Finelyshedded Turkey 2013 Spring season

[finelyshedded]

I'm about the most novice of most of the turkey hunters on this site but wanted to start my season off with a thread. It will consist of pics and videos of scouting trips,trail camera shots and actual hunting views and such. My cameras will be going up very soon, hopefully this week, and I'm ready to start my turkey season quest of finally killing a mature Tom this year.

Today I took my recently purchased Wicked handsaw and cut out some serious honeysuckle to open up 3 of my prime turkey hunting sets. I might clear out a few more this week if I can get out.

First, I found a pretty big track along a picked cornfield that I'd like someone to help me identify. I'm no track expert but it doesn't look like a dog but I'm not sure. I laid my saw next to it for comparison. I think it's a huge yote track, am I correct?

Here's my sets. First one is of my tree.

A few views from the tree.

Here's my second set.

Here's my third set

 

[hickslawns]

I would argue I am more of a novice than you. lmao

Those are some great looking sets buddy!

 

[Mike]

I like the green up in your area.

 

[Fullbore]

Hey Bro, great looking sets you have. Especially that last one. It's the one with a 65" 5 point shed laying in the cut corn. Lol.

 

[finelyshedded]

Haha, I've been over those cornfields with a fine toothed comb! The bucks either gave up corn for lent or hitting somebody's feeder cuz I've found zilch there this year.

 

[finelyshedded]

Finally got out and got two TCs hung up today. One is in the middle of a nice fingered tree line anywhere to 10-20 yards wide splitting to nice picked cornfields and the other is 200 yards away over another CF facing a high spot on the edge where I watched a boss Tom strut last year on opening day.

I hope to find some nice videos of both deer and Turks that I can share with you.

 

[Mao]

Those sets sure do look turkeyish. Good luck Ric!

 

[Gordo]

Good luck ric! Your a hell of alot more prepared then i am. I bet you get it done

 

[finelyshedded]

Thanks guys! The past two years since I've been seriously hunting turkeys here I've had some great encounters and seen my share of big toms. I just hope I can pull it off and finally kill at least one mature Tom. They're there, its up to me to get it done! Lol

I'm still wondering if that's just a big ole dog track or a yote track in the first pic. Any of you tracking or trapping experts have an opinion I'd like to hear it. Thanks

I'm already now!
Got my vest and calls all ready,got my two turkey permits and hunting license and washed all my clothes(not for scent but the stench,burrs and mud was just TOO much...lol) The 3-4 pairs of socks in the load had many many miles on them since late January and needed washed badly! Daaaymn they stunk!

 

[finelyshedded]

I went to the farm I hunt to pull two cam cards at 11 this am and on my way down the cornfield I heard some gobbling down that way so I just backed out. No need to stir em up and I'll pull the cards tomorrow after I hunt....hopefully after I bust up a ugly faced bird.

 

[hickslawns]

heck yeah! Good luck tomorrow Ric!

 

[finelyshedded]

Thanks Phil! Just brushed the pearly whites and getting dressed and headed out the door in 5! Should be settled in by 6:15. Good luck and be safe everyone!

 

[finelyshedded]

So fugging close! Had 4 boss longbeards within 25-30 yards all grouped up and 2 were puffed and fanned with just enough brush I didn't pull the trigger. I mean BIG TOMS TOO! Hens were all over me still roosted and a few on the ground. I had two hen dekes with a jake behind one and the toms didn't seem to like them. They looked right at them and stopped just short of a clear shot. Fugg!

 

[hickslawns]

That is seriously exciting! Good luck knocking one of them down this morning!

 

[Gordo]

That's some good action

 

[finelyshedded]

Well I made a move and went into the general direction of the hens hoping not to get busted. Slipped quietly to a gap at the head of a finger splitting the first two picked cornfields. Two Turks spotted me and high tailed away from me to the far side of the next two fields. Fugg!

I said screw it, it's to late anyway and proceeded to make my way as quietly as I could but down over the bank of the creek bed to the other closest set I have. There were 4 deer feeding in the far field with a strutting Tom along the far edge. I'm all set up again with no dekes this time and will just let things die down for a couple hours and then do some light calling.

 

[finelyshedded]

Two toms made their way back across the field towards me to within 45-50 yards and ducked back into the woods where I'm at. I gave them 10 minutes and did a few light clucks and yelps and a hen cut me off....da bitch!

I'm just gonna light call off and on every 30 minutes till they leave her I guess.lol

 

[finelyshedded]

Two hens are currently feeding in the corn at 175 yards away. No gobbling right now.

 

[finelyshedded]

Well I had a great morning hunt but it just didn't happen for me today. I was sooooo close have 4 big toms within my easy shooting range but they didn't come the extra yard or so for a clean kill shot. I had a few clumps of honeysuckle in the way plus I figured they were coming on in but they didn't. I had the safety off and in shooting position with the bead on the closest one at 25 yards. Damn it! He/they were still puffed up some like they were about to start strutting but my decoys seemed to make them all nervous and they turned around and left pretty quick. Needless to say my heart sank as I clicked the safety back on. They all had what looked like thick beards in the 11-12" range. Probably the same longbeards I saw a few times last year.
When I moved to the second location I saw two different toms that sported nice beards but they weren't anything like the other 4 I had in earlier. They came in to within 45-50 yards after I spooked them and just didn't respond to my calling. There were hens in the immediate vicinity but I did see one of them puff up into a strut when the 4 deer got curious with him and walked to within 20 yards of him. Lol

I pulled the cards of my two cameras. One camera got knocked around to where it was pointing upward by a freaking coon or deer on the 17th during that hard rain we got at 1:17am. There were two deer out in front staring at it while another deer or coon was knocking my camera around. Only had 4 deer videos and the other 180 images were of tree limbs and the sky! Fuggars!

The other camera caught the two smaller toms,deer and one yote. Here are some stills I took off the video and one video clip of the toms.

The yote

The video
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/...B6EF290C-641-0000010F8824566A_zpsaaa8627a.mp4

Hope the video plays for y'all. Some see it and others don't?!? Lol

I'll try again tomorrow maybe if I can get up on a couple hours sleep.

 

[finelyshedded]

Here is some shoddy video footage before they pitched down. Just a smidgen of vocalizations I heard this morning.
Oops! Try this....
http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/...8E89C212-641-0000011C3800AE65_zps85b241ac.mp4