I had a plucking good morning

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plowboy87

Joined
Nov 24, 2010
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286
so here is the short forum of the story.

i have been hunting the turkeys hard for the past 4 days but nobody wanted to stick there necks out. i had a tom pegged down in a bush for the past 3 or so mornings, he was quite the talker but never popped out.

so this morning when i set up i knew with in 100 yards where he was sleeping. well that old tom is a smart SOB. he moved to another bush still within ear shot. i debated moving down the tree row but after i got caught the first day moving i figured i better stay put.

well it payed off, a pair of turkeys walked up and surprised the crap out of me at 6:30ish and i thought for sure they where both toms. i shot the one that was in front figuring it was the dominate bird. it was a one shot kill (very happy about that) but when i got to the bird i was shocked. it was just a jake. the beard was a mere 2 1/2" long. when i hung him on the baler scale he was a whopping 19 pounds. i know thats not much as big birds go but he was still a baby.

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it's a good looking fan with no missing feathers so i might mount it. the girlfriend will kill me if she finds out though LOL

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they are ugly ass birds up close

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just little nubs for a beard/spears

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i'm still in shock

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all in all i'm happy with my first turkey even if it was -2*C out this morning. i'm glad it didn't take as long to get as the deer. now i just have to leanr how to cook a turkey and i'm set

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Aint no such thing as "just a Jake" after four hard days of huntin:)
Like my dad always says "ya don't eat the beard":D Nice bird.
 
Thanks everybody. Anybody have any tips or tricks for cooking the bird? Its in the freezer right now as a whole.
 
You skinned it out? I would use good quality apple wood smoked bacon inside and out and roast it in a covered roaster. Poke a knife into the breasts so you can load the slot with bacon. The combination of bacon flavor and turkey is a winner. Wild turkey is very lean so the danger is getting it cooked well without drying it out to jerky.
 
Not skinned as of yet but plucked and gutted. I can take the skin off when I thaw it out though
 
On the plus side he will taste a far sight better than an old tom struttin like ZZ Top.
Good job, my uncle used to hunt them when he lived down in the states and said hunting deer was easier.
 
well i was debating going out back again, but the local gun shop has kinda forced me into it. see they run a draw for a Beretta A400 Xtreme Unico. when you buy your tag you drop an extra 10 bucks and you get your foot in the door. to be in the draw they have to see the bird. i shot the bird on sunday, the same day they are closed. so i figured it was all good

well i was a dumbass and fully cleaned it. not gonna fly with them. if i had left the beard and the tagged leg attached it would have been all good. i feel a little bit cheated because i looked at the draw rules on there website before cleaning the bird and they where a bit fuzzy. looking at them now it's clear as day. i guess it falls under the live and learn theory. i don't blame them one bit because i know some people will cheat till the cows come home and they are just trying to keep thing fair for everybody.
 
Congrats on your first bird. Nothing wrong with a jake, they still taste like turkey! If its any consolation I shot a 2 yr old bird this year with a 10 1/4" beard and 3/4" spurs that only weighed 16 lbs. I was really surprised. Most 2 yr old birds in TN weigh in the low 20's.
 
fly ~~ you know we are allowed 4 Birds this year in Tn. don't you.! Turks. everywhere so instead of 2 they went to 4 and I hunt Hawkins County ~~ Rogersville area
where they either like you or pretend you are a Turkey.! lol
 
A bigger bag limit is always a good thing. We just got a fall season last year or the year before.
 
Nice bird bud. I got my girlfriend her first turkey this year. Then I got mine the next weekend. We have 1 week left in the season and im hoping we get two more between us. Heres some pics.

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Her first turkey. 8 1/2 inch beard. 1 1/2 inch spurs
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Here was mine. 9 inch beard and 1 1/2 inch spurs.
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Thanks for looking.
 
thats a nice set of gobblers. i don't think i could ever get my girlfriend to shoot a gun let along a living thing. she still dose not know i took that bird and a doe last fall. she told me not to tell her so it's all good lol

i was out in the same spot this morning but there was nothing but a single gobble almost out of ear shot and a shotgun blast from a couple farms over. at least somebody had a good morning. i'm going to try another bush t/m morning. turkeys are one smart bird to say the least
 
Nice birds! The Lord blessed me with a good eastern this year on opening morning. 22lb's 10" beard 1-1/8, 1-1/16 spurs.


As for recipes: I usually cook the breasts only. I brine mine in 1 gal of water with 1 cup of salt and 1/2 cup brown sugar for 24hrs. I only have a gas grill but I throw some applewood chips in the smoker box and cook it over indirect heat until it gets to around 180 degrees f. I try and keep the temperature of the grill at around 250. If just preparing for myself I like to use a spicy dry rub after the brining.
 
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Congrats on your first bird!

My favorite recipe is to cube(2 inch cubes) then marinate in french dressing for 24hrs. At this point you can either just grill or wrap cubes in bacon and grill (my favorite)... everything is better with bacon!
 
i think i'm going to thaw it out, give it the old slice and dice, marinate for a day in bbq sauce along with a couple other goodies then grill the large parts and pan fry the little chunks wrapped in bacon.

still cant get the second bird and odds are it's not gonna happen this spring. we start planting this week so there goes my mornings. such is life i guess
 
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