Thwack16's 2019 Turkey Season

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thwack16
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Thwack16's 2019 Turkey Season

Unread postby thwack16 » Fri May 10, 2019 3:45 am

My 20th spring turkey season was a good one(they all are). Was able to hunt 6 different counties here on the home front and hunt a couple different ones on a 4 day run out of state. Managed 26 hunts here at home (15 sunrises), for a total of 62.5 hours, 67 miles walked, and watched 4 birds die. Made 4 hunts out of state for a total of 22 hours, 30 miles walked, and watched 0 birds die.

Bird #1 was the product of being able to roost the bird the night before. I was on new ground in which I was to help a buddy learn to turkey hunt. We split for the evening to try to find birds. I burned a ton of ground and right before fly up found two gobblers and seven hens as they fed away from me on a river bottom logging road. I was able to call the gobblers to 60 yards, but as darkness loomed, they made their way off the road and into a tree on the river's edge. No roost gobbles that evening as is customary here.

The next morning found my buddy and I slipping along the roadway to get into position well before gobbling light with the intention of him being the shooter and me killing the other if a decent chance at a double presented itself. We ended up having to lay on the roadway edge because there were no trees along the flooded ditch that allowed us to sit. Not optimal, especially on an unusually muggy early April morning(mosquitos and snakes), but we vowed to make it work.

The old birds tested my nerves as they waited a painstakingly long time to announce their presence, but finally did and we'd been able to slip within 100 yards of their roost. I stayed silent as they were on the roost, and they flew down directly to our side on an obvious knoll in the floodwaters some 50 yards away but presenting us no view. I began to call and they responded to everything I threw at them. After 15 or so minutes, the drumming looped ahead of us and then started coming toward the roadway, I told my buddy to get his safety off and get ready.

The first bird entered the roadway at 50 yards and began a death march to us. I told my buddy to forget the double and kill him as soon as he presented a shot. At 20 yards he spun back away from us, went into strut and the other bird appeared at the same entrance. "You've got to shoot him when he comes out of strut." "I can't." "Why? He's just right there, kill him when he comes out."

The two birds met up at about thirty yards, strutted and drummed around each other and gobbled at the one yelp I could scratch out. Still, no shot. "You've got to shoot" " I can't!"

Finally, the birds figured they'd go back to their hens since this one wasn't coming out to play. Once again, "They're leaving, SHOOT". " I can't".

I'd had enough, 3 weeks of no bird was wearing on me. Safety off, gun slipped to shoulder, and #1 was flopping.

My buddy was tickled with the result even though I continuously harped on him for not shooting and that the one little obstacle he was saying was stopping him can't stop a shot on a turkey. Anyway, good hunt & lessons learned.

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thwack16
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Re: Thwack16's 2019 Turkey Season

Unread postby thwack16 » Fri May 10, 2019 3:45 am

Bird #2 came just a couple of short days after #1. A quick after work hunt once again in a swamp. Not far out of the truck I got my eyes on a hen a good 6-700 yards away. I left the long roadway and got just into the woods and started cutting the distance. At about 300 yards, I threw the binocs up farther and could see a tail fan and a couple of more birds farther down. With the water and the hen, I knew there was 0 chance that I was continuing on my path, but knew of a road that cut around that might could get me close to the strutter.

I took that road and ended up getting to the main roadside ditch and finding that it was impassable even with hip waders. I found an opening and could see that the hen was still in her spot and was alone, the strutter must still be passed me. I frantically searched for a way across, finally seeing a beaver dam. On my way to it, I somehow heard, Pfffft Vrooooooom. You've got to be kidding me. Once again, Pfffft Vrooooooom. Slid my mask up and leaned against a tree.

Sure enough, the strutter emerged at about 50 yards, coming in and out of strut looking where I was. He obviously thought I was a hen over there breaking sticks and walking around.

I watched the show for a good ten minutes and at 20 yards I had a decision to make. I honestly hated to shoot this turkey without calling him to the gun, but sometimes I guess you have to let woodsmanship and luck kill one.

The great Tom Kelly wrote in "Tenth Legion", "By and large , if you Perservere, you are going to kill an awful lot of turkeys you didn't earn. But on the other side as well, you are going to earn just as many that you don't kill."

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thwack16
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Re: Thwack16's 2019 Turkey Season

Unread postby thwack16 » Fri May 10, 2019 3:46 am

I did not pull the trigger on bird #3, but it was without a doubt my favorite one.

I have stayed away from turkey hunting the main farm I grew up doing so for the last handful of years. The bird numbers just aren't there anymore, and it's my dads, uncles, and bros best chance at killing a bird.

What birds we do have, move in at the end as our property is perfect nesting. This year was a good one, and on the last Saturday morning of season my dad and bro heard 5 on us, eventually missing one out of a duo, and spooking the ever living crap out of another. I had to go into work that morning but leaving a little before lunch I called my bro and got the rundown of that mornings hunt. He asked if I wanted to make a run back out there and try them again, I rarely turn him down, so off we went.

We decided to sneak into the area of the duo and see if we couldn't strike them up. My first yelp was met with silence. Move up 50 yards, soft yelp, boom he hit us from about 150 out. We slipped down against two of the young pines we were in and commenced to trying to call him into what we knew was a sub-optimal setup. He hit the next 2 sets of yelps I threw out and soon we saw him nervously making his way toward us, but skirting us to my side. He ended up getting horizontal with us at about 40 yards but the only chance my bro had of killing him was to shoot threw me.

We let the bird walk off without another call and as soon as he made it out of view, we went to game planning. Bros initial assessment was to crawl back around to where the gobbler initially hit us from. Bingo, sounds like the ticket.

We made it to where he hit us from, and sat up against two oak trees on one of my favorite deer ridges in the world. My first yelp was once again hit from about 125 yards out and we went silent. Ten minutes later I called again, he hit it from about 75 and the drumming began.

There's nothing like watching a bird searching for a hen in green hardwoods. For ten minutes we got to watch a wonderful show until the birds path was about to swing him out of gun range of bro at thirty yards. He softly yelped on his mouth call, birds head went up searching, bang, flop.

A tense hour and 45 minute lunch time battle was over and it had shook both of us.

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thwack16
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Re: Thwack16's 2019 Turkey Season

Unread postby thwack16 » Fri May 10, 2019 3:46 am

Bird #4 was the finisher to my first MS limit in many years. With three mornings to go, and them being all weekdays that the rest of the family couldn't hunt, I settled back into the main farm for my second hunt of the year. Working off my bros knowledge on a bird he'd hunted the morning prior and subsequently spooked, I settled in at a listening place just before gobbling light.

A couple of hoots revealed no birds where he'd hunted him, but one tearing it up from about 600 yards away(though the walk would have to be near 1000 yards to avoid a well swollen ditch). I made it inside the birds bubble with more light than I'd have liked, but knew I had to get close to kill him. I closed the last twenty five yards by only taking steps when the bird gobble and slid down against an oak tree while he did so as well.

From my seat, I estimated the bird was 70 yards away but a big limb was perfectly blocking each of our views. I knew not to call to this bird on the limb, he'd played the game plenty and with several different hunters. Finally, I let my patience go with him gobbling a ton trying to gobble in a hen, and slipped a very, very soft yelp out. He hammered it. I scratched the leaves behind me, knocked my safety off, and got my head down on my gun.

For the next 15 minutes, silence by both parties. Finally, I decided to scratch the leaves, gobble. Soft yelp, gobble. The bird left his perch and soared straight at me, curling at the end to a knoll 20 yards away, that I figure he could see from his tree.

He landed, and went straight into strut facing away from me. Swung the gun and waited and as soon as he went out, was the end of my MS season.

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thwack16
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Re: Thwack16's 2019 Turkey Season

Unread postby thwack16 » Fri May 10, 2019 3:49 am

Sheds

#1
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#2
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#3
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#4,5,6
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#7
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Snakes

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Jdw
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Re: Thwack16's 2019 Turkey Season

Unread postby Jdw » Sat May 11, 2019 12:35 am

I enjoyed the write up. Congrats on a successful season.
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Re: Thwack16's 2019 Turkey Season

Unread postby whitetaildave24 » Sat May 11, 2019 2:16 pm

Nice write up and pics. Thanks for sharing and congrats.
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Re: Thwack16's 2019 Turkey Season

Unread postby Thesouthpaw » Fri May 31, 2019 11:49 pm

Nice!
Anything worth doing, is worth over doing.


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