Turkey hunting and BS welcome!

I think a lot has to do with if the Tom has hens with him or not. I had one single Tom bee-line from over 500yds away. I saw him come off the hill, hop on the road and run all the way towards us, up to 5yds away gobbling pretty much the whole way.
Ive also had one Tom just look at me when he had 3 hens with him.

 

sadly, I didn't get to hunt at all this year... but I do love me a good slate! that's pretty much my go to, and its done a pretty outstanding job for me. ive tried mouth calls and just cant get that into them. my brother in law loves them though. I think its more so about what youre comfortable with and good with.

 

For sure. They don't like to ditch the girls they've got who are interested for some strange girl over in another field who may end up not being interested.

 

Worked a couple this morning as soon as the rain ended and the sun came out.
A couple of reflex gobbles and a couple answers. Didn't seem that interested. Think the screwy weather is messing them up.
My favorite call is my old Lynch box with a lot of notches on the back.

 

My son got his first gobbler this year

 

I hear that. There's a bunch that hang out in the scrub around the warehouse I work at, and I tried a couple of calls when I got to work this morning. Damn birds hadn't even come out of the trees yet, at 7:00. All of the responses were from in the pines on the back ridge.

 

Opening morning 20lbs 10"beard 1" spurs

 

Nice Congrats!

Also nice! thats big compared to ours around here...I think about 16lbs is decent one here.

 

A neighbor shot his first tom turkey a few days ago, he said he pressure cooked it for some time but it was good after that. LOL he said it was tough at first but after the pressure cooker it was gtg.

 

wifey has been trying to get this tom for a while now and missed with her crossbow tonight

 

Those birds were perfect, too. They both came strutting in about 10-15 yards apart, one right in front of each of us. The lead bird stopped at about 20 yards and went into display, and my buddy dumped him cold where he stood. Mine was a little further out, about 30, and he did the funky chicken for about 10 feet before he keeled over.
Both birds weighed right around 22lbs, both had 3/4 spurs. I think they must have been brothers, because they even gobbled in sequence, lol.

 

nice double down! our spring season is up today we've been busy and didnt really put in the time to get one. Im not too worried as I always run into them in the fall.

 

I've been slacking this season; hardly done any scouting and that was the first time I've been out.

 

Ive seen a few by the house but I was trying to get my wife to get a nice one. She got a jake last year but it was still fun to see her shoot it. How do you guys prepare your turkey?

 

I breasted it out, cut the breast into thin strips and fried. Used flour and everglades seasoning for the breading. Don't overcook.

 

Ive cut into nuggets then battered in S&P flour mixture then deep fried...very tasty!

 

Honestly I just strip the breasts out of them. Used to take the legs too and simmer them for broth, but I don't anymore. I've got chicken broth coming out of my ears with all of the broilers we raise. The breasts usually go on the grill, and leftovers get sauteed in a cast iron pan with some jalapeno jelly the next day for breakfast. Goes great with eggs, toast, & home fries

 

I tried smoking some legs and thighs, didnt really come out good. So now I just take the breasts. Im curious if a brine would help it not be so dry.

 

Brine helps everything be less dry, lol. Honestly though if you cook them over charcoal I've never noticed a problem with the breasts drying out.