3 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

and a spur got me good. 

I did that once years ago. I was so excited I had thumped a nice Tom that I ran over to it as it was still dying to pick it up. I grabbed the legs and it was still doing it’s “death kick.” Huge mistake. One of the spurs got me in the wrist.

 

Since that incident I let them fully die before touching it.

Sadness.  The last of my turkey is eaten.  
 

last bit went down as a Japanese KATSU

 

A guy shot and killed a fellow hunter while turkey hunting in Northern California 

whow..just googled it.    i am not even sure how that is possible.  it is close contact with shotguns, and a turkey is obvious.   i would love the details on how it happened.  maybe the guy shot at a "thing" moving thru the trees?????!!!

Guy is 80 years old, probably can’t see Jack 

^^TRUE.

 

but dang it if a turkey in full strut at 20 -60 yards is the most visually unmistakable thing on the planet.    but this is why i only hunt private land.  no schenanigans.  

Our turkeys up here are fairly tame due to all the old folks putting out food for them and so on. I literally have to get out of my truck and shoo them out of the road leaving my house. Had a big gobbler mating a hen in the road the other day and wouldn't move no matter what. Once I got out of the truck and wen to shooin him and the hen jumped up and took off. lol sorry bud, didn't mean to interrupt your romantic interlude but I gotta get through.

29 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

^^TRUE.

 

but dang it if a turkey in full strut at 20 -60 yards is the most visually unmistakable thing on the planet.    but this is why i only hunt private land.  no schenanigans.  

I was listening to a podcast with a retired game warden one time. He came up on a guy (in FLA of course) leaned up against a guardrail with his pants down bleeding . He was walking into his hunt spot and nature called. He dropped trousers and someone shot an arrow thru both his butt cheeks. Thought it was the white tail of a deer but it was tighty whities 

51 minutes ago, IYAOYAS said:

Our turkeys up here are fairly tame due to all the old folks putting out food for them and so on. I literally have to get out of my truck and shoo them out of the road leaving my house. Had a big gobbler mating a hen in the road the other day and wouldn't move no matter what. Once I got out of the truck and wen to shooin him and the hen jumped up and took off. lol sorry bud, didn't mean to interrupt your romantic interlude but I gotta get through.

I took this picture last year. I had to have one of my contractors shoo him off so I could move. If I did he’d run right back to the front of the truck. This wasn’t an isolated incident. He has his own Facebook page and has been on one of the news stations in west Michigan. 
 

 

4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

A guy shot and killed a fellow hunter while turkey hunting in Northern California 

 

This exact sort of thing is what gives hunters a bad rap.  The first thing they teach you in firearms safety training is to verify your target and what lies beyond.

 

Whole lotta people who use a firearm shouldn't be allowed to, and this proves it.

Next Saturday the season starts. This was from Friday night. They’re already out showing off for the ladies. Unfortunately, this isn’t land I can hunt.

 

 

Season opened yesterday but I couldn't get out to hunt thanks to the honeydo list. Walked all over the mountainside this morning and saw not nary a dang turkey. Didn't even hear any shock gobbles from my crow call. Last week I had at least 3 big gobblers strutting just off the driveway in the woods right next to my house. I could literally drive up to them and get out and they wouldn't move. Whoever gave my turkeys the list of hunting season dates for here in NC shame on you!😂

My season starts on Wednesday morning.  I will be setting up my blind tomorrow evening before it gets dark.

Day 1, stopped counting at 25 turkeys this morning.

 

All but 5 hens walked past well out of range.  They are not responding to calls or decoys at all.  I moved my blind before I left.  I'll be going back there later and they'll all be coming back to their roost before dark.  Just need a legal male to walk past within range.

We haven’t been out yet. My good friend however took the week off to chase after them. He put them to bed last night and sent me a video of them gobbling in the roost this morning. They came out of the roost and right on que, a bobcat comes walking by and the birds go silent and disappear. 😂

 

Speaking of the bobcat, we caught it on trail cam a couple times late last year but never got him during the one week trapping season we have here, but decides to show up during turkey season. 

Cats like turkey meat too 

Bird down! Not me but my buddy Frank got one this morning. Same place as the day before. Must be the bobcat decided to sleep in.

 

9” beard

7/8” spurs

 

 

I had a tom at 70 yards last night which is still too far.  This morning I saw 8 hens and 4 toms but they were all on the other side of the field.

 

It's turned into a war of attrition now.  They are not responding to calls or decoys, and they fly directly from the roost into an open field each morning, and then vice versa at dark.  The only thing I can do is hope one walks past my blind within shotgun range before I have to quit hunting in a few days.  It's basically deer hunting for turkeys now.

7 minutes ago, gim said:

They are not responding to calls or decoys, and they fly directly from the roost into an open field each morning, and then vice versa at dark.

We experienced the same thing the last couple years. There aren’t a ton of hunters around here and I always hunt private land so they are call shy. While I’m happy this warm weather is here, I’m also not because they tend to hen up quicker when it gets warm.

I own the crappiest spool of gas station monofilament.  its only purpose for me it to tie it to my Jake Decoy.  when they hang up, I can pull the line and make the decoy spin a tiny bit.  it can drag them in in as a hail-mary.

29 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

We experienced the same thing the last couple years. There aren’t a ton of hunters around here and I always hunt private land so they are call shy.

 

I've seen this before a few times too.  Last year they sucked right into my setup on day 1 and it was easy peasy.

 

Truth be told, I've never done much calling.  Some hunters do a lot of it.  I generally just do enough so they know I'm there, and then when I get a visual, I shut up.

 

I shouldn't complain about seeing over 60 turkeys thus far.  Any action makes for a good hunt.

34 minutes ago, gim said:

Truth be told, I've never done much calling.  Some hunters do a lot of it.  I generally just do enough so they know I'm there, and then when I get a visual, I shut up.

I usually do this too. There have been times though I hear them getting more distant and I go into full on panic mode and call away. I know I shouldn’t but…

I’m a chatty turkey.  

Do any of you ever use a gobble call or just a hen?

 

While we’re talking about calls, what’s your go to? Up until a couple years ago I for the life of me couldn’t figure out a diaphragm call. That’s my go to now. I still purr with it though and rely on a slate call for that. I have a box call but never really got into using it.

I use a box call when they are out far and a slate when they get in closer. I don't use a mouth call because i am not that talented.