One last try for turkeys this weekend...

[Oliverstacy]

I'm getting out of work around midnight tonight and heading to my parents for one more weekend of turkey hunting.  The birds were hen’d up really bad last weekend and a just a touch call shy.

I have a big tom patterned pretty well for the morning and I'm just going to sit in my blind and wait in a grass patch in the middle of a planted corn field.  He had as many as nine hens with him last weekend and wanted nothing to do with our decoys or calling.  He was just content to strut like a big old puff ball for hours last weekend and followed them everywhere, so I'm going to go set up shop and wait for the hens to feed by with him in tow…no calling or decoys, just a waiting game.

Good luck to all this weekend that are still chasing the thunder chickens and have a safe and exciting weekend.  

Josh

[KYArcher]

Good luck Josh! Don't forget Pick A Spot.  

[Oliverstacy]

Originally posted by KYArcher:
Good luck Josh! Don't forget Pick A Spot.    

Funny you mentioned that...that very thing is why I missed a jake on opening morning 05-06-08, didn't pick a spot.

[Dave Pagel]

I thought I was going to get a good crack at a Jake with about a 3 inch beard this morning in Calhoun county.  I was set up just like you describe, grassy area in a planted corn field.  He and his two identical buddies got to about 35 yards and cut behind me.  Later two more jakes cruised by at about 50, but no interest in decoys.  They would gobble at me though.

Dave

[2-BIG]

I called in 2 longbeards and 2 jakes yesterday, but they didn't come in quite close enough. I have found that the decoys don't seem to work too well right now. I used a jake breeding a hen set up and they were suspicious. They wanted nothing to do with any sweet talk from a hen but when I used a real course gobbler yelp it pulled them in and they gobbled to it.

[Oliverstacy]

Get out of work at Midnight and drove across the state to get to Greenville and just had enough time to get everything in order to get out he door this morning.

Decided to not take a decoy since they (like 2-BIG) stated are very decoy shy...plus the bird I was after has been seen with between 7-9 hens.

Well from 5:20 am to almost noon they danced around me but he wouldn't strut in the zone I had picked out.  Hens walked through but the tom stayed just out of reach.  I was about to give up and call it a day when I noticed he was out in the field again, great I had already packed up everything and was about to take the blind down.  I really wanted to leave (really tired) so I figured I'd get really aggressive with the calls and see what would happen.

Started calling and he went back into the wood but gobbled the whole time, just hammered me time and time again.  Now I wish I had a hen out in front of me because he steps out looking right at my blind.  He just kept hammering me so I kept calling then I shut up to see what he would do.  He kept gobbling and after about 5 minutes I yelped really light and he took a step…hummm this might work.  There was just enough of a depression he couldn’t see everything and must have figured the sound was indeed coming from the depression or behind my blind.  

Now he’s on the move and at a steady pace, but I notice he’s not going to walk in front of my blind but in back.  Crap…wait for him to pass the triangle of the Matrix opening and turn around, close the BIG opening in my blind and drop to my knees and open a shooting port and wait.  There he walks and I come to full draw and what do I do to try to stop him…grunt…I have no idea why I did that but I guess after hunting deer for 23 years it’s just something you do (doesn’t work so well with turkey, new metal note).  Anyway it actually slows him down to a crawl and I let it fly…ya know when you see the arrow flying perfect through the air and you think this is it…well that wasn’t the ending but the arrow looked great in flight.  I missed that &#%^ by no more than a half inch perfect up and down but just a touch in front.  Well needless to say 7 hours in a blind was enough and after he continued to gobble his way to the other chunk of woods I got out to find the arrow.  Found it without much effort and notice his track in the soft dirt so I pace it off…22.5 yards, far outer range for me but I’ve taken longer in practice and didn’t hesitate.  What a rush!!!  What a let down!!!  

Josh – 0,  turkeys – 2

Did have a barn swallow (blueish purple and black) fly inside my blind this morning several times…that was a first.  He just hovered like a bat back and forth and back out the opening.  That was amazing!

Josh