OOD 2023 BIG GOBBLER FUN CONTEST LEADERBOARD - official thread to post your scores and pics

[TroutSlayer]

Congratulations! a very nice bird.

[Lenny]

Really nice tom Markster! Great way to turn around a dreary day, for the LEAD!

Unofficial Leaderboard:

1 Markster 48.75
2 finsfurfeathers 40.5
3 Articcat 38
4 Lenny 37.5

[Articcat]

Wow great bird WTG Markster

[Turkeyjohn]

Great bird Markster!!


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[Turkeyjohn]

Finally on the board, not a monster bird, but grateful for him......

A usually reliable spot, was able to get a new hunter a bird at this spot a couple for days ago, never turkey hunted before....

Was in before dawn, per usual, and first glimpse of trouble was an open gate, typically means cows are in pasturing.....Great, have to watch out for them...

Parked the Jeep and start toting my stuff in....just round the corner and yup, there's the cows, almost to where I want to set up....oh well, there's a ways, as long as they don't come over an lick decoys like they have in the past.....Get set up in my spot and wait.....

Other than the odd cow fart and plop, occasional moo, not much going on, not even the owls were out like the previous morning when I had the newbie out.....So I wait, then the rain starts, but just a passing shower so not drenched so we're still good...

Eventually, light breaks and I start hearing distant gobbles....aways to the east and the west and some way out front from me in the woods a long way back....Well, nuts, did the cows spook the birds? So I sit tight and wait for it to get a bit lighter...Once it does I scratch the old box call a bit just to let them know I'm here and have a sexy decoy out, with some plastic competition too.... The distant gobbles keep happening, but the one out front almost seems louder....Not on top of me, but I think louder.....

So the gobbles quiet down a bit and I'm sitting waiting, I'm half thinking I need to have a pee, but then a close gobble lets go....Wow, he's closer, I scratch a few yelps and he responds....No time to pee....Sit and wait. Didn't have to wait long and there's Tommy coming out of the woods 60 yards out....He spots my decoys and starts moving in....I slowly move the gun up and he doesn't even care, keeps coming....

Once he breaks 40 yards I'm looking for my shot, the cows are off to the left a ways off, there's a cabin that I don't want to shoot windows out, so the window of shooting is closing...He hits 35 yards, give a last gobble, stretching his neck out nicely and I let him have some number 5s..... Bird down, not even a flop....615 am...1st tag punched....

20 1/2 lbs, 8 1/2 inch beard, 7/8 inch spurs, a nice, average bird for the area, but I'm really happy to have him riding in the back of the Jeep with my tag on him...

[Turkeyjohn]

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[Turkeyjohn]

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[Turkeyjohn]

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[Turkeyjohn]

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[Markster]

Way to go John! Great story and picture!

on a side note, where did you get that turkey spur measuring stick? I have to grab one of those.

oh, and that beard looks to me like 8 3/4.