# Cagey old bird



## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Shot this old boy(4-5 years old) after a couple days of cat and mouse. Public land(Wasatch) bird that had a full arsenal of tricks. But alas he made a mistake. My favorite kind of hunt.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

BPturkeys said:


> Shot this old boy(4-5 years old) after a couple days of cat and mouse. Public land(Wasatch) bird that had a full arsenal of tricks. But alas he made a mistake. My favorite kind of hunt.


Nice bird. It makes me feel better that even the great turkey hunters can struggle on Utah public lands. The internet makes turkey hunting look so easy. They call and the birds come running to the call, tries to hump the decoy, and gets shot. I am sure that happens on private land in states that have 300K turkeys, however, it is extremely rare for a Utah bird near the Wasatch front to go down like that. Most of these birds take days to finally make a mistake that puts us at the right time and the right place. Even for expert turkey hunters like BP.


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## finsnfeathers (May 4, 2018)

Nice bird BP, congrats!


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## SCtransplant (Jul 31, 2015)

Great bird man congrats! Was it you that was west from here as well on a trip?


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

SCtransplant said:


> Great bird man congrats! Was it you that was west from here as well on a trip?


This bird was taken East of SL in Wasatch county


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## SCtransplant (Jul 31, 2015)

BPturkeys said:


> This bird was taken East of SL in Wasatch county


I get that, I was wondering if that was you on here that was headed to Oregon or Washington, I get user names mixed up.

Either way great bird and congrats!


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

SCtransplant said:


> I get that, I was wondering if that was you on here that was headed to Oregon or Washington, I get user names mixed up.
> 
> Either way great bird and congrats!


oh, yeah, that might have been me. I always hunt Washington state in April. Had a great year in washing this year. I killed an average bird and my grandson killed two nice toms.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

Congratulations! Very nice bird you have there.
I gotta admit though, my hands starting sweating. I thought I might have to go and unpack the truck. The way you described it, I thought you bagged the same bird I've been chasing. I think i've figured him out last weekend, and I've been chomping at the bit to get back into the mountains and give him another go.


BPturkeys said:


> This bird was taken East of SL in Wasatch county


But, I guess it's not the same bird. I've this cagey bird I've known of for the last two years, and I'm chasing him with the best effort I can do. Going to leave tonight to get in the morning hopefully. I gotta hit the trail at 3:30 AM, and hike for a hour or so to get this guy. He's hanging up on a small ravine, and I think he's got a strut zone in a small clearing back in some thick timber. The weather isn't playing nice. Hopefully I'm not wasting my time.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

Lone_Hunter said:


> But, I guess it's not the same bird. I've this cagey bird I've known of for the last two years, and I'm chasing him with the best effort I can do. Going to leave tonight to get in the morning hopefully. I gotta hit the trail at 3:30 AM, and hike for a hour or so to get this guy. He's hanging up on a small ravine, and I think he's got a strut zone in a small clearing back in some thick timber. The weather isn't playing nice. Hopefully I'm not wasting my time.


Haha. Let me save you some time, he won't be in that meadow. They are never are in the meadow you think they should be in. JK, hope you can get it done and post up a pic.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Good luck LH. Smart old birds can be a real challenge...as the saying goes, "they don't get big and old by being dumb". On the other hand, there is hardly anything more enjoyable than hunting a smart old bird that you target and stay after until one of you wins. He has all the advantages...he hears better, sees better, walks faster, and he can fly, he knows the country better and usually has a half dozen sentries(hens) watching over him.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

I learned something about Turkey's yesterday. Their reaction to the weather conditions, is, shall we say, spontaneous? With the temperature drop and the rain storm, it drove them all down in elevation. I know this because there was NOTHING where they normally were, and I bumped a big ole hen coming down the trail where i normally don't see anything at all. 



Between the mountain, the weather, and the turkey's, I got my hindquarters solidly kicked yesterday. I'm going out of town soon, so If nobody else get's him, I guess he goes on for another season, and we'll match wits (yet) again next year. Right now me and that bird are 2 to 0.


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## hawglips (Aug 23, 2013)

Congrats BP!


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