Nebraska shotgun turkey season opener: double-Tom deluxe!
I really did not hunt much this year. I did my bird hunts and my Montana hunt, but didn't even go out for Nebraska's deer seasons. Between my deployment earlier in the year and having to pay non-resident prices near my house in order to preserve my Nevada resident status for elk/mule deer, I just didn't have to mojo to do it.
That said, I was really itching to get out for turkey season. The unfortunate part is that the terribly long winter weather spell pretty much killed any hope of getting out for archery turkey season. The crap weather continued into today's shotgun opener - with winds, rain and 30-degree temps - but I refused to stay home another day. I donned some layers, a full set of rain gear, and got out to the woods well before shooting light.
I had not hunted today's spot in a long time (a cut, public walk-in bean field), but a friend assured me that birds still frequented the area. Sure enough, as daylight approached, gobbles fired off within a couple of hundred yards. Once I could tell that the birds flew down, I did some light hen calling, but as expected in poor weather, the birds clammed up shortly after hitting the ground and would not respond. That said, experience shows that silent birds will still very often approach calling, but the hunter needs to stay alert for an unexpected approach.
Sure enough, a flock showed up directly in front of me about 40 minutes after the last gobble, but were quite far out. They fed in my direction, and became a distinct 7-pack of 5 gobblers and 2 hens. The hens were leading the boys by the nose. It was all working out until they got about 75 yards out, when the hens broke left and fed into the wood with the Toms in tow. It seemed hope was lost for them to continue approaching.
Just when I considered waiting for the birds to disappear and then rushing them for a quick shot, I noticed that the Toms were not continuing any further into the woods. They hung in the tall edge grass with their red heads just barely visible. It took a long time - probably 30 minutes - but they, for whatever reason, gave up on the hens, and started feeding back into the field and directly toward me from the left side!
Suddenly, they were quickly closing the gap. 80 yards. 70 yards. 60 yards. 50 yards. Now they were within fringe shooting distance, but I opted to hold on for a better shot. It was worth the wait. Soon enough, one bird was inside of 35 yards, so close that I had to take a painfully long time putting down the rangefinder and setting up for the shot.
One 3.5" load of Winchester Long Beard XR # 6 shot dropped the first bird stone cold dead. The rest of the flock...did virtually nothing. They stood and stared at the dead bird, giving me the chance at a further, even bigger bird. A second shot dropped him, too. You can kill up to 3 birds in Nebraska in the Spring, and I *still* had another bird in range, but I decided to save my last chance to try for a flintlock or crossbow kill at a private land spot I have permission on later in the season.
Despite some nasty conditions, opening day was an indisputable success!
I am EXTREMELY impressed with that Long Beard turkey load. With my Benelli Super Black Eagle II and a Primos Jellyhead extra-full choke, the patterns at various ranges were extremely good. I lasered both birds after the shot. The closer one went down with this load at 32 yards. The second went down at 52 yards. Neither moved an inch after they were hit.
Both birds were good, mature birds with the smaller of the two sporting an 8" beard.
Here's the obligatory picture of the crappy-looking, wet-weather fans (and my muddy face).
As they say, the fun stops the minute you pull the trigger. It was a solid half mile walk back to the truck with what I would later find out was exactly 50 lbs. of turkeys + all of my hunting gear. Thank goodness my vest had a game bag so that I only had to hand carry ne of them!
Regardless of the effort required, it was a small price to pay for filling two tags within a couple of hours after arriving to hunt. My taxidermist is mounting the fan and legs from my bigger bird. He weighed and taped both birds. The smaller one weighed 24 lbs. (8.25" beard) and the larger bird rang in at a hefty 26 lbs. (10.75" beard).
That said, I was really itching to get out for turkey season. The unfortunate part is that the terribly long winter weather spell pretty much killed any hope of getting out for archery turkey season. The crap weather continued into today's shotgun opener - with winds, rain and 30-degree temps - but I refused to stay home another day. I donned some layers, a full set of rain gear, and got out to the woods well before shooting light.
I had not hunted today's spot in a long time (a cut, public walk-in bean field), but a friend assured me that birds still frequented the area. Sure enough, as daylight approached, gobbles fired off within a couple of hundred yards. Once I could tell that the birds flew down, I did some light hen calling, but as expected in poor weather, the birds clammed up shortly after hitting the ground and would not respond. That said, experience shows that silent birds will still very often approach calling, but the hunter needs to stay alert for an unexpected approach.
Sure enough, a flock showed up directly in front of me about 40 minutes after the last gobble, but were quite far out. They fed in my direction, and became a distinct 7-pack of 5 gobblers and 2 hens. The hens were leading the boys by the nose. It was all working out until they got about 75 yards out, when the hens broke left and fed into the wood with the Toms in tow. It seemed hope was lost for them to continue approaching.
Just when I considered waiting for the birds to disappear and then rushing them for a quick shot, I noticed that the Toms were not continuing any further into the woods. They hung in the tall edge grass with their red heads just barely visible. It took a long time - probably 30 minutes - but they, for whatever reason, gave up on the hens, and started feeding back into the field and directly toward me from the left side!
Suddenly, they were quickly closing the gap. 80 yards. 70 yards. 60 yards. 50 yards. Now they were within fringe shooting distance, but I opted to hold on for a better shot. It was worth the wait. Soon enough, one bird was inside of 35 yards, so close that I had to take a painfully long time putting down the rangefinder and setting up for the shot.
One 3.5" load of Winchester Long Beard XR # 6 shot dropped the first bird stone cold dead. The rest of the flock...did virtually nothing. They stood and stared at the dead bird, giving me the chance at a further, even bigger bird. A second shot dropped him, too. You can kill up to 3 birds in Nebraska in the Spring, and I *still* had another bird in range, but I decided to save my last chance to try for a flintlock or crossbow kill at a private land spot I have permission on later in the season.
Despite some nasty conditions, opening day was an indisputable success!
I am EXTREMELY impressed with that Long Beard turkey load. With my Benelli Super Black Eagle II and a Primos Jellyhead extra-full choke, the patterns at various ranges were extremely good. I lasered both birds after the shot. The closer one went down with this load at 32 yards. The second went down at 52 yards. Neither moved an inch after they were hit.
Both birds were good, mature birds with the smaller of the two sporting an 8" beard.
Here's the obligatory picture of the crappy-looking, wet-weather fans (and my muddy face).
As they say, the fun stops the minute you pull the trigger. It was a solid half mile walk back to the truck with what I would later find out was exactly 50 lbs. of turkeys + all of my hunting gear. Thank goodness my vest had a game bag so that I only had to hand carry ne of them!
Regardless of the effort required, it was a small price to pay for filling two tags within a couple of hours after arriving to hunt. My taxidermist is mounting the fan and legs from my bigger bird. He weighed and taped both birds. The smaller one weighed 24 lbs. (8.25" beard) and the larger bird rang in at a hefty 26 lbs. (10.75" beard).
Accuracy: because white space between bullet holes drives me insane.
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Comments
It was awesome. I was cery calm when they were far out because I just presumed they were never going to get close enough to shoot. The excitement started when I realized they were so close that putting down my rangefinder was going to be challenging.
The good news about the weather is that I was well-prepared: layers of thermals and outter wear, insulated facemask and Frogg Toggs top/bottom rain gear. I was actually pretty comfortable given the conditions.
While there is no hard and fast rule about the weather impacting birds vocalizing, be can definitely be correlated with diminished vocalization. It can make things a lot tougher.
Sako
Yeah, it wasn't too bad when I showed up. Just windy with very light, spitting rain. By the time I left, I felt fortunate to had not neglected the rain gear. I would've been freezing, as the temps dropped about 8 degrees in the course of my time out there and the rain went from little more than a drizzle to a steady drumbeat and just a hair above icing over. By the time I hit the road, ice pellets were actively falling.
I was hunting laying flat on my belly like I do for deer when a blind or tree stand is not ideal for the situation. Had I not been dressed appropriately and layered up, too, it would've been downright miserable.
Thanks! Am I crazy, or were you shooting turkeys with a traditional bow as a kid?
So, have you taken a turkey with the flinter yet?
ASK-HOLE Someone who asks for advice and always does something opposite
Not with the smoothbore flinter yet. I can kill one more Spring gobbler here in Nebraska and purposely let one go today to keep that chance available. I have a private land opportunity nearby that will give me a legit shot to get a bird inside of 25 yards, which is what I will need to feel comfortable with the cylinder bore on that gun.
WELL Done Luis. Congrats on your double
KSU Firefighter
Life member of the American Legion, the VFW, the NRA and the Masonic Lodge, retired LEO
Turkeys are the devil incarnate. I have left a lot of unfilled tags in the past and am FINALLY starting to bridge the success gap in recent years.
Unfortunately, there is no rifle season for turkeys in this state. Neither the Spring, nor the Fall season rules open the door for rifle use like they do in other states. We are archery/shotgun-only here. That said, the Fall season here gives you the chance to take 2 birds on one permit, which is a dandy privilege. If you can pattern some Fall birds, getting two in a tag is very doable.
KSU Firefighter
D
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
Thanks and oh, yes. We've been in the same boat. Wind was bad and that rain turned into snow today.
Just scored a Merriam’s bird in your home state! I’ll post a proper hunt report when I get back.