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[Triggerfinger_4]

Let's hear about everyone's favorite hunt of 2015.

It was the the first week of April, the same week Natalie, my sister would turn 11. I had a late afternoon off from baseball so I planned to hunt behind the house. I was halfway out the door when I thought I'd see if Natalie wants to tag along. When I asked she jumped off the couch and quickly met me at the truck decked in camo ready to go!

In the truck Natalie asked if she was going to get to shoot and I told her she can't shoot because I'm trying to tag out this season... She was disappointed but remained excited about our first turkey hunt together. I parked the truck and as I'm getting my vest together Natalie says she heard a turkey gobble in the midst of a group of crows quite some distance away. I told her I didn't hear it but that's good listening and I handed her my shotgun. She freaked out saying "no way you mean I get to shoot? " I said yeah but you better not miss... We had a looong walk to where I thought the turkey would be.

About 30 minutes later we had heard the bird gobble enough on his own to know he was in a field 150 yards away. We snuck down the logging road to set up 40 yards from the field edge and made my first calls. I was surprised to get no response.. For 20 minutes or so I would soft call and and he would gobble at crows but not at me. It started getting late and I knew the birds would find the roost soon. The next time he gobbled at crows I cut him off with some over the top loud aggressive calling and he would double and triple-gobble for what seemed like seconds on end so I shut up and scratched in the leaves. Maybe a minute later I tell Natalie I see 2 gobblers, she tells me she sees three, before we knew it we had 4 gobblers in a dead run right to us. They veered into the woods at 15 yards without presenting a shot so I clucked once and 2 of them came back into the road 10 yards away. that was all it took for Natalie to seal the deal on her first Turkey! 19 lbs 3/4" spurs with an 11.25" beard. It was by far the best hunt of the year and one of my favorite hunts of all time!


I shared this story last year after it happened but that's my favorite hunt of last year so let's hear about your most memorable hunts!

 

[sman]

Awesome job by Natalie and you! Those close shots can be tough!

 

[Timber1]

Early last season I was hunting one of my favorite areas of a local WMA. I was a little late getting to an old logging road that runs parallel to and along the bottom of a long ridge. The gobblers usually roost up in the heads of the hollows and sometimes will come straight off the roost down into this relatively flat area. It wasnt long before I heard a gobble up high on the ridge. He gobbled a few more times in the next ten minutes and I could tell he was on the ground and moving away from me. As I moved along trying to draw even with him, thinking once he collected his hens they might lead him down off the mountain. He was moving along pretty good and I had to speed up my hike to keep up. I spooked a hen that was on her way to him and she flew across to the next lead and scurried up the mountain toward the gobbler. I figured she would be reluctant to come back down for a little while. He eventually quit gobbling and I passed through the area to find another bird. I had no luck and started back the way I came in around 10 am. Once I got back to the area where the gobbler was earlier I set up a few different times and did some light calling with no luck. As I was slipping down the road I noticed some fresh scratching on the side of a hill and saw where they had scratched down to the road, followed it a short way then down off on the lower side. It wasnt there on my way in. Up ahead the road went up and around and over a small rise and dropped off into a small hollow with a branch running thru it. I didnt know how far ahead the turkeys were or even if there was a gobbler in the group but I wasnt going to walk over that rise until I was sure they wernt on the other side. i moved up a little closer to the top and got out of the road on the upper side. I found a blown down tree that was still alive and had a bundle of shoots growing straight up out of the stump. I backed up against them facing the road. It wasnt much cover but I had the curve and the hill to block a bird from seeing me until he was in range if he came along the road. I was judging my setup for potential disasters and getting myself ready. As I sat there I thought I could hear some fussing in the leaves. As I listened more carefully what I thought was a squirrel started sounding more like turkeys scratching. Pretty soon I was positive it was turkeys and they were just over the hill from me on the lower side of the road probably 40 to 60 yards away. I could feel the the goose bumps rising and the shakes coming on. A few deep breaths calmed me down and I decided to give them a single cluck on my old Lohman scratch box. Not too loud, but sharp and crisp to get their attention. Cluk....GOBBBBLLLLEEE....what i wanted but not what i expected! My hiding place just seemed to turn into the most exposed spot on earth. I got down behind my knees with my barrel aimed at the turn in the road. Waiting, watching, trying to keep my breathing and wobbling under control. I hear a bird distinctly walking now in the leaves. Where is he? More walking closer but still no bird...he sounds like he is on top of me. I realize he is not in the road but has crossed and is quartering up the hill kinda behind me just over the rise. Im pretty much looking out the side of my eyeballs thru the bundle of shoots and see his head pop up over the hill. He looks around pulls his head down and I hear him take a few more steps. His head pops back up this time I see a little more of him. Down goes his head and more steps. More head and neck showing and I decide next time he lowers his head I will turn and get my barrel thru the shoots and pointed at him. His head goes down I swing around and get ready to shoot. He must have heard me move cause next time his head comes up he is staring a hole in me. He is at about 15 yards and I have him dead but he has not cleared the top enough for me to see his beard. I am afraid the gig is up and next time he pulls his head down it will never come back up. I wait. Down goes his head and I hear more steps in the leaves. He didnt see me. I have to move my barrel around the shoots cause he has moved more to my right. I clear the shoots and he walks full up on the top of the rise. A longbeard! I cluck with my mouth call and he stretches his head and Im pretty sure he was about to gobble but he never got the chance.

 

[Thunder Head]

I put this story on here last spring. What makes it stick out is the fact that years ago, I probably would have never killed this bird.
I was hunting on a WMA and had hiked in to a distant food plot, only to here nothing. I was working my way back toward the truck when I heard a bird gobble. I moved towards him. As I got closer I could tell there were 2 birds in a field. I made a few calls and they answered. It soon became apparent they were strutting back and forth across a hill top. I would wait until they gobbled on the far side and slip closer. When I got about 45-50 yards from the fence I picked out a good spot and sat down. I called and they came and stood on top of the hill just looking. The went back to strutting back and forth across the hill. I decided right then they would not hear another peep from me. It took about 45 minutes but they finally worked there way to the fence. The hung out a little while and then started to exit stage right. When they went behind some brush I scratched in the leaves. They broke and came under the fence. The first bird actually walked down the creek and popped up on my right. He pegged me and started putting. The other bird stepped out of the creek to see what was up. It was his last mistake.

Keys to the hunt,
Pay attention to the location of gobbles. Birds often are in a strut zone later in the morning and you can close the distance when they gobble at the farthest point.

No when to shut up. If a bird refuses to get any closer and keeps going back and forth in his strut zone. The silent treatment is often the best medicine.

 

[MKW]

In 2015, I turkey hunted several times and killed several turkeys.
Keys to success...persistence.

 

[sman]

In 2015, I turkey hunted several times and killed several turkeys.
Keys to success...persistence.

Patience or persistence?

Both?

 

[MKW]

Patience or persistence?

Both?

Persistence. I ain't patient at all. In fact, I think patience is highly over-rated in the turkey woods. I'm very aggressive, but move like a sloth.

 

[Triggerfinger_4]

Persistence. I ain't patient at all. In fact, I think patience is highly over-rated in the turkey woods. I'm very aggressive, but move like a sloth.

How does one stay aggressive yet move like a sloth?

 

[MKW]

Years of practice.

 

[cumberland]

That sure is a pretty turkey Natalie killed. Last year i heard a gobbler answer on a mountain about a 1/2 mile off and i was trying to decide how to maneuver to him, when suddenly i heard wing flapping and he had flown all the way over to the mountain i was on! He landed 30 yards above me with his head up and when i shot him it was so steep that he flopped right by me at 2 yards end over end, and i had to jump out of his path! That is my wildest turkey hunt.

 

[Baracus]

My favorite hunt of 2015,

I was hunting in Northeast ks where I grew up with my girlfriend and 2 good friends. We had set up and we're hunting a large corn field that was behind an equally large field seperate by about 75 yards of dense woods. We set up and called for around an hour and heard some gobbles behind us but only had a hen come through.we decided to regroup and check out thr other field behind us. I had to low crawl on an old road to even get to thr field. Once there, I found a large flock of turkeys, prob 15-20. Only 3 toms in the group, the rest jakes and hens.I set up on thr edge of thr field in a prone position and my buddy stayed 30 yards behind me out of site calling. The toms never gave us a second look, however a group of 5 Jakes came over and then wouldn't leave. I had almost no cover and had to just wait them out. Thr toms were a good 100 yards away with thr majority of the hens and didn't even look our way. After 2 hours of waiting and callong with no results, my biddy called to my position with a hen decoy and sat it up in front of him. Now we both were lying prone with no cover on thr edge of this field. The toms at least looked at us now but never came over. We called like this for awhile, then my girlfriend crawled over with a tom decoy-bmobile. We sat the tom decoy up behind the hen decoy and started calling again. Once the toms spotted that tom decoy they immediatley made there way over. They walked thr full 100 yards without stopping, it was crazy, we all had no cover just lying prone behind the decoys. When they got within range I shot the tom on my side. Turned out to be a very nice bird, big body, 11" beard. This hunt showed me how decoys can be invaluable in the right circumstances. I prefer to hunt without them but in this case they brought the birds over.