puddleglum
FNG
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2023
- Messages
- 23
I went turkey hunting for the first time this year. A local hunter and his wife who take kids out who have never hunted before hunt on our land and have bird rights. I am 44, so not a kid (well, not physically at least, maturity wise, well...) but they offered to take me out after turkey.
Day 1 we saw a big gobbler, who refused to come anywhere near the strutter decoy. They figured he may have gotten into a fight and lost, and wasn't up for another whooping. There were also a few hens out in the fields so he may have preferred the real thing to the blow up dolls.
Day 2 we went back to the same place and there were three big gobblers, different than the one we saw before, maybe the ones that beat up the one from the day before. There were quite a few hens as well, and the gobblers seemed uninterested in our decoys. The hunter's wife eventually snuck out and hit behind a strutter decoy and moved toward the nearest gobbler and he came in looking for a fight. She didn't realize how close he was, and when she took the shot he was only 10-15 yards away and he gobbled right as she shot. He flew away, there were feathers everywhere, no blood, and we didn't find a trace of him in the woods where he landed. We think he may have gotten a reverse mohawk across his back.
Day 3 we went out on my family's land and saw three gobblers and lots of hens. We also saw evidence of hunters trespassing, and the birds got spooked at some point, likely from the trespassers leaving.
Day 4 I went out at 4:15 AM and settled into the blind myself. I put out a hen and jake decoy, and there was no one to do any calling. I saw 12 birds, likely a mix of hens and jakes and heard lots of gobbling, but someone was distantly behind me calling, again trespasser hunters. There was a shot, and the birds moved a little but then went back into feeding mode. I saw one gobbler way out there, who strutted once and then started running fast, and shortly later the 12 birds all ran for it. Likely the trespassers leaving again.
No turkey for the smoker my first season, but it was a lot of fun and I learned a few things. Also know I need to get back to the woods more often to start being present back there to discourage trespassing.
Day 1 we saw a big gobbler, who refused to come anywhere near the strutter decoy. They figured he may have gotten into a fight and lost, and wasn't up for another whooping. There were also a few hens out in the fields so he may have preferred the real thing to the blow up dolls.
Day 2 we went back to the same place and there were three big gobblers, different than the one we saw before, maybe the ones that beat up the one from the day before. There were quite a few hens as well, and the gobblers seemed uninterested in our decoys. The hunter's wife eventually snuck out and hit behind a strutter decoy and moved toward the nearest gobbler and he came in looking for a fight. She didn't realize how close he was, and when she took the shot he was only 10-15 yards away and he gobbled right as she shot. He flew away, there were feathers everywhere, no blood, and we didn't find a trace of him in the woods where he landed. We think he may have gotten a reverse mohawk across his back.
Day 3 we went out on my family's land and saw three gobblers and lots of hens. We also saw evidence of hunters trespassing, and the birds got spooked at some point, likely from the trespassers leaving.
Day 4 I went out at 4:15 AM and settled into the blind myself. I put out a hen and jake decoy, and there was no one to do any calling. I saw 12 birds, likely a mix of hens and jakes and heard lots of gobbling, but someone was distantly behind me calling, again trespasser hunters. There was a shot, and the birds moved a little but then went back into feeding mode. I saw one gobbler way out there, who strutted once and then started running fast, and shortly later the 12 birds all ran for it. Likely the trespassers leaving again.
No turkey for the smoker my first season, but it was a lot of fun and I learned a few things. Also know I need to get back to the woods more often to start being present back there to discourage trespassing.
