Monster Spurs 2 1/4" spurs with a third spur 1/2"

Check out these spurs. They were roughly 2 1/4″ each and the right leg had a second spur that was a 1/2″ long. I am going to have it officially measured and it could be the new record!!!!

Awesome Third Bird

My third bird filled the bill. Mito and I had seen a group of gobblers break away from a flock of around 80 turkeys and roost away from the flock. We decided to give them a try since 2 of them looked to be larger birds and we had passed on shots the last 3 hunts because eventhough the shots were at mature gobblers they weren’t the big ones that we were looking for. At first light nothing happened. We figured that the gobblers had seen us walking in and flew off in the night. We stayed still and a gobbler appeared from across the cut we were setting in. He started to make his way towards us but stopped short and just stood there as if waiting on something. All at once 3 more gobblers flew from behing us and lit 15 yards away in front of us. Mito had the binoculars and while kneeling down looked at the spurs to determine which one was the biggest. Due to the language barrier and the excitement of what was happening Mito finally was able to tell me which one to shoot. He raised his middle finger and I figured the rest out on my own!! Ha! I shot the bird and to my amazement it jumped up and flew into the jungle. I was heart broken but Mito said “un momento” and took off into the jungle. I heard some limbs breaking and Mito emerged with my bird in hand. He initially was trying to apologize to me because he said that it was a Jake but the smile on his face gave it away. Totally an awesome hunt and an awesome bird…..

Harry Whitehead and Second bird of the trip

The second bird of the trip was a loner that seemed to be on the losing end of a fight. Mito and I saw the evening before and he was limping a little. He looked like a big bird by his coloration on his wings so we decided to go after him the next morning. Shortly after first light he appeared exactly where he went into the jungle the evening before. A quick shot and he was mine. He was a better bird than my first one but I was looking for something bigger on my final bird so I was going to be a little bit more selective. Don’t get me wrong, this bird had 1 3/4 inch spurs so he wasn’t a bad bird at all.

Ed Ford and Harry Whitehead with their first Ocellated turkeys of 2011

Ed Ford and I were hunting in Campeche Mexico last week and had a great time. There were plenty of turkeys and the trip went without a hitch. All of this mess about Mexico being dangerous is blown way out of proportion. Not once did I feel that my well being was in danger. Anyway, Jorge Sansores had more birds this year than I have ever seen. Between Ed and I we would see between 200 to 300 birds a day and many of those were mature gobblers. I could have taken 6 turkeys out of 8 hunts. That’s pretty incredible for Ocellated turkeys. Anyone interested in going to Mexico next year please contact Gunners and we can set up a great hunt!!!!

Nick Berrong and Mark Clabough with Cans

I just couldn’t leave Nick and Mark out of the limelight. Mark would probably cry if I did so here you go guys. We had a great time on the Ohio this winter. Hopefully the weather will get the divers down again next winter so we can give ‘em hell again!!!!

Ohio River Monster

Nick Berrong had to defend the boat from attack by the Ohio River Monster. This old Beaver had battle wounds all over it. The tail was all beat up and even the webbing in his feet was split. He will make a nice hat!!!!

Last Day Divers

On the last day of the season the weather wasn’t optimal but we managed to land about 40 Cans in the decoys and took 3 of them. If we made better decisions we could have had more Goldeneyes too….!

Drake Buffleheads and Hoodies

I haven’t really seen big groups of Buffleheads before but we had several groups of 10 or more birds work our decoys on the Ohio River. I guess that all of the bad weather up north had pushed more birds down this year and the Buffs were congregating in bigger numbers. All I know is that they were fun to shoot!!!

Jim Gabbard and Canvasbacks

Jim Gabbard finally begged his way for a spot on my duck boat and the lucky dog shot himself a Canvasback. I hunted about 20 years before I shot my first Can and he shoots one on his first outing. We had a great time that weekend with Nick Berrong, Mark Clabough, Gabbard and myself and had a total of 6 Cans, 10 Buffleheads, 2 Hooded Mergansers and 10 Mallards. Not bad for 2 days work…..

Double on Kings

The last day of the hunt Capt. Charlie Summerville put out every decoy we had at the end of Seal Island which is where the Kings usually fly. This area is called the “Washing Machine” because there is a reef there and the waves just keep the area all beat up most of the time. Well, the wind wasn’t that bad that day and we were able to get out and get after the Kings. These two birds were a double that I got that day. This finished out my limit of 4 on King Eiders.