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Anyone else getting whooped?


Scoot

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Turkeys are mocking, laughing at, and mostly humiliating me this year. Anyone else struggling?  Ryan tagged out early, but getting my daughter out and finding time for myself has been tough. But when we've gone the birds have had the upper hand. I hope to get out a few more times, but time is in short supply.

Anyone else getting their butt kicked?

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Yep I spent many hours in the blind and can’t seal the deal. I had one Tom strutting behind my blind for almost 4 hours. He was 10-15 yards but there was brush in between us and with the crossbow I could only watch. Today I though I had one dead to rights it was going into strut came around the blind a hen. I am sitting in the blind still and roasting it’s so hot. I did not hunt Sunday and my sister called and said I have really good decoys. Yep 3 strutting Toms in front of my blind. Seeing I start working tomorrow my hunting will be on weekends until the season closes now. I got two or three Toms gobbling like crazy on the other side of the brook. They just are not coming over. I make a soft call and get gobbles. They did this to me before. I am going to have to get some more water soon.

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They have not been real cooperative, save for the one I shot.  

Isaac and I had many encounter over the last weekend.  Not really cared for my calling or a decoy.  just doing thier thing i guess.  Hoping I can get 1 morè to commit for Isaac.

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Sorry Scoot, wish I could commiserate with you, (not really) but my season has gone splendedly so far.  We'll see if that keeps up later this week in Wisconsin.

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Toms were moving mid day (after school) today.  Had three come in ... all silent ... could not even hear them walking.  Hens that walked through never a peep or a put.

 

First two came through at 45 yards (right on the edge of woods - there goes that theory), just a little too far out for my son to shoot.  One was in full strut.   They could see the hen decoy, but a ridge blocked their view of my jake.   Interestingly a hen came up the wood line from the opposite direction and turned in with the two Toms and I suppose drifted them away ...

 

Third tom came in silent and was on top of my DSD jake decoy before we knew it.  I could not have been looking down for more than a minute...   I could not see the decoy from where I was sitting in the blind.  My son said he was right behind the decoy.   I told him take the shot when he sticks his neck high in the air.   He missed.   It flew way :(  and no second chance.  I realized I had set the decoy too close ... it was a 9 - 10 yard shot.   He has killed birds out at 25 -30 yards...   Too dang close - no margin for error.  The decoy in front was no help either.  At least he missed high and did not rip apart the $100+ decoy. 

 

He was not overly crushed by the miss ... helps to have killed 'em before.

Edited by brittman
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Me - have not even bought a license this year - well yet.   Last year helped three people get birds (two first timers) before toting a gun myself.    Going to go listen at my spot(s) in Western WI (Somerset area).  If I hear them or roost them I will buy my son's license he was drawn for ... other wise ... will let it slide.

 

Only bird I really want to get at this point is a white buff tipped  Merriam's turkey (not going again this year :( .  Otherwise it is about getting others on birds.

 

Can't believe how fast every thing is leafing out right now.

 

 

Edited by brittman
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Im getting my butt kicked this year as well

 

Day one had one come 40 yards thought he was going to come straight in but he turned and went the otherway

 

Day 4 had 2 hens come in then 4 more followed by a huge tom he strutted at my decoy but was about 45 yards

he then was around the 35-40 yard I pulled back on him but wasn't comfortable with the shot it was a weird angle out of the window and I was on one knee.

 

Day 10,11,12 birds gobbling like crazy all came down on wrong side of treeline. Day 12 I got out of blind and went through swamp to cut them off at the bridge that goes into the field they were in. When I popped out they were 60 yards away just missed them!

 

I am hoping this weekend I can connect

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Yes, getting my hind end whipped thoroughly! I have been out probably a dozen times. Have seen birds on half of them. Mostly jakes and hens and some of them have come right in. Only 4 Toms all season and they were always with a hen and showed zero interest in my setup. Getting up at 4-4:30 is getting old. I kind of think the numbers are lower around here then expected. I am bouncing around on 4 properties and just can't find any patterns, Some mornings they gobble there fool heads off but none come my way, they probably do after I leave. Usually sit until 9-9;30 then head into work. Other mornings on same property, very few heard...Frustrating but at the same time really enjoyable sitting in the blind with a thermos of coffee watching the world wake up, lots of deer seen. One afternoon I had 2 hens roll around in the dust bowls for 10 minutes, at 15 yards. Just like little pigs. I had never seen that before so that was cool. Perhaps I should ditch the early morning thing and hunt late mornings. Once the fishing opens I will go out less and less...

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21 hours ago, Scoot said:

 I hope to get out a few more times, but time is in short supply.

Anyone else getting their butt kicked?

 

That’s where I’m getting my butt kicked too: time.  1.5 days so far is it for me in the blind. 

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1 hour ago, paceman said:

Getting up at 4-4:30 is getting old. 

 

Yep, sure is!  I think late morning to late afternoon is a great time to hunt this time of year, but hearing birds gobbling on the roost is why I love to get out turkey hunting.  But... I've got over three weeks of little sleep behind me now and I'm thinking I may sacrifice hearing the gobbling for a little shut yet.  Plus, like you said paceman- opening fishing this weekend.  I'm headed to LOW with my family and won't turkey hunt at all this weekend.  Not sure how much I'll get out after that...

 

As we get further and further into the year the mornings start earlier and earlier.  It gets to be tough duty once a guy does it for a few weeks.  It's fun and I love it, but being bleary eyed and crabby at work and home has worn a little thin this year.  If I could just find one cooperative bird for my daughter I'd be more than thrilled...

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So yesterday was the first day in about 6 days of hunting that we had birds in range.  Today it stepped up another notch.

 

Picked up my son and decided to go turkey hunting and he could make up trap league later this week.   We drove to our spot and the neighbors property had six Toms in the pasture next to our pasture with our blind.  Five gobblers were together rather close to a swamp edge and another off by himself.  Pretty much what we saw in the bean field on Saturday, but now closer.

 

Absolutely no way to get to the blind even with just a thin single row of trees between the two fields.   We parked at the approach and they were gobbling up a storm.  We walked through the woods from the truck to the field edge, set two decoys (jake and breeding hen) and and then back up down the trail road a bit.   I called and the gobblers responded heavily.   We could barely see them through the woods and across the little swamp ... birds fanned out and strutting.

 

I called (and probably over called a bit) and they were comfortable answering, but hanging tight in their field.   All of a sudden a live hen started yelping and yelping aggressively across our field - fortunately on the other side of the field.   If she came across the field and hooked up with the mob of gobblers we would be done.   I sat there and dueled it out with her matching yelp cadence with yelp cadence.   The gobblers were going nuts and totally lit up.    She finally stopped calling and I could see (at least for now) that she was not coming across the field to toll them away.

 

So I stopped calling.   Man is it tough for me to go silent.

 

About 10 minutes later, the five Toms strolled out from the single tree belt and "remobbed" up.    The five Toms came straight at us and then stopped 30 yards out.   One Tom really stretch out his neck to lock over the situation.   Fearing they would bolt, I said take one now.  Boom and the tom was down.  Two other gobblers stood over the fallen bird, but did not attack him.   We got up and moved quickly to the bird - just in case it did get up.  It never moved  or flopped at all, the head completely crushed by the shot ...

 

We actually had to chase off the other four Toms who were in no real hurry to leave, until it clicked in their head and they ran as fast as a turkey can to the far woods...

 

It was nice to see my son have a little redemption and make a clean kill, and if he would not have missed yesterday - this show would have been missed.

 

Why five mature, 2 year old Toms were still running together at this time in May is beyond me ...

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10 hours ago, Scoot said:

 Whooping continues!  But at least Morgan is getting done homework done. 

15258242579811954623122.jpg

 

At first glance through my blurry eyes she looked like she was wearing her cap and gown for graduation.

 

Sounds like her school work isn’t the only education going on right now.  

 

Enjoy your fishing time off from turkey hunting.  Don’t let the fun wear out.  Good luck!

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Wanderer- it does look like that, doesn't it?!?  Don't go graduating off my little girl just yet!  LOL

 

Borch, yes- we'll probably get out for some mid-morning to mid-afternoon hunts in the near future.  I may take a break from the early hunts for my own sake.  Morgan certainly won't argue that either...

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Dragging kids out pre-dawn is OK if you have a roosted gobbler, but often they fly down another direction and are then held in place until around 8:30.   That is a lot of quiet time.   I have found my kids have a much better time when we head out at 8AM or 3PM.  I try limit pre-dawn hunts (with kids) to one per week.

 

I am seeing quite a few gobblers and much tom movement around right now ... going to work, driving around Washington county (always scouting a little bit),  and just running errands ...     They are strutting in new and more open places, crossing fields mid-day, they are looking for that lonely hen.

 

All this late season activity is why I have never bothered applying for early seasons.   May is my fun time.   I have a lot at work right now, so I am planning on pulling my tag for Season E starting next Wednesday.   Looking back, I have never shot a MN bird in the month of April.

Edited by brittman
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2 hours ago, paceman said:

So that's what they look like:) 

 

LOL- I can relate to that comment, Paceman!  Another few hours in the blind last night and we struck out.  Didn't see a bird.  

 

Don, you're on fire!  WTG!    Obviously I should have taken you up on your offer a week ago!  

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I spent the whole day at work trying to get outta there so I could get home to hunt with Morgan. Finally got here and Morgan says "Uugh not tonight. I just want to hang out at home tonight". 

 

Dang it all!  Having a 10 year old is tough sometimes. But a 10 year old daughter- tougher!  :)

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Kids need days off.    

 

I sometimes spend that time scouting and if the area you hunt allows you to watch over it (especially if it is an ag/woods mixed area) ... find a spot, park and see how the birds are moving.   Go listen to them gobble on the roost and fly down one morning ... not from the blind, but from an area where you can maybe figure out their pattern.

 

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