Three hours of turkey talk

Prof Young · April 28, 2010, 09:50 PM

Rousted this bird from his roost on the way in to the field. Cursed my luck but set up anyway. He was talking to me within half an hour, but it was a three hour conversation to get him to come into the open. Once he saw the decs it was game over. Never seen such a red red res head on a turkey as his was as he came into the field. Gotta love it.

Irish80prf · April 28, 2010, 10:11 PM

You have more patience then I would, nice work and good looking bird.

bamaranger · April 29, 2010, 01:04 AM

Congrats on your bird.

Are you SURE the bird you bumped from the roost was the one you called and killed? Lots of other possibilities, I'm curious for the rest of the story and why you seem so certain.

Still...good job, glad there are still some sit tight turkey hunters out there.

Prof Young · April 29, 2010, 09:14 AM

Bamaranger:

Hmmmm, good point. Well, I only rousted one bird, and only one bird came into me. No hens, no other toms, but the one I called and shot may well not be the one I rousted. As he was coming in, the goobles "moved" around slowly coming closer. And he came out of the woods at the spot that would coincide with the last gobble I heard. The first goobles I heard were in the direction o of the one that flew away. But I can't say for absolute sure that it was the same bird.

Whatever the case I really enjoyed that hunt. He called back consistently, and came in very slowly. I've learned how to not be so generous with my calling when a tom is coming in. Gotta keep him moving and if he things the hen is coming to him, he'll hang up. I'd guess we've all been there.

Thanks for you thoughts.

Prof Young

Prof Young · April 29, 2010, 09:16 AM

Guess I should learn how to spell . . . gobbles.

markj · April 29, 2010, 04:32 PM

Thats a fine turkey there, where in the world are you? Got a good recipe? I just love this time of year.

Prof Young · April 29, 2010, 10:05 PM

I knocked this turkey down in Bond County IL on private property. Have a friend with lots of wooded acres mixed in with tillable land. The hunting is really good there and he give me almost exclusive hunting rights. It's a nice deal.

No I don't have a recipe. You mean for cooking the thing right. I usually skin the bird instead of plucking, so you have to work to keep the meat moist when you roast it. I usually stuff it like a domestic bird and then roast it.

I'm open to new ideas.

Prof Young

reloader28 · April 29, 2010, 10:22 PM

We're going to can mine this year, if I get one. Cant go till the last weekend after they've heard every call known to man for over a month. Dont bother deep frying them after you skin them. The inside was great, but the outside got very crispy. Lost a fair amount of meat. Live and learn. Tried smoking one to, and like you said, you have to babysit it to keep it from turning into a branch of wood.

Turkey hunting is my favorite hunting so I'll take the last weekend over not going at all. Wish I had your patience tho. I know I've scared birds off by getting up to soon. I cant help it. I can only stand to sit there for 20-30 minutes and then its time to find a different one.

markj · April 30, 2010, 03:53 PM

I have breasted them out, set the breast meat in a brine of salt and turbinado suger (used in smoking rubs) I soak the bird a couple days in a fridge. Then if I smoke it I wrap the meat in a lot of cheesecloth and keep it wet while smoking. Sliced up into small sandwich sized steaks and grilled works too. I find that if roasting I will pluck him or the loss of fluid while roasting is huge, for a stuffing I put whole apples inside the bird, onions too sometimes.

I once put one inside a hog, then placed the hog into a stainless steel roaster and buried him, got a 6 ft deep pit, fill it with wood and fire it up, let it burn down do this twice, put the SS onto the wood, cover the pit with steel sheets and cover this with clay till no smoke is visible. Come back in 12 hours and undo this, we have a 3 leg hoist to lift it out of the pit. The turkey inside was very moist and tasty.

I used to cook a whole hog every weekend for folks, they would give me 500.00 I would get a hog for like 40.00 at the pig palace

get a keg of beer from Dads bar (21.00) cook him for 20 hours in my smoker pouring a pitcher of beer over it every 1/2 hour. They got the rest of the keg, I went to sleep. Made enough money I hunted all winter them days.

Prof Young · April 30, 2010, 07:12 PM

Reloader:
For me, the key to being patient when hunting is comfort. My turkey chair is like a low to the ground lawn chair with a back to it. Some times I even put an extra pad on the seat. Can sit in that thing for hours.

Several of my deer stands are the more expensive one that are basically like an easy chair in the sky. Love those things. In winter I have a jacket that included a battery pact and a spot on my chest and back that heat up. I never claimed to be Daniel Boone, but I love being in the woods and being comfortable on the hunt.

And by the way, the idea that your **** will scare a deer off and so you should **** in a bottle while in your deer stand . . . thats a myth. I "called" in the biggest rack I've ever seen hunting when I took a **** off the stand and ten minutes later I looked down and he was right in that spot. Came in behind me. We made eye contact, I moved just a little and he was gone. But I can't help but think that the smell of the **** brought him in. Deer are curious.

Live well, be safe
Prof Young

April 29, 2010, 01:04 AM	#3
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,300	nice bird Congrats on your bird. Are you SURE the bird you bumped from the roost was the one you called and killed? Lots of other possibilities, I'm curious for the rest of the story and why you seem so certain. Still...good job, glad there are still some sit tight turkey hunters out there.

April 29, 2010, 09:14 AM	#4
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,403	Good point Bamaranger: Hmmmm, good point. Well, I only rousted one bird, and only one bird came into me. No hens, no other toms, but the one I called and shot may well not be the one I rousted. As he was coming in, the goobles "moved" around slowly coming closer. And he came out of the woods at the spot that would coincide with the last gobble I heard. The first goobles I heard were in the direction o of the one that flew away. But I can't say for absolute sure that it was the same bird. Whatever the case I really enjoyed that hunt. He called back consistently, and came in very slowly. I've learned how to not be so generous with my calling when a tom is coming in. Gotta keep him moving and if he things the hen is coming to him, he'll hang up. I'd guess we've all been there. Thanks for you thoughts. Prof Young

April 29, 2010, 09:16 AM	#5
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,403	gobbles Guess I should learn how to spell . . . gobbles.

April 29, 2010, 10:05 PM	#7
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,403	where am I I knocked this turkey down in Bond County IL on private property. Have a friend with lots of wooded acres mixed in with tillable land. The hunting is really good there and he give me almost exclusive hunting rights. It's a nice deal. No I don't have a recipe. You mean for cooking the thing right. I usually skin the bird instead of plucking, so you have to work to keep the meat moist when you roast it. I usually stuff it like a domestic bird and then roast it. I'm open to new ideas. Prof Young

April 30, 2010, 07:12 PM	#10
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,403	Patience in turkey hunting Reloader: For me, the key to being patient when hunting is comfort. My turkey chair is like a low to the ground lawn chair with a back to it. Some times I even put an extra pad on the seat. Can sit in that thing for hours. Several of my deer stands are the more expensive one that are basically like an easy chair in the sky. Love those things. In winter I have a jacket that included a battery pact and a spot on my chest and back that heat up. I never claimed to be Daniel Boone, but I love being in the woods and being comfortable on the hunt. And by the way, the idea that your ** will scare a deer off and so you should in a bottle while in your deer stand . . . thats a myth. I "called" in the biggest rack I've ever seen hunting when I took a off the stand and ten minutes later I looked down and he was right in that spot. Came in behind me. We made eye contact, I moved just a little and he was gone. But I can't help but think that the smell of the ** brought him in. Deer are curious. Live well, be safe Prof Young

April 28, 2010, 10:11 PM	#2
Irish80prf Senior Member Join Date: March 25, 2010 Location: north country of Missouri Posts: 245	You have more patience then I would, nice work and good looking bird.

April 29, 2010, 04:32 PM	#6
markj Senior Member Join Date: October 27, 2005 Location: Crescent Iowa Posts: 2,971	Thats a fine turkey there, where in the world are you? Got a good recipe? I just love this time of year.

April 29, 2010, 10:22 PM	#8
reloader28 Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2009 Location: nw wyoming Posts: 1,061	We're going to can mine this year, if I get one. Cant go till the last weekend after they've heard every call known to man for over a month. Dont bother deep frying them after you skin them. The inside was great, but the outside got very crispy. Lost a fair amount of meat. Live and learn. Tried smoking one to, and like you said, you have to babysit it to keep it from turning into a branch of wood. Turkey hunting is my favorite hunting so I'll take the last weekend over not going at all. Wish I had your patience tho. I know I've scared birds off by getting up to soon. I cant help it. I can only stand to sit there for 20-30 minutes and then its time to find a different one.

April 30, 2010, 03:53 PM	#9
markj Senior Member Join Date: October 27, 2005 Location: Crescent Iowa Posts: 2,971	I have breasted them out, set the breast meat in a brine of salt and turbinado suger (used in smoking rubs) I soak the bird a couple days in a fridge. Then if I smoke it I wrap the meat in a lot of cheesecloth and keep it wet while smoking. Sliced up into small sandwich sized steaks and grilled works too. I find that if roasting I will pluck him or the loss of fluid while roasting is huge, for a stuffing I put whole apples inside the bird, onions too sometimes. I once put one inside a hog, then placed the hog into a stainless steel roaster and buried him, got a 6 ft deep pit, fill it with wood and fire it up, let it burn down do this twice, put the SS onto the wood, cover the pit with steel sheets and cover this with clay till no smoke is visible. Come back in 12 hours and undo this, we have a 3 leg hoist to lift it out of the pit. The turkey inside was very moist and tasty. I used to cook a whole hog every weekend for folks, they would give me 500.00 I would get a hog for like 40.00 at the pig palace get a keg of beer from Dads bar (21.00) cook him for 20 hours in my smoker pouring a pitcher of beer over it every 1/2 hour. They got the rest of the keg, I went to sleep. Made enough money I hunted all winter them days.