I just can't stay still when

[HoofsandWings]

I got all set up and waited for a turkey. Luckily no turkey came by. Apparently, in the dark, I set up on an ant hill and found out I can not stay still when the ants run over my eyeballs. 
I finally saw when going by a house with a large yard one of the boss tom gobblers that I have heard whispers about.
He was absolutely huge. Oh if you think of taking him, there is a screened porch and rumor has it there is a family member sitting there with rifle at the ready just waiting.

I went to a different area and as I was walking to the top of a hill I looked back and some guy had stopped and went around the truck and tried the doors.
I had no idea what he was doing, but I thought I should get back to the truck and go somewhere else.
On the way back to the truck, I did see a jake but there was no way to sneak up on him as I was still in open country.
At least I know where he is at.

[HoofsandWings]

So how do you old time turkey hunters stay still when sitting in an ants nest?

[turkeydancer]

Apply a 500,000 BTU propane torch, wait until cooled down, then sit ... bring chocolate for toasted ants if desired.       

Funny thing is that I almost did that this year in the dark by the light of my green hat light before realizing what I was really looking at .... don't think the Sawyer's tick spray would have helped that time ...
 

[HoofsandWings]

Well today I twiched at the wrong moments. I was adjusting my seat when a turkey flew right over me at about 10 feet.
He did not wait around.
Then I was set up in a great place when I needed to chaulk my turkey caller.
I look up and there are a dozen gobblers staring at me. It was a mix if jakes and more mature gobblers that had been beaten and now were part of the batchler group.  Of course they ran off before I could reach for my shotgun.

[HoofsandWings]

Here is a question.
Evening hunts. How are they different. Or are they different?
Do the turkeys show themselves in the open? Over here they spend the day in the brush. They are out in the open early in the morning, then disappear.
I have not tried to hunt them in the evening, but I thought I should ask about tactics.
Just wondering. I usually am just too tired after the morning hunt. Also, there must be some plants that are thowing off pollen that my eyes do not like. In one place, I could not stop sneezing. My eyes are a bright red all day.

[turkeydancer]

Evenings are great ... set up between the roost tree and the direction you think they'll return. Call softly and infrequent.  Try not to sneeze, blink, adjust seat, sit in ant hills, etc.

[BOWHUNTER45]

I got all set up and waited for a turkey. Luckily no turkey came by. Apparently, in the dark, I set up on an ant hill and found out I can not stay still when the ants run over my eyeballs. 
I finally saw when going by a house with a large yard one of the boss tom gobblers that I have heard whispers about.
He was absolutely huge. Oh if you think of taking him, there is a screened porch and rumor has it there is a family member sitting there with rifle at the ready just waiting.

I went to a different area and as I was walking to the top of a hill I looked back and some guy had stopped and went around the truck and tried the doors.
I had no idea what he was doing, but I thought I should get back to the truck and go somewhere else.
On the way back to the truck, I did see a jake but there was no way to sneak up on him as I was still in open country.
At least I know where he is at.

hahahaha I done that this trip too !! Ants were everywhere

[HoofsandWings]

First interesting (at least to me) odds and ends.
Driving to my location, I encountered a herd of white-tailed deer. There were at least 50 maybe 70.
I stopped the truck and waited as they crossed in twos and threes. They were about 100 feet in front of the truck.
After about 5 minutes, the last deer crossed the road. None ran or trotted off. They just stood there at the side of the road, watching me drive by.

Then there was the missing of the turn off from the highway. I missed the turn off and stopped the truck and looked ahead of me. There were two deer standing in the roadway. If I had gone 100 yards further, I would have hit them.

When I was hunting near some houses with no hunting and no tresspassing signs, it was about 5:30am and suddenly I heard shooting from one of the back yards. I heard gobbling. The shooter was probably a youth. He shot 5 times at what probably were some turkeys.

I drove past some houses while scouting and in the front yard was a doe and fawn lying on the grass.

So now the tall tale of my turkey hunt this morning.
I cross this opening and start to set up only to find the tree I was under was full of turkeys.
I retreated and found another spot. I set up my decoys in the clearing and started calling and waiting.
Nothing.
Then I heard something behind me. It was a gobbler (a jake). By the time I swung the shotgun 180 degrees, the bird had walked off. Then another turkey appeared. Apparently, the brush was so thick, the second one could not see the first one run.  I swung the barrel in the direction of the turkey and it suddenly ducked. The birds were only about 30 feet away.
Now I was pointed to where the turkeys were coming out of the very thick brush. Turkey number 3 walks out and I pull the trigger. I pick him up, pack my gear and head for  the truck. There I do some plucking and draw the bird.
I was amazed the craw (crop) was totally empty. He as a big and fat jake.
As soon as I finish processing and put him on a platter, I will take a picture for you.

[HoofsandWings]

Turkey is in the oven.

[one more]

Congratulations!!!  Great stories.  Did you take any photos of the still feathered bird?  Was it an Eastern on the wet side?  There are a lot of ant hills on this side.  They sure are nice and soft to sit on --- if they're empty.
Diane

[HoofsandWings]

The turkey was in the blues.
My camera is a battery eater. Even when I am not using it, the battery is draining.
I did not have 4 AA batteries with me. The ride home must have been rough in the bed of the truck. He was in a cooler and when I arrived home, a large patch of skin was showing where the feathers had rubbed off.
I don't do much show and tell. I rarely take pictures of animals I have harvested. More often I take pictures of rocks, flowers, vegetation, song birds and the like.
For example, when I shot my moose, I have no photos of him. Same with elk. I have two pictures of my sheep and it is when I had the horns tatooed at the WDFW office.

[Yelper Guy]

Wow, I always try to take a picture but understand your predicament.
I also use "parts" for making memories of bagging that particular bird.
I make at least one wingbone yelper per bird harvested along with saving the spurs for necklace wear.
Not to mention the cape or fan, each one reminds me of that particular hunt.

[HoofsandWings]

Wow, I always try to take a picture but understand your predicament.
I also use "parts" for making memories of bagging that particular bird.
I make at least one wingbone yelper per bird harvested along with saving the spurs for necklace wear.
Not to mention the cape or fan, each one reminds me of that particular hunt.

You try to remember your hunts, so you can re-live them with friends and relatives. My relatives are deceased and the few friends I have that are not deceased, don't want to hear about my hunts. The times I have offered a venison or wild game dinner, I have been turned down. My wife eats what I hunt, but usually I have to eat it myself.

[wonder]

Sorry you don't have a support group.  Doing it for yourself is a good thing too.  I've missed a few opportunities myself and regret those but keep hoping to fill it all in with new ones hopefully of my son's adventures. Hang in there and keep piling up the memories.