Successful Hunts

[The Confederate]

With about 5 weeks left here until the season comes in, I'm starting to get a little ancy. Turkeys are occupying my every thought and I cant wait to hear the first gobble of the season. So im hoping some pictures of successful hunts or stories will get me through until the season comes in. You guys have any good ones? Ill start.

This is just one of many birds that had been giving me trouble the first three weeks of the season. I would get close to the roost every morning, set out the decoys, wait for him to fly down and call. Every morning he would go the complete opposite direction no matter what I did. I always assumed he had hens with him or I set up too close, not close enough, or one of another hundred reasons. After three weeks of pulling my hair out a rainy morning finally settled in on the property; so I set up the ground blind for its first use ever under neath a power pole and waited where I had seen turkeys come into the powerline before. He starts hammering away regardless of the rain about 20 minutes after sunrise. After gobbling for 30 minutes on the roost waiting to fly down I can hear a difference in volume from his gobbles and can tell he finally made it to the forest floor. I yelp a few times and he cuts me off...like he always does. I wait a few minutes and he gobbles again on his own going the other way. Not again, I thought as I slumped in the chair in the blind. I had all but given up on that bird and just sat there watching the power line. About 15 minutes after I last hear him a gobble erupts just inside the edge of the power line that damn near scared me out of my chair. Game on. I cluck and purr on the slate a few times and he cuts me off...so I wait. And wait. And wait. And then he gobbles further away. WTF? What is going on here, I thought for sure he was about to jump into the power line and get put into my vest. Im pretty demoralized at this point and just sit and wait again. 15 more minutes goes by and I guess he just got tired of waiting for the hen to come to him, so he creeps to the edge of the powerline to check things out. I can see him walking through the woods looking nervous like his on the edge of a break down. He finally sees the strutting jake decoy and literally RUNS to it and starts fighting purring and attacking him. One of the most awesome things i've ever seen in person. This turkey taught me the most about patience and soft calling. It was my last bird of the season last year and ill use some of the things I learned from him more often this season.

[BigAL64]

Great story and pics!! Sometimes the best calling you can do is not calling!!

[The Confederate]

I'm the only one that's killed a turkey? I know easterns are tough, but they're not THAT tough.

[cut_un]

Thinkin back Chris, remember one ole bird, years ago. Had a piece of property in Buckingham that was divided by a hard surface road.... Most of my hunting was on what we called the "south side". As I hunted each morning I could just hear a bird hammering on the "north side" so I figured I slip over the next morning and give em a try......Turned out there were two "brothers" hanging over there, had a big ridge over looking a small creek,those two birds were using that ridge as a strut zone and marching back and forth up on it, I guess 200 yards.Not matter how hard I tried, could not pull em off of the top. After a couple times of them moving back and forth, I realized what was happening so the very next time they made there move down the ridge....I made mine, I slipped up on top of my end of the ridge and waited for their return. With a few feed purrs and a little clucking, both turkeys made the way back down the ridge,what turned out to be .. one last time that morning... Picked out the biggest bird and collected my prize, week later was sitting back on that ridge and gave his brother that same "last ride"

[The Confederate]

That's what I like to hear Joe. More times than not, gotta improvise to get that old bird.

[BigAL64]

That is a great trick and has worked many times for me.wait till they get to the one end of there strut zone and then sneek into the other end end. Great story!!

[cut_un]

As you guys know, they will tell ya how to kill em...ya just have to pay attention...

[BigAL64]

You are so right!! Listen to your instincts!!

[duckmander]

One cold and still morning I was set up about one shelf below the roost with a little draw between them and me. had my coveralls on. it was cold. temps were to be in the 70's later in the day. it was in the high 20's at sun up. Anyway they had beat me the last 3 or 4 mornings. getting within 70 to 150 yards of me at times. with me doing little to no soft calling.
when they fired up so did I. I was throwing it all at them. and they were answerin every time. then I see two or three of them strutting back and forth on the ridge top. one breaks off and heads toward my set up. he makes it up to about 35 yards to my right My jake and hen is set up 20 yards to my left, with the gun on them. He steps out gobbles at them turns and walks straight away. dropping down the shelf. So I can hear him I just cant see him. 30 minutes or so later I hear him and his group join back up about 300 yards down the ridge from me. it is alreading starting to get warm. I am only a hundred yards or so from the truck and I dont know just where them birds are going to end up. so I high tail it to the truck and loose the coveralls and most of the contents of my vest leaving only one hen decoy and a water bottle in the back of vest. I know where they are heading its about a mile down the ridge to their strut zone they have been hitting every morning. every morning except for yesterday morning when I was waiting there to ambush them.

I catch up to them at about 200-300 yards. It is open enough I can see 150-200 yards so I dont want to get too close.
I stake the hen and do a little purring and soft yelps. They are gobbling their heads off. but, they are still moving away, about 400+ now. I move in on them again same story. about 3 times. with no luck. they finally make it to their strut zone. a little wheat patch approximately 20X70 yards. I crawl up to within 50-60 yards of them. I can see them making circles. as they move away I crawl about 10-15 yards and stake the hen. wait for them to make their next circle and I crawl back to my vest and gun. (by crawl I mean on my belly as flat as i can get). I start of with soft purrs and yelps and all 4 of them erupts. they get up to the timber and stretch their necks looking but wont enter they just keep making circles. so I throw out some louder clucks and yelps. Maybe even a cackle. then I shut up. after several more circles one of them steps into the timber. then one more slowly coming in looking hard. now all 4 of them are within 40 yards of me looking at then hen. the boss is in full strut behind a tree 10 yards the other side of the hen decoy. I can only see the back half of him. thru my sights. the other 3 are working their way around me to my left. all four have good beards and are atleast two year olds. one of the three stops behind some brush about head high to him raises his head up and putts at me. then lowers his head behind a limb. I slowly move the gun to him. he raises his head up again and putts again, followed very closly with the boom echoing thru the bottoms. That is where he fell motionless. until I stepped on his head then he started with the flopping. One of my biggest birds to date. 9 3/4", 19lbs, 1" spur, and 1 button. I had pics on this computer. but lost everything after the crash.

[cut_un]

Good story Duck It pays to stay with em sometimes....