Tough birds, Funny Hunts..Lets hear the stories

[Tom Tamer]

Big game...I think you hit the nail on the head..I was once told by an old turkey hunter...." When you decide to move, wait ten more minutes"

 I thought it was good advice but if you adhere to it to strictly, you'd still be there would you?

[Turkeyman]

Turkeys cant tell time. They do what they want when the want. Patients will kill allot of gobblers. If you think you have been at your set up to long and need to move stay longer. I have stayed in one set up for over two hours before a gobbler came into range.

[Wacenturion]

Turkeys cant tell time. They do what they want when the want. Patients will kill allot of gobblers. If you think you have been at your set up to long and need to move stay longer. I have stayed in one set up for over two hours before a gobbler came into range.

Turkeyman.....agree.
When I'm hunting Easterns on the west side and I have done my homework....... which means lots of scouting and hopefully getting into a whole bunch of sign (droppings), I'll spend the first 2 hours calling softly and no more more than every 12-15 minutes or so.  In other words just making natural turkey sounds.  If nothing has responded during that time, I don't panic because I now know that I have convinced every turkey within hearing range, that I'm the real deal....a turkey.  Now the game begins.  May never come, but more than naught, sometime during that day something will eventually check me out.  That usually results in a dead bird.  Of course other things will too...like cougars...lol

Every hunt is different and one might have to relocate for one reason or another, but I killed my fair share of birds, Easterns, Rios and Merriam's with this "boring" patience type approach.

[Shootmoore]

Turkeys cant tell time. They do what they want when the want. Patients will kill allot of gobblers. If you think you have been at your set up to long and need to move stay longer. I have stayed in one set up for over two hours before a gobbler came into range.

Turkeyman.....agree.
When I'm hunting Easterns on the west side and I have done my homework....... which means lots of scouting and hopefully getting into a whole bunch of sign (droppings), I'll spend the first 2 hours calling softly and no more more than every 12-15 minutes or so.  In other words just making natural turkey sounds.  If nothing has responded during that time, I don't panic because I now know that I have convinced every turkey within hearing range, that I'm the real deal....a turkey.  Now the game begins.  May never come, but more than naught, sometime during that day something will eventually check me out.  That usually results in a dead bird.  Of course other things will too...like cougars...lol

Every hunt is different and one might have to relocate for one reason or another, but I killed my fair share of birds, Easterns, Rios and Merriam's with this "boring" patience type approach.

You just have an unfare advantage, your well known to all those birds ancestors 

Shootmoore

[Wacenturion]

I had my shortest hunt back in the 90's hunting Easterns in western Washington.  A friend and I had walked into an area 100 yards or so from where I usually parked in one of our particular spots, an area I might add, we generally just walk through to get at least 1/2 mile in behind the Weyerhauser gates. My son however had been scouting in this spot a couple days before I hunted it, and had seen some sign a stone's throw from where I park. So we only went in a short distance, found a good spot to set down, waited for the woods to quiet down for about 10 minutes or so and then I made a few soft yelps. Nothing responded, but out of the corner of my eye I spot movement to my right....a gobbler coming quietly. I'm thinking...what the hell, that's not possible.

Where we were sitting was in a patch of semi open dark pecker pole woods. Lighting wasn't the best. The bird came within 10 yards head on and I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing. Knew it was a gobbler, but wasn't going to pull the trigger till I was 100% positive as he was silent the whole time and my mind somehow just could not quite equate what was happening. He backed off and moved to my left and found another lane to my position. As he slowly came in toward me....and I'll never forget this for as long as I live, an almost comical turkey moment....he paused at about seven yards, then looked both left and right and then stuck his head straight out in my direction and as softly as he possibly could, he gobbled. The softest gobble I have ever heard...like a whisper gobble. Boom...dead bird.

Total time from calling....the only calls I made I might add, to the time I shot the bird was exactly 5 minutes.  I know the exact time because my friend had looked at his watch when I called and then again when I shot.  He couldn't believe it.  If I would have taken him when he first came in it would have been 2-3 minutes tops.

The only thing I could figure out being a two year old bird, he was trying to avoid bringing down the wrath of the boss in the area. Too funny.

Best thing about that hunt was that a couple of our friends were hunting their butts off, to get an eastern that year.  Unfortunately they didn't put in the time scouting from February on like we did.  Knowing I had already taken a bird they would call asking for advice as they weren't having any luck.......I would reply......

" Well if you have about 5 minutes, I might be able to help you out". 

Unfortunately I can't post their response....lol.