Opening Day - trip report

This past Saturday was the opener for the ND spring turkey season. Due to other obligations the youngest two kids were not able to go, so it was just my oldest and I.

It was a great morning to be out as there was no wind and with temps in the upper 20's so it was pretty comfortable. We watched the sun rise as the morning mist was moving here and there all while being serenaded by coyotes, robins, canada geese, blue jays, and several flocks of turkeys. A magical time and I attempted to take in as much as possible since it might be the last for just the two of us together as he is starting college in the fall.

Anyway the birds didn't fly down until an hour after sunrise and that was only after a group of 3 jakes walked close to where the birds were roosted. I watched those jakes come from over a 1/2 mile away but when they started gobbling up a storm within 50 yards of where the big toms were roosted, all hell broke loose and there was one hell of a fight going on. It looked like a bar-rrom brawl with a total of 7 birds all in the mix. Eventually the fighting ceased and the birds moved off which is when we made our move. We snuck to within about 75 yards of the birds and set up in the shade of some trees with the sun at our backs. After watching the toms milling around for some time two of the larger toms ended up within 30 yards of our position but they were just over a rise and out of sight from us. I thought about trying to sneak a bit closer but my son suggested calling instead which did the trick as in they came all nice and fanned out. We did the old "I'll take the one on the left and you take the one on the right," BOOM! or maybe it was boom, boom , boom but either way we dropped both gobblers. My son's bird ended up having one of the longer sets of spurs I have seen on a bird around here at just under 1-1/2 inches and an 8.25" beard.
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OK, here is one for you in-the-know turkey guys, what is up with the difference in coloration of the secondary tail feathers on these two birds?
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And last but not least:
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Plan for now is to head out with the younger two on Friday if the weather holds out. My fingers are crossed.

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We did the old "I'll take the one on the left and you take the one on the left ...

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Now THAT'S good planning dad! Was there any meat left? :D

Seriously, sounds like a great time. I really miss turkey hunting. :(

That is nice fellers...:thumbsup

Such great stories. Congrats to you guys. You always score!

A double Niner. Gotta be a record of some sort.

Congrats, John!

BKB

What you talkin' 'bout Thump? ;)

Man that is a set if HOOKS on that bird. A Limbhanger for sure! Congrats what a great way to spend a day.
I've seen feather discoloration before. We have even seen totally white and black variations. I personally not seen either totally white or black but I've seen some mixed colors before.
I guess if a hen can grow a beard, anything is possible as far as feather coloration goes?
I'm on the sidelines for a few days. Spent yesterday rounding up cattle and cutting some out to go to the sale and I made a bad mid-step (into an old posthole) and twisted a knee so bad I can barely stand much less walk....
Suppose to drop tonight to freezing here which will shut our birds up and we had like a flood today.
I'm just hoping I can get to where I can walk in the next day or so. I've got a tag left! :-)
Great story and congrats to you and your son. That youngin' sure has grown since I seen him

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Nice edit there Mr. Cheater! :D

Ha ha ha! Then you post again and I kept wondering who was talkin' about me .. THEN it hit me! You need to do ANOTHER edit. "THAT"??? :D

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Originally Posted by Bwana

That you talkin' 'bout Thump?

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Cool story and great pics! Jealous!

LOVE the double Niner! looks like a great time!

GREAT story there Bwana, just great! That lad sure looks to have grown into a fine young man. Y'all will cherish the memory of that hunt forever. You know.....that time we went turkey hunting before I went off to college......

AND thanks for taking the time to snap and post the "Double Niner" picture. That is actually a good picture. :fine

Here's hoping the youngsters have some of that good luck later this week when it is their turn.

Oh.....what kind of flag is that in the background????

The bird on the left looks like a Rio, The one on the right, an Eastern.

Good eye Boogieman ... I didn't even notice that. They're working on a "team" Grand Slam! ;)

Was thinking the same thing Booger but these birds literally came in wing-to-wing from the same flock which seems odd to me. Perhaps if they were taken the same day only a couple of miles apart but these were shot from the same flock and were taken only FEET away from each other.

How about a new twist on the Niner pose, I present to you The Ghilly Niner:
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So what the hell happened there and how do I turn them right side up? They appear correctly in my picture folder.

doesn't matter how the images are oriented. Sasquatch is sasquatch!

Well you SAID:

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How about a new twist on the Niner pose...?

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:biggrin

You guys are death on wheels when it comes to those turkeys out there.

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Originally Posted by Bwana

So what the hell happened there and how do I turn them right side up? They appear correctly in my picture folder.

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What would this place do without a PumPHeAd to clean up around here? ;)

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HEY! Yer camo finally matches!

BKB

You have a green Ghillie suit.
In NODAK. In April.

Duh.

Guess it worked though, huh?

He was an "Evergreen". ;)

I keep expecting to see a pack of Jack Links Beef Jerkey.

BKB

The dufe in the Ghilly is my son. He is in to paint balling and that is why it was purchased but he thought it would work good for turkey hunting as well, guess it worked just fine but when it comes to crossing barbed-wire fences…not so much.

Planning to get my daughter and youngest boy out this weekend for their turn at terrorizing the turks.

xellent.. ! .. Just came in from scouting. Son hunts tomorrow. Wanted to get close enough to the roost to see where the birds were going but not take a chance on spooking anything. @ 5:49 I'm 150 yards from two toms - exactly where I want to be. @ 6:49 I'm trying to crawl inside a tree trunk with a tom spitting and drumming literally 10 feet from me. He finally wandered off and I got out of there without spooking anything. We have 0 green in the woods here. You can see 150 yards in any direction and a turkey can see 300. Going to be a challenge. ;) Bwana - we occasionally kill a bird here like the one on the left. Sometimes the feathers will be golden and absolutely gorgeous in the sun. Our birds were stocked in the late 60s and most were easterns. But my biologist buddy tells me there were some Rios in the mix and occasionally one reverts back. Your mileage may vary.