[20']

Saturday was a darn wet one, but we did have 4 longbeards that Jeff called into 30 yards, they took FOREVER to cross the field, then when they could finally hear is they started zeroing in on our directions, then they spied the dekes and they ran into about 30 yards....pretty hectic with 4 heads so close together, one got some separation and Simon squeeze and shot just over his head, Jeff and I felt like we just got punched in the stomach!!!! This farm has birds, but they are TOGH in the early season.
Sunday, we use 5.5 days of experience over the last three seasons and set up way across the field, they were gobbling and I'll be if they don't come out about 60 yards to our east...all said about 50 birds in the group and 9 longbeards! Jeff had them fired up and breaking towards our dekes, but the second wave of birds came and they joined back with the flock!!!!!
Called off 7 hens right into our spread for 15 minutes, they go into the woods and a dang gobbler a minute later shows and skirts us right to the hens!!!! WE watch him breed the hens 70-100 yards in the woods for an hour.

brutal, but fun....we just can seem to get it done on this farm!

 

[wingman]

Need one of those Illinois deer rifles:clap:

 

[20']

Need one of those Illinois deer rifles:clap:

we certainly needed it Sunday! the slug gun still would have worked!

 

[callaojoe]

Crossbow would have got it done.... Instead, you go home empty handed.

 

[Wings Fan 19]

Flocked up early season birds are tough to deal with. It's nice to see big wads of birds but they're almost impossible to work. We run into this in KS quite a bit early season.

 

[rat]

Sounds like you had some action at least!

 

[BackyardBandit]

So disappointed.

 

[Refuze2falo]

So disappointed.

It's just a youth bird. Not near as disappointing as a adult bird

 

[thwackaddict]

Flocked up early season birds are tough to deal with. It's nice to see big wads of birds but they're almost impossible to work. We run into this in KS quite a bit early season.

I wish we had small wads of birds! Looking pretty tough again this year. Seeing very few birds anywhere. This spring/summer doesn't dry up we may have a very dismal hatch again this year.

 

[henry]

You got the boy shooting a scope 20 ?

 

[Gamegetter]

Sounds like an exciting hunt. Good times, just minus the flopping bird.

 

[fishshooter]

What a time

Sorry he didn’t bring one home

 

[20']

You got the boy shooting a scope 20 ?

Henry, no scope. It was just an aiming mistake, he aimed for the eye, not the waddles. Not a huge deal, but I probably am to blame. I didn't make or find time to get out and practice before the season, my guess is that bird, while unaware of what happened, is pretty glad he missed! Also, he could or should have just fallen over dead before the shot...

 

[henry]

It gets tougher for the kids with bead sights at the longer ranges. The further the bird the more the sight hides. It's easy to make that mistake. 02

 

[20']

It gets tougher for the kids with bead sights at the longer ranges. The further the bird the more the sight hides. It's easy to make that mistake. 02

I think we have all probably missed birds we should have smoked. This bird should have died, but didn't. The ONLY reason it stings is the early youth season in IL always seems to be extremely wet, cold and birds uncooperative, this year was no different....then we had a chance to kill one of these frustrating critters and missed.....left/right was perfect and the BBs JUST sailed high.

I am trying to get permission to hunt there this Sunday, I want a dead IL gobbler badly enough to only put one MO youth day in and then track 5 hours to even the score! I'm on tilt!!!

If Fullfan sees this, maybe he will drop the video in this thread.

 

[Fullfan]