Biggest surprise gobbler.....

[BigPimpin]

Me and a friend worked a bird for an hour and he hung up at 80 yards strutting in the single ray of sunlight in a hardwood bottom. Finally, a hen came from behind and took him away. He and I were sitting there with our face masks and hats off, shotguns on the ground for about ten minutes after he was out of sight discussing our next move. Out of nowhere a bird fired off no more than 50 yards to our left. He couldnt see us through a thick patch. we scrambled and I got my gun up just in time to watch him step into the shooting lane. My buddy said "shoot him" and I rolled him up. Couldn't believe it went down like that. We left the strutter for another day.

 

[BigPimpin]

Another day, we were skipping out on work that morning. We had hit every spot we had and covered half the county. It was getting close to lunch time and I was sweating getting back to work. He insisted that we try one more spot. The wind had picked up to about 20 mph. We parked the truck in plain sight of where the birds usually fielded mid-day and struck off to the corner of the field. I brought nothing but my box call and a slate. We tried to locate twice and I was ready to go. He said he wanted to walk another 100 yds and give it one more call. The bird fired off. We scrambled to get set and the bird was dead no more than three minutes later. I made it back to work by the end of the lunch break. The quick ones when your are just about ready to quit are my favorite.

 

[hawglips]

Lets hear about those that just came out of nowhere....

Last year the second week of the season, I had hunted all morning and just couldn't get it done. I was carrying a new .410 O/U that I really wanted to baptize with turkey blood.

About 11 a.m. I just wasn't feeling it where I was, and decided to try an area where I knew they liked to hang around and loaf during the middle of the day. My strategy was to just sit tight in a piece of hardwoods bordering a field. I had 3 hours to hunt, so, I found a shady spot under a holly tree and started calling every now and then. Soon, I was needing a nap. So I took my vest off and laid it out so that the cushion could serve as a pillow. I laid the .410 across my lap for quick access and laid down to doze off some.

I'd doze off and then call (while on my back), doze off, wake and call, doze back off, wake and call, and so on.

About 2-1/2 hours into this, I was dreaming about these birds making a bunch of racket in the trees. And in my dream I thought that those birds sounded a little like turkeys scratching in the leaves. And then I thought how cool that would be to have turkeys scratching in the leaves nearby while I napped. And then I told myself you better wake up and listen with something besides your sub conscience. And - I'll be derned if that wasn't a turkey scratching in the leaves after all.

So, I gathered my wits and determined that there was indeed a turkey scratching about five yards away right off my right ear. And so I slowly eased my hands onto my gun and raised my head just enough to peer down between my feet - and dang if there wasn't a strutting gobbler coming right to me and the scratching hen, about 30-35 yds away. It was the perfect direction for me to shoot from my flat-on-the-back position, and I knew I had bonafide 40 yd range, so I eased the gun up...

And as I did that, the hen 5 yds to my right putted, and right on cue, the gobbler stuck his head straight up for me, and I squeezed it off....

http://s243.photobucket.com/user/ha...mpton 4-18-15_zpsj0ox8uur.mp4.html?sort=3&o=0

 

[fox_fire]

I received permission to hunt a 200 acre tract in Coweta county. I had no idea if turkeys were there or not. My plan for the first morning was to slowly troll the perimeter, scout as I went and sit/call for 20-30 minutes at a time and then move on..... No gobbbles. No sign. Confidence was low.

Around midday, I finally found an area where it looked like turkeys had been scratching. Up to this point I had not seen a track or found a feather so I decided to stay in this spot for the next hour. Again nothing. I packed up planning to call it a day and took about 10 steps in the direction of the truck. I stopped to look at something and caught movement to my left. ~75 yards away, in thick pines, a blue head is coming my way.

I froze and managed to kill him standing in the open woods. Big double bearded bird with long spurs (and potentially blind not to bust me). Never saw any sign of turkeys on the tract again. Lost the land due to change of ownership before the next season.

 

[hoppie]

A few years back a friend of mine had a lot of unhunted farmland and she was interested in going turkey hunting. Well one day my brother and I made the trek down to her family property and the day started out poorly to say the least. We were bummed thinking it was going to be a bust, but we went to a new property to give it a try.

Upon arrival we immediately struck a bird a few hundred yards off. The next time we called he had closed the distance in half. It was no time before this bird was in our laps. Well I was on my knees behind the tree my friend was setup on and my brother was in a field hiding in the tall wheat doing the calling. The bird came up in thinned pines that had grown up in between thinned rows, so she could not see the bird strutting, gobbling, drumming, etc... at 10 yards. I mean he put on a show. I never once had any intentions of shooting this bird, but eventually he started to drift off when the hen didn't show. He was about 30 yards out when I told her he was leaving, so she told me something she didn't have to twice. I lined up the bead and folded him up. He had 1 1/4 spurs and 11 1/2 rope. I had no clue I was about to get a bird, but I am not complaining about the bird.

 

[Arrow3]

Great stories!

 

[bangbird]

I was leaning up against my truck one evening around 6PM waiting for a buddy to come out of the woods. I decided to get a box call out and mess around with it. I started yelping and cutting on it just goofing around. Bird started answering me a few hundred yards away. I grabbed my gun and slipped into the woods and took a seat. Bird was on me in seconds, and I killed him. It was a real surprise and my buddy and I laughed about it.

 

[Gut_Pile]

This one

March 22, 2010.

I gained access to hunt a property in Spalding county just the week before. The landowner drove me around on his golf cart and showed me the property lines. We didn't see any turkeys that day, and barely any sign, but I knew birds had historically been in the area. I got there at daylight, walked to a powerline, heard a bird gobble, called one time and he sprinted straight to me from 300 yards away. Shot him at 18 steps. Needless to say, I was pretty surprised when I rolled him over. His 1 3/8" spurs didn't hurt either.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

I've enjoyed all the stories in this thread. Thanks everyone. Here is one of my favorites...

Hunting Allatoona WMA back in the 80's, it was not uncommon to strike up a gobbler across the Etowa river. I had success twice one season setting up in open hardwoods and pulling them from the roost across the river to my hill. The following season, I got on an oak before sun up looking across the river. Shortly after dawn, a couple of gobblers sounded off across from me and I felt confident in my position. They both hammered on my tree call so I felt it was on and I went quiet. They gobbled many times from the roost over the next 45 minutes until I couldn't stand not calling. I hit them with a fly down...they responded a couple minutes later from the ground on the other side of the river. Rats! I had them stirred up marching back and fourth on their hill across from me but couldn't get them to fly the river. I was losing this battle after working them for nearly two hours. I thought it time to head to the truck, drive around and get on their side while they were still in the mood. I pulled a map from my vest to see if the property across was WMA and how to access. GAAAAAWWWWBBBBBBLE! sounded from almost over my head. I snapped and looked up over my left shoulder. There he was, roosted in the tree 20 yards right behind me. Unreal! Unnerving! I had been sitting under him since before dawn, about three hours, and he hadn't made a peep. This wasn't the first time I had set up under or near roosting turkeys but I had been drinking coffee, pulling calls from my vest and calling, even smoked a couple cigs all with him watching from above. Maybe it was the unwrinkling of the map that set him off. Well now he's leaning out off his branch giving me that head-bob look indicating that I'm am so busted. Maybe he just wanted me to see his paintbrush beard before he flipped down and calmly walked away. I ended up ruined for the day. I couldn't figure out why he would stay up there just watching. Why did he gobble? To discourage the other gobblers for comming over? To get me to show my face? To see what kind of preditor was camped out since before dawn? My map proved the birds across the river were on private land. I gave them a few parting yelps as they eventually moved up their hill away from me leaving me alone with my thoughts and questions. I'm not sure what that gobbler learned but I've been checking the tree tops around my set-up at the first light ever since.

 

[Gut_Pile]

I would have shot him off the limb

 

[armyvet4583]

Last yr being first yr killing turkeys I'm not full of storys. However a buddy and I went to my club and pulled into the listening hole. One owl hoot and sure enough one went to acting a fool. Came around the curve and a member of the club had his truck parked there. Figuering he was on that bird we drove past hoping not to booger his hunt. Got past stop and called that same bird still gobbling his head off. Still not sure where the other member was we kept goin not hearing no more birds. I finally got ahold of the other member said he heard a bird they tried to work but no good. Never heard the one 200 yrds from his truck. Decided to go to the other side just to see what was goin on. Walked into the woods and a bird fired off. Went alittle further and called again and they were on the way. 2 gobblers poped out 5 mins later my buddy was to the right of me so I aimed at the LEFT bird. When he shot I shot. Come to find out we shot the same bird. He could not see the lead bird. So we tried to get around the block and didnt hear nothing. Heading back to truck he had his mouth call in was making god awful noise. I heard a gooble almost back to where we were set up earlier. Walking though a swampy clear cut we go set up not 400 yrds from earlier. 45 mins no gobble. Switched to his slate and he gobbled about 100 yrds away. A few mins later a huge bird came strutting in. 40Ish yrd pulled trigger and click. When shooting at first bird my shell ejected out however didnt reload. So now this huge bird is working from my front to my left (im left handed) about 30 yrds out. I repump get aimed and kill him. Luckly had a turkey chair made my swiveling easier. Didnt weigh him but figured he was close to 22lbs 11in. Beard. 1.25 spurs. From the time of the click to the time he was dead seemed like forever probably 2 mins. I was more shaken up over that than my first bird. Here is the two together. His had an 11 in. Beard and no spurs.

 

[brittonl]

One that quickly comes to mind was about 20yrs + ago (wow hard to believe) & my dad & I had been drawn for a quota hunt on a North Ga mountain WMA. We weren't very familiar with the property unfortunately & found ourselves bumping around throughout most of the day. The terrain was very steep & difficult to to get around & finally decided get close to a creek bottom & set up on the side of a steep hillside & do what my dad tried his best to teach me to do ... sit & be patient.

We had been sitting & giving the ocasional call for a couple of hours if I recall, and nothing was talking or moving & just felt completely lifeless around us. I look over to my left & ive got a Tom starring at me at about 25yds. The bird was literally on the side of this steep hillside & showed up completely unannounced & like a ghost. He moved behind a tree trying to slip out & that was all I needed. The shot rang out & my dad sitting 30yds to my right had no clue either until the shot. Walking out of those steep hills with that homegrown mountain bird over my shoulder will always be a great memory for my dad & I. That was way before cell phones & hitech cameras & I'll always remember us stopping in a small green opening on the way out & me getting behind the bird fanned out & my dad pretending to take my picture & telling me regardless he'd have that photo in his memory from then on. Good times & memories. If not mistaken, that was one of if not the very first turkey hunts on Dukes Creek WMA.