I went trapping turkeys

[HuntnMa]

Met everyone at 5:45 a.m. , a few quick hello's and we were off....We wanted a min. of 3 non-banded hens....

I'm ready for em.....the best I can be at waking up so early, lol.

Started off slow, then I see movement, could it be ? A turkey ??? NOOOOOOOOOO, lol...A Raccoon and his buddy decided that they wanted the corn more than the turkeys...

After they were done, I had more visitors thieving corn...2 crows scoping out breakfast...

So I'm sitting there wondering where the turkeys are and all of a sudden a hen comes in.....she hung out with the crows.

About 40 minutes had gone by and I looked down the road and OMG, there's a bunch of birds just standing there...they were hesitant, but after a few minutes , they walked in to the lone hen...foolish birds didn't realize she was right where I needed them all to be before I could deploy the net, lol

I taped a small portion of the happenings as they unfolded, but I needed two hands for the blaster to deploy the net, so I had to stop, but that was a good thing because I was shaking like there was a monster gobbler in my sights and it was opening morning, lol...the video link is below:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t=100_4089.flv

One, two, three, game on.......I hit the blaster button and BOOM, out comes the net, birds go flying...I got on the radio and I go running out there and there's FIRE...You should of heard me, lol " I got birds, oh shoot , Fire, F&*%, Fire, sh**, Fire and so on...I was freaking out, I had birds all over, fire right there, I needed to get the fire out as the birds were flopping about.I stomped the fire out and started attending to the birds, then help showed up, woohoo.
I was pumped, it all happened so fast, i handled it well, but man when the rush was over, i sure felt it drain out of me, lol...
'
They all had their stats taken and then they got a vitamin E shot and a radio and leg band..



then came the release

I caught 6 out of 6 but one had a band already, one escaped and the jake didn't count, so that was 3, woohooo, the magic min. # needed, lol.

This morning was colder than yesterday, about 28-30 degrees.....I don't do well in the cold...but the turkeys needed me to catch them, lol.
One of the trucks had a thin layer of ice on the window, can I go home now ????
They dropped me off, we spooked a bird off of the roost, so I wasn't expecting anything, but Jim had some male birds come in yesterday so they might come back....so I hopeful.

I heard crunching coming by the side of me, but I was texting and i figured that I'd look when I was done, I finished and i looked up and there's a gobbler right there...I'm grabbing for the camera , but he heard the radio and spooked....but he came back, several times throughout the day, he even had the jake come eat with him for awhile...I called them to the blind, then they fed back ,called again, even gobbled at them, nothing, i was trying so hard to get a gobble...then a truck came by and they were gone, they hung out about 4 hours in total.Then right before quitting time, i was on the phone, ilook up, almost dropped the phone right then and there, barely got a bye out of me before i hung up...here stood Mr. Longbeard himself...i got video and some pics of him but the pics don't do him justice, so meet the boys...

This is the bird that hung out with me the most

this is the jake

and this is Mr.Longbeard(his spurs were sweeeeet as well)


watch the video below:, the pics don't show his beard for what it really is....

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t=100_4261.flv

I had such and eventful 2 days...I'm very blessed...and ready to hunt, woohooo

[youngbuck83]

That's a great couple of days!!! What a rope that last bird has That gets me ready for opening day...c'mon March 21st!

[bullmoose38]

Sorry Ma but they dont count for the contest! Sounds like a fun day at work.

[Colorado Rick]

Casey I need to quit this office job and head on down to Florida with you.

You always have the best stories!

Thanks for those and this one!

At first I was thinking something COMPLETELY different was going on here... but that really cleared things up for me pretty quick.

What a fun time!

[HuntnMa]

LOL, I don't even want to know what you were thinking Colorado rick..
I'm glad you enjoy the stories...I enjoy sharing them
The birds are on public land but I have permits for the first weekend where I work, so I prefer to go there, if not, this bird would be on my hit list.I know he'll have to be an opening morning kill or n ot at all, he's one tough , old bird......
Thanks to this bird, I am so ready to hunt...I've been practicing my mouth call and I think I'll try it on them birds a day or two this year, I am so excited....

[OhioCooner]

Too Cool!! AWesome Pics and Story!! How did you get involved in doing that?

[HuntnMa]

Originally Posted by OhioCooner

Too Cool!! AWesome Pics and Story!! How did you get involved in doing that?

about 3 years ago, I was asked to help (through my work) and I have been asked back each year since

[HurricaneCreek]

Wow, that is just way cool!!