Spring '04 - Stories From the Hunt

[TomBow]

Well, lemmebreakidownforya,

Oh beautiful wife-o-mine season started Sunday, May 9. We have close to 300 acres of prime land to hunt and set-up near a narrow portion of a larger pasture and an adjacent smaller pasture. Long story short, Sunday--1 bird, sees dekes, goes back down in the ravine. Hardly any gobbling in the morning, she talked to one bird but it never came in. 87 degrees, we leave about 3: 30 and sit in the motel room and watch the wicked weather roll through.
Monday--We start in the pasture, no activity. Move to a long slender crop field, bordered by woods on all sides and a steep hill on the back side. One bird gobbles at 1:30, he comes in, peeks through the brush and sees the gun moving. Gone. We leave the blind to try the end-around but no deal! We go the opposite direction, past our blind and call until shooting hours are almost up. Then we hear him. 4:55 PM. Sounds like he's by the blind, that we don't happen to be sitting in at the time! We sneak out to the edge of the brush and peek to see him standing out there 50 yards from the blind. We checked his tracks and he walked right by the blind. But my wife called a hen within 15 ft.! It sure like the sound of the slate! Wouldn't shut up for 5 minutes!

I went to work on Tuesday to catch up and do some of my wife's work. (I know....you're saying "Angel. Straight from heav'n.")

My wife had a pleasant surprise she got me with last night when she got home. Her FIRST BIRD! 20# (after field dressing, 1-1/8" spurs and a 10-1/4" beard, a nice 3 yr old! We've both been grinning from ear to ear! I have gotten into the habit of coming home from a successful hunt and acting like I didn't get anything, then in a few minutes I ask her to help me unload the truck or ask her what got on one of my arrows, then she catches on that I have bagged a deer. I say that she surprised me with the bird because we have a large blue plastic cargo container that I put in the back bed of my pickup and we keep our hunting stuff in it. She put the turkey in there and closed the lid before she got home, then had me take the container out of the truck. I lifted it out of the truck and carried it to the garage, I didn't think anything of the weight, figuring that our hunting pack was in there. Later, my wife's mom, who had gone with my wife on the hunt, (mom-in-law’s first turkey hunting adventure), said something about there being a bottle of pop that she wanted in the container so I volunteered to go get it. I took the lid off the container and glanced at the contents, then did a quick double-take and the hootin' an hollerin' began! That image of the bird in the container was instantly stamped on my mind’s eye, I can see it right now! We had heard a bird gobbling by the blind right before the end of shooting hours on Monday (5 PM), she got this bird, which was traveling with another gobbler, at 4:55 PM. Just the right amount of soft calling brought the bird across the field and my wife was ready. This is her second season turkey hunting, we were darn close last year and almost had a bird on Monday but she took advantage of the opportunity yesterday and got her bird!
This is her first game animal and she got to finally experience that awesome rush that us hunters feel when we make a good shot and know we've got our quarry. It is very cool, she is not from a hunting family so I am teaching her what I can and giving her the opportunity to hunt if she wants and just show her what hunting is all about, not just the harvest but all the sights and sounds of the woods.
Guess I might be struttin' like a boss gobbler today!
And she is grinning with that successful hunter smile! That’s so cool!!

[TomBow]

Mr.Blaster,
Thank you, I will extend the congrats to my wife from you.

Oh yes, my brother, I am hittin' it Friday through Thursday, same as you!

And most turkey hunters will tell you that the main requirement for preperatin' yerself fer the season is watching all the footage, reading all the articles and thusly WHIPPING thyself into a FRENZY until you are near foaming at the mouth and your "caregivers" wish to chain you up in the backyard until the frenzy subsides (don't tell them it never does, it's like a river, may be tricklin' in the winter but it'll be a raging torrent in the spring). I wouldn't have it any other way.

Best of Luck to you! Call 'em right and shoot straight. now, get me outta this (straight) jacket, I think I hear a gobbler!

[Borch]

Congrats to the wife Tombow.

Now it's your turn.

Good Luck!

Borch

[Ruttin' Buck]

That's great Tombow! Give a congrats to your little lady, I bet she's hooked now huh?!

Always seems like those gobblers like to show up at 4:45 while you frantically ponder what you need to do in the next 14 minutes and 55 seconds to get that bird in range!

Man I'm whipped up. I already packed the truck last night and I don't leave until tomorrow after work...uhg. I swear I've watched all the tapes I have on turkey hunting 3 times including the film of the one I shot last year. I think I'm intensifying my own anxiety at this point.

You didn't get drawn this year Tombow?

[Ruttin' Buck]

Alright Tombow, see ya back here in a week to trade stories. I've slept about 7 hours total the last 2 nights...I've got it bad.

I watched my film again from last year. I had about 2 hours of film! Most were turkeys, some deer, raccoons, 2 coyotes under 30 yards, and of course footage of a bluff hike that yielded morels 2X taller than a can of soda (or beer if you prefer).

Boy...that was not a good idea to watch that...again. Good luck Tombow and fellow hunters!

[TomBow]

Alright Buck- Yer on!! Now, we're all expecting details of the whole scenario from day to day and I will do the same. I am working on a report of this years hunt, titled "Bow-Turkey 2004" (hope it doesn't end in a shotgun blast, but that would be okay if the turkey does "the flop"!) documenting when I found out I got a license, scouting trips, purchasing the surplus licence for my wife (thank you oh turkey gods! To you I say "lobble-lobble-lobble" with fan spread wide), landowner contacts, each day of the hunt, the whole sordid business.

Alrighty then, what are your tactics? I'm gonna be tryin' the old "Double Bull Video" set-up in the field with dekes the first day and see if real turkeys will ignore the blind just like on the D-B vids. If this no work, I will get it back in some brush on the field edge, if THAT no work, seek out a scratching area and try the ambush technique. I'm real iffy on the dekes because I've only had one occassion where the birds didn't turn around when they saw them. Man, I don't know, I can't think straight.....err....no....it's not... (cluck)...happening...(purr-cluck)....must control....(yelp-yelp, purr-cluck)...the...(yelp-yelp-yelp-yelp, purr-purr-cluck)...turkey within....(yelp, yelp, yelp, yelp, yelp).

(Please excuse us, we must discontinue this message. Due to over obsessing about turkey hunting, the speaker has become unable to speak human language at this time.)

[Ruttin' Buck]

I've spent the last 360 days trying to decide what my tactics for day 1 will be and I still don't know.

Last year was the first time I had a camcorder with. Like I mentioned, I ran a ton of film showing how the birds act late in the season. This is the first year we've hunted a season other than 'H'. I watched my video over and over from last year and see 2 predominant patterns:

1. Toms (groups of 1-3) are henned up with 1 to 5 hens by the time they enter the fields in early morning.
OR
2. Midmorning and late afternoon toms are in groups of 2-4 without hens but also not lovestruck by calling.

The birds that were with hens had some good fanning duals, spurrings, etc going on so I'm assuming there is still some residual breeding at that point.

I agree with you on the decoys. Late season makes them an iffy decision at best. I've had toms following a hen to the field where the hen walks up in the decoys and the toms walk the other direction. But I've had others walk right into them. Generally, I think the older wiser birds are onto the deeks by then and it may be better to keep them guessing.

With that, I plan to setup a bit different than in the past. Rather than hitting a field edge at sunup, I'm going to find the closest entry point to the field by the closest gobble I hear tomorrow morning. Then I'll probably ease 10-20 yards into the woods and work an ambush. I'm going opening morning without deeks. I'll setup camara and try to film my own kill shot again.

However, based on the reading I did this year I'm changing my early morning tactics even further. I'm trying a more agressive calling sequence with a fly down to see if I can get that tom headed in the right direction right off the bat. Let's be honest, that first half and hour of dim light is a competition between you and his girlfriends. I was a bit sceptical about early morning agressive calling in the past but I'm 3 for 4 (woulda been 4 for 4 if the season was until 5:15...dang!) all of which were taken in between 7:30 and 10. I don't have anything to lose as I've been blessed with success thus far so I'm going to try to harvest that 6AM lonely tom this year.

I envy you going out with the bow there Tombow. I wish I would've had time to practice this year. Guess the old 12 is going to have to do it again for me this year.

Can't wait to hear stories....man you think this passage was long? Wait until I get on a hunting story.....

"May your clucks be gentle and temping and your purrs soft and alluring"

[Hotspotter]

My buddy Aaron took a pretty good bird on Tues. with his gun.

High winds made for some easier sneaks on Tuesday, and Aaron spotted 3 toms about 200 yards out in an open field. He snuck into position before calling, and let out a few yelps. It took one more round before they heard him, but when they did, all 3 gobbled and started making their way towards him. As they dipped below him and out of sight on their way in, he had time to get ready for the shot. When they did make an appearance though, they were way left of him! Eventually, they made their way behind him, leaving Aaron with a tough decision. Ultimately, he made the right one by pointing the barrel up in the air the length of the tree he was sitting against, switching to left-hand, and turning around the right side of the tree to shoot. He must've remembered to close the correct eye, because the bird piled up after some hevi-shot #4's made their way about 30 yards from barrel to bird. Here's the tom:

STATS -
Tom
Weight: 19lbs. 8oz.
Spurs: 1"
Beard: 10 1/4"

[This message has been edited by jnelson (edited 05-13-2004).]

[TomBow]

Interesting what the patterns showed for you last year. ARe you in the same area?

Lemme breakidownferya regarding where I'll be: close to 300 acres, MN-River bluffs So. of Belle Plaine, Elevation from East to West: decreasing from Oak ridge at edge of field, bottoming (thick brush), increases (ridge), plateaus, then decreases again to the river.
Patterns thus far, witnessed May 9-11, 2004:
May 9--1 bird seen, saw dekes, gone. One bird at 11 up the hill from our set, gobbled at calls but no show, another bird joined in the gobbling but did not show either. HOT weather day.
May 10--morning after Sunday T-Storms. Same spot as May 9, minimal gobbling, no birds. Moved to an unhunted field on top of western plateau at edge of ridge leading to the river. 1 bird came from the West, into the field, worked the field edge up to us, spotted movement in the blind and scooted. 4:55 single bird entered field by unattended blind ("DOH!!).
May 11--Same spot as May 10-afternoon, single bird approached from brush across field, heard construction-hammering, turned and left.
2 PM-3PM-Hen or hens feeding out of woods to field, (either 1 hen multiple sightings or 3 hens)
4:45 single bird entered the field from the east and took the 6's and went down. After the shot, a second bird was seen leaving the area, another gobbler.

We have not seen gobblers with hens on the property but we have seen more birds in the afternoons than morning, we are probably too far from the roost.

I did see a gobbler with 3 hens in another area, though.

As far as the tactics, we've got seven days to pick the right one. I also hope to vid. my hunt and the arrow hitting the bird and the bird doing the turkey jerk when it hits the ground! Best of Luck to all G and H season hunters!

[CornPirateKiller]

Well folks, Saturday morning was awesome. I had scouted a field near Rochester every morning for about 2 weeks and seen a large flock of turkeys there every day. We got set up at about 5:00 am. My brother, Matt, my brother-in-law, Mike, and I sat in a popup blind, set up in a fencerow with two decoys set out about 10 yards in a picked cornfield. It was a perfect morning. No wind, no clouds, a crescent moon on the horizon. When the sun came up, a deer walked by at 30 yards and later a rooster pheasant investigated the blind and stalked by at 10 feet.

At about 6:30 am, three hens appeared on the hill to our left and slowly fed their way towards us. They skirted around us at about 40 yards but then came back and milled around about 25 yards out. After close examination, we could see that one of the hens had a 7 or 8 inch beard. Since I'd already taked a bird in Iowa this year, I gave Matt and Mike the option to take her if one of them wanted to. Matt decided he would and was just about to shoot when Mike spotted more birds on the hill.

Through the binoculars, we could see a couple of them strutting so we knew we had Toms and decided to wait. I decided not to call at all since the birds were headed in our direction. Two hens led the way and they were followed by five birds that turned out to be jakes. The hens walked right down the fencerow to our decoys with the five jakes following. It took them about 15 minutes to make their way down to us and those jakes strutted and fanned the whole way. At about 30 yards out, they were lined up, shoulder to shoulder, all fanned out with the sun shining directly behind them. What a sight! We let them get to within 15 yards and then they started to get nervous. Mike and Matt stuck their guns out and counted down... 3, 2, 1, BOOM! Two birds dropped in their tracks. Matt leaned back and one jake hesitated for a few seconds and my shot dropped him ten feet from the others. Whoooo Hooooo!!! 7:10 am in the morning and we had three birds down. This was Mike and Matt's first turkey hunt and they're already talking about next years hunt. 2 more hooked on this great sport!!

Three identical jakes.
15 lbs
4" beards
spurs? nubs

------------------
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati (When all else fails, play dead)

[Mark Christianson]

Non-success story.
My buddy(name is being withheld), hunted earlier this spring. I just recently got his story.
His opening day he had a gobbler sneak up on him, and it was so close he could hear the "wisp" of the feathers when the Tom would go into strut. The Tom finally worked to an area less than 30 yards from the un-named person. Brian(oops), pulled up and shot.
NOTHING. The bird flew off.
After running through every possible issue, he could not fathom what happened.
Well a couple days later, he figured it out.
He had no choke tube in his shotgun!!!!!!!!!!!!
His pattern was probably 5 ft in diameter at 10yds. Hahahahahahahahahaha. I have never heard that one before. Much better story in person, but great nonetheless.

[doser]

Well, I was out Fri., Sat, Sun. I'm hunting an area I've hunted for years. There was hardly any gobbling going on those days and I hunted from sun up till 1:00 every day. I know the birds are in the area and even had a few work my calling , but hung up where I could see them. I sat real tight all three days. Had two Toms come in one day only gobbling once then came in silently. They got within 25 yards of me , but to my left where I couldn't move or get a clean shot. After that it's been dead. Did kick a hen off her nest Sun. morning on accident. She had 11 eggs. I'm wondering if I should hunt that specific area. It's near a field edge. I'm going Thurs. for one last shot. Any suggestions with calling, setup ? Should I be patient and sit tight. I have been so far. I've just never seen the birds this quiet all the years I've been hunting. I know they're there?

[Borch]

I finally got my pictures back. Here they are.

Here's my MN Eastern gobbler.

Here's my Black Hills SD Merriam's Jake. There's also a shed in the pic that I found as I went to pick him up after the shot. Thought I'd add it to the pic too.

Here's the view off the front deck of our log cabin we rent in the Black Hills. We saw deer and elk each evening in the meadow right out front.

Borch

[This message has been edited by Borch (edited 05-19-2004).]

[TomBow]

Success, but at a price. This has been the quietest season in the last four that I have hunted. Same area, but this year I was privileged to hunt some private land. I hunted with my wife for 2 of the three days that she hunted and the gobbling was extremely limited, almost none after fly down where we were.

We headed to the field where she bagged her bird, for the beginning of my hunt. Set up the D-Bull T-2 in the open field by a finger of brush and 1 feeding hen decoy at about 18 yards. I planned to bow my bird this year. Friday--A hen walked along the far field edge, headed north, we were facing west so the sun wouldn't light up the inside of the blind. Had a group of 8 deer come out of the woods and stare at the blind and decoy, they would spook a little, then go back to feeding, then spook, then feed. They were in the feed for 20 minutes or so before spooking back into the woods. A lone hen came and fed by the decoy at about noon. At 4:50 PM, a gobbler walked the western field edge, speeding up when he saw the decoy and blind. Saturday--After hunting hours on Friday, we moved the blind into the woods and hit it about 5:15 AM. Almost no gobbles were heard even before fly down. I decided to play dueling calls and worked a slate and a mouth call at the same time to mock a hen fight, because I've actually heard a real fight and the gobblers went nuts gobbling. We called in a hen, talked back and forth with her, then a gobbler came to investigate. We could hear him but he never came around where we could see him. Around 9:30, a gobbler started up, sounding like he was someplace in the field. Curiousity got the best of me, so I snuck out of the blind and peeked out into the field. We had placed a decoy far out in the field, thinking that the dekes spooked the birds and the birds would stay on our side of the field and maybe stick to the woods where we had the blind. I spotted a gobbler strutting and gobbling at the decoy; he was about 10 yards off the field edge. I snuck back to the blind, grabbed the bow and tried to put the sneak on the bird. He was gone when I got back to check the field. I went back to the blind and waited, then I got antsy so I headed north figuring that the gobbler we saw Friday late, might come out again before 5 PM. I was hoping for an ambush. I was playing the odds that the gobbler I had seen had heard our calling and would be curious to check out the area, I'd be set up to catch him on his way. I snuck past where I had seen the gobbler and found a tree about 3 ft. below the field level with a small brush pile in front of it. If the bird walked by, I'd have a second to get drawn and get my pin on the bird. AT 4 PM I heard a single gobble north of where I was set-up, then nothing. I checked the field at 4:45 PM, nothing out there. Not 2 minutes after I got back to the tree, I heard a gobble that sounded like it was in the field just north of me. I grabbed the bow, put the release on the string loop and slowly raised my head to look down the field. A gobbler was standing along the field edge! He started to cautiously work his way down the field. My heart rate would have made the ECG graph BLACK if I had been hooked up right then! He passed out of my sight, behind the small brush pile, so I stood up carefully to draw the bow. He came out from behind the brush and I settled the pin. Just then, a hen clucked a few times from across the field and the gobbler hammerred a gobble back at her, turning slight toward her. Then he turned back and I released the arrow. Three mistakes: I underestimated the range by about 2-3 yards, I didn't pick a spot on the bird and I didn't lead the bird. The arrow struck the bird behind the legs, the bird took two stumbling steps and burst into flight. It flow into the woods, breaking branches when it hit the first tree, then all was silent. My arrow was still in the bird when it took off. I wish I could have that shot to take again but....
I went to get my wife from the blind and we searched for two hours down the steep hill, under every log and brush pile down to the pond, then checked the brush at the edge of the pond. We found no evidence of the bird and no arrow. I went back the next day and spent 3 hours working a swath 300 yards wide from the top of the hill to the bottom and never found any sign of the bird. That was the low point of my season. I then sat in the blind but headed home after an hour to rest. I came back the next day and looked for two more hours but found nothing. I went back to hunting but am still haunted by the arrow hitting the bird back and too low and the bird flying off.
I managed to bag a bird with the shotgun a few days later, yesterday, after watching 6 gobblers and 6 hens in a field, on the edge of public land (field=private, woods=public) for two hours. One gobbler finally crossed the line, I shot and missed, shot again after forgetting to pump a new shell in, pumped the shotgun and hit him with the second shot clean. 16 lbs., 10.25" beard, one 3/4" spur and one 1-1/8" spur, and his tail feathers were all broken off except for two so he had a V-shaped fan. It was bittersweet success for me.
Here's the lessons: Use the rangefinder that you borrowed from your friend and KNOW THE YARDAGE. Mouth call to stop the bird. Pick a spot. The heat of the moment during hunting might make you forget everything that you've been practicing months before hand. There's just no practice for the moment before you take a shot. Hope your season was better than mine. Best of Luck.

[sheepheadslayer]

I just got done reading the last post and if that wasn't the best redneck story of hunting i have ever read i don't know what is. Were you guys wearing blaze orange by chance. I have never heard of turkeys being hunted like that. Patients is the key. You will never be able to run down a turkey. How far away was the bird if the pellets bounced off with out hurting it? kinda disappointing to know that there are people that hunt like this.

[bigbucks]

Well I'm sure I'll pay for replying to this, but since I've already been crucified for being honest & am pretty well ticked off. What's the difference?

No we didn't wear blaze orange.

I'm glad to know there's at least one "perfect" hunter out there, who's never made a mistake or taken a bad shot. Something funny too, I've talked to hundreds of hunters who've goose hunted & duck hunted & most have mentioned hearing pellets hit bird's wings without injuring them, or bounced them off their chests.

We were inexperienced hunters drawn for an area that isn't overrun with turkeys yet, so we had to move & work & spend a lot of time to even come across birds. We all work full-time & aren't exactly loaded with money to spend on guided hunts & the like. I felt like my story would allow other inexperienced turkey hunters to see that it isn't "always" quite like they show in all the hunting videos that are trying to sell calls & decoys. If you want to blast every guy who ever makes a mistake when he's hunting or fishing, forget about people being able to learn much from this forum, & don't think that other successful & unsuccessful hunters who've contributed to this forum haven't probably made some of the same mistakes. They just were apparently "smarter" than me & didn't share the whole story, which is fine & their choice. I think it's fairly safe to say that new hunting & fishing tactics were never discovered by sportsman who never tried something a little different.

"the redneck"

[Ruttin' Buck]

Well guys...I'm back from 7 days in the sticks and I must say it was an interesting 7 days.

I totalled my sitting hours at 69 (honestly) before finally bagging my bird. Don't worry Bigbucks...we tried all sorts of runnin' and gunnin' techniques the first few days we started hunting (5 years ago). I was a redneck for a few days, but we soon found that late seasons = very, very, still hunting. Patience is a virtue..but must be learned at times.

Of three, buddy #1 bagged an 18lb and change with 11" beard and 1" spurs on day 2, then picked about 15 pounds of morels for us to feast on the rest of the week. Buddy #2 bagged his 18 pound, 1" spur, 10" beard, same as me....day 7...yes, we scored a perfect 100%, but not without some issues.

So here goes. You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a hen or jake this year. I lost track of day specific bird counts after day 3 or 4. I know day 1 I spotted 16 birds...only tried 2 different spots 200 yards from one another and ate lunch against a burr oak. Total I would not say that it would not be a stretch to say I saw over 100 birds...largest group was 13.

So with all these birds you'd think I would have spotted a tom before day 6...nope! 5 days of shakey jakes and hens...lots of good video, almost an hour in total! We heard gobblers...just no sightings!

Day 5 put me about 300 yards from last years kill spot. I hunted other ridges until day 5 and finally fell back to the old stand by. I opted to setup in a grove of grass and sumac back behind a stand of norway pines were in years past I noticed the hens would hook up with the toms and then hit the fields. I thought I may be able to intercept one of those big devils.

Well, sun came up and 5 AM rolled around. 4 distinct gobblers close by. 1 down in the ravine in front of me, 3 back across the field 300-500 yards away. Felt like I was on the wrong side...which always seems to happen. Stuck it out...until 6 AM.

Then, I hear 'YELP YELP YELP!!!!'. Good Lord I thought...we were sitting by 4:30 and somebody else must have strolled in and is rippin' on a box call out in the field....some redneck way I reckon' (sorry bigbucks)...but it was moving! So now I picture some toad out in the field rippin' on a box to work up all these gobblers...man I thought...sit down, shut up, and hunt!

Then I heard a distinct cluck or two in there. I couldn't take it. I slipped out of my 3 circle blind with only my gun and crawled the 20 yards to the field edge on my hands and knees at which point I see a hen in the middle of the field just barking at two bucks (velvet nubs)...I wish I would have had the camara! It was hilarious! Just seconds after the deer decided she was having a bad morning and trounced off two black birds dropped in by her and she raised hole heck with them too chasing them off! I watched her exit the field, stayed a bit and then moved down to the bottom of the grove to the ravine edge to work the closest gobbler. He began coming in and finally another hen picked him up with some awefully enticing clucks I might add.

Before settling back into my setup, I decided to look over the field one more time. That's when I saw the load of 13 birds! Dang...too many moving figures at 70 yards to get a count of jakes and hens. 2 jakes got in a spurring match with another and bolted my way only after letting out some sound an elephant would make. Hit 44 yards and I had nothing left to do but pull the trigger...just in range at this distance...I let them walk.

So day 6 I setup about where I had been aiming at the jakes with a deer/turkey trail 5 yards behind me and 3 in front at 5, 20 and 30 yards. This makes for a sit very still spot. I faced to the right where the 3 trails were and since I'm a right handed shooter (easier to shoot towards your left shoulder). This is unfortunately east and that morning was a foggy one! Well, that morning I was on the correct side! Gobblers a plenty down the ravine...so much so that I watched from 6 to 7 AM 2 hens walk 400 yards to cross the field to these toms. I figured they'd be 'henned up' but that there was a very good chance they'd come out next to me. I only clucked and purred softly every 20 minutes. The single hen decoy seemed to be drawing hens all week so that's what I had...20 yards away.

Since there was a trail not 5 yards from me I left alot of leaves up and deadfall for those birds that sneak up and watch from the field edges and also hung up my camo rain gear.

7:05..motion 8 yards from my decoy catches my eye. Two toms sneaking up on my decoy! I didn't see them come out in the blinding combination of sun and fog! Fortunately, my gun was standing straight up between my crossed legs.

One bird looked like a 90 year old man. Old wrinkly bulbous head and walked so deliberately you'd a though he should have had a walker. The other looked younger an more spry. There couldn't have been 4 inches between them and it looked like a turtle race as they crept at my decoy. They had equal beards far as I could tell so I wasn't going to be too picky. But I was in a pickle!

Yards from my decoy the younger fella decided he better start struttin'. Perfect...blocked his own view and the old-timer's! I quickly scanned the field and began raising my gun...then...I heard cluck cluck cluck and a running sound....Ooooh nooooo was all I could think! A third longbeard scurried through the fog...I was busted! The fan dropped an the other two followed suit. I had to pull my gun back and reposition through the previously mentioned brush...one shot...miffed it!

I sat down in total disappointment. That was the first animal I had ever fired at and not bagged...it was quite devastating. Why didn't I do this crossed my mind several times! Why didn't I cluck a few times to stop them? Why did I get tom fever and try to rush it? Why didn't I scan more thoroughly? No 'why didn't I's' would bring back that moment in time. I went to camp with my tail between my legs and told my story.

Day 7 was standard as far as awake at 3:15, throw down coffee and oatmeal and go. Everything after that was different! The walk out with my hunting partner was one of defeat. No more exited wispers between us and just a muttered "good luck" as we parted.

I parked my butt against the same deadfall as the day before and the situation kept replaying in my mind. The previous night was very windy and rainy and a solo gobbler beckoned so far down the ravine that to me it was useless to reposition. I knew there were other birds around...but the weather had shut them up.

6AM the standard hen in field happens again..deja vu. At 6:20 I get blindsided (again) by two hens that just show up at my decoy. Then I spot a third near the second trail...I better get ready crossed my mind. I slowly moved my gun onto my knee and pointed it at my decoy and the 3 hens that were purring at it like it was a long lost friend of theirs.

I no more than get into position and out pops a tom. Boy is the Lord looking down on me crosses my mind. He sees the hens and decoy and I imagine he's thinking "deja vu"..."I've seen this episode before". He turns away and begins walking away head forward. I need to reposition with 3 sets of eyes looking at me. By the time I got my gun poked through the same brush as the previous day he was at 30 yards and no sign of his head! Just then...another tom pops out. He did not get the chance to walk away!

25 yards...23lb 4oz bird, 1 3/8" spurs, 9 3/8" beard....it was the old timer...may he rest in peace and thank the heavens for such a blessing.

Good luck to those hunting season 8! Be patient and call softly!

[TomBow]

Alright Mr.Blaster!! NICE bird! Congrates to you Man! I know what your saying about that special moment when you need to reposition but are doing your best to pick the EXACT nanosecond of a moment when you think you MIGHT not get busted and make your move, heart rate a thumpity-thumpin' like the breakdown in Black Magic Woman and your breathing like your just tryin' hard to get that bowling ball through the straw! Been there, had it on Wednesday, Day 6, when the bird dropped.
I still had the same experiences with decoys, bought a new feeder and still had the same reactions, hens would ignore but Toms, the few I saw, would hang up or run off. I had to move to get my bird, they just didn't want to come in for me. I even did the walk around and call before setting up to alter the location that the calling was coming from. It was tough, but could have been easy. That's turkey hunting. Can't wait until next year. Best of Luck to everybody!

[SCCO9803]

Hey Big bucks, don't let someone get to you for judging you. If it's one thing I've learned from reading this site, you can only believe about half of what you read and many of the people on here want to be percieved as the "ultimate" sportsman. Since it's a mostly male site I think ego's come in to play quite heavily. I do hunt a lot of waterfowl and have hunted turkeys for ten years, and yes feathers do act as armor against pellets. The first year we went turkey hunting inexperience got the best of us as well, we had a tom in full strut at 23 yards. The guy I was hunting with put a 3 1/2" 10 gauge load of 4x6's right into the chest of that turkey, feathers went flying and the turkey tumbled over. I figured he was dead, by the time I got around the tree and into the field that turkey was 200 yards away running down the valley. I've also been goose hunting several times with other people, where if you aren't the one shooting, you can hear the pellets hitting the birds. No need to worry Big bucks, the only way to learn is through practice. Everyone on this site has wounded game and not retrieved it that has later died and we've all mis-hooked fish that die after we throw them back. This is part of hunting and fishing. All we can hope to do is learn through experience and enjoy our time outside. I once heard, it is far easier to tell someone what they are doing wrong, than it is to teach somebody to learn how to do it better.

[sheepheadslayer]

Again i say patience.

[Zarkohl]

I have been turkey hunting for 3 years now. 3 tough years. My first year I did not get drawn in the sring here in MN , but did get drawn in the fall. I did not see or hear a bird the whole 5 days. The following spring (02) I did not get drawn here again in the spring, so I went to visit a friend in Kentucky. I shot a Jake on the last day of my trip. I hit it and it got got up an flew away. Never found it. Then last year (03) I got drawn for my first spring hunt in MN. It was for the first season in mid April. I saw a lot of birds out in the middle of fields, but never got closer than 100 yards. So it was of to KY again. This time I shot another Jake on the last hour of the day of my trip. Bird got up an flew away. Me and my buddy went after it. This time, however, we found it under a brush pile. (My 1st bird). This year, (Spring 04), I again did not get drawn for the regular hunt, but did manage a surplus tag for the last season . . . So as most of you know opening day was last Friday 5/21. I get to the farm that I am hunting in Cannon Falls about 5:00 a.m. I get set up near some cedar trees on the edge of a corn field. Nothing happens until about 5:15-5;30 a.m. Thunder storms come in and 3 birds starts gobbling across the ridge. It then starts to rain and the gobbling stops. By 6:45 a.m. it is still quiet. I am soaked, frustrated and ready to go home. Instead of leaving, however, I decide to go to field across the ridge where I heard birds earlier in the morning. When I get there, I see and hear nothing. So I decide to walk round the perimitter of the to see if I can find a spot for tomorrow morning. As I am walking I get busted by a hen on the edge of the field. So I hop into the woods. I then see three more hens out in the middle of the field working their way towards me. (This is a 40 acre corn field that has been recently plowed). I sit down in the edge of the woods and wait. One of the hens comes within 15 yards of me and goes into the woods. It is now a down pour, I am still soaked, but now I am also muddy> My slate call no longer works. So I take out my hurricane box call (water proof) I make about 4 clucks. all of the sudden and about 300 yards away I see a big black object coming straight towards. It is getting closer and closer. I am well hidden and am set up in the right direction. It is a Tom. It get about 25 yards from me and boom, its over. One shot and he does the flop! 9 inch beard, 3/4 spurs, the weight, according to my Normark digital fish scale 24lbs. It now 8:30 a.m. on openig day. I am still soaked but no longer miserable.

[Ruttin' Buck]

Must we negatively critique one man's learning curve? Sportsman acceptance among the public is difficult enough the way it is without us "sportsmen" hammering on each other.

This forum is intended to share stories and help people learn in a positive sense. I'd rather read a "you should try this next year" post versus a sucker punch.

I'll never forget my first day turkey hunting...in agreement with Bigbucks, no amount of books, video and speaking with other guys could have prepared me for that sobering day. But I went back to camp with experience, better tactics and more patience.

I pride myself in my patience for archery deer hunting and turkey hunting. I thought patience was listening to gobbles for 2 hours without touching a call. Even that amount of patience blew up in my face this year when I failed to notice a 3rd bird (on the grassy knoll).

We go out, we do the best we can do, and we learn from every outing. That's hunting.

[Borch]

One thing you'll learn as you chase these birds. Is that there's a time to be patient and a time to get up and go after them. Experience will help determine which approach is appropriate.

I've killed turkey's sitting and waiting longer than I thouoght I should have. I've also killed turkeys running and gunning.

Both are appropriate viable approaches when used in the correct situations.

As far as the pellets bouncing off. Likely they didn't bounce off. But rather the distance was likely farther than the shooter thouoght it was and they didn't get sufficient penetration to anchor the bird. Happens to the best of them. Even the pros. Especially when hunting fields.

Congrats on your bird. You definitely worked hard for it. Sounds like you've already started learning some of those lessons.

Borch

[TomBow]

One thing is for sure, know matter what your experience is, you're likely to learn something on every trip. It's hard to be 100% sure what you should do and what you shouldn't do every time, there are no absolutes. Don't say "never" or "always" when referring to what tactics should be used or should not be used. We do know that a head shot is what you need to go for and you should make a solid effort to pattern your gun and know where it's hitting and it's effective range.
I ran into several birds this year that didn't seem to want to come in to the call so I had to go to them or set-up near there normal travel routed. Previous years, during the same "G" hunt period, I had multiple birds just itchin' to come in. Each year seems to be a little different. I'm guessing the warm start to this spring changed the breeding schedule, but when I ask the turkeys they just cluck and walk away, so I guess I'm just guessin'.

Best of Luck to you all in your next adventures. I'll be "thumping the foam" till bow season and slappin' some filets in the pan. Stay cool.

[irvingdog]

I met some great farmers. They gave me great tips on spots to hunt, and access to them. ( I can't wait to mail them down some "thank yous") I dropped a decoy jake into the corner of a sprouting corn field. Yelped and purred for a few seconds, then waited less than 30 minutes to take a 1" spurred, 7" bearded tom. I grilled it right there with the farmers who let me on.

fun, fun, fun!