2022 Yard Bird Opener

My Christmas morning is the opening morning of every Texas Spring Turkey Season. I absolutely love the sport. The interaction with the bird and coaxing him those last few yards into shotgun range with sweet, coy, subdued hen speak…or the drunken, loud, sleazy party girl demanding some action. Every hunt is different. Every bird is different, and I’ve never had a bad turkey hunt regardless of the outcome. Like I said, I love the sport.

This past weekend was no different than the 30 some odd that have come before it. Birds in our area aren’t quite in that all out raging, horn dog suicide by hunter mode yet but there was still a few around that would play the game, and a few is all you need. Worked one big strutter into about 80 yards and he never gobbled once coming in. I heard him spitting and drumming before he cleared a brush line in front of our set up. He never came past that 70-80 yard mark because he was not having anything to do with the strutter decoy I had out with a loan hen. Apparently, this old boy has had his butt whipped too many times already and wasn’t up for a fight. He kept his distance drumming and strutting and then just slicked down and melted back into the woods.

While working that bird, there was a loudmouth about 200 yards behind us that got to gobbling at everything I was giving as well as gobbling on his own as he steadily cut the distance. Right after the original bird disappeared back into the brush the loudmouth gobbled at about 50 yards. A whine and two clucks and I got the Weatherby up on my knee and double checked the red dot. Within a minute he comes into sight with a Jake in tow and heads straight for the dekes, putt on the mouth call, slick down, head periscopes… up game over. My buddy could only hunt this weekend for the whole season and needed some turkey tenders so he popped old Jakey Bob to finish off the double.

Great weekend. The young guys invited us “old’s” over to their place on Friday and Saturday night and it was a blast. Awesome food. Lots of adult libations. Lots of Turnpike, Tyler Childress and Cody Jinks coming out of the blue tooth speakers. Basically, a weekend long frat party that the old guys got to attend! I don’t recover from those long nights and early morning like I use to though LOL.

Anyway, the 2022 opener has come and gone. Merry Christmas to me.

Looks like y’all ate good too !

I betcha you needed at least a couple of folks with manure forks to clean up the patio after that group photograph!

Congrats on the birds, food and good times

Congrats!

Pure greatness. Gobble, gobble.

Congratulations, where were you hunting?
Adios,
Gary

"The interaction with the bird and coaxing him those last few yards into shotgun range with sweet, coy, subdued hen speak…or the drunken, loud, sleazy party girl demanding some action. Every hunt is different."

That is accurate and hilarious! Looks like a great time.

Good times! Congrats on the birds!👍

Yes indeed. Mass quantities of BS being thrown out on the patio....

We are in Comanche County Gary

Looks like a heck of a time.

great looking birds!

Congrats!

Congrats

I am in for the food, wow looks great