Hunting Washington Forum
Other Hunting => Turkey Hunting => Topic started by: Gobble Man on April 16, 2010, 05:31:05 PM
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My son & I went out turkey hunting this am and missed our chance at a couple of birds . It was raining lightly when we went to check an area out a friend had told me about with the intention of coming back another day and not hunting . I don 't like to sit in the rain and didn 't think the birds would be moving well . Low and behold we heard some gobbling as soon as the both of us found the area so we set up without the decoys which I left at the car . A jake and a hen came in about 40 min. later but would not get any closer than 45 yards . About 10 min. later a flock of 3 toms and 2 hens flew right ( which the jake was part of ) into the clearing my son was hiding in and landed walking fast . He swung on one of the toms and missed with his 12 guage . Questions : If I had the decoys set up would the first jake have probably come in or the flock landed without moving so quickly ? Would this be a good place ( the exact spot ) to set up in a few days and try again if there is not a lot of pressure in this area over the weekend ? Do birds move that well in a light rain ? Thanks for any help .
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I'd get back out tomorrow if you can. After my buddy shot his tom this morning, the hen he was with plus 3 came right back minutes after the shot. The tom was still flopping a bit and we had stayed in the blind . They barely paid any attention to them. 4 jakes also came in while we were retrieving the tom.
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Rain doesn't really bother them unless it is a heavy downpour.
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A little rain also makes the flying insects fly less well; their wings get wet. Turkeys will head out into a field to eat them up. I took a big Tom in GMU 121 on Friday. His crop was bigger than a grapefruit. it was full of various grasses, seeds, and bugs. Everything from worms, other larva, and flying insects. How he caught the flying bugs I'll never know. I'd get to know what they like to eat (Univesity of Oregon is doing a turkey feeding habits study right now), and learn to identify their food sources. Should be a good indicator of where you are likely to find Turkeys. The more I learn about Turkey hunting the more I love it.
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A turkey is smart but luckily they have a short memory. Get back out in the same spot and this time have a few decoys. If they are anything like the birds we hunt they wil roost very close to the same spot.
Good luck.
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I've killed toms with a shotgun just to have the toms with him jump on him and beat him up. It's no different then thunder, as long they don't see you keep calling and yes decoys work. Full strutter decoys work real will w/hen decoys.
