Way Cool!!!! ....... Tutorial Please

[FinsnFur]

I do the same thing Randy...walk in and an see a decoy  ...and everything falls apart 

[HaMeR]

The hen decoy actually brought the Tom to me this year. Those 2 hens he was with didn't lke the raspy clucking it was giving them so they came to take care of it.


stu-- If you go back & wait on that Tom in the evening I would set up closer to where you heard him gobble in case he comes thru there again but remembers something further along the trail wasn't quite right. JMO

[keekee]

Give us a update Stu!


Brent

[studabaka]

    Last encounter I posted was Friday evening....... I headed out Saturday morning before dawn [or is that daylight? sun up? ajax?]... anyway, decided to try a farm that runs along a river and where I had seen turkeys a time or two during trapping season. Other than a few thick hedge rows [which the farmer is in the process of dozing into piles and burning, it's all fields, but directly across the river it's thick hardwoods. I figured that they would roost in the hardwoods and maybe fly over into the fields.

I set up pretty close to the river at the base of a tree with a small patch of remaining hedge and waited for .... the sun. Light fog hung low across the fields, but I had a reasonably clear view of shooting range. When I could see well enough, I gave a few clucks and purrs. A couple minutes later I here a gobbler, but he is behind me, out in the field  :shck:  I shift positions and get ready, but can't see him through the fog. Had to be pretty close at that point, but could tell from his gobbling that he was moving away. Tried to circle around to get a jump on him, but never saw him. Made several other stands, but never saw or heard anything.

I did give Hamer's suggestion a try and went back to where I encountered the gobbler Friday night, but he never showed.

No sunday hunting here, which kinda sucks as it's hard to get out during the week and I almost always get the urge to make a stand, short hunt, etc sunday morning before church.....ah well.

Figure I'll try and get out this evening. They have been bailing the winter wheat in many of the fields around here the last couple of days. Not sure how/if that will affect things.

[keekee]

Keep us posted and stay with them! It will happen!

As far as them cutting the fiels. Dont seem to bother them at all here. The day after they cut the birds seem to like the fields well.


Brent

[studabaka]

Mr Brent,

Your encouragement and tutelage is much appreciated. 

I did pick up a hen decoy at lunch time today and hit the woods just off a field around 4pm. Stayed put till dark, but didn't see anything or hear any gobbles. I did have a hawk swoop over the decoy and the deer didn't seem to mind it or my clucking as they grazed through. I did hear something I'm not totally sure about. Kind of a sound somewhere between a cluck and a click. I have no idea what it was, but it came through, but not so I could see, twice during the stand and gave 3-4 volleys of that sound each time.

The quail must be doing something similar to the turkeys as they made a ruckus all around me right before dark.

[HaMeR]

I agree with watching those fields. They will be easy pickins for those birds.  Keep after em for sure. It's only a matter of time.

[studabaka]

  I am getting soooooo tired of this. Ya'll will start thinking I can't hit the broad side of a barn. Maybe you'd be right. First I choke big time at Randy's on the yotes and tonight I get my first shot on a strutting gobbler at 35 paces and he flies away. It was the one behind my house that I have called in 3 times previously, but never had a clear shot. Well, tonight I had a clear shot...... geezzzz

I set up in the woods there this morning, but didn't hear or see a thing. I decided to give the field a try as they finished hauling out the bails this morning. Set the hen decoy 25 yards out in a corner and set in a group of cedar on the edge I figured he wouldn't come to. He came to his typical spot and kept gobbling, but I didn't answer once I heard him on his way there the first couple. It was like he was trying to talk the decoy into coming into the woods vs him coming out. Eventually he went silent and a couple minutes later he is cresting the ridge in the field with his feathers spreading. All I could see of him was his head and his tail feathers as he headed up the crest to the decoy. About 10 yards the other side of the decoy his tail feathers went down and he started moving slowly toward the corner of the field. I was holding on his head and figured he must have spotted me, so I fired and he flew. No feathers, no blood and I walked the woods for an hour looking and cussing.

Guess my games with him are over. ...... man I hate to post this 

[keekee]

Its not over yet! I have had many birds shot at and missed, give him a couple days to forget and go back and kill him. Shoot we have shot at birds in the morning, and went back to the same area and called them back. JD was with me over in KY a couple years ago, I called in the same three birds two times that day. Missed the first time and killed the lead bird the second time. So, don't give up yet!

Was the bird still in strut when you shot? A few clucks will cause them to break strut and run there head up to look around. Giving you a full extended neck shot. There hard to kill in full strut. Most of the time I wont give the signal to shoot until they got there head and neck ran up.

Those birds get hot and they will come.


Brent

[studabaka]

  The first movement I saw was his head. It looked white. Then his tail. I was looking almost directly straight at the decoy and he was approaching almost directly from the opposite direction. It seems to me I saw his head go straight up and his tail go down. Then his head was leading him toward the corner of the field. Then I fired.

I will give him another try as our play spot is only about 400 yards behind my house and makes for a handy hunt. I just wish he was in my freezer.

Back to the river in the morning with my new found hen decoy friend.

[HaMeR]

Well now that you have that out of the way you can get serious Stu!!   No biggie. Just a miss. I did that last fall on a hen.   I was only mad for a few minutes until I realized that my shooting really does stink sometimes.    I would go with Brents advice. Their head is smaller than a base ball so their brain can't be that big. He will forget & you won't miss. Hang in there!!

[KySongDog]

Yep, I agree.  A miss is not a big deal.......except when ya do it!  The bird will come back.  They're very wary but I wouldn't say they are extremely bright.      Keep at it!  Also, if you haven't done so yet,  check the pattern on your shotgun at say 40 yards.  Might have something to do with it.

Semp

[studabaka]

To summarize....... What I know about turkey hunting I learned from you guys and Randy Reeves [RagnCajn]. They weren't around when I grew up and my dad still has never hunted turkeys [course that is going to change  ]

Y'all pointed me in the right direction, quickly and openly shared your knowledge and experience, and were consistent and quick to give me encouragement as I tried, learned, screwed up........

That is a whole lot of what this site, that Jim created and you made real, is about. I can't fully describe my appreciation or my amazement of the folks who [dare I say] embraced me without even really knowing me and shared..... not just anything, but the knowledge, techniques, tools, and enthusiasm to not only do it, but be successful at it.

Well guys........ This bud.... I mean bird..... IS FOR YOU 

[FinsnFur]

Awesome!!!


Ya made the connection. Nice job!

[keekee]

Congrads Stu! Thats awesome! Its like we were right there with ya!


Brent

[studabaka]

OK...let me get the feathers out of my nose, refill the wine glass [again] and give ya the low down.

After last night I was seriously worried that I was going to be the weak link and let me [and you] down. I set the alarm for 4am, but didn't really need it as I woke up at 3:30 thinking about where to go, what to do, would I see one, would I have a shot, would I choke again, etc.....

Decided to head down to the farm on the river and was set up and ready at 5am. Light started coming around 6, but during the wait I didn't hear a thing. I stayed until almost 9am as a light rain began to fall. Headed home and the rain came hard and lasted till 3pm.... temp dropped to mid 50's as the cold front blew through. Kept thinking do I want to go back out....wet, cold, where to go as I seemed to be running low on good potential spots...... But the words of Ragn kept ringing in my ears 'never hit nothing I didn't burn power at'... to me that meant, you got no chance sitting on the couch, get your butt out there somewhere.... I geared up and headed out.... back to the place I was this morning.... why there? not exactly sure, but seems they are sometimes in a spot and the next you hear and see nothing. I know there are turkeys along the river, so maybe they will be there.

I set up in a hedge row looking over a field that runs along the river. The field is probably 800-1000 yards long, but bends so you can only really see 500-600 yards of it and it has a thick hedge along the river side. I set my hen decoy [luv that gal] 25 yards out in the field and setup in a drainage hedgerow about 50 yards off the river. Time is a little before 5pm... You can hear the church chimes out there and I hear it ring 5, then 6, then 7, all the while clucking and purring every 5-10 minutes.......  a little after 7pm a turkey enters the field out of the hedge row along the river. It is probably 200 yards out from me. Not sure if hen or gobbler....I never heard it gobble, but in a couple minutes I see it strutting and flaring it's feathers. It flares, then stops, raises it's head, walks a few steps into the field and flares again. It moved out into the field and kinda in the direction of my decoy, but dang, it wasn't in any hurry to get there. I hear the chime ring 8pm and that sucker is still probably 125 yards out and still doing it's 'ain't I a hot item dance'. I'm wondering if the night will end with an hour plus dance out of gun shot range. My butt is killing me, my arms and back are tight and sore....geeeeezzzz.  deep breath, try to relax, enjoy the show, it will be what it will be. I thought 'Lord, is this my bird? Will it come close enough before dark? Will I make the shot? how about you take the shot lord and I'll just work on getting my butt arms and back to stop aching. I have moved nothing but my eyes for over an hour. Will he see me and run?

Finally, I can't take it anymore, maybe he is close enough. As he does on of his dance Pieroets and has his flared tail facing me, I raise my gun. He faces me again, unflairs, and raises his head. I aim, pray, and squeeze off..... and down he goes, but still flapping. Pump another round aim and wait a second, then get up and bolt for him. He never gets up and I'm standing over my very first turkey.  ... That grin is stuck and hurts now much the same as my butt did then.

I paced it off. 47 paces. Grabbed my cell and left Ragn a message. Then called dad and gave him the blow by blow as I grabbed my stuff and my turkey and humped it back to the truck. He weighed in at 21 lbs. Has a beard just a hair over 10 inches. One spur is 1" and the other an inch and an eighth.

Thanks guys. I couldn't have done it without you.

[Bob D]

Congratulations Stu . Great story . Every turkey kill is special but there is nothing like the first.

[Nelson]

Great hunt and story. Look forward to many more!!   

Nelson

[KySongDog]

Way cool, Stu!!!  Great lookin bird and even better story!  Congrats my man!!!        

You are now DOOMED to the world of turkey hunting forever!!   :roflmao:  :roflmao:

Johnny

[FinsnFur]

I cant wait till the LBL. Stu said he's bringing us all turkey sandwiches