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Rob Pincus · March 23, 1999, 04:40 PM

WEll, that is a pretty damn neat sport, if you ask me.

In 2 and a half hunting days, I experienced 30 degree mornings with ice on the swamp and frost, a spring rain storm, complete with lighting, 70 degrees and sunny with a warm mild breeze and 50 degrees with a whipping wind and a rising barometer. Similarly, I experienced a myriad of turkey response to the weather, that made the hunting that much more interesting and educational.

The first day gave us no joy. After crossing a swamp and walking on a beaver dam across a decent sized creek, we ended up on one end of a field with another pair of hunters from our party on the other side. We were all trying to attact the attention of the same gobbler. He flew to them and they shot but missed. The rest of the day was spent chasing ghost gobblers. Apparently, the air pressure significantly affects these birds and the incoming storm kept them from being very vocal.

The second moring was cold and rainy, but we thought we knew were a group of young males had roosted the night before, so we headed out to the edge of a field. They never gobbled or called, but after an hour and a half of sitting in the drizzling rain, five young males came be-bopping into the field. The group got to withint 15 yards of us, but they were 180 degrees from where my muzzle was pointed. After a slow and careful ochestration of movement, I got a little beady-eyed head behind my sight and , as Ted Nugent would say, "Whammo-- a double-gonzo brain-box stopper!" ... One bird in the bag, it had about a 2.5 inch Beard and no spurs.. A jake, for sure, but a legally harvested turkey on my second day of hunting the animal was a good enough trophy for me!

Day three brought us great weather, but quiet birds, until about 8:00.. At that point we found a noisy Tom and spent about a hour bringing him in towards us. Of course, he flew around behind us before he started in to the swamp bottoms where we were set up, which required a hasty and dangerous position change before the shot. I hit him low and my hunting partner/guide followed up with a quick killing shot. This bird had about a 6 inch beard and 3/4 inch spurs.

Overall it was a great trip. I'm looking forward to my second try, coming up soon!

March 23, 1999, 04:40 PM	#1
Rob Pincus Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Hotels Posts: 3,668	WEll, that is a pretty damn neat sport, if you ask me. In 2 and a half hunting days, I experienced 30 degree mornings with ice on the swamp and frost, a spring rain storm, complete with lighting, 70 degrees and sunny with a warm mild breeze and 50 degrees with a whipping wind and a rising barometer. Similarly, I experienced a myriad of turkey response to the weather, that made the hunting that much more interesting and educational. The first day gave us no joy. After crossing a swamp and walking on a beaver dam across a decent sized creek, we ended up on one end of a field with another pair of hunters from our party on the other side. We were all trying to attact the attention of the same gobbler. He flew to them and they shot but missed. The rest of the day was spent chasing ghost gobblers. Apparently, the air pressure significantly affects these birds and the incoming storm kept them from being very vocal. The second moring was cold and rainy, but we thought we knew were a group of young males had roosted the night before, so we headed out to the edge of a field. They never gobbled or called, but after an hour and a half of sitting in the drizzling rain, five young males came be-bopping into the field. The group got to withint 15 yards of us, but they were 180 degrees from where my muzzle was pointed. After a slow and careful ochestration of movement, I got a little beady-eyed head behind my sight and , as Ted Nugent would say, "Whammo-- a double-gonzo brain-box stopper!" ... One bird in the bag, it had about a 2.5 inch Beard and no spurs.. A jake, for sure, but a legally harvested turkey on my second day of hunting the animal was a good enough trophy for me! Day three brought us great weather, but quiet birds, until about 8:00.. At that point we found a noisy Tom and spent about a hour bringing him in towards us. Of course, he flew around behind us before he started in to the swamp bottoms where we were set up, which required a hasty and dangerous position change before the shot. I hit him low and my hunting partner/guide followed up with a quick killing shot. This bird had about a 6 inch beard and 3/4 inch spurs. Overall it was a great trip. I'm looking forward to my second try, coming up soon!