Marylands opening day!

[bucksathome]

;D ;DWell fellow hunters let the season begin! Tommorrow is the big day, and i have a feeling it will be excitjng. Myself and Buxupinya and another buddy will be adventuring into the ole Zekiah swamp to see if we can get us a longbeard! Good luck to everyone and make sure to post how you did!

[smjones01]

Heading out the door now! The blood is flowing, I dont even care if I even see a bird. I just want to take in all the woods have to offer. Good luck to all and i hope to see pictures and hear stories.

[justsand]

Isn't technolgy great sittin in the woods right now hopin for a turkey wish me luck

[justsand]

Just had a hen come by about. 30 mind ago no gobbling. Yet a few deer

[nalley1952]

Bird down! & At work by 0800!!! ;D

[justsand]

damn we need pics tonight

[smjones01]

Bird down at 9:20. Heading to class. Will post pics later with story.

[Hunting Addict]

Congrats Todd and smjones. Can't wait to see your pictures and here the story.

Taking my Uncle and Cousin out tomorrow neither of them have ever shot a Turkey. Hopefully it works out. I will be happy just to come close.

[smjones01]

Im a student at frostburg state. I've been sweet talking farm and landowners for the past 4 and a half years that ive been going here. Recently I came into a real honey hole. Preseason scouting allowed me to survey and understand the patterns of turkey on this land. As the season was approaching, there wasnt a time that I was in the woods that I hadnt seen or heard a bird gobble his kneck off.

As I layed in bed trying to fall asleep, knowing of what excitement the next day could bring, i fell asleep around 10. I did not have to get up until 4:30 which was to give me enough time to make it to the farm from my house up at school. However, I was eagerly too excited for this day to come and woke up at 3:00 to go over last minute things and leave a little bit early to get set up and find out where the birds roosted. I got into the woods around 5:35 with my decoys set up on a old logging road that is in the corner of a field. The logging road goes down a mature oak hardwoods bottom with a stream flowing through it. From my blind I could see 100 yards in each direction. It was 33 degrees and cold as balls. As I sat in my blind I had not heard a gobble or a hen cluck, purr, nothing. It was about 8:45 that I decided to stand up and stretch, walk to the fields edge with my binos and box call and look down the mountain. Three fields down I saw propably 20 different birds. I hit the box call and pulled up my binos and got the attention of what seemed to be 6 different birds. This is when they started the slow approach upwards. I did some soft purrs and clucks on my diaphgram call and just happened to hear a putt from behind me and saw 5 birds running into my setup. I had 2 hens (1 feeding and other breeding) and pretty boy out. They all ran in showing there stuff. It ended up being 2 toms and 3 jakes. When they were running in it all happened so fast, my gun was facing the opposite direction, which was down the moutain to where I thought they were going to come from. i had to swing the gun and click off the safety because they were starting to get anxiious. i said "good mornin" and the one tom raised his head and the lead sled was on its way. Bird down at 9:20 in the morning. Picture is not that good because I was in a hurry to get out of there because I had class at 10:30 and was trying to make it in time. Overall it shows you to be patient and wait the birds out. Go even on the coldest days, the birds may not talk but if you give them something to come too, they'll come a runnin.

Beard= 9.75 inches, Spurs= 1 inch, Weight= 19-20 lbs.

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[BIG FOX]

Way to go smjones.....

[osprey]

Well I've had a wild first two days. Yesterday I was at home with my smoothbore flintlock. Had some birds gobble in the distance, but I was set up in my clover patch, me in the blind and the gobbler and hen dekes out in front at 20 yards. Had 6 deer come through early, then at 9:30 I had a big gobbler coming across the field in full strut straight to me. He hung up at what I thought was 30 yards, which is as far as I want to shoot the flinter (the patterns really open up past that). Sighted on him, BANG, and he flew off. Dammit. Turned out to be 37, he was a big bird. Sat the rest of the morning, cause I've seen 4 out there at once in the past week, but only other bird until noon was a lone hen.

Today I went on a parivate farm up by Tuckahoe. Very pretty morning, had two birds gobbling there heads off very close to me. Too close, I think one saw me cross the field, cause that one went way back in the woods off the roost. The other gobbled for awhile, then moved off into the no hunting zone of the State Park. Could have been from the yahoo walking and calling along the property boundary next door all morning. Came home then, planning on sitting in my blind until noon. Got back there 9:45, put the decoys out, got in the blind and made a few yelps. Not ten minutes later I see a gobbler coming along the back woods edge, angling out to my decoys. He came to about 40 yards, body feathers puffed up but not full strutting. I had the 870 today though, and the 40 yard shot with that dropped him right there. Turned out to be a big Jake, with the tall grass I couldn't really tell until I had him in hand and got a good look at the spurs and tail. Still, a great, short hunt and one tag filled! Now it's smoothbore only for the second one, just have to get them in closer

[brettgerhart]

Nally, Did you get him near your house? Heading to the end of wooddy tomorrow!! Nice job on the kill! jones and osprey, that is the stuff I love to read!!! Thanks for posting! I have only heard them on the roost. Nothing when they get down. Def with some hens cause I can hear them.

[justsand]

congrats guys another very quite morning again up here in Frederick county heard nothing saw nothing

[THE DEER HUNTER]

Heard 2 different birds gobbling at about 7:30. They were too far off & I had to go to work, so didn't get to see them today.

Hopefully tomorrow!

[BIG FOX]

congrats osprey.. way to go..