2024 BIG GOBBLER FUN CONTEST - Leaderboard

[Lenny]

Post your story, pics and measurements here

The Leaderboard will be periodically updated, showing the standing over the 5 week season.

[Turkeyjohn]

9 1/4 beard, 1inch spur, other spur broken off, 21.2 lbs
The story....
This is the first year in a long time that TurkeyWes wasn't with me for an opening morning, so I did miss the visiting and shenanigans, him moving to Scarborough and all, I really missed him when I had to tote the decoys and blind into my spot all on my own for the first time in years...
Set into the field I had been watching for a few weeks now....around 530 am...clear, but cold -4 Celsius when I went in....
Staked in my pop up blind, paced out the decoys, 15 steps/yards.... back into blind and get comfy...stool, shooting stick, tripod for phone (that I didn't use) and wait...
Close around dawn, 6ish where I was, I hear first gobbles across the field to my slight right. There's 2 of them...I sit tight and just listen, loads of geese, ducks around and making their noises, Killdeers as well too....
Gets to around 610-615 and I see movement in the field across from me, they're moving, along the treeline to my right....I let a few easy yelps drift their way, get a courtesy gobble, but they keep going to my right and blend into the woods, intermittent gobbling from then on...but sounds like just one....There were 2, one larger than the other and the first one definitely didn't want anything to do with the bird in the rear, I assume the boss I've been watching...
So I keep listening to them drift off, grab my phone to check time/temp and Facebook to see if any buds are getting birds....maybe another 10-15 minutes later, I see movement across the field again....A couple of hens and the boss is behind them this time, no need to gobble if you have hens right...?
So they're slowly moving my way and drop into a roll in the field....Then out pops the 2 hens but then 3 more appear, followed by the boss...still drifting my way...I let a couple of yelps go to see what's up....Well, I don't know if the yelps worked or they saw the decoys, but in a flash, the first 2 birds are running my way...they stop to my right in the standing corn I'm in with my blind, down the same row, thank God I packed the blind....They start milling around and then the other 3 follow suit and run to the same spot....Mr. Boss sees this and he runs my way as well....At this point I'm thinking I'm going to have to shoot out my right window, so I get the gun in position to let the 5s go....At the last minute, Boss must realize my strutter decoy looks too close to his girls, so he angles off to have visit....Now I'm slowly moving my gun from the right window back to the front and watch Boss strut up, spit and drum into the decoy spread...I don't know how TV guys hold the nerves not to shoot, but as soon as he came out of strut I let him have it....and the flop begins...Meanwhile the ladies that marked his doom come out to see what's up....and then move off as I get out of the blind to admire the fallen "Bully of the Berry Farm" Great hunt....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Markster]

Nice bird and great story John. Way to go!

[sabmgb]

very nice, good job. way better than mine nothing

[Wmay]

Small Tom
3/4 spur
7.5 beard
Story
I set up on an area I'm not used to. Hopefully saving my normal property for Saturday.
The morning I called in a few Jake's and some hens but the gobblers stayed out at like 70 yards.
So I went back in the evening and set up down the path the took in the morning. I figured they would take a similar fence crossing.
I set up around 4 and started calling. Great responses today, a ton of gobbling.
Had 2 birds commit from across the 400 yard field. At around 50 yards the one hung up and the other continued into shooting range. Realistically I could have waited and had no decoys but it all worked out anyway.

Thanks

[Wmay]

How do I post images lol

[tom gobble]

Nice bird and story John congrats. Hopefully Wes could get out with you soon.

[tom gobble]

Congrats on your bird hopefully you figure out how to post pics. Flicker seems to work.

[Lenny]

Nice job fellas! It was a beautiful morning today…..at work….some nice Tom’s along the 407!
@WMay, you can send me your pics and I’ll post them, sent you a PM

[Lenny]

Posting pics for WMay[IMG][/IMG]