# Grady, Decatur, Miller County Turkey Reports



## maxwell42583 (Jan 17, 2012)

Well guys, Thunder Chicken Season is three months from now. Start dusting off those calls and practicing. My wife hates the months between deer and turkey because I practice with my mouth calls while I drive! With all the warm dry weather we have had, I am seeing and getting reports of massive amounts of turkey movement. I actually theorize that the turkeys will start strutting sooner this year than normal. I have already seen a few strut and spar with each other. They gobble almost every morning now. Does anyone else believe this or heard reports like this? I am going to go into season hunting as if it is late-April probably. Here are a few pics to get your blood flowing a little! Gobble-Gobble!


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## Tailfeather (Jan 17, 2012)

Have been seeing lots of birds....looking great for spring.  Like you, I've heard a good bit of gobbling and strutting.  

Sho ready for March.


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## Son (Jan 17, 2012)

Seeing lots of gobblers already. That's looking real good. My calling doesn't have to be good, I've got the prettiest decoy in the state.


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## maxwell42583 (Jan 18, 2012)

Well Son, that is good! I took one of those Primos B-Mobile Toms and put real wings and a real fan on it. It works pretty dang good. The Primos Swingin' Hen works pretty well for me, too. My buddy has some great pics from Miller County of some stud Toms. I will try and get him to post some of them on here.


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## maxwell42583 (Jan 18, 2012)

Tailfeather said:


> Have been seeing lots of birds....looking great for spring.  Like you, I've heard a good bit of gobbling and strutting.
> 
> Sho ready for March.



Man, those are some nice spurs on that bird of yours! For some reason I cannot get a bird with over 1 1/4 inch spurs. I got a monster 24 pound bird with a 13 inch beard, but only 1 inch spurs a couple of years ago. Ive even got a really nice double beard back three years ago. The spurs however are still lacking. I dont know why! Of all the toms Ive taken in my life, the biggest spurs I have ever gotten were 1 1/4 inches. As you probably know, spurs are what when tournaments. Do you think it is genetics or something else?


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## maxwell42583 (Feb 6, 2012)

Have seen a lot of turkeys! Toms are strutting at my place and in many fields on the way to work in the morning. I have 5 great toms on cam. Had 12 hens show up on cam right after the toms cam through. The deer are still scraping on my place, too. Weird...


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## Tailfeather (Feb 13, 2012)

Looking good near Reno.


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## southGAlefty (Feb 15, 2012)

Tailfeather said:


> Looking good near Reno.



Yeah judging by that group I'd say all the crap we're hearing about the weather making them breed early can go in one ear and out the other. Looks like they're still buds in that pic


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## Buckfever (Feb 15, 2012)

Saw a big flock last week on the Thomas/Colquitt line with a couple strutters in the bunch, but I also seen several gobblers together in the same area.


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## Tailfeather (Feb 16, 2012)

southGAlefty said:


> Yeah judging by that group I'd say all the crap we're hearing about the weather making them breed early can go in one ear and out the other. Looks like they're still buds in that pic


Yep....I don't much worry about it.


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## Tailfeather (Feb 16, 2012)

maxwell42583 said:


> Man, those are some nice spurs on that bird of yours! For some reason I cannot get a bird with over 1 1/4 inch spurs. I got a monster 24 pound bird with a 13 inch beard, but only 1 inch spurs a couple of years ago. Ive even got a really nice double beard back three years ago. The spurs however are still lacking. I dont know why! Of all the toms Ive taken in my life, the biggest spurs I have ever gotten were 1 1/4 inches. As you probably know, spurs are what when tournaments. Do you think it is genetics or something else?


Maybe a little of both, but probably luck of the draw.  We seem to have a lot of older birds with nice spurs.  Shoot, a lot of folks have never killed a bird with 1 1/4 spurs...that's a fine bird!  I get lucky with long spurred turkeys sometimes, but double beards never ever happen for me.  Brought a buddy down a few years ago....called in a few gobblers for him and he killed one.....you guessed it! Double beard in my own "backyard".


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## maxwell42583 (Feb 17, 2012)

southGAlefty said:


> Yeah judging by that group I'd say all the crap we're hearing about the weather making them breed early can go in one ear and out the other. Looks like they're still buds in that pic



That is a good sign! Maybe I am wrong, I hope I am. On my property, they are already starting to get henned up.


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## southGAlefty (Feb 17, 2012)

maxwell42583 said:


> That is a good sign! Maybe I am wrong, I hope I am. On my property, they are already starting to get henned up.



I've only been turkey hunting 7-8 years but it's just like deer hunting in my opinion. I think the weather has very little to do with it.


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## Son (Feb 17, 2012)

The turkeys on in our woods seem to be luck of the draw. Long spurs, short spurs, no spurs all mixed in. And when it comes to beards, it's usually 11 inches on a three year old bird. But in the past I've killed a couple old gobblers with chopped off beards, and now have a picture of a gobbler with no beard, but he has spurs.

Early Co.


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## GAMHUNTER35 (Mar 17, 2012)

well stop by t/c in grady co. birds are still in the bac field an were gobblin good to bad we cant hunt it anymore


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## maxwell42583 (Mar 26, 2012)

Well, the rain screwed me pretty good Saturday morning. Many of my friends got birds Saturday afternoon and Sunday. My wife and I had our baby girl last weekend! No time to hunt, and to be honest, thats fine with me. Never knew I could love something more than hunting! Hahaha!


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## Buckfever (Mar 26, 2012)

Congrats on the new baby girl. She'll steal your heart for sure!


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## maxwell42583 (Apr 2, 2012)

Well, my buddy and I had a heck of a hunt Sunday morning. We caught two poachers about to shoot my tom decoy! We watched them walk within forty yards of us and throw their guns up on my decoy. My buddy yelled out "Hey, what the #$$%^ are you doing!" and they turned towards us. They eventually ran in the woods and hid. After a couple of hours sitting at their house with the game warden, Miller County Deputy, and one of the poacher's fiance, they were finally caught hiding out in the woods. One of them was arrested for possesion of a firearm by a convicted felon. It is an exciting hunt when you are pointing a shotgun at someone while they are pointing their shotgun right back at you!


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## DEER REPELLANT (Apr 2, 2012)

wow...........


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## maxwell42583 (Apr 16, 2012)

It seems to me that the turkeys are starting look around for other options on my properties. This one broke away from his hens and came to our decoy. He came from a field through 60 yards of clear cut debris to our fire break. We new they were on the other side, but had no idea that he was coming until he stepped through the fence within shooting range. Congrats to my hunting partner, Im really proud of him. He pulled off a good 50 yard shot with his new shotgun. I think they are staring to turn on really well now that the weather is dry. This rain coming this week might put them back in a stall, though. Maybe we can catch them in the fields during some drizzle.


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## Son (Apr 16, 2012)

I've had birds in sight in Early and Miller counties. They are not responding, or gobbling on the ground. Some gobbling from the roost, then that's the end of it.


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## florida boy (Apr 18, 2012)

hunted grady county yesterday and never heard one gobble on the limb then about 8 they broke loose . I havent heard that many birds at one time gobbling in years . called in 3 jakes and then had to call it quits early to get some chores done .


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## maxwell42583 (Apr 18, 2012)

Yep, I have only heard a couple birds gobble and they all quit around 7:30 or 8:00.


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## southGAlefty (Apr 18, 2012)

I'm glad somebody is hearing birds. I'm hunting in the Pine Park area and have heard a grand total of 1 gobble the last 3 times I went. I did call in a silent gobbler with a couple hens Saturday morning only to miss him at about 30 yards. Guess I was due for a tough season, I've had a pretty good little run but this year ain't working out!


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## oldways (Apr 18, 2012)

You might want to consider working on the yote's after turkey season I helped a guy in the pine park area between deer season and turkey season and killed 7 in 5 days they were thick around those RxR tracks.


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## maxwell42583 (Apr 19, 2012)

oldways said:


> You might want to consider working on the yote's after turkey season I helped a guy in the pine park area between deer season and turkey season and killed 7 in 5 days they were thick around those RxR tracks.



The yotes are horrible over here by Swamp Creek. The past couple of years they have been getting worse and worse. We have had them running up to us while walking around. We parked our Ranger up in one of our fields this past hunting season and used a night vision scope of my buddies to look around; they were running around 60 yards from us checking us out!! Bobcats are bad lately also. 

I will tell you this. Raccoons and opossums are the two worst things for turkey populations. Consider that a yote and a bobcat may only take a turkey a month....but a coon and a opossum can eat untold ammounts of turkey eggs in a month. Trap your coons and opossums and your turkeys will have higher infant mortality rates.


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## oldways (Apr 19, 2012)

Something esle to consider is hogs will look for turkey nest and eat the eggs. I'm rough a varmits I will kill and trap them hard. Yotes are hunting all the time and there always hungery. If you think about it nobody kills varmits like they use to when I was comin up every body coonhunted and killed varmits you don't see alot of that anymore..


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## maxwell42583 (Apr 20, 2012)

oldways said:


> Something esle to consider is hogs will look for turkey nest and eat the eggs. I'm rough a varmits I will kill and trap them hard. Yotes are hunting all the time and there always hungery. If you think about it nobody kills varmits like they use to when I was comin up every body coonhunted and killed varmits you don't see alot of that anymore..



Thats true. My Grandaddy Louis Knight used to coon hunt quite a bit. You barely here of it anymore. My Grandaddy Julian Maxwell grew up coon hunting and stuff too. Neither of them barely ever went deer hunting. I dont hunt them really, but I sure will trap the heck out of them and give them to needy families. I will cook one here and there when my wife lets me!!!


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## maxwell42583 (Apr 23, 2012)

Chased a nice tom around for hours Saturday morning. Henned up and didnt give a dang about me, my decoys, or my calling. We actually heard five birds gobble Saturday morning! Its about dang time!


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## Son (Apr 23, 2012)

When the fur industry went down, the coon populations went way up. So did the other varmits. But around my area, coon tracks can wipe out tire tracks in one night.


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## maxwell42583 (Apr 27, 2012)

No hunting this weekend for me. The Rock The Dock  Saltwater Tournament is this weekend in Panacea! Going to snatch some fish lips for a change. I havent caught a big ole' stud cobia in a while, it would be nice to get one.


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## southGAlefty (Apr 28, 2012)

Good luck on the fishing man. Heard one bird gobbling this morning. Couldn't call him up though.


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## Son (Apr 28, 2012)

Farms have plowed their fields, pulled the gobblers off us. We can see em though, walking around picking up bugs and worms. Will gobble, but wont come to a call anymore. Miller/Early countes.


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## maxwell42583 (Apr 30, 2012)

Well, didnt place in the tourney, but it is hard to beat a first place amberjack of 88lbs. We got bumped out of third by a 44 lbs AJ. It happens, back to turkeys! Heard some gobble this morning up on the farm. Made me hate to go to work today.


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## maxwell42583 (May 7, 2012)

I had turkeys all around me Saturday. Unfortunately, they were all around me on other properties!! We had a group of 15 turkeys 100 yards or so across a clear cut from us. There were two toms with them. We never could get them to come across all of the logging debris and new growth. Dang big birds too. One of them was a trophy for any man, for sure. The other one looked to have about a 9 or 10 inch beard or so. I'm going to keep it going until the bitter end of season. Ive called birds in for all of my buddies, and it has been my turn for weeks now!


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## Tailfeather (May 7, 2012)

Have seen two diff. hens with poults in the last few days.  Went just messing around this weekend without a gun and they were really hammering around Reno.  Good time to kill em, right now.


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## maxwell42583 (May 14, 2012)

Came close to getting a good tom this weekend... until a coyote snuck up and chased them all off! I wish I had a rifle with me. Foiled again!


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## maxwell42583 (May 15, 2012)

Well last day of 2012 Turkey and not a chance to get out of work early! I guess it was a good year, I called a couple of good birds for my buddies on my place. I guess that means more to me than shooting one myself! I have enough beards on my wall as it is...according to my wife! Ahhh, the eternal struggle of man putting dead animals on his wall versus his woman thinking it is trashy! Dream of this September, boys!


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## oldways (May 16, 2012)

Time to work on hogs and yotes.


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## maxwell42583 (May 17, 2012)

oldways said:


> Time to work on hogs and yotes.



Yep, every hunter in Georgia needs too.


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