No blind turkey gang!

[AkDan]

I got tired of the blind last year and called in 3 longbeards to 10 yards...perfect range.  Had a good ditch to hide in (old grown over creek bed), they came up the farming road as if on cue and turned right too me...I THINK they could see my red fletching and locked in on where I was at.  They never spooked but didnt stay around long.  

without a blind I had more opportunities as I dont have the best of blinds.   I might have to rethink this spring.  Unfortunatly I love hunting thunderchickens with a black powder double as much as a longbow and with a typical short hunt planned, the double gets the nod after a couple days.

[Altiman94]

I secured a new farm to turkey hunt this year.  I may try without a blind the first weekend so I can stay more mobile.  I'm not exactly sure where the turkeys are gonna be, so I'd like to be able to move around quickly as needed.

[Hoyt]

All the yrs I've bowhunted and turkey hunted...since the late 50's..I've never bowhunted for turkeys. Mainly for three reasons. They see to good, I hunt public land (chances are few) and I like fried turkey breast.

However, this yr. if I can kill one early in the season with my flintlock shotgun, I'm going to give it a go. Mainly because I know of a couple places with big thick blowdowns right along the side of a hardwood ridge that gobblers love to travel. One is absolutely perfect to get in and there's big old white oaks all out in front of it perfect for a gobbler to walk behind and let me draw.

[Hoyt]

edit

[joe skipp]

Took a walk in the woods this morning about a mile from home. Just wanted to visit my "favorite" turkey spot and check over my natural blinds.

I found one of my natural blinds decimated by a very large tree limb that fell through the middle of it. Would have killed anyone in there...but it now offers even more natural cover. No place to hang the Torges seat so I'll be kneeling down in this one.

Dropped down a ridge and started paralleling the mighty Hudson when I caught movement up ahead. A nice flock of maybe 12 birds easing around feeding. Probably 150 yds from my spots. Eased down another 30 yds, walked around a small knob and 3 does bedded busted out of there.

It was a great morning....    

[RC]

Good morning indeed Mr. Skipp.RC

[Rob W.]

You know season is getting closer when you call your buddy to tell him how well the birds are responding to calls in his area.  :D  


Rob

i'l be after them again this spring, i think the guille will help this year, especially when moving in on one and theres no real cover to hide in when you get to where you need to be.

[snakebit40]

I woke up to gobbling turkey's yesterday morning. I love this time of year. I bought a new decoy to try out that attaches on your bow. I'm still missing a couple links to get the setup complete but when I do I'll post some pics.    

[Rob W.]

-I've got my bow/arrow setup ready to go.
-Haversack is packed and waiting.
-Leafy suit is washed
-stocked up on bug spray
-calls are tuned

All this and I still have to wait 3 1/2 weeks for season!  

[huntsmanlance]

Rob if i had to wait another 3 1/2 weeks i think i would pull my hair out in frustration!!!

[Mike Bolin]

Did a quick walk about in one of my turkey woods about an hour ago. Busted a hen off her nest! Seeing as how the season is still 3 1/2 weeks off I may have to re-think my tactics. Maybe the Toms will be really lonely by then and ready to come to calls?

[Rob W.]

I have busted two hens off nest in the last week. I did find some good dust bowls yesterday. I plan on sitting all morning a few days in the up coming weeks to figure out some travel patterns just in case they don't respond to calls.

Rob

[huntsmanlance]

So how is everyone doing? Any success yet?

I only have one more week to go until the season opens!

[snakebit40]

KS opened yesterday! I've been out watching the birds but haven't hunted them yet. I have a friend coming Wed. evening so I've just left them alone.

I'll post pics in this thread if we do any good!    

[Hoyt]

I busted a hen off her nest last wk. This morning was the first morning I didn't hear a gobble. Did hear one of the worst things a public land hunter can hear..somebody trying to sound like an owl.

[PaddyMac]

I got within 40 yards of a nice tom this morning before he busted me and flew. This will be my first time hunting turkeys, but I think this will also be the first time these particular turkeys have been hunted, so maybe we'll educate each other.

I can make them gobble by hooting at them but they're on private land which may    belong to a friend of mine and he may    break his longstanding policy and let me on. I've been watching them for two years now on my morning hikes. Last week I saw two toms strutting with about 6 hens around them from about 200 yards away.

If I can't get access to where I see them most of the time, I'm going to have to call them across a highway. So I'll have to be lucky.

But no blind for me.

[snakebit40]

How's season going for everybody?

I've had a pretty good couple weeks. I've had 3 missed opportunities. First one I had birds all around me but they didn't like the decoy I had set up and busted out of there. Then I went out one morning called two toms in from 300 yards to 15 yards. They came in on the back side of me where I didn't have any cover. I drew on one at 15 yards, he freaked out then I freaked out and didn't pick a spot. Shot right under him. Then this last Saturday night. I had this tom gobbling at every little yelp I did. He came in on a run from a ways out. I was set up in a "V" of a fallen tree on a flat bottom. When the bird got into the bottom he didn't see the hen so I knew he was going to try and get around the fallen tree. Well when I was swinging with him I saw me move my bow. The shot was at 30 yards as he was walking away from me, and the arrow almost took his head off. But it was a clean miss.

I hope you guys are doing better then me lol

i was off work today due to all the rain, so i got up and went.
got to my area and there was already a truck parked there, OH WELL!
i went in anyways, i hit a bend in the trail and i see his decoys off to the left, so i continue on and circle wide and head back down towards the river, i get to where i want to be.
unload my backpack and deploy the decoys and put my guille on and sat on my little tripod seat up against a tree.........sat for about 2-1/2 hrs.
didnt do any calling at all, i think the other hunter has been in here every day messin with this bird(from all the footprints in and out of here).
its an archery only area, natl wildlife refuge.
so im packing my stuff,jamming my decoys in my packpack and trying to zip it closed......when i glance up in front of me...and here comes a gobbler....walking straight at me....i ease my pack down to the side of my leg....reach for my bow...get my fingers on the string.....he's at 10 yds. and im bent over at my waist looking at him across the bottom of the brim of my hat.....
he finaly makes me out and turns the way he came......i didnt even try...i just froze and watched him walk away....if i would have just waited another 5 minutes before packing it up..........just maybe!!?

[Whip]

Opening day here in WI was last Wed.  As it started getting light gobblers were going off all around me - at least 4 right up the ridge from my set up at an inside field edge.

After fly down I could see two toms struting on the hillside above me and within 10 minutes here they came.  Strutted right into a lone hen decoy and proceeded to strut and gobble at 5 yards.  I was frozen in place, hoping they might both line their heads up behind a fan.  Not to be, and eventually they started to walk toward the field.  I drew, and got away with it, but was just too rattled by that point and shot low, cliping a wing feather from the strutting tom.

A little later 6 jakes came prancing in.  I'd have been happy to make it 5, but way too many eyes with that bunch and they knew something was up and boogered on me.

Another hour goes by and here comes two hens headed my way from the field, with two new toms in tow.  The hens walked right past my deke, and the toms followed them in all puffed up.  Same deal as before - they stood there for a good five minutes, but never once got their heads hidden out of my sight.  As they started moving off I drew, the hens to my right started putting, and I rushed a shot.  I collected another feather.

Man this no blind stuff is tough!!

The lesson I took from that morning is decoy placement is critcal.  I had the decoy on my side of the trail that runs into the woods.  The gobblers all stood facing the decoy, and thus facing me.  I should have set her up on the other side of the trail.  A seven yard shot would have been close enough.....