Live From The Woods 2020 Turkey Edition

[Five Seasons]

2 jakes popped out at the far corner of the field, but only stepped into the field, turned and went back in. Didn’t look alarmed. Not sure they could have seen my decoys and def not me.


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[turkeyfeathers]

Farmer plowing field where birds come in from. Nothing heard. Tapping out. 

[Five Seasons]

Now there’s a hen in the field and all the gobblers have shut up and disappeared.

I hate turkeys


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[reeltime]

Been a fun few days, called in a longbeard for a buddy and his kid that they ended up boogering up cause they couldn't sit still.
Yesterday I put a loudmouth hen right in their lap for 20 minutes so they got the whole gammit of hen talk and close.
This all day hunting is a joke around here, from guys whacking birds from their vehicles to late shooters...we were all standing on the porch last night devising a plan for this morning when we heard 2 shots from 2 different guns and I said well those 2 Jake's we watched heading for the island of trees at Darla's just got limb lifted! The time? 9:18 PM! And no that's not a typo and yeah there was enough light that so.eone could shoot but WELL past legal time.

So this morning I decided to go way down the hollow from the gas line where I called that longbeard in the other day. I knew he roosted below the cow pasture right in the base of the hollow. An old log skidder trail would give him a open path to me if he decided to play.
With a slight drizzle and overcast skies he gobbled late, after 3 gobbles with long waits in between it was finally light enough in the woods for him to feel comfy but he was 250 yards out but I didn't know where all his hens were as I only could here 5 close to him.
Found out where hen number 6 was after my first series of calls as she literally knocked my hat off when she flew in and scared the crap outa me. She landed 5 feet from me and started feeding .
She got out 39 yards and my next series of clucks and 2 yelps and he cut me off 100 yards out and my close hen started purring and came back to me.
Within a couple minutes a train of hens came down the logging road with a white head following that was all I could see
3 hens walk past me at 6 feet as I am leaned against a big tree with multi floral roas around it just on the edge of the logging road. Finally he is in the clear of hens and lights out at 25 yards.



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[dmandoes]

12 hours ago, crappyice said:

How long before dark do you go check for roosting birds?


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1/2 before sunset until dark

[Five Seasons]

Finally a jake joins her then a freaking VW beetle shows up, holy crap! 100 yards away and moving in the wrong direction.


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[grampy]

16 hours ago, Lawdwaz said:

Yes he did.  Details tomorrow afternoon, I’m at my friends house and will be staying over tonight, he has some chores for me to help with. I’m whipped so bad now.......

 

Congratulations Larry!!!  Nice gobbler my friend!

[bigpaul]

One of the better gobbling mornings of the season for me. I'm thinking around 10 I'll grab a couple decoys and go sit in the blind. I heard at least 6 gobblers this morning.

[ApexerER]

4 hours ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Daughter and I will keep you company.  Alls quiet so far.  

Alright! Back in the game! Pulling for you guys!

Edit, saw after you tapped out due to farmer plowing field. Get back out there!

Edited May 22, 2020 by ApexerER

[Otto]

Not a single gobble today, but i am set up for tomorrow morning in a new spot. I found my first morel of the season and checked in on my wood duck box.

 

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[UpStateRedNeck]

Swing and a miss #3.  Had a buddy with me and he told me it was 50 yards, not 30.  I think I see the problem now.

[cas]

Day 8 of total silence, it's bizarre. Not in "all my years" has this happened , nor have I ever spent this many days after spring birds.  

Silent in terms of turkey. All in all it was very load today, I wish it would've be quiet.  I heard a dog bark like mad for a half hour straight.  At a crazy fast rate, especially for how long it was.  Then once he slowed down I could hear another noise. At the distance it was, I wasn't sure at first if it was a hunters bad yelps or what?  Then I realized it was I high pitched raspy bark. Probably a coyote playing with the dog driving it nuts.  They exchanged barks for another half hour. What a racket.  But I can't believe someone would let their dog bark non stop for an hour.  

[cynthiafu]

1 hour ago, Otto said:

Not a single gobble today, but i am set up for tomorrow morning in a new spot. I found my first morel of the season and checked in on my wood duck box.

 

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Wood duck love them 

[UpStateRedNeck]

These birds are henned up, hard.  The miss earlier I had a hen putting at me from 15 feet away, getting ready to bust.  As soon as she moved I took the shot at the gobbler.  Evidently my depth perception sucks.  First bird of the day gobbled on the roost, hit the ground and walked down the hill.  Was fired up on the roost, 1 gobble from the ground.

[Five Seasons]

Interesting hunt and I'm happy to finally get some action with gobbles, full struts and an absolute giant tom.

It was definitely a case of should I move or shouldn't I and I chose wrong. The 3 birds at the far side of the field went west and over a knob and out of site. 2 things would happen. They would head north on private land and out of my life forever, or head south to one other 2 fields behind me, or up the hedgerow I was in. Honestly I really thought about and wanted to move to a pinch point that they do travel on quite a bit, but there was also a chance another bird might come out of the pines to my east... but realistically it was me just being comfy and also a little lazy not wanting to move dekes...telling myself i'd get busted.

I had a conference call at 9 and figured I'd just stay put. Well... around 8:45 I look behind me (i'm in a hedgerow between 2 fields) and there's a hen at about 80 yards. I watch for a while and doesn't the same tom end up following close behind. I call a few times. He hears and perks up but has no interest in parting with the real thing.

Had I moved I woulda, coulda, maybe... still good to see a big bad boy displaying and the whole 9. I probably have 2 hunts left, both with kids. But it was a good morning to be in the woods none the less. 

[Five Seasons]

5 hours ago, blackbeltbill said:

Soft stuff. Clucks + Purrs.

yep that was the game plan. It did work in that they came to the fields, but with the real deal hen at their disposal I lost the second round battle haha

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, cas said:

Day 8 of total silence, it's bizarre. Not in "all my years" has this happened , nor have I ever spent this many days after spring birds.  

Silent in terms of turkey. All in all it was very load today, I wish it would've be quiet.  I heard a dog bark like mad for a half hour straight.  At a crazy fast rate, especially for how long it was.  Then once he slowed down I could hear another noise. At the distance it was, I wasn't sure at first if it was a hunters bad yelps or what?  Then I realized it was I high pitched raspy bark. Probably a coyote playing with the dog driving it nuts.  They exchanged barks for another half hour. What a racket.  But I can't believe someone would let their dog bark non stop for an hour.  

4 out of 5 of my hunts this year were like that, but today was different. I'm with you though, strange year for me in 8F.

[Five Seasons]

my parents are up near inlet in the daks (north of old forge). Over the last 3 or 4 years the turkey population has really grown up there. We never used to see them and now we see them all the time. Anyhow, she ran across a hen with polts already, which kinda shocked me, especially that far north. Might explain a little bit of the low gobbling. 

[Otto]

1 hour ago, cynthiafu said:

Wood duck love them 

Yes, SO DELICIOUS! 

[cynthiafu]

1 hour ago, Otto said:

Yes, SO DELICIOUS! 

No . But those babies are worth a pretty penny .

 

[Rebel Darling]

Total newb to turkey hunting, having only been a couple/few times on my own.  I have little idea as to what I'm doing, in part because I haven't done much of it.  Hoping to learn more.

Went out yesterday morning, and found a gobbler on the roost.  Lucky strike.  He didn't think much of my calls, or I spooked him walking in.  He flew down, and then gobbled all the way off my neighbor's property...  Barred owls jumped trees and then through the scene around the same time.  After they left, I thought another hunter started incessantly calling with clucks and purrs.  Couldn't see him, and each time I moved to take another look, the call intensity increased.  This went on for 40 mins.  Real good calling from what I've heard.  I got fed up, and thought he was trying to tell me to get out.  So, I stood up to go find him and at least meet him.  Haven't met anyone else on my neighbor's that has rights to hunt.  Right as I took my first step, the hen roosting above me blew out of the tree in a panic.  Ha.  Should have sat still.

This morning, I went back, hoping that the tom would roost there again.  No dice.

Two beautiful dawns in the woods, though.

[crappyice]

OK-- THE 9TH INNING IS COMING UP!  I have taken a few Slammer Gobblers on Memorial 3 Day Weekend!       If Ya'All smell any Citronella while you are set up-- that would be me passing by-- LOL!

Dream Team Double...I’ll be waiting!!!


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[Rebel Darling]

34 minutes ago, blackbeltbill said:

Arrggghhhh- A Hen ( Roost Pitting) at you. She was letting you know-- " the Predator" that you have been seen. Might as well move on.

Roost pitting.  Excellent.  Very grateful to know.  Thank you...

[Lawdwaz]

As I mentioned, the story.  So yesterday morning I had no gobbles off the roost and started to make a trip around to the south trying to elicit a gobble. I came to one of my trail cams that had a card that hadn't been looked at in a couple months.  I pulled the card and then made a couple yelps, getting a good gobble maybe 150 yards away but across a very steep and deep gully.  I had to at least try and get him to come across as you just never know.........the thing is, if I'd have tried the crow call first like I usually do in a situation where setup could be tough, I'd have got that gobble and went way the heck up and around to get on his side of the gully but no, that didn't happen.

So after about 20-25 minutes I could tell he wasn't coming.  Then I hoofed it up and around to his ridge and all was quiet there!  Hmm, maybe he went up that ridge, crossed a pasture and was headed up to a known strutting area??  OK now I had to head back to the north and sneak up the outside edge of the little pine brush lot and get to the top edge and THEN, find an open area to make a call.  After another 20 minute sneak, I was where I wanted to be and scoped out a likely tree.  I stood there, made my fairly quiet yelps and damn, GOBBLE GOBBLE right to the south of me, CLOSE.  I quickly saw the tree I liked sucked and had to find another yesterday.

I sat down and within just a few minutes here comes to adult Tom turkey.  They were close, inside 40 yards.  As they came closer I tried to look for my opportunity to raise the gun and suddenly the 2nd bird putts twice.  The first one is closer now, like 30 yards close.  He turns to retreat with his buddy and has to go behind a good sized white pine; now or never!  I pull up and the second bird putts some more, the first one steps out from behind the pine and............

He was a good bird; 19lbs, 9.5" beard and 1" and 7/8" spurs (measured at home)  The picture above I took when I got back to my truck with my camera, not phone.  Nicer color with that camera....

I mentioned in another thread here that I saw a bear track in the mud yesterday, the first I've ever seen. 

 

Edited May 22, 2020 by Lawdwaz

[Steuben Jerry]

Congrats Larry!