Tough turkey hunt

[Realtree]

Well, we got out into the woods Sat morning before 5am and the turkeys were already gobbling. I called one of the Toms to within 75 yards of our setup and another Tom started gobbling a hundred yards directly behind us causing this guy to stall out behind some blow down. I tried some purring and putting to get him unhung but he turned and headed back where he had come from and we didn't see him again that day. Before calling it a day, we located a roosting  area and setup our blind for Sun morning.

This morning we were in the blind by 430am and within 5 minutes had 3 Toms gobbling about 75-100 yards right out in front of our setup. Unfortunately for us, there was also an over zealous hunter directly across the river from us that was calling incessantly. When the turkeys came down off roost finally, they gobbled a few times and walked directly away from the other hunters calls and by default away from us also. How disappointing!!!

As we sat there hoping the Toms would turn and circle around our way away from the other hunters calls, we had a Doe with 2 spike bucks come through along the edge of the ravine we were set up on. They meandered around within 35-75 yards of our blind for close to an hour before laying down over on the next ridge where the Tom's had flown down from roost earler.  

It was a pretty exciting morning even though we were not able to get any shots off. We're hoping that the third time will be the charm tomorrow morning! :-)

[Mayfly]

No hunting for you in the evening??

[Realtree]

No hunting for you in the evening??

No, not today...we have a few family things going on. I'll be back out in the morning tmrw and sit til just before supper time. My son qualified for the All City Track and Field day Monday by winning his boys individual 100m dash and being a member of the winning coed 400m relay team for his school 2 weeks ago. 

[Realtree]

We have had the most exciting and frustration hunting season so far this week that I have experienced in 20+ years of hunting whitetail and the past 3 turkey seasons:

Sat am: called in a great Tom and had several others gobblin to us. This Tom stalled out just out of range when another behind us gobbled back and pushed him back deeper into the woods where he came from.

Sun am: setup within 100 yards before daybreak of 3-4 roosted Toms. Hunters across the river called them over at flydown and we didn't see or hear them again that day. Did have 2 spike bucks and a doe meandering around our blind for well over an hour coming within 25 yards of us for a large majority of the time.

Mon am: same setup, no shock gobbles return before walking in to blind but had 4 Tom's that flew down from same area as day before as daylight broke. Again, headed towards overzealous calling of hunters across the river. Had some gobbles returned for hour and a half after that at certain points to limited calling, but would not come back in.

Tues am: same setup with intense gobbling just after we are in the blind. heavy calling from across the river again and Tom's appeared to head towards them again but came back towards us within 35-40 minutes but not within clear shooting lanes. Had intense gobbling returned from again limited calling for about an hour or more after they went out to field but couldn't get them back in again.

[Realtree]

i'm heading back out this afternoon after my son's soccer game to see if we can't get some better hunting luck on the pm side as these old boys come back to roost for the night. Hopefully something will fall into place and work out so we can bring one of these guys home tonight! 

[Mayfly]

Good Luck! Turkeys I saw killed this year were all in the eve heading back to roost. I also missed one on the way back to roost.... Seems like a good idea.

[cmpswampy]

I would try to use a hen and a jake decoy. Have the hen as low to the ground and have the jake mounting the hen. I would not do much if any calling and if the gobblers see your decoy set up they should come right in. I have been out a few mornings and every morning I have had birds in close and this was the first morning that they came in to a open area to get a shot but i will say that if that bird had not seen the decoys that bird would have kept on moving.

[Realtree]

I had a Tom mounting a hen setup the other day but no takers. Not sure if what we are experiencing this week is normal for the later Spring season hunt or if it's just that the breeding season has been put into fast forward this year with the unseasonably warm temps we have had already. I'll definitely be putting in for one of the first three spring hunt lotteries for next year. We've had a great time roosting the birds, calling, getting gobbles back and seeing birds every day this week but I sure would like to bring one home too.

Heading back out this afternoon and bringing my son with to sit til they roost again. He's been asking to come with and it happens to work out for us today so I'm sure we'll have a great afternoon together along with Grandpa. 

[Realtree]

We ended our spring turkey season last night without bringing one home, but I do have to say i believe it was the most exciting, most fun, most challenging hunt i have had in over 20+ years of hunting overall.

We saw and heard birds every time we were out (Sat - Thurs) with the exception of last night, and even had some Jakes close enough to shoot the other night but chose to hold out for a couple of the big Tom's we have currently in our woods. This was the 2nd turkey hunt for Dad and I together and the first time my son has come out with me "during" a hunt so it was a very special season for me personally.

We learned alot about the routines, habits and calling of wild turkey this week and have a ton of great memories to take forward with us of new challenges, lessons learned, fun experienced, and great grandfather-father-son time spent together in the woods. I cannot wait for Fall Turkey season to start already so we can keep piling up the experiences and memories together in the woods!

Stay safe in the woods everybody! 

[Randy Kaar]

Maybe next season, I could get you lined up in Afton Mn. Never seen so many turkeys! We had to stop the truck to avoid hitting them!

randy

[MTCOMMER]

Those are some good stories, too bad a dead turkey wasnt the ending.  But as you said, as long as the hunts make great memories, they dont always have to be successful.  Its nice to share the hunts with close family.

Im hoping to get out in the fall as well, it was my first year this year and I definitely learned alot and as I have more hunts I will keep learning new techniques.  I had alot of fun and didnt get a bird, I heard alot of gobbles and also saw deer and other wildlife - so it was a successful first year in my opinion!

I wonder if the area has to do with when the birds come out, because we saw and heard all of ours in the morning, we sat a few days in the evenings and during the afternoon and didnt see anything.  I thought for sure coming to roost, but nothing.... Must have just been the spot.  Is the better spot in the evening IN THE WOODS or JUST OUTSIDE OF THE WOODS?  - just trying to learn a little more.

[Realtree]

In our situation, we only have the woods to hunt in...we have no field edges that we have access to. That made it a little harder in my opinion because we could get to within 100 yards of their roosting trees in the morning but that was as close as we could get with our property lines and when they flew down they went straight across the river to an open field edge to strut in the sun.

We sat in the afternoon til dark 2 of the days and saw a few Jakes returning to roost but like i said in a previous post we were hoping to get a shot on a Tom so we let the Jakes walk that night. We only saw 2 hens all week also as most of them are well into nesting already. I think with the warmer temps we had earlier this spring it kicked the breeding season into gear a little earlier than I saw last year so there were less hens still moving around to pull the Toms with them like we saw last year.

[Randy Kaar]

 A buddy who is a competition BBQ guy has a house in afton and the turkeys drive his dogs crazy!
I dont know if it bow only or not, But I can almost say for sure you will get one without calls or decoys. They are that thick there!

randy