Missouri opening day

[Sidekick]

I won't bore you with a big long story about how I did it and what I had for breakfast but the quick version is this; I work nights and left work early this morning and went to the woods, set up my decoys and leaned up against a likely looking tree and took a nap. A little before daybreak they were gobbling like crazy and I talked him off the roost from about 200 yds. and walked him into my decoys. I thought I had him and he was strutting like crazy and coming closer but then a real hen appeared and he started working his way the wrong direction. I gave a putt, he stuck his head up and from 45 paces I plastered him good. 20 lbs. and a 9" beard. Not a big bird but it was already 6:15 am and I couldn't help myself. :D Good luck fellow Missouri hunters. We'll have good weather this week. There's a lot of birds out there this year.

[dave-t.]

I got set up, heard very little gobbling, and left early. The weather is going to pop this week, and I saw no need in educating them early when I can catch them hot in a couple of days.

Of course, the crappie fishing will get good at the end of the week too. Never enough time.

[MOGC]

Congrat's Sidekick! I won't get to go until Friday, by then the weather is supposed to be hot and dry so maybe they'll get turned on really good by then. Can't wait...

[howdydoit]

2nd on the Grats, Ill be off this weekend chasing the toms for my son. Hopefully he will get a shot. Lacleade Co. is supposed to be a pretty hot area.

Howdy.

[LampLighter]

20 lbs. and a 9" beard. Not a big bird


:confused: That would be one of the bigger Easterns in the bottoms by me. In the piney woods they regulary go 25 lb. but 20 is nice in the bottoms.

[dave-t.]

20lb is a pretty average bird in MO. 22-23lb and over starts to be considered "big".

[Sidekick]

I'll agree with that. I once killed a jake with a 4" beard that weighed 18 lbs!
I don't know what it's like in your neck of the woods but around here a nice bird is typically 23-24 lbs, 11" beard and 1 1/4" spurs. My biggest one to date was 25 lbs and had a 12" beard and 1 1/2 spurs. It also had toenails that were over an inch long and all curled and twisted. The agent at the check station who weighed it said that it was a pretty old bird to look like that. Maybe 7 years. It took ALL day to cook too.

[LampLighter]

There's a few I killed i didn't even weigh or measure. Any adult bird killed is a skilled accomplishment, except those taken over bait.

[dave-t.]

I hardly had to call for this one. I yelped and had a hen come in off the roost, she hung out for over an hour with me just clucking and purring as little as I could stand it. She brought in this guy at 7:40 or so, less than a 30yd shot, 19lb 1 1/4" spurs 8" beard. Sometimes you just get lucky.

http://www.cafeoutdoors.com/ubb/member_photos/data/500/934-22turk.jpg

[Sidekick]

I took my cousin out this morning for his first springtime bird. He'd hunted the fall before but never took a spring bird. I put him in position and did some calling and we were almost over run by jakes. Then the wind was so bad our decoys literally blew away so we picked up our gear and went for a little walk. I spotted a tom all by himself out in a wheat field and put us in position and after a 40 minute wait we convinced the bird to close from 200 yds to ten. He was 23 lbs, 11" beard and 1" spurs. A real nice one. I gotta tell you my heart was pounding as much as my cousins. I guess we'll spend the rest of the day fishing and looking for mushrooms.