Official 2019 Wild Turkey Thread
- Thread starter Cameron SS
- Start date
Runningfool
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
Well I tagged out Wednesday morning. Hunted a property that I hadn’t hunted turkeys on yet this year...needless to say my hopes were not high as I hadn’t seen or heard any evidence of birds in the dozen+ times I had been out there waiting for a coyote to show in the month and a half leading up to turkey season.
No gobbling at daybreak but wasn’t surprised. Did have a hen answer my call shortly after 7am and she was close. She circled behind me and ended up appearing over a small hill in front of me with a girlfriend in tow. After about 5 minutes of the two of them beating the hell out of my decoys they wandered off but remained in sight. I decided to yelp to see if I could bring them back. She responded by yelping right back at me and for such a big dominant hen I was surprised at how high pitched her yeps were. Anyhow this must have gotten the attention of a tom in the woods because I heard a distant gobble. Then closer. Then real close but still in the woods.
At this point the hens decided to move into the next field over. And suddenly, on my left, out popped a tom in full strut. He was about 50 yds away but my odds looked good. In the distance I could see the pair of hens moving up a hill and he spotted them as well and decided to head there way. As I saw my chances moving further and further away I tried to entice him back but each time I did he would strut and gobble but continued towards the real deal.
With my binos I could see he’d caught up to them at about 400yds from my position so I resigned myself to watching them. After a while one hen starts making her was back towards the field I’m in...then the other hen...then the tom. They are obscured by a few rolling hills but I can hear him gobbling so I can roughly pinpoint where he is. Then all goes quiet. I contemplate leaving my position and trying to sneak up on them but with everything gone quiet, they really could be anywhere. And this big boy is following these hens so I know if I spook them, the jig is up.
So I sit. 30 minutes go by and I give a soft yelp and a gobble comes from about the opposite place I expect it! Either it is another tom or the original one has swept back, I will never know for sure. Slowly he makes his way towards me. He follows pretty much the same path he (presuming he was the original gobbler) took and he hangs again at about 50yds off my left side. Thankfully the two live hens are no where to be seen so eventually he gives into temptation and sloooooowly makes his way in. The video below shows him when he is about 20 yds away from me and he is closing in on my decoy. I will stop typing and let you watch the rest.
No gobbling at daybreak but wasn’t surprised. Did have a hen answer my call shortly after 7am and she was close. She circled behind me and ended up appearing over a small hill in front of me with a girlfriend in tow. After about 5 minutes of the two of them beating the hell out of my decoys they wandered off but remained in sight. I decided to yelp to see if I could bring them back. She responded by yelping right back at me and for such a big dominant hen I was surprised at how high pitched her yeps were. Anyhow this must have gotten the attention of a tom in the woods because I heard a distant gobble. Then closer. Then real close but still in the woods.
At this point the hens decided to move into the next field over. And suddenly, on my left, out popped a tom in full strut. He was about 50 yds away but my odds looked good. In the distance I could see the pair of hens moving up a hill and he spotted them as well and decided to head there way. As I saw my chances moving further and further away I tried to entice him back but each time I did he would strut and gobble but continued towards the real deal.
With my binos I could see he’d caught up to them at about 400yds from my position so I resigned myself to watching them. After a while one hen starts making her was back towards the field I’m in...then the other hen...then the tom. They are obscured by a few rolling hills but I can hear him gobbling so I can roughly pinpoint where he is. Then all goes quiet. I contemplate leaving my position and trying to sneak up on them but with everything gone quiet, they really could be anywhere. And this big boy is following these hens so I know if I spook them, the jig is up.
So I sit. 30 minutes go by and I give a soft yelp and a gobble comes from about the opposite place I expect it! Either it is another tom or the original one has swept back, I will never know for sure. Slowly he makes his way towards me. He follows pretty much the same path he (presuming he was the original gobbler) took and he hangs again at about 50yds off my left side. Thankfully the two live hens are no where to be seen so eventually he gives into temptation and sloooooowly makes his way in. The video below shows him when he is about 20 yds away from me and he is closing in on my decoy. I will stop typing and let you watch the rest.
Runningfool
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
And here is something that is new to me. His beard was 9.5” long as pictured, but take a look at his spurs. Anyone here seen this sort of thing before.
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
And here is something that is new to me. His beard was 9.5” long as pictured, but take a look at his spurs. Anyone here seen this sort of thing before.
I have seen this before. Some jakes have extraordinary long beards and vice versa, some toms have short spurs. Usually its a jake with a long beard. I shot a bird a long time ago that had a beard that was about 9” long but bumps as spurs. When looking closely at the tail, the middle 7 feathers were longer then the rest, indicating that it was still a jake.
What does the tail look like on the bird? That will tell you if its a jake with a long beard or a tom with stubby spurs
X2... plus, what did it weigh?
I find that spur length is usually the best gauge of age. I have seen young birds with long beards and old birds with short beards, so it is tough to tell solely by beard length. If it was 20+ pounds with a 9.5" beard, I would guess that there was some injury or possibly a genetic glitch causing the lack of spurs.
Runningfool
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
Fan was full (you can see it at the end of the video) and bird was >20lbs so I'm guessing it was some sort of genetic glitch.
Cameron SS
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ground Zero
I've seen that before. last year in fact. Bird was about 15lbs with a 5" bird. Based on everything I would have expected the spurs to be 1/2" to 3/4" but they were nubs.
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
A 15lbs bird with a 5” beard would usually be a Jake. If it had a full fan it would be a runt...a young Tom with really poor genetics. Jakes are interesting in that they can be in different stages with their fans. Some only have 3 or 5 of the middle feathers fully grown and some have 7 or 9. Usually the more longer middle feathers, the longer the spur. As mentioned, beards dont dictate age
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
Here is an oddity that I encountered. I found tracks of this bird in the mud and couldnt believe the size of the footprint. When I ended up shooting a bird, I discovered who made the footprint and why it was so large. The damn bird had a seriously overgrown toe nail. The spurs on this bird were 1 9/16” long. That toe nail was about an inch long...
X2 (again)...
Jake tails can be very different, you normally see the center 5-7 feathers being longer, but they can also be shorter than the outside feathers... sometimes the center feathers are discoloured as compared to the outside feathers and sometimes they have full adult-bird colour... some even have full fans, but the ones that I have seen with full fans usually have a slightly different colour to the center feathers... again, Jake's normally have stubby 2-3 inch beards, but some can have beards that are 5-6+ inches long. I have never seen a Jake with a developed spur, they may have no discernible spur or a slight bump or nub, generally if they are at 1/2"+, it is a two year old gobbler.
I have been trying to get this particular tom for awhile now. He was predictable but very cautious possibly because my daughter shot his buddy. I had noted he seemed to come out into the field in the same spot every morning, so i tried setting up on him yesterday. Sure enough, I saw him fly down, walk through the bush and out into the field where he did as usual. Strut for a half hour, gobble like a fool, but remain out of range. He eventually returned to the bush and circled in behind me, never closing the distance.
Today, I figured I would ambush him. I set up perilously close to his roost tree and tried to be as quiet as possible. I sat with my gun right on the spot he would walk through and put a hen decoy wayyyy out in the field for him to look at. He started gobbling on the roost like clockwork. He flew down and continued gobbling on the ground. I heard hens yelping, so I gave out a few soft clucks trying not to over-do it. For a minute, I thought they were going to go the opposite direction, but then, a dark figure appeared at the "doorway". It was a hen and she froze solid staring out at the decoy. A second hen appeared behind her and after what seemed like forever, seemed to become impatient with the waiting and pushed past her. Then, old red white and blue noggin stepped out spitting and drumming. I waited for the hens to clear, and bowled him over at 25 yards.
He looked a bit ratty after tumbling down a dewy grass embankment. Big bird though...21lbs 2oz. Second tag punched and the smoker will be coming out.
Beat the bugs this year. Good luck to those still out there.
Today, I figured I would ambush him. I set up perilously close to his roost tree and tried to be as quiet as possible. I sat with my gun right on the spot he would walk through and put a hen decoy wayyyy out in the field for him to look at. He started gobbling on the roost like clockwork. He flew down and continued gobbling on the ground. I heard hens yelping, so I gave out a few soft clucks trying not to over-do it. For a minute, I thought they were going to go the opposite direction, but then, a dark figure appeared at the "doorway". It was a hen and she froze solid staring out at the decoy. A second hen appeared behind her and after what seemed like forever, seemed to become impatient with the waiting and pushed past her. Then, old red white and blue noggin stepped out spitting and drumming. I waited for the hens to clear, and bowled him over at 25 yards.
He looked a bit ratty after tumbling down a dewy grass embankment. Big bird though...21lbs 2oz. Second tag punched and the smoker will be coming out.
Beat the bugs this year. Good luck to those still out there.
Great video BTW. congrats
That 101 proof is like paint remover!
Then, old red white and blue noggin stepped out spitting and drumming. I waited for the hens to clear, and bowled him over at 25 yards.
He looked a bit ratty after tumbling down a dewy grass embankment. Big bird though...21lbs 2oz.
Nice bird, well played... congrats.
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
Beat the bugs this year. Good luck to those still out there.
Well done Dilly! Nice bird
wheelin_ca
CGN Regular
- Location
- Simcoe County Ontario Canada
got mine today Public land bird
4th time at this forest, always seen birds, but always henned up in neighbouring fields.
I got there late, already legal shooting time, so I quickly walk to my spot near the top of a hill, I can hear turkeys gobbling in the distance. Once i get to my spot and give it 5 minutes, i start calling, get a response every 10-15 minutes, but doesnt seem to be getting any closer.
After about 40 or so minutes I get a close gobble behind me, just outside the property border so i quickly scoot around to face where i think it will come out and softly cluck a few times.
Then i see a head poke out at the top of the hill beside the base of a tree, so i freeze in an awkward position leaning forward gun out. the tom is staying perfectly still scanning the forest about 25 yards away, but i dont have a shot due to him being on the other side of the downed fence. the standoff lasted about 5 minutes with me trying soft clucks to try to get him to come over. sure enough, the head disappears, and i can just see the very top of his fan.
He came around the hill towards me, and crossed over the downed fence. One last look down the hill to my left, Boom.
He dropped on the spot, 14 yards.
I Dont have a weight, but he was heavy enough, 9" beard, and 3/4" and 7/8" spurs
My 2nd ever
Browning Gold hunter, jellyhead choke, nitro turkey #6s
4th time at this forest, always seen birds, but always henned up in neighbouring fields.
I got there late, already legal shooting time, so I quickly walk to my spot near the top of a hill, I can hear turkeys gobbling in the distance. Once i get to my spot and give it 5 minutes, i start calling, get a response every 10-15 minutes, but doesnt seem to be getting any closer.
After about 40 or so minutes I get a close gobble behind me, just outside the property border so i quickly scoot around to face where i think it will come out and softly cluck a few times.
Then i see a head poke out at the top of the hill beside the base of a tree, so i freeze in an awkward position leaning forward gun out. the tom is staying perfectly still scanning the forest about 25 yards away, but i dont have a shot due to him being on the other side of the downed fence. the standoff lasted about 5 minutes with me trying soft clucks to try to get him to come over. sure enough, the head disappears, and i can just see the very top of his fan.
He came around the hill towards me, and crossed over the downed fence. One last look down the hill to my left, Boom.
He dropped on the spot, 14 yards.
I Dont have a weight, but he was heavy enough, 9" beard, and 3/4" and 7/8" spurs
My 2nd ever
Browning Gold hunter, jellyhead choke, nitro turkey #6s
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1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
Well done Wheelin! And you got it done on public land which is great. Where you hunting a Simcoe County forest? If so, how is the human traffic in there this time of year?
wheelin_ca
CGN Regular
- Location
- Simcoe County Ontario Canada
yes it was a SCF. I know it gets traffic on weekends, but weekdays arent bad unless its opener. havent hunted the "afternoon shift" yet this year in there
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
Excellent work! I know a few people who took a chance in a SCF and had a miserable time with all the traffic coming through. I think you’re right about going during the week as opposed to weekends
Last time I walked through the Hodson tract in Bradford, I saw more microwaves than animals. Pretty sad!
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Got out very briefly today, as I was rounding a corner I see a bird hoofing it away from me (pretty sure it heard me rather than saw me) Close enough, and clear enough view of the head to have a shot on it, but I couldn't identify whether or not it had a beard on account of the whole running away thing. It's been that kind of season, oh, well, lol.
