Turkey season is in full swing here in PA, which means not much sleep for me. And I'm okay with that.
The last weekend in April found me and my little buddy Daxton
once again got lost in Michaux State Forest chasin' birds. As usual, we had several close calls but no shootin'. Next year's his last year, so hopefully we can finally get it done. Seems like we get closer and closer every year. I didn't get to snap many pictures, but did manage to catch the sunrise as we headed up the hill.
Once again, I sat out the opener on the first Saturday of May, due to work. Few things are more frustratin' in PA than tryin' to hunt on a Saturday, so I didn't fret too much. With most folks havin' off on Saturday, there's enough assholery to go around the woods and I'd just as soon not deal with the headaches. A few of the fellas made it up to camp though, and Joe started his season off right with a really nice bird. There were some other close calls, but nobody else pulled the trigger.
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| 20lbs, 11-3/4" beard, 1" spurs |
Dad and cousin Danny were up durin' the followin' week, and were up to their usual hijinx. Dad whiffed on several different opportunities, as seems to be the norm as of late. Danny, on the other hand, finally put a tag on his first longbeard after a lifetime of whackin' jakes. To say he was ecstatic was an understatement.
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| 19-1/2lbs, 11-1/2" beard, 1-3/16 spurs |
Last Friday, Joe asked me to tag along to a local place that he's been huntin' for the last few years. He had a few birds scouted, and thought we may be able to double up. While we weren't able to do that, I managed to drop the hammer on the big boy he's been watchin'. The detailed write-up
is here if you have a hankerin' to read it. It was my first muzzleloader gobbler, and one of the most excitin' hunts I've ever had. I love nothin' more than huntin' with my family, and I really enjoyed the mornin' spent with Joe.
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| 21-1/2lbs, 11-1/4" beard, 1" spurs |
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I was able to use the wingbone call that I got at the benefit auction
last September. It's a purty special call, so now that
it's served its purpose, it'll likely be retired. |
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| My fearless guide for the mornin'. |
A friend from work lives right along the Michaux State Forest border, and bagged a tom the first Monday. He invited me up to hunt behind his house, so I headed up a couple times last week. We had a few close calls, but again, no shootin'. Sure is purty up on that hill though.
Joe and I continued our run of success this mornin' with an excitin' hunt upstate. He and his girl were stayin' at the cottage for a post-graduation vacation, and I had a few days off of work so we decided to hunt together. After a patient sit on top of a windy hill, a group of birds got into one helluva fight in the field we were babysittin', and once it broke up, they dispersed in our direction. We once again had brief illusions of doublin' up, but the birds broke off at the last minute and never gave me a shot. I gave Joe the green light to shoot past me, and his season was over in short order with another longbeard.
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| 19lbs, 7-1/2" beard, 1" spurs |
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| Overlookin' the valley on the way out. |
So, I have another mornin' upstate to get after 'em before I head back home. I'm not sure how much huntin' I'm gonna be able to fit in the rest of this season, so hopefully I make the most of it.
