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Wow, what a great trip!! Great weather, sunny days, lows of 40's-50's to highs in the 70's. We hunted on the Gumbo Ranch, just south of San Angelo. The place was polluted with turkeys. Five hunters in camp, and the group bagged 13 longbeards (yes longbeards, no jakes) Three of us took 3 birds, the other two took two birds.

I shot my first bird the first morning around 8am. He came in with another longbeard, and was the bigger of the two. There was an opening in the brush at about 25 yards. At the shot, he ran away with his wings spread out like an angel. I figured that I must have caught some of the brush, and wrecked my pattern. I found him later in a small gully next to a meadow. He had gone only 80 yards. I hit his head pretty hard! Stats: 20lbs 8oz, 9-1/2" beard, 7/8" spurs, total score 57.0000

Second bird I found atop a ridge looking into a bottom meadow strutting and chasing the goats on the ranch. It was around 3pm on the first day. I got ahead of him, and caught up as he gathered a hen. I kept in contact, as I worked my way down the ridge. Two soft clucks, and he periscoped. The rest is history! He had been fighting as his fan was badly damaged. Stats: 20lbs 3oz, 9-3/4" beard, 1-1/8" & 1-1/16" spurs total score: 61.5625

On the second day I called in a nice longbeard for Randy Russell first thing off the roost. The tom came straight in, and gobbled in our faces. 22 lbs, 10" beard, 1-1/8" spurs. Total score: 64.5000

Last day was a cool morning and the toms went ballistic. I heard at least a dozen longbeards, and at least that many or more jakes on the roost. I chased a group of 8-9 longbeards until 8am. The hens were also very vocal. I had a group of three 2-year old toms within 8 feet of me, but passed on the shot. I found a longbeard in a meadow at 9am and called him up a roadway to the gun at 9:30am. Classic hunt! Stats: 21lbs, 9-1/4" beard, 1-1/4" spurs. Total score: 64.5000

We had a ball!! I also found a decent 7 point whitetail skull, and another dead gobbler with 1-1/4" spurs that had been killed by a bobcat.


I just had to comment on last season's road trip my buddy Elwyn Walker and I made from LA. We drove the unbelievable 17 hours to Waterloo, IA to meet another close friend, Bruce Wohlers who was the host of the 1st Annual Yankee Boy Invitational Turkey Hunt. After some margaritas and Famous Dave's ribs with Devil's Spit sauce, we headed to the farm to get ready for the next morning's hunt opening day. It was snowy and cold when we arrived. Bruce made contact with our guides for the morning, Dean Dempster and Kelly Salow. We met them at a gas station at 4:45AM. We drove a short distance to a bare field with a 10-15 acre woodlot in the middle of it. It was 17 degrees and dark, dark when we got out of the trucks! After about a mile hike in the dark, Dean I settled into the edge of the woods to await daybreak. Right before shooting light I heard a jake yelp in front of us - close. As I scanned the backlit trees in front of our position, I counted seven toms within gun range. Dean asked if I wanted to call and I said, Why? As the bird's pitched down, I sized them up and took the larger of the birds with a 10" beard and absolutely no spurs! The tom weighed 24 pounds. Later that morning we set up Elwyn on three toms we saw strutting in a field - 45 minutes later and an outstanding off-hand, uphill shot and Elwyn had a 26 pounder with 10 1/2" beard and 1 1/4" spurs. Both birds fell prey to my Mike Walker one-sided cedar box. This is the finest sounding box call I have ever owned. Mike lives in Morton, MS and makes many different types of calls that all do one thing - Talk Turkey! Give him a call at (601) 732-2515 and tell him I sent you.

Then we drove 17 hours home for less than an hour of hunting. Hunters are a strange breed, aren't we?!


Bruce G. with a trophy Eastern tom from the Cinnamon Ridge Lodge in SC last Spring. Lots of birds, but tough hunting.

 


I just couldn't resist sharing this one. I do not know who this guy is or where he hunted, but can you believe the size of this moose? Awesome trophy!