Turkey - Pressure's Off - FINALLY!!

44fordy

44fordy

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
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Location
Wrongtario
I've seen more turkeys this year than any other, and it's taken me LONGER than any other year to bag one!

My personal highlights of this season... if you're interested

- More encounters with hens than ever, one pretty much stepped on my gun barrel one morning
- I've actually had hens responding to my calls
- 3 jakes within 25 yards, and I turned them down due to 2 massive toms behind them....to which I never got an opportunity. MISTAKE...should have shot a jake
- WAYYYYY more hunters. I think some trespassers!! I've almost stepped on a couple guys on a few occasions. Cooincidently, I've scared the $hit out of them a couple mornings.
- My turkey calling has worked fantastic for calling in coyotes!! WOW!!
- BIG TOM - MISSED at 60yards with my BPS 30" barrel, undertaker choke and 3" 2oz #4 mags WTF??? (Bugger saw me at the same time and got a jump on me.) He ran for the woods which was about 10 yards behind him. I emptied the last 2 shots (Hail Mary's) as he was running in a Zig-Zag fashion. As I shot, there were pieces of turf flying up beside him like grenades out of a war movie. Although I wasn't laughing at the time, it was one of life's funny moments.
- BPS goes back in the closet. Lanber O/U comes into the game. (Faithful...love her!)
- The hunt continues, still tons of birds. A couple mornings of my patience giving in, and an extra hour would have made all the difference.
- Overall - calls not working this year (except hens and yotes) All of the males we've seen have had plenty of females, so they don't feel much need to stray
- Last night, set-up at a new property at about 6pm. Tom and 2 hens in the next field over. No calling, but set-up on what may be a good travel route. It was. Shortly after setting up on the most uncomfortable rock pile I've ever sat on, I see the tom off in the distance crossing into my field. Hen comes my way, within 30 yards. Tom stayed closer to the middle, and finally got to a range where I knew I could get him. Wasn't a preferred distance, but I couldn't chance him going further into the middle of the field.
So, plugged with 2&3/4 #4 Win Supreme ### Turkey load 1&5/8oz, from my lanber O/U. 65 yards with the modified choke.

The bird stats - 21lbs, 9" beard, 1" spurs

Pics to come...

Good luck to all you other turkey hunters out there this year!
 
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You need to hunt at lunch hour, make lots of noise, call until you are sick of the calls and generally break more rules. :dancingbanana:

Worked for me...........:D

Doug
 
I hear you Fordy! Congrats on your bird!

Your post describes my season & observations perfectly. I have been out hunting hard quite a few mornings this season. Just bagged my first bird of the season this AM. Nice small jake. What a fiasco it turned out to be. I heard a tom gobble 3 or 4 times around 5:15am, then he shuts up. I try to get as close as I can to where he is roosted, but it's on the other side of a big open field. Unfortunately I can't find a place to setup there so I go back into the woods & circle around a bit & find a barely satisfactory spot to setup. I made a few yelps on my box call & waited. No response. I'm thinking this tom has hens already, your screwed again. I waited about 15 min. then called again. This time the tom gobbles back once. I sit & wait. The minutes tick by. I call again with no response this time. Well now I'm thinking it's time to move, but I always sit an extra 30 min. when I have decided to move. This turned out to be a good thing. I hear a hen yelp about 100 yrds in front of me. I return her call, & a gobble thunders back. Unfortunately the turkeys are coming from the wrong direction, from my right side along the field. My decoys are about 30 yrds to my left. The small saplings are already getting leafed out, & I can only get glimpses of the turkeys as they move along the field; 8 hens with 4 toms. The hens are leading the way. The lead hen walks about 3 feet in front of me & stares right at me. She starts to cluck loudly, not alarm putting, but close too it. She walks past me towards my decoys & I get sized up by the next hen. My heart is pounding, I'm thinking this is going to end soon, they can't NOT see me here. The two hens pass & I can see the toms heads & necks moving between the leafy saplings. I decide to take the first one that I get a shot at. Seconds pass & they all move closer. The bright red & white head enters the field of my reddot, & I pull the trigger from 7 yards away. BOOOOOM, turkeys scatter everywhere, but one is flopping on the ground. I can't believe it, I actually was able to shoot one! Turned out to be a nice jake, should be real good eatin'. Good luck to everyone who hasn't bagged a bird yet.

George

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Way to go George. :D
You're season sounds like my yesterday mornings hunt as well...
No Tom down but their behavior was the same. I never had any walk by sooo close as that.
 
Awesome jake, George. I've had luck with a nice gobbler, but also spent a few birdless mornings. Still better than sleeping in a warm bed (??)
 
Nice job George!

I like your rule of thumb about waiting 30 more minutes after you've decided to leave. That could benefit a lot of hunters!

And Doug...I concuur, this year for sure!!
 
grnhawg said:
Nice bird for sure. Congrats on a job well done. Just glad ya didn't shoot the bugger off the roost:D:D:D:D
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HAHAHA (I was waiting for that comment.)

As the season goes on and the "Moral-Flexibility" increases under the pressure, I still don't think I'd plug-him out of the tree. (I'd nail him as soon as he hits ground though!!)
 
Doug said:
Way to go, bud! :dancingbanana: I see you went back to the pump gun.

Did he land on top of you when he fell out of the tree? :nest:

Doug
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Thanks Doug!! Damn you make me laugh!!

My Remmy hasn't been out this year, and I thought it might be feeling neglected. I actually forgot how nice it is to carry that ol Wingmaster! (And it's performance is great!!)

I was out in the morning with my buddy when I heard a shot about 800 yards across a couple fields off in the woods. (Which wasn't my friend)
My friend and I watched and 2 guys emerge from the woods...sans bird.
They left immediately and my friend took off as he had a friends' daughter with him who was getting sick of the mosquito attack.
I was the only one left out there without a turkey in sight. I though...well, I can go home, eat breakfast and deal with my wife and 3 kids...oorrrr...I can sit here and let the mosquito's eat through my camoflauge! The choice is obvious.
So, no sooner does everyone leave, I get back to my little spot in the pines and I see a bird walk out into the field about 600 yards in front of me. I start the calling, light at first and then some louder yelps followed by some clucks and purrs. Well, it only took him a minute and he started his way over like a track star! I thought, oh boy...this is it and the adrenaline starts doin it's thing. Well, the bird gets within 200 yards when all of a sudden I hear gobbling. 1000 yards plus is a tom, just given'r. 2 minutes later, 4 females and 2 more males emerge from the wooded area by the gobbler and congregate. The one that came to me is no longer to be found. He disappeared like a fart in the wind, and all I could figure was he headed for the gang.
There I sat, watching 4 males and 4 females do allll those silly things that turkeys do.....from 800-1000yards away without a hope they will come across the fields or have anything to do with a call.
So, there I was thinking how nice the day was getting, and how I just enjoyed watching these silly birds from afar...nature at work.
After 30 minutes I had figured out what direction these birds were heading, at a very slow, playful pace. They were headed north. I almost went home.
Then I thought, N'ah...screw it. I'm going to walk the mile it takes to get over to them, suprise them on the corner and shoot one. Just like that!
My walk had to be very strategic of course....but it was eeaaasssy walking. I tromped along the paths, cornfields, and woods hiding in the shadows.
I lit up a smoke about halfway, and started whistling as I walked. I knew they wouldn't hear me from where I was. And, I was giggling to myself a good portion of the way thinking I'm going to suprise the 4uck outta these birds!
My last 200 yards of walking was through a nicley ploughed field with soft soil that made no noise under my gumboots. I get to the end and ALMOST go too far! Although creeping slowly, I look through a patch of forest and I see 2 red heads completely still, and got the inkling that they felt a "disturbane in the force". Their heads stopped moving, something might be up, so ever so slowly, I backed a mere 6 inches behind a tree and out of that sight-line between them and myself. They were about 80 yards and exactly where I thought they'd be.
So now, I needed to get to the edge of this forest to get a line in the field they were in. I spot some long green grass on the corner and figure that's my spot. I only need to belly crawl about 15 yards and get myself my sniper perch. They WILL walk my way!!
45 seconds later....
I didn't get half of the way to my spot and I see a red head...and he's CLOSE. I find a place I can shoot him though the grass and foliage, and pull the remmy up. (At this point I'm up on my knees as I couldn't see him from a prone position. But, I couldn't kneel ALL the way up of he'd see me) It was one of those most uncomfortable, unorthdox shooting positions I have become soooo familiar with when turkey hunting! Consequently, I knew I just had to get my gun positioned for a couple seconds, wait a nanno or 2 until his head comes into my line of sight, tap the trigger and we have some deep fryer material!!
It went down exactly as such! I ran out immediately, and checked the other 7he was with, and they're all pannicking, not knowing what the hell is going on, and a few seconds later they peel it into the woods. (I wish turkey hunting was like ducks and you could bag 4 or 5!!)
Chances are this bird was not the biggest tom with the group. There was one out there that was quite distinctive, and probably a few pounds heavier.
BUT, I learned what it's like to pass up a bird...this year. That will NOT happen again! Jake....tom...whatever, they alll taste great. This guy was a nice tom with the same attributes of my other one, just a pound or 2 less.
In closing, from a morning where I really didn't have any expectations of getting game, it tuned out great!:D

I wish alll you hunters out there the best of luck on your hunts, and congratulate you on your successes! This action-packed hunting is truly one in it's own!

We could do without all the bugs though!
;)
 
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