Pictures of myself, family members, and friends - by year
2003
February:
I was drawn for a permit this year. I've been out contacting land owners, and have gotten some permission to hunt already. As our remaining snow melts and weather becomes more favorable as spring approaches, it will be time to get out and do some scouting.
2002
March:
My string of luck ran out this year - I was not drawn for a permit in our lottery. :( Oh the pain.....
But I get a prefrence point towards next years lottery, and I am thinking I can still go out and hunt myself a Tom, with my cam-corder, of course.....
May
My co-worker Dave and his buddy Bob were luckier than I was, and got drawn. They hunted the 7th thru the 11th (Tuesday-Saturday).He and his partner Bob finally connected on Saturday morning - right before it started to rain heavily. He said they made so many mistakes - they should have both been done on Tuesday (their first day by 9.00).
The area they were hunting was super thick and brushy - it was hard to see - a couple of times birds came in 10 ft (yes feet) away before they saw the birds, and naturally, the birds busted them. They were also plagued by rain and wind - and the best day they had (Friday - weather wise) Dave couldn't hunt - as he had to go get his daughter from college.
They saw lots of birds - all over the place. One day they had a tom and hen out in a road ditch - the Tom had a 12" beard. That made them both kind of crazy. Dave said they should have gotten rid of their turkey chokes and gone to I/C chokes - because the birds were simply too close by the time he and Bob would see them.
They finally teamed up on Sat - Bob called in Dave's bird (22.5#, 9.5" beard, 3/4" spurs) about 6.00, then they swapped positions, and Dave called in Bob's bird - a jake, 15#, 4" beard - one of a group of 3 that came in. They just got the 2nd bird, and the rain started.
Bob on the left, Dave on the right.
2001
May 13
Turkey season is here and gone! This year, I was able to take a jake on the opening morning of my 5 day season. My season started about 5.20am, and was over at 6.15am. I took a 14#6oz bird, with a 5 3/4" beard. He was one of two birds that came in to my yelps.
I was set up on a hillside where I had seen a Tom and some hens the day before, on my last scouting trip. The hill was a corn field, where the corn had just started to emerge from the ground. I was facing SW, so I could see my decoys (two hens and a jake), to my right (north) was woods, to my left (south) was open field, and over my left shoulder (south east) was a big old tree which had come down in a storm, and beyond that, more field. The field also turned a corner further to the SE, so I was sitting at the top of the notch - just where the Tom and his harem had been the day before. Since I am right handed, I could swing my shotgun should a bird show anywhere in the field.
Not alot happened to start - just a couple of distant gobblers about 5.30am, nothing close. I rubbed the tree I was sitting against real good with my "Real Wing" - trying to simulate a hen streching, then did a flydown cackle. Still nothing. I sat quiet until 6.05, just listening. Then I got out my box call, and gave a couple of soft yelps. That did it! I saw motion out of the corner of my left eye - the two jakes had come in at a dead run - looking for that hen - having run uphill toward me from somewhere near where the field turned the corner. They locked the brakes on quick when they saw my decoys - the one jake looked downright dejected when he saw my jake decoy. They stood perhaps 20 yds frome me. The jakes would not go near my decoys - they had obviously been beaten up a time or two by a Boss Tom.
They stood still for a bit, but were looking in my direction, so I couldn't move the shotgun, then they turned to leave. With their backs to me, I was able to move a bit, and pointed my 835 at the neck of the larger bird, and then pulled the trigger. My bird dropped, the smaller jake took off running. My season was over. I paced off the distance to my bird, it was 37 steps from where I was sitting.
At home in my yard with my bird. This pic was taken about 9.30 am.
2000
May:
Turkey season is here and gone! Once again, I was skunked - but not for lack of trying. I have the complete details here. My Missouri buddy, Melmac took two nice birds down there. I have the story of his hunts, and pictures on his page.
This is my co-worker Dave(l) and his hunting partner, Bob(r), with Dave's bird. Dave and Bob hunted the season prior to me, and each of them took birds.
Dave took this bird on the 5th, at 5.50 AM. It weighed 19 pounds, had 20mm spurs, and a 7" beard. Bob took his bird on the 4th, about 10.30. It weighed 21 pounds, had 25mm spurs, and a 9" beard.
April:
Turkey season is here! I have been out scouting some new farms, and have been seeing some birds. The woods are beginning to green up.
My brother-in-laws Brian and Loren hunted in central Minnesota the week of the 17th, and both of them took nice birds.
Brian took this Tom on Monday, the 17th, about 8.00. It weighed 18.25#, had a 10" beard, and 20mm (about 3/4") spurs. A hen initially came in to his decoys, and started calling for him. This caused two Tom's to stick their heads up and come in. The Tom's came in so close together, that Brian had to wait for a seperation between them to take his
shot. After he shot, the other Tom and hen stuck around, they did not run off. He was able to wach them for nearly
15 minutes before he chased them off.
Loren got this Tom on Thursday, the 20th, about 9.10. It weighed 18.75#, had a 11" beard, and 20mm (about 3/4") spurs. Two Tom's
came out of the woods and crossed a field to a blind Loren had
made in clump of Cedar trees. And like Brian, the other Tom
stayed in the area for some time after Loren shot. He also had
a camcorder with him, and was able to get some footage of the
Tom walking around after his shot.
January:
No pictures yet, but I can report that I was drawn for a permit in the coming spring season. :)
1999
May
Skunked! It was hard season to hunt. The evening before, I deliberatly went to my favorite woods, with the intent of roosting a bird. I have, based on previous seasons, located two favorite roosting areas (strut zones nearby). Nothing doing on the first, but I did get wings flapping on the second. The next morning I was in the woods, bright and early. But it was quiet, so quiet....
My hunting has been in mid-May, when the hens are generally on the nest, leaving the Tom's to suffer from loneliness. Not this year, they had all the company they wanted. I found multiple groups of birds in fields, but in each case, there was a Tom and hens.
My only chance at a Tom came the first morning, when at about 8.00, I heard a Tom begin to gobble. I moved in quickly and fired a yelp at him. He gobbled back. I waited a few moments, then yelped again. This entire time, the woods rang with the gobbles of this bird. I waited again, then noticed motion in the brush, at about 50-60 yards. It was a turkey! But then I realized it was going the wrong way! It was a hen! Once the hen found the Tom, he stopped gobbling.
Nature at work, the way it was designed!
The balance of my season, I had extreme wind (one day), followed by 3 days of heavy rain. I located birds on two of the rainy days, but could not convince the Tom's to leave their hens.
1998
May:
Myself in mid-May with my first spring Tom. He went 18 lbs., had 1.25" spurs, and a 9.5" beard. He scored at 62 using the NWTF's formula. I found him at about 10.00 on the third day of my 5 day season. I got him at 20 yards, after staring at him, eye-ball to eye-ball at 12yds. Luckily, he was where it was bright, on the outside of the woods, looking in, to where it was dark, or he would have spotted this funny-looking green lump just a shakin' behind a crooked box elder tree. His crop was completely empty except for a few blades of grass, and a kernel of corn. He was a lover, not a "eater".
The morning of my first day, I called two big bad Tom's in, right off their roost, but they came
in behind me, so I wasn't able to get a shot. That was fantastic!
I even brought in a white tail doe - she came to see what the Tom's were gobbling about. Ironicly, I've had more deer closer to me in the spring when turkey hunting than I've ever had in when
hunting deer in the fall.
October:
Myself in October with
the hen I took. She weighed 10.5 lbs. I took her right at noon of the 1st day of my
5 day season. The range was about 25 yds. Due to the very mild weather we had that
year, it is still quite green - we did not get a killing frost until nearly Halloween.
1997
May
This was my first spring season. Needless to say, it was an education and a half. On the very first day of hunting, I was walking cow paths, using my crow call to roust the local crows, figuring they could do a better job of getting the birds to shock gobble than I. I got no gobbles, so then I tryed a couple of yelps on a slate. Still nothing. I walked 10 feet or so, and there was motion, and a big fat red head. I had a Tom coming in silent to my hen yelps!!I put the gun up, and stood back to "watch myself" take my first Tom. I was gon'na enjoy this this. Uh-huh, sure!! That's right, boys and girls, I had my head up and shot right over him. He had a beard that would have went at least 8" and then some. Argh!!
I took this picture of a small flock during the pre-season.
1996
October:
This was the first year I ever went turkey hunting, as it was for my son Aaron, who was 16. We both applied as a party, and got drawn. We knew nothing - but we read books, watched video tapes, and learned what we could.The first day, Aaron was in school. I saw birds off and on the first day, could have shot a big Tom, but didn't. To this day, I'm not sure why. I digress....
The second day fell on a school break, so Aaron could go. It was about 50 degrees, cloudy and threatening rain. I positioned Aaron on a grass meadow where I had seen birds the day before. He had a box call. I moved further down the meadow and we waited.
About an hour went by, and BOOM! A single gun shot. The paranoid
parent alarm went off - what had happened? I took off running
toward Aaron, only to find him across the meadow, picking up his
bird, a young Jennie.
This is spot he dropped the bird. It was 46 paces from where he was sitting. He saw the bird making it's way thru the brush, and gave a soft yelp. It turned and headed for him. I counted 11 #6 pellets in the birds head and neck when I cleaned it. It only weighed 5# 6oz, but for us, it was a trophy.
Two days later, in the same woods, in nearly the same spot (maybe
30 yards away), I took my first bird at dawn. It was a hen, which weighed 8# 12oz. My wife made them both for Thanksgiving dinner
that fall. Due to the fact they were both fairly young and
small, they were quite tender. That was a great dinner.
More pictures will be coming...
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Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 © Jim Laumann.