PRDATR Report post Posted April 26, 2014 I just wanted to give a Big Thank You to Ammon Talbot. Without his talented craftsmanship and gift for making these calls my hunt may not have been such a success this morning. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
6ANut Report post Posted April 26, 2014 Congrats on a nice thunder chicken Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildwoody Report post Posted April 26, 2014 now thats what im talking about, brown on the ground, NICE Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted April 26, 2014 Nice job Prdatr, comgrats on the bird. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Couzer Report post Posted April 26, 2014 Nice job prdatr!!! Did he have any hens with him? Great looking bird Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted April 26, 2014 Thanks Guys. This bird had another Tom with him and no Hens. The morning started off with my brother and I at a spot where I knew that birds always roost, year after year. There were two Toms and a few hens. As we got closer into the area where they were we got busted by the Hen's which started to make a nervous chirping sound. They did not see us but it was dry and they obviously could hear us and the closest on was probably 30 yards away. The Toms were gobbling away and were about 200 yards away in the creek bottom. One Hen was near the roosting tree and the other was about 75 yards away on the other side of the creek. This was about 5:30am. I started calling using Hen sounds and the Hens would reply back to each series of my calls. The Toms would gobble back and after about 5 minutes they started to get closer. After another 10 minutes or they had gotten to within about 40 yards but something I did with the call shut them down and they left. They were below me and there was a lot of brush between us and I did not see them. They moved off about 100 yards still gobbling so I followed them at distance but I knew they were pretty close to the edge of the ranch that was there so I backed off. I got back to my brother, who was visiting from NY and did not have a tag and we went back to the truck. We drove about a 3/4" of a mile back toward camp to hunt an area I roosted birds last week which was also in the same direction as where the birds were headed. We parked the truck and headed down the mountain to the creek bottom and had gone about 100 yards when my brother said he heard a gobble. He does not hunt so I asked him in which direction and he pointed to the southeast. I took out the box call and did a couple of Hen called and two birds gobbled back from what sounded like 35 yards. Out eyes went wide open and I wondered how we had walked past them without spooking them! We immediately started to setup and I took off my frame pack and put on my face net and gloves as my brother got into position behind me. I started to call and they gobbled right back. I answered right back getting a bit more aggressive and louder with the call to try to sound like an excited Hen. I will say at this point that I have never called in a Turkey before and I was making it up as I went along. They gobbled back so I put the call down and shouldered the shotgun. I looked out through the brush and told my brother "here they come". I could see them walking to us in single file and they then went into some brush for a few seconds. The first one came out and he was walking to the right and not straight to us. I had a feeling it was going to try and go around us so as soon as it stopped for a split second I shot and he went down. I jumped up and ran to it stopping to go under a barbed wire fence. It was about 7:15. My brother came over and we took some pictures. He then went back and retrieved my pack and I met him at the fence. I took my range finder out of the pack and ranged the spot from where I shot, 28 yards. I then ranged the bird which was 12 yards. I used an old Remington Duplex 2x4 load I had a few left which I have had for ages. We went back to camp and cleaned the bird before packing up to leave. All in all a great time with my brother. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Couzer Report post Posted April 26, 2014 Right on Prdatr! Great job calling those last 2 in! Hearing gobbles is the best sound ever! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
randyolson Report post Posted April 29, 2014 Awesome!! Congratulations on getting your TURKEY!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted April 29, 2014 I cooked it last night. It was soooooo tender, but pretty salty from the brine it was in. The recipe called for 24 to 48 hours in the brine so I left it in for 40. It was also the most flavorful bird I have ever had. I pulled the recipe off the NWTF website which called for a lot of herbs, 4 -5 cups of salt, a gallon of water 60oz of beer and a bottle of dry white wine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
