Small Game > Turkey Hunting

Turkey Scouting Pays Off!

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Bukmastr:
Went out scouting this eve.  My season starts next Wednsday.
 There really were not many birds out, but I managed to find a few...


One funny looking turkey   

Bukmastr:
Today...

Bukmastr:
Big Turkey Down...

Bukmastr:
Turkey Scouting Pays Off!

On the 1st day we glassed a large Tom cruising around a woodlot that is flooded only giving him one way out. So my plan was to run around the woodlot and set up and give a couple yelps and wait, but 1/2 way around I ran into about 10 birds and hit the dirt. Me and my camera man buddy Lee crawled up to a big hay bale and I started calling. They all came right over... Every one was a hen!  So now we didn't know if thew big Tom had made it threw the gap yet and raced over there hoping to beat him. I got set up against a tree all contorted and twisted, but in the only good position where I could get the camera over my shoulder and have good shooting. I gave a couple soft calls and got no answer, so I waited a bit and then turned up the volume. No answer. Waited and then with the end of the day approaching decided to take a peak out into the field. I told the camera guy my intention and then got up and stuck my head out to peak into the field and guess what?  Here comes that big ol Tom heading right to us on a dead run about 50 yards out. I spun back to my position and looked at the camera and said INCOMING!!! As soon as I got situated and turned on my own gun cam he was already in front of us. He slowed to a walk and started pecking at the ground and then looking around for the hen. When he was in the middle of the opening at 25 / 30 yards, I put the bead on his head and..... MISSED!  What the heck?  I never miss!

 It was a long walk back to the truck, but hey, what good is a turkey video without a miss or two.  When we got to the truck we could hear a gobbler lighting up the woods in another spot on the farm where I had been seeing a huge Tom. The next morning I had to work, but after work we spotted a tom out in some grass on our way to hunt the Tom from the night before. We had to park on the other side of this farm cause it too is just tree lines and brush. after a long sneak and one wet river crossing, I got into position and started calling. Within minutes two hens came running in and flew across a ditch and landed 10 yards from me and started yelping and looking around for the hen they had heard. I looked up and saw two dark birds that defiantly were not hens coming in from where the hens came. They came all the way till they were about 7 yards away. Jakes. I was enjoying them when 2 large Toms strutted out from where the Jakes came from and heading my way. They held up at about 65 yards. When they went to leave I tried calling to them even though I had the jakes right next to me.

 No dice. The Jakes just stood there looking at me, but the Toms would not come over, even with all the live bait.  As I got up to leave the jakes still just stood there as if they new they were safe.  I headed over to where we heard the Tom the morning before and we glassed until we found him near that woodlot. I devised a plan and we drove around to an access about 3/4 of a mile from him, but the only way we could use to slip in without being noticed. After along crawl over a hill and along a sparse tree line we could hear him gobbling like crazy unprovoked from us. As we slid into a lying position in some briar's 100 yards from the bird I turned and looked at Lee one last time and whispered "Dead bird" just after he sounded off with another double gobble.

 I did one soft yelp and it was responded with 2 quick gobbles and almost instantly the big bird walked into the field. I could not call no more because we were lying face down and would have been busted with no tree behind us... But no more calls were needed. He came all the way to 40 yards and ate lead. Woooowhooo!!!! 

Bukmastr:
Got me another one!!!!

I got an invitation to hunt with Chris Kittleson. So I bought an extra permit, and headed out to the Kittleson farm yesterday morning. Those birds were kicking our butts all day. We covered several properties in search of a responsive bird but were unable to find any. Chris wanted to try waiting a little longer on the set ups to see if they were coming in silent. We waited almost 6 minutes in some set ups LOL. But that didn't work so I showed Chris an old trick my Dad passed down to me on how to squeak them in with a stick, that didn't even work. So being that the day was almost over and it was Chris's B-day ( Everybody wish Chris a happy B-day ) I said we could quit for the day and start over in the morning...  Chris wouldn't have it. He said, lets drive around the properties one more time and find a dang bird....  So we drove around all the farms without seeing a bird when Chris said, we should look at another farm he had "forgotten about"  Sure enough there were hundreds of huge Toms running all over the place strutting and gobbling.....  Ok, there were 4 Toms kinda just sitting there, but it was still exciting. They were in a lower field in view of the road and the only way to get at them would be from the top and drop down. So we took some landmarks into consideration and drove around to the top. I got to where I figured we were close and started to slip down the hill which was so thick there was no way to set up on the hillside in the timber, if you want to call that timber. Chris wanted to stop and try my squeak a stick method but I insisted we get to the edge of the field. As were neared the edge belly crawling a bird started clucking about 10 yards away and Chris said maybe we need to stop, I said lets go for broke and get to the edge where we could film and shoot effectively. Finally I got to the edge and just started slipping my feet under me when Chris says Dan.. PSSST. DAN! LOOK LEFT!!! So I take a glance to the left and here are two big Toms staring at me. I get the gun up and there is a bunch of brush in the way so I wait and the bird actually started coming closer and walked around the brush. At 19 yards even his kevlar vest couldn't stop my 3 1/2 " mag projectiles. The 1st shot knocked him over but he was able to get up and needed a couple more shots to knock him down for good... Man them things are tough!  1 1/4 spurs, 10 1/2 beard.

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