What's your Bonehead moments while turkey hunting.

[mowin]

I've got my share...

In my early yrs, buddy and I seen a tom walking along a field edge just before fly up.

Decided to hunt there that morning.  Set up under a big red oak. Little soft tree yelps, while the woods were walking up, got no response. Was great to be out. Sun rising, squirrels running around, even heard  Acorns dropping.....

Wait...

What...

Acorns in the spring????? About the time we realized that it was the tom dropping " acorns", he had enough entertainment and few off.  

I blame it on lack of sleep.  Lol.

 

[Lawdwaz]

Many years ago I was running and gunning in the southern tier right at the end of May.  

I finally located a gobbling bird; he wouldn’t budge so I snuck in as close as I dared and he still wouldn’t budge.  I backed way out and figured I’d sneak around the bastard......THEN as I circled around I spotted a house.   Mr Tom Turkey was a “kept” bird, living his life inside a big old pen.  I walked away, shaking my head. Lol

[E J]

Like you said... so many! The one that pops in my head first is one from back when I used to hunt in PA. I left my camp in Steuben county for my spot in Potter county PA. I got just over the border and realized  I forgot my vest (along with calls and shells and license). I turned around cussing my self the whole way back to camp and then back to my lease. I got parked and grabbed my gear as fast as I could as it was getting light. I was rushing towards where I wanted to go when I heard gobbling. I got as  close as I dared and set up. The Tom worked around me almost in the direction I had come from when I knew he was getting close. There was a slight rise and he was just on the other side. He went quite and I knew he was coming.  After what seemed like an eternity his head popped up. I made sure it was a Tom and shot. At the shot I sprung up and saw a tom running away. I shot again and missed. I was pissed! I took a few steps that way to figure what went wrong when I saw...... a flopping tom. Turns out there were two and i had nailed the first one i shot at. I was never happier for missing a turkey as I was that I had missed on the second shot!

[ny hunter]

I walked in the woods 1 morning got set up had a bird answer and actually starting to come in when i realized I left my shells in the cabin........I thought it was funny and just sat there and lit a cigar and enjoyed a nice quiet morning...

[Robhuntandfish]

Hunted one spot where they are always roosted and not a peep for an hour and a half.  So decide I am going across the road to another field. Walk down trail out to road and across rd in the field goes a turkey running away as he saw me. So I take a leak, check phone and say oh well guess I will just go back where I was for a bit and sit for a couple more hours.  Walk back up the hill to that field and here are two turkeys running away that came out in field apparently right after I left.  Yup called it a day. 

[helmut in the bush]

Turkey hunting isn't my favorite hunting but, some of my best hunts have been Turkey hunts.

[nyslowhand]

 Shot a bearded hen one time after calling to a Tom for an hour. He went silent when he was ~50-60yrds in the brush. Needless to say my nerves & adrenaline level were "peaked" when I saw a turkey with a beard ghosting thru the brush. Shot, walked over, looked.. oh crap!

Several times I've entered the woods in the dark owl hooting along the way & ended up sitting directly under &/or in the midst of roosted turkeys. Not a lot you can do once the sun comes up and the turkeys above you start chattering a little.

[UpStateRedNeck]

I must have been 17, because I was driving.  Hunting a bunch of days in a row and I was frigging tired.  Solo.  Walked way out over the ridge, called a little, heard a gobble way off.  Fell asleep in a bush flat on my back.  Woke up to a big red head putting at me from 4 feet away.  Went back to sleep after.

[Pygmy]

Back in the 1990s.....It was the last day of gobbler season and the first season since 1975 that I had not killed a gobbler in NY...

A gobbler gobbled on the roost near a field edge, and then I heard a hen tree yelping about 100 yards from him....I got between them and flushed them in opposite directions...

Now I was set....The gobbler had gone north and the hen south, and I was right between them..I was sure that when they settled down they would meet on the field edge, where I was set up... I popped a hen decoy out in the field in front of me and settled in for the wait..

I heard no gobbling, but eventually the hen came out and  approached my decoy...I watched her for awhile..Still no gobbling..

I finally decided that if the gobbler were to come out, the hen might go to him and screw me up, so I  got up to flush the hen out of the field..

As soon as I stepped out of the brush ( without my gun) I looked to my right and there stood the gobbler....He had come in silent, and of course in about a second he was gone....

I picked up my decoy and went home, and although I can't remember, I hope I did something constructive like mowing my lawn...

[Pygmy]

1 hour ago, E J said:

Like you said... so many! The one that pops in my head first is one from back when I used to hunt in PA. I left my camp in Steuben county for my spot in Potter county PA. I got just over the border and realized  I forgot my vest (along with calls and shells and license). I turned around cussing my self the whole way back to camp and then back to my lease. I got parked and grabbed my gear as fast as I could as it was getting light. I was rushing towards where I wanted to go when I heard gobbling. I got as  close as I dared and set up. The Tom worked around me almost in the direction I had come from when I knew he was getting close. There was a slight rise and he was just on the other side. He went quite and I knew he was coming.  After what seemed like an eternity his head popped up. I made sure it was a Tom and shot. At the shot I sprung up and saw a tom running away. I shot again and missed. I was pissed! I took a few steps that way to figure what went wrong when I saw...... a flopping tom. Turns out there were two and i had nailed the first one i shot at. I was never happier for missing a turkey as I was that I had missed on the second shot!

Hehehe....I actually did this twice over the years....Killed a gobbler   and then missed a flushing bird that I THOUGHT was the same gobbler escaping....Forunately, I missed both flushing birds...Neither time did I realize that there were two gobblers there until I walked up  on the flopping bird...

[mowin]

Back in the mid 90's I was hunting in the Catskills.  The area was a large bowl. I was at the top rim calling to what I thought was a lone tom.  I moved along the rim several times trying to get him to commit.  After a couple hours, I decided just cut and cackle like mad then shut up.  I could hear his drumming getting louder.  Finally I see the top of his fan.  Couple more steps, and I gave a soft yelp. Shot when he raised his head a little.  What I didn't know, there was a second tom directly behind him, but I couldn't see him behind the first ones fan and I had two toms flopping. 

I wasn't overly pleased with myself.  

Edited March 11, 2020 by mowin

[Buckmaster7600]

2004 or 5 opening day I was hunting with a buddy and we were sitting in a bar gap in a hedgerow between 2 fields. Had a a group of hens in one field and a Tom in the other. I told my buddy not to shoot because if he came through the bar gap I was going to grab him. Well he did just that and when I tried holding holding up my end of the bargain all hell broke out. I dove for him and got his neck in one hand and a wing in the other. Long story short he got away and I ended up on the ER with a big gash in my chest and a torn shoulder. Once he got away I was yelling for my buddy to shoot him but he was too busy rolling around on the ground laughing. Hands down one of the dumbest things I’ve done in my life. I just wish it was in the cell phone era because it would have got a lot of views on YouTube.


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[Swamp_bucks]

Not really been much of a turkey hunter but when i was 12 just starting off i went off on my own at my grandparents.  I saw 2 jakes about 300yards away and setup.  I called and called tried the same stuff my cousin told me to try.  Well patience got the better of me after a 1/2 hr of calling i got up to grab my decoy in the meadow.  Well those two jakes ended up being about 50 yards down the woodline just out of my sight where i was sitting.

[Five Seasons]

lowering my head to my stock to aim.

that's all it takes folks haha

[Water Rat]

13 hours ago, Lawdwaz said:

Many years ago I was running and gunning in the southern tier right at the end of May.  

I finally located a gobbling bird; he wouldn’t budge so I snuck in as close as I dared and he still wouldn’t budge.  I backed way out and figured I’d sneak around the bastard......THEN as I circled around I spotted a house.   Mr Tom Turkey was a “kept” bird, living his life inside a big old pen.  I walked away, shaking my head. Lol

As God is my witness ,  I had the same thing happen to me years ago. The only difference was , I was hunting with a friend.

[turkeyfeathers]

Worked a gobbler and he wouldn’t commit I’d call he’d hammer and could tell he was walking away. We did this for hours. I used a ridge to quick move 100 yards or so making it sound like me the hen was finally coming to him. No bueno , he’s still walking wrong way. I waited for him to gobble and immediately cut him off with a loud 4 note Yelp. That pissed him off and now he’s double and triple gobbling. And coming my way. I see him crest a little knoll , head is huge , white and blue like none other. Full strut all the way. He gets to 30 yards , I putt to pull him out of strut , scope dead on the waddle. Safety off , squeeze , kaboom the 12 bore barks. He studder steps apparently from just the sound. And runs faster than any turkey I’ve ever seen. I then notice this. Oopsy. I close my left eye when I shoot and never saw this tree about 8 feet in front of me. The woods was logged many years ago. I never noticed how many tree stumps their were that look like a dead turkey while I looked for hours just in case a pellet or 2 actually connected. Clean miss. Week or so later I called in 2 birds with one of them being tree bird. Definitely was him as his fan in strut is tallest I’ve ever seen and the huge head on him. He hung back 12-15 yards behind other Tom and acting spooky. Mind you I’m almost in exact spot as originally. Do I wait for him ? Heck no I’ve botched this one before. I rolled his 2.5 yr old buddy at 30 yards and he took off running again. One of the best hunts I’ve ever had on tree day. Showed him my whole hand and beat him but I’m smiling typing this so it’s all good.


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[turkeyfeathers]

I've sat directly under roosted birds a few times and it took me 10 years to finally look down at base of tree I sit down next to to look for piles of coon crap.

[dbHunterNY]

probably the most common mistake in turkey hunting. call for a while, wait, call again, wait, figure nothing's coming in, get up on your feet, and then watch the birds that were seconds from coming into view run off putting. has happened multiple times.

[G-Man]

I did a lot of scouting and had a bird roosted ,took out my brother and snuck into the woods I had pre cleaned a trail so I could get close but had only cleaned 1 setup spot for myself. I got to my spot and set down quiet ,and pointed to a tree not 5 yards from me for my brother to set up as he was going to be shooter.. he proceeded to kick a limb out of the way so he could sit... the limb turned out to be 15 ft long and the dry leaves sounded like a bulldozer knocking down a glass shop... the big tom lit of of the tree and that was that...