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Lower Rio Grande Valley Spring Turkey

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    Lower Rio Grande Valley Spring Turkey

    Dad & I were drawn for a rare spring turkey hunt.

    We arrived down south and went to my camper at the lease I have next to a refuge. We will be commuting to and from the refuge we are hunting.

    Got to scout for a little while yesterday evening. Found several turkeys roosted in a tree and dropped a pin. Looked like all Tom’s.

    Saw a hen and several Nilgai and deer during our evening scout.

    Got up at 5:25am with a lot of optimism. Arrived at empty parking lot and got bikes, decoys, gear and shot guns loaded and headed towards where we encountered those roosted turkeys.


    Biking in I start hearing limps crack, then had numerous turkeys flying over our heads!!!! We were literally riding past a whole mess of turkeys rooster on a powerline! I stopped to show dad, several birds were still sitting on the line. We filmed a portion of them. Kept on biking, MORE turkeys flew over us!

    Decided to still head to our planned set up.

    Got decoys set, chairs set, and shotguns loaded.

    I could hear distant gobbles from the direction we biked in from, likely the birds we busted off thier roost.

    Then I heard wings flapping, other turkeys were dropping down.

    Dad hit the crow call several times a day break with no response. Not alot of crows down in the valley, I guess.

    I start calling and yelling and a good tom slips in on us silently. We watched him strut for 20 minutes 15yards from the decoy. He we across the fence o ln private though! He lost interest and kept moving. Then a Jake came down the road into the set up, with another Tom. That Tom was also across the fence and didn’t hang around long as I think he spotted us.

    The Jake hung around for an hour. And then I caught a full tail fan coming from the east down the road, right towards us…..

    #2
    Good luck down there! Keep us posted

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      #3
      And then?

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        #4
        Man! We have been busy! I haven’t got back to the story since!!!

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          #5
          That full tailfan finally re-emerged after many painstaking minutes. Right in front of us this Tom came full strut! Spitting and drumming! Shaking his feathers so hard the caliche rock and dirt road could be heard against his wings!

          I sat on my cushion leaned against a mesquite tree with my iPhone and a DJI Pocket 2 Creator that was given to me to film hunting stuff by a fellow public land hunter and now friend that I met back in 2018 on a public draw hunt.

          I barely familiarize myself with the functions of this camera on a gimbal just the night prior! Dad was sitting in swivel chair, behind a mesquite tree push pile a dozer had leveled. 15 yards the bird came and Dad didn’t wait long!

          He strutted his last full strut and as soon as he poked his head out, WOHM!

          I swear the wadding from the shot shell
          smacked him too! He instantly dropped and did the flop!!!

          So, I not only got it on one 4k video but TWO 4k videos!!!

          It’ll be an amazing memory to relive and watch for a lifetime. Thanks to Keith.

          Perhaps my smart hunting buddies can put my amateur filming into a video to share of Dads success on this wonderful and rare experience to hunt Rio Grande Turkeys in the Lower Rio Grande Valley Refuges!!

          The hunt did not end there! I’ve got a lot more to share. Just trying to find the time to sit still! There’s always something else to be doing than this phone!

          I forgot to mention, Turkeys aren’t the only thing on the hunt menu!!!🤭👀😎


          Attached Files

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            #6
            Great writeup...congratulations to you and your Father!

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              #7
              Congrats to you both!

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                #8
                Great set up and success..congrats

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                  #9
                  Outstanding!!

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                    #10
                    Awesome hunt sounds like! Y'all are able to shoot nilgai I'm guessing?! Good luck the rest of the hunt!

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by Yakinthebox View Post
                      Awesome hunt sounds like! Y'all are able to shoot nilgai I'm guessing?! Good luck the rest of the hunt!
                      Nilgai are not permitted on turkey hunts. We did see a lot of Nilgai and a few deer.

                      I did bag a couple of nice “eaters” at my “nilgai lease” that’s next to another refuge.

                      Turkey & Nilgai sandwiches are on the menu!
                      Attached Files

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                        #12
                        I was in my underwear in that selfie. Had to ditch the boots and pants to get in water to go make sure one was down.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by Mr. Public View Post
                          I was in my underwear in that selfie. Had to ditch the boots and pants to get in water to go make sure one was down.
                          Lol! Gotta do what ya gotta do!

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                            #14
                            I really wanted Dad to tag a Nilgai. That Saturday was our last opportunity to hunt them.

                            On Saturday morning, day 2, we got up at 4:25 and got our gear loaded and headed to the refuge for our 2nd morning hunt.

                            having 4 birds come in the first morning and seeing over 20 fly off the roost biking in, we were really expecting an awesome hunt!

                            It was not awesome. It was still, hot, muggy and mosquitos were horrendous. We did not hear a bird or see a bird. At 8:30 the front hit, strong north winds brought some really cool weather, at 10:00 I looked at dad and said “Phuck these birds” let’s go shoot a Nilgai. It was cool, wind had the mosquitos knocked down and the animals were starting to get up and moving. So we packed up and headed back to the lease.

                            Got in the truck and drove around and I’m about 20 minutes of idling we pulled up on numerous cows and a bull about 60yards from my ideling diesel. They actually stood still long enough for a shot but Dad didn’t not get one off as my Remington Model 700 Long Range Bull barrel 300WIN isn’t an easy rifle to move working in a truck.

                            So we got out the truck and took of walking in heavy mesquite trees. We ended up getting swarmed by mosquitos even my 80 year old father RAN to the truck. We dosed down with probably our 5th application of OFF for the day. The cab was filled with thousands of mosquitoes. There’s smashed skeeters and blood spots all over the interior of my cab from dads cap!😆😆

                            so we drove to the next side of the ranch and pulled up on another herd, we both bailed out of the truck and I ended up popping those 2 cows with my Ruger SFAR 308 with Winchester 180gr ammo.



                            It was a fun spring weekend down in the valley.

                            I did jot bag a gobbler. I could have shot several but just not the way I preferred. Several just across private fences, or right on the dang county roads! And swatting one off the roost didn’t sound appealing until the last evening. I let a dumb Jake walk that wouldn’t leave even well after dad dropped his TOM.

                            maybe Zins can help me with a video to share with y’all
                            Attached Files

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                              #15
                              Congrats on the success all the way around! Getting me excited for the Texas hunt booklet to get posted

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