Day 1: I could not hunt opening day weekend due to an out of state wedding of a grand nephew, so Freddy and I hunted monday in a place I had scouted hard, and the same place where we doubled straight off the roost on our first day last year. Get in super early, birds gobbling later and right where they should be. Hens with them. We knew the birds could see the decoys from the trees. Freddy counted three LB at least in his binoculars before daylight. As it came close to fly down, the hens must have pitched high to another field edge instead of down where we were set below them in a field edge. Next thing we knew the whole tribe went the wrong way and never looked back. we were in the perfect spot. It just took one hen maybe to undo the best laid plans.

Storm was imminent. We went to a pasture with a barn nearby. The deluge arrived and we sought shelter in the barn for four hours. Cows liked our decoys in the downpour, and the barn too. Two gobblers gave us a look from 100 yards but they had hens and that parade went the wrong way too. Rained almost two inches per NWS. So we drove forty miles to another area as the sun came out after the storm. On the way , as you would expect, every LB in the county goes out to strut and dry off. The drive , plus Freddys incredible ability to see a turkey from the car, led to the most longbeard strutting sightings I have ever seen in Tennessee. We easily saw 30-35 Strutters in an hours drive. Lots were in neighborhood places where hunting not allowed . Anyone who saw this would say Tenn is loaded, but it was all because of the storm and sun clearing. Oh - also we stopped so I could buy anew truck battery on the way.

We got to an area where I had permission. Drove by once on a good field I had scouted a lot ( and knew thee were two good LB using it ) and on the first pass from the truck, we saw nothing. As we were leaving Freddy looked back at a far corner and spotted a gobbler and five hens in a field depression that was invisible for most of the earlier view. We eased back in along a wood line and freddy was able to get within twenty five yards of the birds, using field contour along woods edge, Watched behind hm as I wanted him badly to get a bird. He made one call and sees the fan coming right at him at point blank. . Boom---- beautiful 3 yr old down.







All that driving and planning and sitting and waiting and the one great spot of a bird in a field led to killing one in five minutes.


Day Two: Up early and a long drive to my most productive historical field. Freddy was only able to hunt half a day. We hear birds early on the limb but they go the other way. Three hens come in the field about 745; one of the hens dominance STRUTS around our smaller hen decoy and wing pops the decoy repeatedly. (I have a video we will try to post here. ) Hens leave the field after showing the decoys how tough they are. About 830 we hear a 125 yard away gobbler in the right place for a bird to be a player.

Freddy goes to work on the LB with serious diaphragm calling. The Bird gobbles a response and starts coming. Bird never had a chance from the first time he answered Freddys call. Every call Freddy made immediately got covered by a gobble . Matter of time now. The bird came in straight behind us and strutted/ walked by at five yards. Now passes to the side and then to the front in full strut. I drop him at fifteen yards. (short video here hopefully). Beautiful heavy 3 year old. Freddy goes home to coach an afternoon softball game , and I make a phone call and meet a friend to take him to a huge field in another county ; and we sit five hours that afternoon trying to get him a bird. Two hens but LB Nada.



Day Three: Friend and I hunt hard all day in a huge open pasture. I had seen seventy plus birds in this field in February. Have one very young LB ease by, but not come in, at fifty yards. Freddy and I had seen this bird get run out of same field on monday in the rain by two bigger birds. Around noon a hen and a jake, which had been in sight for much of the morning in the large field come in to our decoy set up and the hen commences to start calling with "come here " yelps to any gobbler within a half mile of our field. The calling is intermittent, and she would call hard for several series, and then watch the woods to see if any LB was heading her way. She was visible and could see for several hundred yards in any direction..How good is this?...we don't do a thing but let her do the calling. Finally a LB appears at 200 yards and stand there and gobblers back at her for 30 minutes or more. She won't go to him and he won't head her way. Then we see hens with him. Finally the jake and hen head to the gobbler and we head home as tornado watches are issued . That night a massive wind shear or tornado knocks down two 150 year old trees in my yard and we have no power.

Day Four: So what do you do? Go turkey hunting the next morning!!! ,No power so you cant watch TV or even make coffee.!!! Up in the dark, get with a friend, and go to a newly acquired permission place place i have scouted hard, but we have not hunted. Knew one LB and some hens were there, but not sure of others. Before daylight as a drizzle end, and sky cleared, a coyote sets off the gobbling and there were five or more LB within 200 yards of our set up. We might get lucky today. As we did some light calling, birds answer from three directions. Then right at fly down time three hens and a jake pitch in the field at 125 yards. Then two big LB. They all strut and peck around for twenty minutes. All in plain view of us and the decoys are clearly visible to them I do some light hen calling, nothing aggressive and the birds in trees cut off all calls , but the flock doesn't head our way for a while. After 30 minutes , two more hens have flown in with that group, and eventually the jake decides he might want to come up there and whip The Avian X jake in our set. This was a Big Boy Jake and he was feeling his oats, so he marches straight in ,and the hens come with him while the two gobbler s hang back and strut for each other at a 100 yards. When the hens and the jake get close, the jake charges the Avian decoy and proceeds to beat the heck out of it. When the wing smacking , humping and flailing gets going the gobblers decide they will get close for this action and charge straight in. I want my friend to kill one so tell him to shoot one when he can. He drops it cleanly. I was too excited to video this event . Nice 3-4 old 22 pound LB. !.25 spurs, 10 plus inch beard.

So we quickly get the first LB in the blind, and see if any of the other birds that had been answering our calls would show up. Thirty minutes latter in see a lone bird walking tree line 400 yards from our set. He came from direction of some of the earlier gobbling. There were three fences on small pastures between him and us, but dang if he didn't hop all three in next 20 minutes and came on to Cody slate and Woodhaven aluminum yelping and I shot him at 20 yard. Another nice bird, but a two year old. ( we have a good video here too if I can get it posted)





Day Five:I go by myself to field/cow pasture. l Hear some distant gobbling at daylight . Wait a while and call intermittently and finally hear a bird gobble at maybe 125 yards but in the right place to be coming my way. I call fairily aggressively and hear a gobble much closer. In a flash, a LB steps out thirty yards away on my hard left. He is in full strut. as he marches on towards the my front, I video him from cell phone short time, then get ready to shoot. Eyes only on him. I drop him at 20 yards. As I set the gun down, and try to savor the moment, I catch more movement to my left and three other LB strut in to the field edge at thirty yards again. When I heard the two close gobbles earlier, and one was clearly closer than the other , I should have realized there was more than one bird...but I didn't. I think all were about the same size and age though. Tenn Regs are One bird a day in Tenn, but I could ve whacked another right there real easy..... one a day should make anybody 's day. I watched the three mourners at the funeral strut through the field edge and in front of me for 30 minutes before picking up my bird. A great cup of coffee and a great show. 23 pound bird, 2-3 year old, 10.75 beard.





So between cloudburst heavy rains one day, tornadoes another, no electricity at the house for two days, two good buddies each filled a Tenn tag, and had some fun hunts in spite of the distractions. Three Tenn tags filled for me so one tag left in Tenn. Hopefully can help some more friends get a Tennessee bird

no surprise to hear this report! Great way to start the season GN!!

Doug

Hey GN,

You are getting cagey in your old age. Been looking for this report and had started to wonder if something catastrophic had happened. Sounds like you guys had some great hunting as usual. I think Tennessee has more turkeys than we do. How long before we get a Kentucky report? Good luck!

2GBL

Good week GN despite weather!

The great turkey slayer(s) at work!! Congrats and i kinda feel sorry for that last bird that goes with that last tag! It doesnt stand much of a chance!! Congrats again!!! I woulda love to seen that bird come 400 yards and hop the fences, that woulda been awesome!!!

Ps... i love my leupold scope!! Thanks for all of the advice leading me to it!!

Neither wind, nor rain, nor.... You know the rest!

Sounds like some very nice hunts. My sister lives south of Nashville on a small 22 acre horse farm. Around her are winery's. Turkey's everywhere, but as per the norm lots of non-hunters down in that part of Tenn for some reason. She sends me photos of turkey's all the time running through her horse farm. No hunting there because the horses are everywhere in every field. Anyway, sounds like a great time minus the storms and downed trees.

Heckuva week youngster! Congrats!

No doubt.. congrats man.

Very nice GN, congrats!

Beautiful recap and congratulations too all.


Earl

Freddy helped me get the pictures up. But the videos are a problem so far. Maybe later

Great pics guys. NNNOOOOO, Is that a face I see exposed in that one pic? or at least I will recognize half of you.


Earl

'Ghost you gonna have to keep that cigar smoke out of that ole shooting eye! You know I can't violate my witness protection agreement.....

Nice edit there GN. Good you have connections for a new identity.

The bad thing is that the other pics were viewed 31 times and the new identity was viewed 4 times. Hopefully others were not as observant. Too funny.


Earl