Not really.
I've hunted fall turkeys since I started hunting them. But, after a while, it just lost a lot of its appeal to me. You go out. You hunt the current food source. You break a flock of hens and poults. You sit down and call. You decide which one of 10 or 20 birds is going to commit assisted suicide first. The hardest part is the walking and the finding............which isn't usually very hard. The calling and killing is actually not much sport in my personal opinion. Some guys......some really good friends......fall hunt with some very good dogs. I've never gone along. I could imagine the dog work would be very satisfying. But, still, really not my cup of tea. So, if you want a bit more challenge, you target longbeards. I've done it a few times. I've had good success. But, I've only ever pulled the trigger twice because I'd 1000X rather shoot a longbeard after he strutted and gobbled the whole way in and gave me a show. Not when he slid in quietly on the sly. I have called flocks of fall longbeards in, only to pull down my facemask and say "See ya in the spring !!" The two fall gobblers I did actually shoot were two of the biggest birds I've ever taken. But the length of the beard(s) and spurs aren't the only things that make a hunt exciting or make a mature tom a trophy to me. This is not to say I won't go out this fall or another year. My older brother LOVES fall hunting. I enjoy sharing hunts with him. Calling birds for him. There will be a day we won't be able to............
