Ontario spring turkey 2016

had two jakes come in to about 10 feet......... my father-in-law decided to pass them up. lots of gobbles but they were about 200 yards away and once we watched them come out of the roost they headed in the other direction. my wife is making me go to Merrickville tomorrow for a town yard sale or something that she goes to every year:rolleyes:. I'm usually working and get out of going with her, so I won't make it out with him again until Sunday or Monday.
 
Taking my daughter out tomorrow morning. Hopeful she will finally see a male bird after countless encounters with hens. I'm going to set up the scrawny jake decoy in addition to my hens in hopes that will coax a reluctant tom waiting in the wings to show himself. Weather looks perfect so fingers are crossed tomorrow will be the day for her!
 
Work kept me from going out again....... Super happy I took the name I did, as it is important to keep the boys interested....... My oldest's bithday is being celebrated tomorrow, and I will be hunting Sunday....
 
I hunted a few days opening week. A buddy on another property got one opening day. I heard gobbles in the morning then quiet all day. A hen came by at 6:50am. Another day I hunted the evening and a birds came walking up a rock fence line silently, checked out my dekes for less than a minute then continued on his merry way towards the hardwoods. Next morning I went to the same spot and it sounded like 5 birds gobbling their wattles off nearby first thing in the morning, all close together. Quiet after sun up. A couple hours later I'm playing games on my phone thinking I'll need to wait out a lull while the hens occupy the birds and I hear this *WOOOSH* and look up to a turkey flying in on my decoys! Like being caught with your pants down, phone in hand I can't get my gun up on him he lands and bounces to the right and out of sight where my blind is built up. Another guy is hanging back about 70 yards away on my side of the rock fence looking my way. Not a sound, no strutting, just standing there. It feels like an eternity then he crosses the rock fence and meanders away. Crap! I look to my right and the other bird is nowhere to be seen. They just don't seem to be into the swing of breeding in my area and it was tough hunting. I plan to get back out later this week and hopefully they are more active and responsive to calls/decoys.
 
I have to admit that this has been my most dismal turkey season yet.........

I didn't even get out opening day, as I had work commitments....... Both of my boys are born in May and there is the whole Mother's Day thing to take care of.....

BUT...... I was super happy to get out when I did..... And happy with my jake....... My boys and I got our feed...... And we all loved it.....

For the first time, I will hang a tag since I am heading stateside for work......

But congrats to all that got their birds, and an extra congrats to the guys that got their trophies.....

As much as I didn't get to partake as much as I usually do, I got go partake...... And it makes a world of difference.
 
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Big old Tom in my books.
 
Season is over for my better half! The turkeys were much more vocal this time out and were gobbling when we arrived. As there was so much noise we split up and she went to one field while I headed for the other. I had hardly got to my blind when I could see birds dropping down out of the roost at my end of the field. No amount of calling tempted this group at all and they headed off into the bush. Two lone hens cut the corner of my field a little while later and I had a nice chat with them for awhile. I had a tom get vocal and I called him into about 100 yards when he spied those two lone hens and followed them off into the woods. I hadn't heard my better half calling and put it down to the wind blowing a bit ... when ... bang ... one quick shot and a text comes in right away saying she got a nice tom. She said he snuck in super quiet and put on quite a strutting display in front of her hen/jake setup.

As an aside the gun is a verney-carron shotgun that she inherited from her uncle in France and this was the first game taken with it, kinda special for her.

Well one more tag left and still trying to get a gobbler to cooperate with me!
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I've been out to fill my second tag a few times. I shot a good sized Tom on April 29th who had about four or five hens. After I shot him, three male turkeys move in comprised of a dominant tom and two Jakes who then took over the hens. Today I noted that another large Tom has moved in on those hens kicking out the aforementioned three male turkeys. The problem is that he is henned up pretty bad but I have him patterned so I might be able to ambush him. I have only been able to hunt before and after work so I haven't had a chance to go at him mid-day when the hens are off doing hen related things. My goal is to get that big Tom, but if the leader of that bachelor group shows up I'd take him too. The other two in the bachelor group are last years Jakes by the look of their body size and beards. If it comes down to it, I'll take one but there is plenty of season left before it comes to that. Also, being he is henned up, I am forgoing my 16 gauge SxS in favour of the 12 gauge Francotte SxS with tighter chokes for a bit more range.
 
Dos toms por favor...

I tagged out with my second tom this season. I setup at 8:30 am and started to "cold call" on my box every 20 minutes. At 9:30 am I hear what sounds like a turkey bolting through the woods. Sure enough a hen comes out of the tree line and starts circling my single hen decoy strutting and purring her little heart out (I had never seen a hen strut to assert her dominance, very cool behaviour). Moments later I hear another turkey running through the woods and as soon as it breaks the tree line he puts on a show strutting, spitting, and drumming. I waited for him to take a few step into the field and knocked him down with a single shot from 25 yards.


20 lbs.
8 1/2" beard.
3/4" spurs.


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Well, after sitting all day watching the turkeys strut, cluck and feed in the same part of the field (about 350 yards away), I decided to setup closer this morning. Without knowing, I managed to set up directly under the hens roost tree. It was pretty awesome to watch them fly down from that close. Presently, I am watching the gobbler strut from about 75 yards away. I hope that the hens feed up this way.
 
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With this group, the Tom hasn't been roosting near the hens, so I only really hear gobbling at first light. He doesn't seem to gobble much during the day.
 
They won't gobble much after first light this late into the season. They like to come in like feathered ninja's! The last one I got didn't make a sound.
 
4n2t0 said:
They won't gobble much after first light this late into the season. They like to come in like feathered ninja's! The last one I got didn't make a sound.
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I disagree had one this morning gobbling for almost 2.5 hours, all the way to the decoys, until he crossed a waterlogged bush to my buddy who is now cleaning his bird. I find they gobble more this time of year cause their hens are going on the nests and they get lonely. Warmer it gets the more they are responsive, once off the roost, has been my experience. And every bird is different
 
hunter148 said:
I disagree had one this morning gobbling for almost 2.5 hours, all the way to the decoys, until he crossed a waterlogged bush to my buddy who is now cleaning his bird. I find they gobble more this time of year cause their hens are going on the nests and they get lonely. Warmer it gets the more they are responsive, once off the roost, has been my experience. And every bird is different
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You think they gobble more now than opening week? Hmmm, that's not what I have experienced, interesting. I feel when breeding slows; birds go quiet. I think some call it "the fade". Like you said though, every bird's different.
 
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