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This is very long winded but, a good memory that will last for many years to come.

We just got back last night from a 3 day self guided hunt for Rios in the TX Panhandle. 3 of us went, Ronald, Dustin(13yr Old), and I. We didn�t just slaughter them, but we did get some birds and had a good time�..

I really didn�t know what to expect on the hunt as it�s nearing the end of the season and despite the guide saying the birds hadn�t been hunted, we really didn�t know what to expect. Ronald found the hunt and I agreed to go with him and Dustin. The outfitter primarily focuses on deer hunts and advertises for turkey hunts yet he had noone booked this year(Red Flag). The outfitter told us they had plenty of birds and lots of land to hunt so, we remained optimistic and hoped for the best.

Upon arrival Thursday evening we met up with the outfitter and he showed us the little camp he had for us to stay in. When we made it to the driveway for the little camp we spotted a big gobbler across the highway on a private cattle ranch strutting around some hens. We glassed him for a bit and then checked out the little camp. It was still a while until dark so we asked the outfitter to show us the places we were to hunt and we hoped to maybe roost a bird before dark. When we arrived to the first place we were sort of dulled out to say the least as it turned out to be a mere 10 acre strip in a creek bottom right next to a house. The guy that lived in the house came out, met with us, and told us there had been many shots fired this season around his place and the day before two gobblers had been taken right close to his house. I was quickly learning how much of a BSer our outfitter really was as this was no large piece of un-hunted land as he had us believe over the phone. We looked around a bit and really didn�t like too much of what we saw so we decided to head to the other pieces of property the outfitter had. Turns out he only had one other piece of land for us to hunt and it wasn�t nearly as large as he told us on the phone. It was a wheat field in the middle of a huge cattle ranch. There were no trees to be found so I was immediately scanning the place looking for some possible roosting areas on the neighboring cattle ranch. I was beginning to think we�d been had, but there were fresh turkey tracks around the wheat so we remained somewhat optimistic and decided to give it the benefit of the doubt.

On the first morning I decided to go and hunt the large wheat field and let Dustin and Ronnie hunt the small strip of land in the creek bottom so we could get an idea of which place had the most potential and go from there. At daylight on the first morning I heard a faint gobble way off from the big field so I geared up and set out to the far end of the field. Once I arrived at the end of the field I glassed out across the large pastures and noticed a creek bottom with large cotton wood trees off in the distance(this is where the faint gobble came from). So I waited to see what the birds did and occasionally heard faint gobbles from the bottom for about an hour when I noticed some movement far across a pasture. It was a large group of birds and they were headed in the general direction of the wheat field, however I had no idea which direction they were going to end up. I just watched them for a while. They were obviously not going to come within a 3/4 mile of my position and they were a little to far to call in. I decided to make a huge loop around the wheat field to the other corner and just hope for the best on not spooking the birds. As luck would have it they spotted me and headed back in the direction of the bottom. I did however find a good spot to set up an ambush the following morning. If they followed the same routine they would at least be close enough for me to possibly work them. It was getting on up in the morning so I headed back for the truck to head back to Ronald and Dustin and see how their hunt went. When I arrived at the truck I picked up my binos and a sure enough there was a long beard strutting in a pasture near where I�d just left the corner of the wheat field! I sat there for a bit trying to come up with a strategy and noticed a ditch going down the edge of the wheat field that was covered in brush. I headed for the ditch and began my stalk. After making it near the property line I stopped to glass and spotted two long beards in the pasture. One of the toms broke off and headed straight towards me stopping to strut every few yards. I noticed a little movement ahead of him and sure enough it was a hen pecking around in the brush. I hit �em with some soft yelps and purrs and that ole� hen started easing in my direction and like on a string you can guess who followed I just sat quietly on the edge of the ditch hoping she�d make her way within range and sure enough after a while she came walking by about 30 yards out. I knew it was about to get interesting and there he was. Only one little problem, he was another 20 yards up the hill and paralleling her movement. It was do or die, he wasn�t getting any closer and I knew my equipment was adequate for the shot. I steadied my ole� Winchester, fired, and he was down for the count. Bird one was in the bag and this hunt was starting to look somewhat promising.


I went over to pick up Dustin and Ronald and give them the good news. They had not had any luck and were sort of bummed but, I told them to not give up just yet that we may get some more birds in the wheat field during the next two days. We cleaned my bird, grabbed a bite for lunch, and headed back for a mid day hunt. If I only have 3 days to hit �em, I try to take advantage of all the time in the field I can. We tried for a while but the wind was howling around 30 mph and making it difficult to call or hear anything so we headed back for camp. Once we arrived at the driveway to the camp I spotted that big tom strutting across the highway in that cow pasture again. I drove on down to the camp and told Dustin and Ronnie I was going to try and kill that bird. They were probably thinking: Yeah right, across a busy highway, across a cow pasture, and probably henned-up; what�s the chances, so they decided to stay down at the camp while I eased my way through a strip of cotton woods down to the corner of the property. I began to glass and finally spotted him under a big tree across the field. A big truck with an oversize load and escorts came by and occasional cars here and there along with at least 25-30 mph winds. When everything but the wind calmed I grabbed my glass call and hit him as loud as I could with some cuts and yelps. He heard me and looked over in my direction with no response. I decided to gobble at him and see if I could get a response. I gobbled, he hammered out a gobble, and headed my way! I�m sitting here thinking there�s no way this dude is going to come across the field, cross through the fence, and cross the highway! Along came a car every little bit, I was afraid he�d spook so I peaked out from behind the huge cotton wood and sure enough he was still walking my direction. I�m starting to think this may work and about that time here comes a truck. It was silent for a bit so I hit him w/ a few yelps and that dude triple gobbled right across the highway! It was only a few seconds later he was all of the sudden in the middle of the highway and headed my way fast! I let him get just right and settled a fine bead on his head. Click!!!!! My damn gun wasn�t loaded!!!! Of all things I forgot to shift a dang shell from the magazine into the chamber! Here I am eye to eye just 15 steps from this big tom and my damn gun is unloaded!!! Man, I shifted a shell into the chamber and dirt rolled that dude like a quick draw on a good western! Bird 2 in the bag, how lucky can a guy get! Talk about a story to remember, I�ve killed quite a few toms and I�ll never forget the day I made that Rio cross a field, a fence, and a highway! Dustin and Ronnie couldn�t believe there eyes when I came back to camp holding that Tom


Now that I had two birds in the bag I decided to play guide. Dustin had never taken a turkey and he was really anxious to get on a bird. I decided to take Dustin with me to the far edge of that wheat field where the birds had neared the day before. We built a little makeshift blind and I positioned a jake decoy above a feeding hen in the edge of the wheat field. The wind blew hard and we patiently waited for the birds to come from the distant bottom. Dustin fell asleep and I scanned the pastures hoping to spot a group of birds. Around 9am I was starting to think it wasn�t going to happen and all of the sudden a group of hens and gobblers crested the hill top into the pasture. I awoke Dustin and had him ease into position on some shooting sticks. I hit them a few times with some cuts and yelps trying to get them zoned in on the jake about to have his way with the hen. The group started to feed our direction when a darn herd of cows headed our way! Those dang cows cut off the turkeys and sat there looking dumb for about 20 minutes. I was angry at the stupid cows but, remained patient as the turkeys just pecked around behind the herd. Finally(After what seemed like forever) the cattle eased on far enough out of the way where the birds were in clear view of our decoys. I gobbled at them and hit them with some lonely hen talk. Man, that boss tom saw that jake decoy over the hen and made tracks straight for us! Two more gobblers followed his lead when they neared our set-up I told Dustin to take out a red head as soon as he got a steady bead on one. That boy was shaking so badly it�s a dang good thing I put him on sticks. He didn�t fire and the gobblers got right on the decoys, that boss tom was eye to eye with that jake and was fixin� to rip him a new one. I told Dustin �Shoot the Decoy!�( I knew he�d hit him if he�d just shoot the decoy and I could care less about some holes in a decoy). The 20 ga finally roared and he dropped that big rascal on the spot! You talk about excited that boy had just taken the Gobbler of a lifetime and had a grin from ear to ear. His bird was a monster, he had spurs 1-7/16� long, a 10� long thick beard, and tipped the scales at 22 lbs! I told him most will not ever get a bird like that ever and he�d just bagged a real monster for his first bird ever. It was quite exciting to say the least. The ole� Jake decoy is now wearing 15 nice little #5 shot holes in the head and neck. Adds character�


Ronald set-up on the West end of the field during all of that excitement and had no luck. We met up and told the exciting story. After we sat there a bit I picked up my binos and noticed there was still a few birds from that group in the far side of that big pasture. I told Ronald we should ease back down to where Dustin and I bagged the big tom and try to get him a bird. We eased down to the corner of the field once again and I began to talk to them. Every few minutes I noticed a gobbler peaking over the hilltop in my direction. I finally peaked his interest enough and he along with some other hens and one other tom headed our direction. After about a 2 hour wait they finally started to get somewhat close but remained a little spooky and were flirting with being out of range. The lead gobbler got to about 50 yards looking at the decoy and after a good stare for a while he decided to move on. I told Ronald to take the shot. He slammed him with the first shot and that dang bird flopped a bit, got up, and took off . I fired off a round and he didn�t slack up then, Ronald rolled him up at at least 70 yards! I�m telling you, 3.5� Extended range #5s definitely means extended range, on that far shot he broke that birds wings and his back! I wouldn�t advise anyone to shoot past 50 but, these new extended range loads definitely carry some energy.

Here�s some pics of my bird #1:





Bird #2:



Dustin and Ronald�s birds:



And Check out the Hooks on Dustin�s bird:


What a Toad! He�s going to have a full body mount with the bird strutting.

I haven�t made all of the measurements on my birds as the fans, feet, and beards are in the fridge waiting for me to pin them out this evening(I do my own fan/feet/beard mounts). I�ll do the measuring this evening. I did weigh that bird I called across the highway, he was 22lbs and had around a 9� beard, A heavy Rio for sure. I�m guessing my 1st bird was probably 19-20ish lbs, with 1� hooks, and 8�+ beard. Ronald�s bird was 20lbs, 9-3/4� beard, and 7/8� hooks.

I tell ya, we made the best out of what didn�t seem like much from the start. A little patience and a whole lot of luck can certainly make a hunt come together.


Ya�ll have a Good One,

Reloader7RM

Thanks for that report. Sounds like a great hunt to me.
Great photos. Those are some nice spurs on Dustin's bird.

stumpy

Love hearing those stories. Great birds and glad to hear that you helped get the young one in on the fun!

Great pics and story, and Lordy what a set of spurs.

Man you worked your butt off to make the best of a bad hunt.
Great birds and man what a set of hooks. When you get yours mounted post some pictures as I would like to see what it looks like.

What choke are you guys shootin?

Thanks guys.

Pullit,

I'm using a Star Dot. It patterned quite well when compared to another extended choke I had(alittle larger diam.) so, I've just stuck with it. When using 3" Win #6 1-7/8oz loads I get 40 hits at 40 yards in the neck and head of a HS strut target and 15+ at 50. I don't like to shoot past 50 and prefer about 30-40.

Ronald was using a Browing Gold 3.5" with the factory extra full choke and 3.5" Win extended range high density #5s.

Dustin was using a 11-87 20ga with factory full choke and 3" Rem #5 turkey loads.

Reloader7RM

Reloader,
Great job working the birds! After a while hunting turkeys, I've started enjoying bringing new hunters along and calling in birds for them just as much as rolling them myself!
Thanks for the advice.
Marty

Thanks for the info on the chokes and shells. I have a Gold 3.5" but have not tried that combo.....but will

Before the 3 1/2" came around I used to shoot Federal 1 7/8 oz loads. I didn`t think the 1050 velocity on the 2 oz was enough, so I went with the 1210 fps of the 1 7/8ths. They could be found in the 25 count boxes. I probably have a full box around here.

Congrats. Great story and the birds are awesome. It's great to see a young man get such a great turkey.