2020 Turkey Success Thread

[TripleJ]

Called this guy and 2 of his buddies into about 30 yds from my blind this morning.

 

[hn0527]

Forgive me if I’m in the wrong thread: I was in a blind for awhile I’m a place I have already scouted a few times and confirmed turkeys. They were calling all day and I was calling back with a diaphragm call and a slate call. They just weren’t getting closer. What is the turkeys daily routine? There was a draw above a water source we were about 1500 ft above water in the afternoon 2pm to 6pm. What do they do during the day? What call is more effective?

 

[Jimss]

Hens likely are on nests during the day this late in the season. Hens may leave flocks to nest during the day so toms may be venturing out searching for receptive hens during the day. Types of calls can vary from day to day and minute by minute depending upon the situation. Hunting over decoys is quite a bit different than running and gunning. Often times when I run and gun.... no calling is best. I may call once every hour or 2 to see if I can locate toms. Once located it's "game on!" If something doesn't work be willing to change things up.

 

[jdmaxwell]

Killed on film at 15yds

 

[hobbes]

My pastor (and friend) and I found this lonely bird late on Tuesday. He came in gobbling and looking for love.

 

[hobbes]

My son and I called this bird in at 10 AM on Friday after most of his hens wandered off. He strutted and gobbled in behind one hen with a jake in tow.

 

[TNsavageman]

Called this one in for my dad a few weeks back. Great hunt and great memories for us.

 

[nodakian]

Contrary to advice on another thread, my kid and I reaped this one on public land—no one else within miles. The pack out made him work a little too. Prep for deer season.

 

[Cant hit em]

Contrary to advice on another thread, my kid and I reaped this one on public land—no one else within miles. The pack out made him work a little too. Prep for deer season. View attachment 180054View attachment 180055

All I have to hunt is public . They are there you just got to work a little harder . Nice job


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[Gliajo11]

Nice

 

[swamphunter]

Kentucky bird a few days ago.

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[Ratamahatta]

Killed the dominant Tom first. Shot the other two with one shot, will probably never do that again lol.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Got a public land tom this weekend. Went out with a buddy before the sun was up and found some roosted birds. We heard gobbles a ways off, so we planted ourselves between the roosted birds and the gobbles. We were able to watch some roosted birds one direction while watching two toms strutting around a hen and one eventually breeding her. She led the loverboy tom out into the sage, so we moved closer to them, and snuck in on our bellies between the sage brush. My partner put out a hen decoy and started to call. Loverboy turned to us and walked about 150 yards, straight to us.

 

[Jahvette20]

Friday was my 3rd turkey hunting day of the season, and 5th ever (I dabbled 2 days last year and decided this year I was going to do what I could to get one). At first light , just as I was hitting the 1 mile mark of my hike into a Pennsylvania State Forest where I had encountered some birds last year, I heard a gobble. This was the first time I’d heard one while hunting. After 15+ miles of hiking and blowing a crow call that week, to say I was thrilled to hear a Tom sound off unprovoked is an understatement. I was approaching a ridge, the highest around, by following a power line cut, and I could tell that he was roosted on the knob less than 200 yds away. I made short work or closing the distance to about 100 yds where I staked my jake decoy in the middle of the cut, and I set up 25 yds away in the tree line opposing where I anticipated his approach. The air was dead calm and brisk, the sound of the woods waking was exceptional, but his emotion was nothing short of magical. He was very vocal, gobbling in quick response to every woodpecker hammer that reached his ears. No sooner was I sitting, and before I had my calls out, he appeared on the crest of the ridge 100 yds away. He traversed the slope gradually, filling his gizzard with gravel as he made his way toward the center of the cut and his plastic subordinate. My excitement took over and I decided to strike my slate to boost his interest. This proved to be a bad move. My less than steady hands seemed to forget the motions and the sound that resonated more closely resembled the loading of a 45 on a turntable than a hen looking for love. My subconscious quickly took over and I was making more bird-like sounds, but the damage was done. He was about 50 yds away when he started warily skirting the decoy, making his way back to the tree line on the other side of the cut, and putting a high spot between us. I dug my box call out and hesitantly worked the lever. The initial sound made me cringe. I am much more confident with the slate than the box call mainly because I only recently acquired one, but after a few hits the Tom gobbled and I could tell I was doing something right to him. Something about that chalk and wood he couldn’t resist responding to, but he wouldn’t turn back toward me. Although I couldn’t see him due to the high ground between us, his gobbles proved that he was slowly putting distance between us as he followed the power line that I had walked just 30 minutes earlier. I crawled up to where I could see down the line. My eyes first settled on a few deer feeding 400 yds below me before I remembered today’s quarry was the bird in the foreground. I decided to grab my decoy and make a move to try to intercept him. I picked a distant pole supporting the 12 strands of high voltage electric cable 100 ft overhead and set out in the shape of a large simicircle through the timber to where I hoped he would end up. After 20 minutes and a 1/2 mile or so I was setup almost identical to the first time although this time I had 0 visibility toward the bird’s approach due to brush and terrain. The decoy was set in the open and the first strike with the box call erupted a gobble less than 200 yds off. He gobbled once more, then all was silent. Over the next 20 minutes, seemingly an hour, I called sparingly and waited. The silence was excruciating. Then I thought I heard something, just as one might think they see a dozen trophy bucks materialize in the brush just before light, but my sense of sound proved keen enough to detect birds feet 20 yds away. A second later as I shouldered my shotgun, a beat up and rusty JC Higgins that I bought when I was 12, a head painted vibrant red, white, and blue, bobbed into my shooting lane. He was 10 yds from my decoy when I pulled the trigger. At 7:00 am “YEAH!!!!” overtook the echoing of the shot. The excitement rivaled that of my first buck. I think I’m a turkey hunter for life now.

 

[deerhunt1988]

Started out with a public land Osceola.




Finished up in the Black Hills.

 

[deerhunt1988]

A few of my favorite pics from the many in between.



Alabama:

Tennessee:

Missouri:

Michigan:

Minnesota:

Out west:

 

[Babs777]

Congrats!


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[gdog]

1st one my daughter and 2nd one mine. UT birds.

 

[MTbowhunter36]

Shot this guy at 17 yards.

 

[MTbowhunter36]

Shot this one at about 25 yards. Sliced him through the heart with a Ramcat. Marinated him in pickle juice and then fried him up and he was delicious!