Heard the first gobble of the season this AM, two long beards rolled in after two series of yelps and they responded, put the call down after that.
One lined up perfectly, popped his head off with a bullhead.
LoL - well the browning game cam luck is holding!
Had some nice hooks on him, 1 1/4"
I figured out couple years ago the Toms like to come up behind quartering into the Jake they stretch their neck to peck and well, whammy.
This guy comes up kinda quick and silent, then chest bumps my decoy to be facing 90° from where I set it which put ol'Tommy directly facing me... I was at full draw, thought he might drop his tail... held... nope, so not taking a chance after last year- whammy.
Awesome, Congrats. I arrowed my largest in Carroll County opening morning during the storm. Came in silent to Jake Decoy. I almost ran back to camp but decided to wait out the weather. Glad I did....LOL
I saw two turkeys on Saturday but never heard a gobble or a hen call. Sunday morning, I had two hen feed in the clover plot I was set up on. One was a bearded hen and she came and pecked at my hen decoy. They left after about 30 minutes and I called periodically with no vocal responses. About 8:30, I saw a tom about 6 yards away through the cracked around the door. This allowed me to put my coffee down and picked up my bow w/o fear of having the tom see me through the window I had open for shooting. The tom approached my jake decoy, which was at 8 yards, in full strut. When he lifted his head up and forward, I shot him in the middle of the neck.
Had 3 jakes come in silent yesterday. Not even a cluck out of them. On public ground. They got a free pass. I've only been out 3 times so far due to work and rainy weather. These were the 1st birds I've seen. They called for sun and high temp in the low 60's so I took a vacation day and enjoyed some time in the woods.
Couple weeks ago had a lone hen cross a back road in front of me, I slowed way down expecting to see poults come out behind her, but slowly approached and none showed... When I got up to her she was just standing there 10 yards off the road... I stopped looked both directions, and no little one around and figured she was just a late setter...
I saw two hens together on Saturday with young that seemed to be of two different ages. Neither age group seemed to have over 4 or 5 but at least they were hatching.
I agree Pat, coons are destructive and hard on baby critters... One destroyed a clutch of Bluebird eggs a few weeks ago from one of my boxes... At the time figured it was a coon because likely done at night and since half the nesting material was sticking out the entrance hole and assumed it got the female bird too while setting on the eggs at night... I have 3 nest boxes and fortunately they renested, but unfortunately, they selected the same box... (Dolp, Homer Simpson head slap...8^))
Attached photo taken today, babies hatched couple days ago... I think there are 5 of them in there, I know there are at least 4...
The nest box is mounted on a metal fence post about 5' off the ground to the entrance hole and I still don't know how a coon could shimmy up that pole... Smart critters... Am trying to keep an eye on the box since I can see it from my backdoor window...
You guys seeing any half grown poults? I have not... Dry spring but wet summer, would think they were big enough to have survived the summer rains...
My Bluebirds had 3 clutches this year, the latest eggs laid in mid July, suspected coon got that clutch too... So two out of the three clutches destroyed, although the clutch photo'd above did survive to fledglings... I need to coon proof these nest boxes...
I have 30 cams up. I've seen 4 turkey pics - 1 tom and 3 adult hens. Not one pic of a poult. It's awful. No predators on cam, just coons and lots of them.
I have two hens showing up at the bird feeder in my backyard with 3 and 4 poults. I saw a couple of hens with poults at the hunting property. Raccoon population seemed to be down some but there must have been a good spring for raccoons as there seems to be a lot of young ones now.
I would like to see Ohio go to a male only fall season.
