again and he fired back a couple of times. set up and waited - nothing again. he sounded off on private and i almost wonder if he is a farm bird, given the cows lowing off that direction too... but hard to say. i was surprised he wouldn't respond when I was closer but then replied when I was further. he may just not be right yet.
 
Finally found this thread! Wasn't expecting it in the general discussion. Lol

Youth opener my daughter busted a jake at 8 steps. Great hunt. Lots of gobbling. I tried t9 talk her into waiting on a longbeard but she wasnt having it.

Opening morning was yesterday and I found me a pair of hard gobbling 2 year old birds. Yelped em all the way to the gun. Done in oklahoma with no OOS trip planned. Time to enjoy some crappie fishin!
 

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Lucky13 said:
It was cold this morning. My son didn’t want to go. I had plans to go in and simply soak up the woods waking and enjoy every moment of the start of another turkey season. Thank God for making me a hunter and blessing me with the gobbler I got yesterday.
I knew I’d only shoot one this morning if everything unwinded perfectly…. It did.
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Congrats. Nice set of hooks on that big boy too!
 
Micneador said:
Finally found this thread! Wasn't expecting it in the general discussion. Lol

Youth opener my daughter busted a jake at 8 steps. Great hunt. Lots of gobbling. I tried t9 talk her into waiting on a longbeard but she wasnt having it.

Opening morning was yesterday and I found me a pair of hard gobbling 2 year old birds. Yelped em all the way to the gun. Done in oklahoma with no OOS trip planned. Time to enjoy some crappie fishin!
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Just awesome! Congrats to you both!!!
 
IMG_8476.jpegIMG_8475.jpegHappy Easter to all. I might wrap Christmas presents like Helen Keller but can Picasso a bacon wrap. Wild turkey breast stuffed with cream cheese,minced garlic and candied jalapenos. Brown sugar and creole crust under the bacon.


Edit for the money shot. Best turkey I’ve ever had and I’ve ate a pile of it in my life. Even the wife had seconds.
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I was blessed to get one last week on my second hunt. I didnt hear the first gobble my first hunt or all morning my second hunt. I made a big 5 mile loop down a ridge, down the creek and back up another ridge. I got to the top of the ridge and sat down for a break to call. Coughed (getting over a cold), dropped my slate and knocked it off my ring and shotgun. Shaking my head I picked up the call and yelped a few times anyway- when gobbles fired off very close by (closer than I thought). I got up and ran down about 80 yards (on the downside of the ridge) hoping to call them up over the ridge. When I got down there they fired off back where I came from (opposite side of ridge)! So I ran back a little and picked a tree. I didn’t call but once more and let them come in. It was three Toms by themselves so they were covering ground fast. They got a little sketched when they hit the small opening where I set up and there was no hen. They were stacked on one another and I had a tree in my way waiting for a shot. As soon as they split up and turned back I was able to get off the shot by leaning over to one side. What a blast!

I cooked up the legs in a pressure cooker and they turned out very tender. I’m saving the pulled meat for tacos. I grilled one of the breasts with Italian marinade and it tasted great, but wasn’t as tender as the brine I’ve done before.

I got the fan and feet/spurs cleaned up and saved the feathers for arrows(hopefully). I also have the wing bones macerating to make wing bone calls with for the first time.

Congrats to all the killers!


17lb, 3/4” L, 7/8” R, crummy stubby beard
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Yesterday was opening day here in MO and I stumbled into a good bird while he was roosted 75 yards away, so I quietly sat down and waited for him and his companion to gobble a couple more times in the tree before giving him a few light calls. They never hammered back at any of my calls but they came right up the hill to find me when they flew down. I saw the two white heads coming and was wondering if they would be jakes or toms til this one stepped out at 27 yards. Had him tagged in by 6:30 and my corn cob pipe lit by 6:45. 10.5 inch beard 1 3/8" spurs, scale only showed 18 pounds which i question, but his breasts and thighs didn't have a ton of meat on them either. Wing feathers are saved for arrers eventually, wing bones are gonna make some yelpers for my kiddos to use.
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krub6b said:
Yesterday was opening day here in MO and I stumbled into a good bird while he was roosted 75 yards away, so I quietly sat down and waited for him and his companion to gobble a couple more times in the tree before giving him a few light calls. They never hammered back at any of my calls but they came right up the hill to find me when they flew down. I saw the two white heads coming and was wondering if they would be jakes or toms til this one stepped out at 27 yards. Had him tagged in by 6:30 and my corn cob pipe lit by 6:45. 10.5 inch beard 1 3/8" spurs, scale only showed 18 pounds which i question, but his breasts and thighs didn't have a ton of meat on them either. Wing feathers are saved for arrers eventually, wing bones are gonna make some yelpers for my kiddos to use.
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Nice hooks!! Congrats!
 
CooterBrown said:
Anyone hunted Cherokee national forest in TN for Turkeys
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Hunted it in my teens and early 20’s. Used to be piles of birds in them mountains but the population has went down bad. Talking with my family that still lives there it’s most likely due to coyotes and coons. No one hunts coons anymore and when I was young you never heard of a coyote. They both are out of control now. I’m sure there’s still pockets of birds but it’s been so long since I chased them up there I couldn’t begin to tell you where to start.
 
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