Live From The Woods 2022 Turkey Edition

[Nomad]

This is as boring as fishing ….

[OldBrian]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMFeK6TYdEI

Video from the 2022 "Gobbling Fever" Turkey hunt camp. Tough start to our season. Hope things improve and I can call in a gobbler for my grandson. Good luck to everbody!

Edited May 3, 2022 by OldBrian

[Five Seasons]

well I had a long car ride back and forth yesterday for work. Still made it home to get in bed before 9 and wanted to give it a go this morning as my weekend is shot and the next 2 days are super busy. Alas I don't have good luck with cloudy weather and the alarm clock won. I'm pretty ashamed that I bitched out on hunt 2, but I don't feel too guilty with how hectic life has been. I was bummed to wake up to full sun though and now I can't help but wonder what could have been. Will enjoy not feeling groggy all day, but bummed still the same. It's looking like friday for me. 

[Five Seasons]

On 5/2/2022 at 6:53 AM, Versatile_Hunter said:

What’s turkey behavior like when it rains? Do they stay on the roost longer? Don’t gobble? It’s been quiet around here… 

killed my best bird in drizzle. but it he was roosted maybe 100 yards away from my setup and I think I had the perfect deek and call timing. For sure it's not a killer and even nicer if you're in a blind but generally I think they're harder to hunt in the rain.

[REDNECK4LIFE32]

Went out this morning started later than usual at 7. Running and gunning. Not one gobble this morning covered 2 miles old logging roads. The gobbler was still roosted at 7 2 days ago thought I d get a chance at him. Plus have more sleep. Can't have both I guess. 

[JALA RUT]

A little luck this morning in the turkey woods. No goobling heard from roost or early morning. At about 8:45, I fired one up with some excited clucking&cutting. He sounded off so distant, I wasn't actually sure he responded to me or just a coincidental gobble way off. I then did some yelps and got no response. So to test if he had responded to me, I tried clucking and cutting again. He gobbled and sounded like he was a little closer, but still a ways off, so I gave a few reassurance clucks and purrs, then put down the pot call and waited for him to hopefully show up. After about 10 minutes and not hearing or seeing anything, I got nervous when some crows sounded off in the area and he didn't shock gobble at them. So, I decided to cut again to see if he was still in the area. I gave a series of clucks and cutting and he hammered right back with 2 gobbles and was now really close. After a few minutes I could hear him walking in the leaves and he let out a massive gobble right behind me...Love that sound, close up! I could hear him thumping going in and out of strut behind me and then he finally came into view, but walking on the wrong side of me. He walked by my right side at about 7 yds and I knew there was no way I could turn on him for a shot. I figured to let him go by me and turn for a shot if I got a chance when his head went behind a tree. But then, he caught sight of my decoys (jake with 2 hens) to my left and he crossed in front of me at about 10 yards, heading to the decoys. He strutted around the decoys for about 30 seconds and I was able to get the gun in position when his head was blocked by his fan. When I shot him he was standing right next to my jake decoy at about 15 yards. What an exciting hunt! About 1" spurs and about a 9.25" beard.

[Versatile_Hunter]

Fun opener. 2 Jakes and a Tom flew down on me while I was still setting up. The Tom walked away but the Jakes proceeded to molest my hen decoy before getting in a massive brawl that brought them less than 5 yards from me. I thought they were going to step on me. They eventually walked away. After the show they put on I decided to spare them. Plus that big Tom was gobbling his head off over the ridge. I managed to bring him in 3 different times but he outsmarted me.  I couldn’t get a shot off. He was stunning. Fired up. White head. Looked like a vampire. Day 2 was uneventful... pulled a tick off me.  

[DirtTime]

Heard nothing this morning hunting. Driving out to get some stuff done, there's a flock in a field with a couple toms strutting. To really give me the finger, on the way back there were 3 deer in the same field.

[FLXmatt]

Hunted from 10-12 today close to home on a property that I normally only deer hunt.  No gobbles, no sightings.  I did find a very well used dust bowl full of feathers.  I’m going to put a camera there before this afternoon’s rain, should have some intel by next week.

[bigpaul]

I’ve set up on birds every morning so far. They seem to fly down and head the opposite way. Hens! I walked 6 miles the first day, 4 miles yesterday and 5 today. No late morning gobbles. All I have to show for is this dead head.

[Pygmy]

They

[Pygmy]

They seem to have lockjaw down here in Dogpatch....Two jakes came in early opening morning and my Canadian guest killed one of them....

Second morning we heard nada on the same property, so this morning I took him on a tour of the best gobbler country that I know....Perfect quiet conditions and not a peep...I did a bunch of calling to try to raise a gobble, but had no response..

I told him that sometimes I could INSPIRE a bird to gobble, but I could not FORCE them to gobble if they don't want to...

[Pygmy]

7 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

They

Don't know what happened...Please forgive me, Eddie.....<<grin>>...

[Lawdwaz]

Although I was off work today I didn’t hunt.   I had some things I had to get done and a 3:30am wake up, 50 minute ride down to my closest spot wasn’t going to work out for me.   That spot isn’t what it used to be….what used to be 1000+ acres broke up over a couple miles is down to a couple hundred acres in one chunk.     I still have good access in Ontario County and Livingston but that’s a 75 minute ride minimum.   
 

This is my 41 year hunting spring gobblers and the “fire” just isn’t burning as bright as it once did.  Some years I’d hunt 20/31 mornings then come home and then go to work if it was a weekday.   
 

I hunted Sunday and heard some gobbling and it was exciting.    
 

Here’s a beauty from May 26, 2005…..wish my knees still bent like that.  

 

[cynthiafu]

My darn gobblers would not commit . They would start to come then get to the water and go back.  bill would call they would come back to the waters edge then go away . Ughhhh these birds . Lots of fun had a couple of hens wonder by . That was cool . My heart was thumping so fast My arm was starting to cramp . Was getting ready to scare the he'll out of them if they didn't move on lolol

[Kmartinson]

Tried to move in under some birds we found yesterday. Kept pushing in slowly, found a good pinch point around 445 sat down and prepared for the morning to begin, as the sun came up we realized we were directly under the flock and the chaos ensued. Had some pokes at the 2 Jake's in the group, gobbling all over us and big boys just rolled on uphill. No breeding behavior imo. Just regular chuckle heads looking for love still. Good times!!! Going to try to get uphill of them tomorrow. Plenty of gobbling near me til 730 am.

[Kmartinson]

Little live bait from today. Only 1 gobbler at daylight off the roost, 6 gobbles then silence. Patience is a virtue. Sure are pretty things.

[REDNECK4LIFE32]

Pouring here in northern NY. They'll live to see another day. Good luck to all out.

[turkeyfeathers]

Working another 11.5 hours today to go with yesterday and back in the trenches tomorrow but did have the pleasure of a wake up text pic of Tom who lost in chess . Wtg brother.  Good luck all who are out there , keep that powder dry. 

[TreeGuy]

Put to bed last night, then put to rest this am at 6:07. Soaked to the bone !
21#, 10.5" beard, 1" spurs.


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[The_Real_TCIII]

1 hour ago, TreeGuy said:

Put to bed last night, then put to rest this am at 6:07. Soaked to the bone !
21#, 10.5" beard, 1" spurs.


Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk


 

The manufacturer recommends you dont wipe that moisture off, best practice is to let it dry on its own. I couldnt believe it myself!

[turkeyfeathers]

15 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

The manufacturer recommends you dont wipe that moisture off, best practice is to let it dry on its own. I couldnt believe it myself!

correct, let that bird dry on its own and my 870 slug gun is currently rusting in the safe just seeing this pic

[Arcade Hunter]

Awesome bird Andrew..Congrats!

[TreeGuy]

The manufacturer recommends you dont wipe that moisture off, best practice is to let it dry on its own. I couldnt believe it myself!

It's coated in a rust proof finish... it only knows air dry

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[johnplav]

Good news!  Any of you who hunt tomorrow will definitely not be the worst turkey hunter in the woods.  Wish me luck!