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I'm starting to think maybe Andrew East of Roanoke was sandbagging when he sent in a gobbler picture earlier this spring and said it was his first turkey.

East's second gobbler fell on an April 29 hunt. Like with East's first successful hunt, this one had something of a veteran tone to it.

The first veteran trick was East went hunting even though he overslept. Instead of going to where he had planned, in Botetourt County, he stayed closer to home and hunted at a friend's in Roanoke County.

The next good move was he stuck with it even though things were quiet from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30. ( I guess when he said he slept in, I guess he meant he really slept in.) Finally heading back off the mountain he heard a single gobble. He set up, and made a few calls. In came three hens, then this guy trailing them. East was able to make the 30-yard shot with time to spare before the noon cut-off for legal hunting hours. The gobbler had an 8-inch beard and 1-inch spurs.

My occasional rabbit hunting buddy Marshall Meadows is also an avid spring turkey hunter, and he recently had a good hunt in Franklin County. This gobbler had a beard that was just under 10 inches, while the bird weighed 19 3/4 pounds.

The turkey season is winding down, and I'm not hearing much from people. That's not unsusual as hunting pressure really drops off by this time of the season.

There are still some birds out there, but we also all know that many of the easy ones have been tagged by this point. Hunters who score this late in the season usually earn their gobbler.

I've got a few more turkey shots in the hopper here and will try to catch up on getting things posted over the next couple of days.

Tammy Horn was hunting with her fiance', Damon Perdue, when she killed this great gobbler on April 17.

They were set up over some decoys when the bird started coming in like he was "on a string," according to Horn. She turned toward the direction but realized she wouldn't be able to get around far enough to make the shot right handed. This is a situation that has helped a lot of turkeys live. But not this one. Horn switched hands with her Mossberg 20 gauge and shot the bird left handed. That's a move we all need to work on.

The bird had a 10-inch beard and weighed about 20 pounds.