New Member - Vetran Turkey Hunter Skunked!

[Yelper Guy]

I've been a longtime reader on this site, so I figured it was my time to finally join.
I've hunted turkeys for nearly 20 years now, the first 5 years at least were "learning years".
I learned the hard way that you can't hunt turkeys like they are an upland bird - no dice!
This past Monday (for the opener) my brother and I went to our private "Turkey Nirvana" spot in north Spokane county.
This same spot last year, we hunted 4 times and bagged 4 gobblers.
Well alot has changed in this particular spot this year, at least on Monday.
We hunted pretty hard all day in 20 -30 mile an hour wind gusts and didn't see or hear any birds all day long.
We never have really been the type that is in the woods for fly-down, I don't like hiking for miles in the dark.
Normally we start hunting about 8:00 or 9:00 AM and have had pretty good success, usually between 10:00 until 2:00 or so.
We're not sure if a preadator has moved all these birds, or if that wind storm spooked them to the point of moving to different parts (miles away).
We covered lots of ground, quietly without getting busted and I'm really puzzled where they were/ are.

[turkeydancer]

Some places the birds are just moving back in after the snowy weather.  Even where the birds are, they were going silent within an hour of flydown (if not sooner).  It was getting light by legal shoot (5:26), and you could of walked in enough light (but 21 to 28 degree weather), you would of heard them then, and located and got on to them ... arriving by 8 or 9  you wouldn't have heard them, making it tons tougher.

The good news is that this will change as the weather heats up and more of his hens are breed and going to nest  I can guarantee you two things:  1) they are most likely still in the area, and 2) they will be getting after it more soon.