# So You Have a Week of Vacation and It’s Turkey Opener….



## Ack (Oct 3, 2004)

If you’re anything like me, there’s no question what you’re going to do.........hunt every single day! 

So after all of my talk of extra preparation for season last spring, I ended up slacking a little and got a late start to my turkey season prep for this year. Some things never change from year to year….the properties, the calls, the gear…..these are all constants for me in the spring. But I did, however, decide to get out one of my old bows and set it up once again, which put me just a little behind with season quickly approaching. That wasn’t much of an issue, but the main reason I was running behind was that I decided to hunt the early season this year, something I haven’t done since 2005. 

As some may recall, I bought my tag last spring on the same day I later located three giant birds on one of my properties. Everything worked out in the end and I still tagged one of those birds, but the two week wait hoping they would stick around was very nerve-racking. This year I held off to see what I had to work with BEFORE I bought the tag, and after getting at least five different toms on camera during the early weeks of April, I decided to give the first hunt a try, since the birds were all there “NOW.” 

So this whole early season thing put me a little behind on my preparation, but fortunately things all came together and I was ready to go come April 17th. With the week off of work, I knew I could put in some hours and be a little selective on birds if I wanted. One of the birds I had on cam was solid, sporting what looked like 1.25+” spurs, but he was a loner and was not very predictable in his timing. He was actually on the property the day before season as my landowner had confirmed, but come opening day he was nowhere to be seen…..only the four other toms that were always together and hanging tight to the main hen group. 

So on opening morning I set up in the same spot I killed my bird last year and in no time the group of four toms plus hens were in my setup, knocking down my dekes and putting on a quite a show. But I held off and didn’t shoot…..I knew that big bird was around and I just couldn’t end my season that quickly. 











On day two I hunted a different property in the morning, only seeing a single hen, and then found my way back to the honey hole in the early afternoon and was completely overrun with jakes.











On day three I tried yet another spot, and despite getting a response from a distant tom, I once again had only a single hen come into my setup to investigate.











Day four brought a 1.5” downpour, so I pretty much drove around to take inventory of birds on the properties I could hunt. Mid-day I located a tom on one property, and even he was in a wet, muddy field, I decided what the heck and went after him, traveling light with only a mouth call, hen decoy and shotgun. I was able to get that bird to about 60 yards before the sky opened up and completely soaked both of us. Once the thunder and lightning started he had enough and ran for cover under some pines, never coming any closer. No worries though, as Friday was reserved for the honey hole once again.











Come Friday, I knew I would be real limited on spots where I could set up because of all the water from the rains on Thursday. I decided on some higher ground on the back side of a pond where I knew the birds had been frequenting, which was also just off the trail that led to the area I set up in on Monday. I almost gave up this position because of the geese that were nesting just off the pond, as they were pretty upset with me being there….. carrying on and honking nonstop at me after daybreak. But I stuck it out and, sure enough, within an hour I see the group of four toms moving though the woods in my direction. 

Now, I love being vocal with the birds and all, but I also cannot deny how much I love the draw and interaction of birds with a good set of decoys. As soon as the lead tom locked on to my dekes they were instantly on a string, and unfortunately no calling was necessary. It’s really cool watching these birds interact with the dekes, and is one of the reasons I love sitting back and getting it all on video. Honestly, I could care less if I had a weapon with me…….give me a camera only and I’d be good. But this time I had the camera AND the weapon, and with that, I’ll let the video of this hunt tell the rest of the story.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Excellent


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## BUCK/PIKE (Oct 24, 2011)

Congrats! Great hunting and cool video


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## Firefighter (Feb 14, 2007)

Awesome as usual brother! Great footage and great bird!


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## WMU05 (Oct 16, 2004)

Nice work Brian. Great bird and great video!

Congratulations again!


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## itchn2fish (Dec 15, 2005)

Congrats! Thank you for sharing this with all of us!


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## koz bow (Nov 18, 2006)

Awesome video!!


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## AllSpecieAngler (Jun 12, 2008)

Awesome Brian!


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## LabtechLewis (Nov 20, 2008)

Wow! What an aggressive bird! Toms hate the DSD Jake. 

Nice shot.


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## Ack (Oct 3, 2004)

LabtechLewis said:


> Wow! What an aggressive bird! Toms hate the DSD Jake.
> 
> Nice shot.


And as you can see, they LOVE the DSD hen.......literally!


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## Sprytle (Jan 8, 2005)

Great Bird & Great Pic!! People could learn alot about picture taking from looking at yours!!

Congrats!!


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## timbrhuntr (Feb 4, 2009)

Congrats on the Tom. I can't believe how far it went after getting shot with a bullhead ! Every one I have shot has dropped on the spot. It must be a result of the blade breaking something I also haven't had. You should contact magnus I bet they would like to see that footage and probably would replace your heads.


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## Ack (Oct 3, 2004)

This was the first one I've had run off, but it wasn't the fault of the broadhead......my shot was off slightly. And Mike at Magnus has been excellent as far as replacing heads for me in the past.


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## Pier Pressure (Dec 21, 2008)

Great video Brian!


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## old graybeard (Jan 19, 2006)

Awesome Ack! Nice bird and video. Congrats!


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## BVW (Jul 25, 2002)

fantastic! Really awesome video.. rarely do we get to see that behavior in the wild or on tv. Thanks!


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## Wally Gator (Sep 21, 2007)

Awesome video as usual, I'm actually surprised that bird went as far as it did, it looked like you put the smack on it. Well done again, that was cool.


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## QDMAMAN (Dec 8, 2004)

I feel so dirty!:lol:
Great job brother!


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## BWHUNTR (Oct 3, 2008)

Nicely done Ack and great video too


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## JBIV (Jan 29, 2004)

Loved the video! Great job all the way around.

Congratz Brian!


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