Ohio Spring Tom

[GlenS]

On Friday here in Ohio it was raining. Work was called off around 6AM. About 6:30 I was on the road. Landed at my destination around 7:15 & found the spot I wanted was taken. No big deal. I'll just go down the road & park & come in on the next ridge over.

As I'm setting there listening to the hen calls of the other hunter,, which sounded quite good honestly,, I heard some gobbling off to my right a couple hundred yards away. Luckily the wind was right for me to hear them. So I packed up & hot footed it to the truck. Drove around the property to the road that divides it & parked there. Walked up into some brush & listened for a gobble to confirm my thoughts. They were very close to where I thought they were. So I headed to my right about 500yds to get around the brushy area. Cut thru the opening & got setup. They would gobble back to my calling but went away from me. They were henned up. No big deal.

So I sat thru the 3rd heavy rain of the short morning with my 712 under wraps as best I could. After about 5 minutes the rains just flat stopped. So I called a few times with no response. Decided to grab the decoy & headed to where they were earlier. I set out 2 hen decoys & called softly a few times with no answer. So I waited a few minutes & got louder. And wouldn't you know it a Tom gobbled back where I was 10 minutes ago!!

So I got turned to my left & called a couple more times to hear him gobble & to get his head nice & white. Then I sat back & waited. After just a couple minutes I,, for some reason,, turned slowly to my right & checked the decoys. And there stood 3 Jakes & a Tom!!!!

WTH!!!!! So I turned my head slowly & squared my shoulders around & brought the 712 around & up to my shoulder. They went into a single file line & started down over the embankment to my right. I thought for sure it was over. Just at that time they filed thru an opening no more than about 3' wide. I watched the 1st 2 Jakes go thru & could see the 3rd trailing the Tom. When the 3rd red head hit the opening I clucked softly on the mouth call & he stopped. For the last time I might add.

21lbs. 9" beard. Twin 1" spurs. My 1st public land bird!!!!
CZ712 With Federal Premium Mag-Shok 2 3/4" shells with 1 1/2oz of #6.









Sorry for the long winded story. I sometimes get that way!! 

[Bodene]

Congratulations on getting a nice bird.  - Bodene

[GlenS]

Thanks Bodene!! 

[Slimdog71]

Congrats, they're good eating!!! Pa spring gobbler starts this Saturday!!

[GlenS]

Thanks Slimdog!! Good Luck in your pursuit!   

[Bishop112]

Nice bird! Congrats!

[bobanddog]

Nice tom! 

[GlenS]

Thanks Bishop & Bob!! 

[mkd]

nice bird glen! our season here in wisconsin was a bust! high winds,cold,rain, and snow. top that off with a darn good cold when i got home.  not sure about your gun but is it 2/3/4" only? reason i ask is we have used winchester supreme 3" turkey loads for allmost 20 yrs. we use 2 oz of the #6 shot. very good pattern and between the two of us hunting have taken birds over 50 yds on at least 3 occassions. i'm using a remington 870 camo sp with a 26" barrel and remington super full turkey choke and my hunting partner is using a remington express turkey shotgun with a 23" barrel and the same remington choke. until i hear and verify something new is better i'm sold on them.

[GlenS]

Thanks mkd!! On the other Forums I visit I heard that Wisconsin had a rough Spring. That's too bad for you guys. Our Winter here was very harsh for a change & a couple years ago the Spring was cold & very wet. So I decided to not go after a 2nd bird this year.

Mine is a 3" shotgun if I remember correctly. I use the Fed Premium MS in 2 3/4" with a 1 1/2oz load of 6 shot. I've only shot a couple birds with these but the results were phenomenal. I am running the CZ factory Turkey choke with them.  A late Fall hen last year was about 10yds away when it finally stopped long enough for a good shot. At that distance it looked like a slug went thru it!! This year it was about a 20yd shot & these rds hit him hard.

At 35yds if I remember from a couple years ago correctly I had a huge pellet count in the head & neck on a turkey target. It seems to me it was in the 85% area. I'm afraid to say any higher because I can't find that target anymore. But it was a big number. And luckily where I hunt I seldom have to shoot much further than that. I like em up close & personal.

I used an 870 20ga for my 1st birds. It shot a nice pattern with the Rem XFull Turkey choke too but it just didn't carry the ooomph I was looking for in the brushy areas I hunt. Winchester Supreme 3" loads in that one.

Now I just need to find a couple more boxes of the 12ga Federals I've been using. All I can find are 5 shot. I like extra density the 6's give me.

[mkd]

the 2 oz. of number 6 shot is really a good load. 2 yrs ago i dropped my tom at 54 paces from my ground blind. nothing was in the way between him and i so the pattern was not disrupted. the number 6's really do give good pattern density though.

[GlenS]

Yes they do!! Even at the extended ranges you're shooting. I think it would be cool to hammer a big ol Tom out that far. But by the same token I REALLY like calling em in close. 

[djdilliodon]

Great story and love the stock on that cz!

[GlenS]

Thanks dj. I got lucky with that one I guess. The other side has a little less going on but it still looks nice.