Missed turkey - will they come back?

[ts_hunter]

I missed a nice Tom yesterday morning at 5:40am. I forgot my gloves at home, so everything was camo except my hands. When the bird came out of the woods to my decoys, I s-l-o-w-l-y brought the gun up the rest of the way, but he busted me and I got a couple of shots off as he ran/flew away. About 20 minutes later, 2 more were gobbling in the valley below me, but would not come up to me.

I am planning on going back out to the same spot early Saturday, will these 2 toms 'remember' what happened yesterday at that spot? I am the only one hunting this chunk off woods this spring, so they shouldn't be pressured at all.

[goblueM]

I've heard plenty of stories of shooting at a bird, missing, and then killing him an hour later, much less a day or two later. I think you'll be fine, sounds like there were a few other birds around as well.

[ts_hunter]

That is good news then. I might go out for the first 2 hours of the day tomorrow as well before work. I will report back if I smack one.

[goblueM]

Keep in mind that the later in the season it gets, the better the hunting during late-morning to early-afternoon gets.

I've also found many times that when birds are gobbling in response but not coming in, that they'll come in silent much later (even a couple hours later)

Good luck!

[DonBo]

I agree there's a good chance they'll come back, but I'd give them a new look. I'd move at least a little ways from where you were and maybe do something different with your dekes, add one or subtract one, or something different.

[Archerysniper]

The bird I scalped Mon morning came back to the calls 2 hours later but had hens he wouldn't leave.

[Musky Buck]

Funny this is a topic, my wife last night, freaked out a bit on the loudness and recoil of the 12 gauge, I watched her miss at 15 yards, she practiced prior, but missed over his head by a foot or 2 lol, so I gave her minor grief etc. and she calls me at 10:30 today with I didn't miss today I took my time etc. and focused harder, same bird came back, the one with the L turn in his beard, she measured the beard at 11" spurs at over an inch by a little, and it appears larger than my 24 pounder, now I will go remeasure except weight as she sweet talked the rental farmer guy into cleaning it for her the lucky duck, first bird of any kind, she was so down last night since I got 1, her dad, her sister in law so we're 4 for 4 and she didn't want to be odd duck out so the answer is yes they will come back or at least there's a chance of that.

[PGS]

This is one of those 'Yes, but' questions. I missed a bird in MN last weekend and it came back out in the field a couple of hours later. I made one yelp on the slate and he ran back into the woods.... I had not moved my blind but had moved my dekes. On the other hand one of my nephews unloaded his gun at a bird and had him come straight back into calling! A mistake that that tom paid for with his head... I think it depends if you hit the bird, how old the bird is and what other options it has for places to strut and gobble. The only thing you can know for certain with turkeys is that you can never be sure what they will do!