Most memorable hunt

[MACHINIST]

WNY's post about the biggest got me thinking about past hunts.This was in 2013 when my friend and I hunting hard all day struck a Jake up at 11am.He was with a hen a ways away when he answered.She came over a crest in the field and as soon as she spotted the hen decoy she walked straight to the decoy.I think she was trying to get the Jake away from her because she didn't give a rats butt about the deek.Anyways he was still 125 yards out and the whole way in his head changed color what seamed like every few seconds.She settled in between my friend and his deek at around 6 yards and stayed put.When he got to 25 yards my friend leveled him

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2015 by MACHINIST

[Pygmy]

Memorable hunts..?..

There have been so many over the last 40 years...I'll recount one that comes to mind.

Opening morning...I was hunting a patch of woods across the road from my house.

It is about 16 miles square,( 4 miles by 4 miles) and at the time I had permission to hunt nearly all of it.

I walked about 1/2 mile from my house across a hayfield in the dark to listen for roost gobbles. Sure enough a bird gobbled on the roost about 200 yards into a hemlock hollow..I set up on him and he flew down and came right in..Jake...I let him walk away..

There was another bird gobbling perhaps 200-300 yards away.I hurried down the ridge and set up on him. He was on the ground by then, but responded well. in about 20 minutes he was strutting in front of me. He had a full fan, but NO visible beard. I had to let him walk.

I spent the morning there...The wind came up and made it tough to hear...

About 11:00 AM I was walking along a woods road and heard a gobble.. CLOSE..

I set up and clucked a few times on my box call...

Here came the same jake that I had passed up at daylight, walking down the road looking for the hen. I shut up and he walked away gobbling.

When he was a couple hundred yards away, I heard ANOTHER bird gobble, close to him..

I started calling aggressively..the jake came RUNNING down the woods road past me...I let him go...About ten seconds behind him came an adult gobbler. He stopped beside a stump about 15 yards away and I shot him...He was a nice gobbler, 9" beard, 19 pounds, probably a 2 year old.

I looked at watch...It was 11:45 AM...

[G-Man]

A few years ago my brother was having a tough time getting a bird, so I took him to my favorite spot and set up 25 yards behind him.

The turkey was gobbling just to his left 50 yards from.me and 25 from me. I could see the limb shaking as he strutted back and forth and gobbled from it. I figured my brother had to see the bird...

soon enough a hen showed up from my right and walked toward the tom in the tree.I though perfect the tom will see the hen and pitch down in my brothers lap.

the hen walked right behind my brother and proceed to pick ants off the tree he was sitting against, my brother sat like a stone. This went on for a few minutes till the hen moved around and in front of him.

at that point a Jake appeared to my right and proceed to walk directly to my brother stepping over his boots to get to the hen,the tom in the tree was still gobbling his head off and my brother still hasn't moved, there is no way he could be sleeping with a tom screaming In his ear 25 yards away.

the hen and Jake moved off to my left 50 yards or so and when 70 or 80 yards from.me and 50 from my brother the big tom pitched out of the tree and landed with the group and walked away..

my brother gets up comes over to me and says that tom had 3 beards! We watched him for over an hour in the tree and saw him walk away, I asked my brother if he wanted to try and get ahead of them as they were headed to an oak flat to feed, he said nope that was the best hunt he had in a long time and he was done for the day...

it really was a great hunt how many of you can say you had a triple.bearded tom at 25 yards a hen in your lap and a Jake all in one sit?

[MACHINIST]

A few years ago my brother was having a tough time getting a bird, so I took him to my favorite spot and set up 25 yards behind him.

The turkey was gobbling just to his left 50 yards from.me and 25 from me. I could see the limb shaking as he strutted back and forth and gobbled from it. I figured my brother had to see the bird...

soon enough a hen showed up from my right and walked toward the tom in the tree.I though perfect the tom will see the hen and pitch down in my brothers lap.

the hen walked right behind my brother and proceed to pick ants off the tree he was sitting against, my brother sat like a stone. This went on for a few minutes till the hen moved around and in front of him.

at that point a Jake appeared to my right and proceed to walk directly to my brother stepping over his boots to get to the hen,the tom in the tree was still gobbling his head off and my brother still hasn't moved, there is no way he could be sleeping with a tom screaming In his ear 25 yards away.

the hen and Jake moved off to my left 50 yards or so and when 70 or 80 yards from.me and 50 from my brother the big tom pitched out of the tree and landed with the group and walked away..

my brother gets up comes over to me and says that tom had 3 beards! We watched him for over an hour in the tree and saw him walk away, I asked my brother if he wanted to try and get ahead of them as they were headed to an oak flat to feed, he said nope that was the best hunt he had in a long time and he was done for the day...

it really was a great hunt how many of you can say you had a triple.bearded tom at 25 yards a hen in your lap and a Jake all in one sit?

 

Its not about the kill its about the hunt!! Very cool experience!!

[G-Man]

Thanks! Many great hunts with no harvest ,especially turkey hunting, by far much more challenging than deer in my opinion. ...

Edited April 17, 2015 by G-Man