WV Thunder Chicken Down! (Pics)

Rem308 · May 10, 2010, 02:19 PM

Well folks, let me share my weekend with you and a dilemma that I faced. I had planned to drive home and see my Mom & Grandmothers as well as another Spring Turkey hunt for Saturday, so I drove back home after work on Friday. As I was about an hour from my Mother’s home my good friend called me, he was driving in as well and wanted to fit in a canoe trip on the river. I never get to canoe with him anymore and I knew it’d be great, but I also was really wanting to turkey hunt Saturday morning because so far this season they’ve given me the slip every time! I ended up being at his house until TOO LATE Friday night and it was pouring the rain…knowing he’d sleep in, I opted to gobbler hunt.
I woke up Saturday morning at 4:30 AM to HIGH WINDS and rain hitting the window. I layed there for a few and listened to it and then ended up rolling out of bed around 4:45 AM. I got some coffee and watched the rain hit the windows and the wind blow it all around, but still decided to head out to the farm.
At 5:45 AM I was listening at a ridge top and could hear a gobbler across a big field. I booked it across in the light rain. With the cloud cover it was going to get daylight a little later. As I was getting closer to the woods he gobbled a few more times and I setup with my decoy in a pine thicket around 100 yards from where I thought he was.
He stayed on the roost for a while, and after it was daylight I gave a few soft yelps which he immediately gobbled back to. I shut up, knowing that he was aware of me and waited.
The high wind and rain must have kept him on the roost even longer because it was close to 7:00 AM before he ruffled his feathers and flew down from the roost. When he did ruffle his feathers I finally caught a glimpse of movement and he was really only about 50 yards away in the tree! I had setup closer than I like to be, probably due to the high wind.
When he flew down, I adjusted my position a little but kept my shotgun on my knee and ready. For about 10 minutes I waited for him to show himself in the brush but I didn't see him. I yelped a few times and he interrupted me with a gobble and I knew he hadn't moved much. Within a few moments I could see his white head coming around some brush and at 30 yards I took the shot. He flopped and I ran to him, absolutely thrilled.

After getting him checked in, I showed him to my family and my Grandma was really into checking him out. She surprised me and held him up and admired him!

This is my best bird to date. He weighed 20 lbs & 2 oz, has an 11" beard, and 1 1/4" spurs.

DiscoRacing · May 10, 2010, 02:59 PM

black bear with feathers

BIGR · May 10, 2010, 07:07 PM

Nice hunting.

crghss · May 10, 2010, 07:13 PM

Nice bird......

thallub · May 10, 2010, 07:51 PM

Congrats on the nice turkey.

bamaranger · May 12, 2010, 04:21 AM

Great bird........double digit beard and inch plus......1-1/4 inch SHARP spurs.

Well done.

I try to hunt hard and often, the season is so short, and birds get spooky so fast once hunted. One of my sayings is, ......"you won't kill one in your house".. meaning you gotta go.

Is your leafy suit a hassle in the woods? Does it snag easliy, Is it durable? I have thought about a top of such material, but hesitated. I would walk a set of pants of such material to ribbons I suspect.

Rem308 · May 12, 2010, 08:51 AM

The leafy suit isn't a hassel at all...I bought this from Cabelas and it's the coveralls with Scent Blocker activated charcoal built in. I was hesitant at first but REALLY love this suit now.
This is my 3rd year having it and I bowhunt and turkey hunt out of this. It's a lightweight suit, so as long as the temps don't drop down too cold I can be comfortable in it. This is Mossy Oak which really blends well in a variety of conditions here.
This is very durable, as I hunt hard in a lot of brush, briars, and other conditions. If it is tearing up, I'm not noticing it because of how it's made. It's much lighter weight than any of my other gear (until it's wet!) and I definitely am pleased with it.

Here's a doe I took last year in WV's Early Season Antlerless Only Archery Hunt:

Here's another gobbler I took in 2008 with the same suit:

markj · May 12, 2010, 04:36 PM

Very nice pics, great to see young hunters get out and do it. How did he taste? Have you done any type of mounting? We used to mount the wings, tail and beard. We would then hang them on the bar wall (Dad owned a bar).

We took one young man out, he was 14, We scouted it out, glassed a large group and set up for the stalk. We got the kid within 30 yards or so he shot, that turkey was head shot the kid was excited and thought the bird was going to fly away so he jumped on the bird was covered in blood soon. We took pics of him holding the turkey. I took the pic and had a tee shirt made up with that pic. He sure had a chest on when he went to school wearing that shirt.

That made the hunt for me. Seeing that smile. Like yours in your pics. Priceless.

May 10, 2010, 02:19 PM	#1
Rem308 Member Join Date: July 2, 2008 Location: WV Posts: 40	WV Thunder Chicken Down! (Pics) Well folks, let me share my weekend with you and a dilemma that I faced. I had planned to drive home and see my Mom & Grandmothers as well as another Spring Turkey hunt for Saturday, so I drove back home after work on Friday. As I was about an hour from my Mother’s home my good friend called me, he was driving in as well and wanted to fit in a canoe trip on the river. I never get to canoe with him anymore and I knew it’d be great, but I also was really wanting to turkey hunt Saturday morning because so far this season they’ve given me the slip every time! I ended up being at his house until TOO LATE Friday night and it was pouring the rain…knowing he’d sleep in, I opted to gobbler hunt. I woke up Saturday morning at 4:30 AM to HIGH WINDS and rain hitting the window. I layed there for a few and listened to it and then ended up rolling out of bed around 4:45 AM. I got some coffee and watched the rain hit the windows and the wind blow it all around, but still decided to head out to the farm. At 5:45 AM I was listening at a ridge top and could hear a gobbler across a big field. I booked it across in the light rain. With the cloud cover it was going to get daylight a little later. As I was getting closer to the woods he gobbled a few more times and I setup with my decoy in a pine thicket around 100 yards from where I thought he was. He stayed on the roost for a while, and after it was daylight I gave a few soft yelps which he immediately gobbled back to. I shut up, knowing that he was aware of me and waited. The high wind and rain must have kept him on the roost even longer because it was close to 7:00 AM before he ruffled his feathers and flew down from the roost. When he did ruffle his feathers I finally caught a glimpse of movement and he was really only about 50 yards away in the tree! I had setup closer than I like to be, probably due to the high wind. When he flew down, I adjusted my position a little but kept my shotgun on my knee and ready. For about 10 minutes I waited for him to show himself in the brush but I didn't see him. I yelped a few times and he interrupted me with a gobble and I knew he hadn't moved much. Within a few moments I could see his white head coming around some brush and at 30 yards I took the shot. He flopped and I ran to him, absolutely thrilled. After getting him checked in, I showed him to my family and my Grandma was really into checking him out. She surprised me and held him up and admired him! This is my best bird to date. He weighed 20 lbs & 2 oz, has an 11" beard, and 1 1/4" spurs.

May 10, 2010, 02:59 PM	#2
DiscoRacing Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2008 Location: milton, wv Posts: 3,640	black bear with feathers __________________ Desert Eagle Alliance Group Launcher Extraordinaire ______ ----Get Busy Live'n.....Or....Get Busy Die'n......Red -------They call me Dr. Bob,,,, I have a PhD in S&W

May 10, 2010, 07:13 PM	#4
crghss Junior member Join Date: July 1, 2008 Location: South Florida Posts: 537	Bravo Zulu..... Nice bird......

May 12, 2010, 04:21 AM	#6
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,308	oh man..... Great bird........double digit beard and inch plus......1-1/4 inch SHARP spurs. Well done. I try to hunt hard and often, the season is so short, and birds get spooky so fast once hunted. One of my sayings is, ......"you won't kill one in your house".. meaning you gotta go. Is your leafy suit a hassle in the woods? Does it snag easliy, Is it durable? I have thought about a top of such material, but hesitated. I would walk a set of pants of such material to ribbons I suspect.

May 10, 2010, 07:07 PM	#3
BIGR Senior Member Join Date: June 13, 2000 Location: Mountains Posts: 1,385	Nice hunting.

May 10, 2010, 07:51 PM	#5
thallub Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2007 Location: South Western OK Posts: 3,112	Congrats on the nice turkey.

May 12, 2010, 08:51 AM	#7
Rem308 Member Join Date: July 2, 2008 Location: WV Posts: 40	The leafy suit isn't a hassel at all...I bought this from Cabelas and it's the coveralls with Scent Blocker activated charcoal built in. I was hesitant at first but REALLY love this suit now. This is my 3rd year having it and I bowhunt and turkey hunt out of this. It's a lightweight suit, so as long as the temps don't drop down too cold I can be comfortable in it. This is Mossy Oak which really blends well in a variety of conditions here. This is very durable, as I hunt hard in a lot of brush, briars, and other conditions. If it is tearing up, I'm not noticing it because of how it's made. It's much lighter weight than any of my other gear (until it's wet!) and I definitely am pleased with it. Here's a doe I took last year in WV's Early Season Antlerless Only Archery Hunt: Here's another gobbler I took in 2008 with the same suit:

May 12, 2010, 04:36 PM	#8
markj Senior Member Join Date: October 27, 2005 Location: Crescent Iowa Posts: 2,971	Very nice pics, great to see young hunters get out and do it. How did he taste? Have you done any type of mounting? We used to mount the wings, tail and beard. We would then hang them on the bar wall (Dad owned a bar). We took one young man out, he was 14, We scouted it out, glassed a large group and set up for the stalk. We got the kid within 30 yards or so he shot, that turkey was head shot the kid was excited and thought the bird was going to fly away so he jumped on the bird was covered in blood soon. We took pics of him holding the turkey. I took the pic and had a tee shirt made up with that pic. He sure had a chest on when he went to school wearing that shirt. That made the hunt for me. Seeing that smile. Like yours in your pics. Priceless.