Spring Turkey 2015
- Thread starter Rossignol
- Start date
When dealing with a boss hen, it pays to piss her off. Show her whose boss, cut her off, call back louder with more aggression, provoke her into a fight, and she will probably drag the gobbler with her.
Are you guys still talkin 'bout turkeys?
Sounds like every relationship I've ever been in...
Sounds like every relationship I've ever been in...
Cool, so we're on the right track then. I kept calling over top of her louder and more obnoxious than her. Unfortunately though she left in this case but she did first come all the way across the field almost right up to the blind.
I'm not certain if our decoys may be an issue. We have a jake and we have a hen that looks like its feeding. I'm wanting to invest in something else if its worth doing.
In the very least, the experience has been exciting. We're learning, our calling has improved vastly just in the last couple weeks, and we've gone from seeing nothing and hearing nothing to keeping a Tom interested for some time and even having that hen come out to investigate. I'm especially pleased to learn our blind and camo is sufficient, even if our mossy oak is more for the fall season. It works well enough given not everything is green. My daughter and I are still enjoying it even if we come back empty.
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hock
.270 WIN
Its all about what the birds in your area like or dislike. I said in a previous post here that I have never had a gobbler in NJ respond to an owl call but I always try. This year the boy answered to it and I took him??? I will also tell you that this is the last year that I am using a male decoy? Any time I have used my jakes the toms seem to wander off once they see my decoys, this year we put a strutting decoy out and I called a bird across a brook and up a very very steep grade and when he came over the top of the ridge he looked left saw the decoy and calmly walked right. He wanted a hen because of the obstacles and how far he came in to my calls. Now I would guess they must work, but I BELIEVE they have hindered my success at times, but there is no way to know for sure?? Just keep trying the different things that you hear from everyone.
hock
.270 WIN
My new York hunt was the first that I took my go pro out for. I had it on my head until we set up and the sun was in our face. I really thought it was best I take it off as I thought the sun would reflect off the silver body. The hunt was about 45min and I trimmed it down to 5min, you can barely hear his only Gobble after my faint call about 4 seconds before the shot. Here is a link to the video on dropbox. I think it should take you right to the video without a password??https://www.dropbox.com/s/1107sxg9yjk103b/short long short last.wmv?dl=0
I have never had much luck with decoys either. Birds in my area, which is a mix of large tracts of National Forest and smaller tracts of private ground, seem to be real leery of dekes. In my 28 years I know of 2 Toms killed over dekes and only a handful of hen / deke interaction. I typically leave them at home and setup where the bird has to seek me out, setup in such a way that as soon as I see him, he is in range and I can shoot.
Nice. I had my Contour Roam mounted to my bow but in the heat of the moment when things were happening fast I never even thought to click it on. Probably just as well, at 35 yards he would have looked like 100 yards with the angle of view on that camera.
I've had mixed results with decoys. I usually do not use male decoys but will occasionally set up a grounded hen with a jake about to breed. The first turkey I ever shot was over a full strut tom decoy.
I most likely just use a hen or two but I still carry a jake decoy. If they wont' come into the hens I will try it, what do I have to lose. I did get one tom to come into the jake setup this year but never got a show. Basically there are no real rules and you just need to be flexible based on the hunt and the birds. Don't be afraid to mix it up mid hunt if you need to. Note that I tend to hunt open fields where the birds can see if there is nothing where the call is coming from. Hunting in areas with more cover you can get away with not utilizing the decoy as much.
One of the main things I love about turkey hunting is that every time I think I have it figured out, it changes. It is always a challenge and always fun.
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Fall Turkey opens here Sept 15. I generally buy a tag in case I see one during the fall archery season but I've never really hunted them specifically in the fall.
I'm thinking i might this year, it'll get me out in the woods earlier.
I'm thinking i might this year, it'll get me out in the woods earlier.
Just discovered this morning there is no fall turkey season for my county. I can go to a neighboring county, but not my back yard where I know factually to be a respectable population across all these acres and acres including neighboring properties. While I was shooting last weekend, the guy a couple doors up said I scared about 8 birds from my place and that they were then in his yard.
Kinda blows. Need to formulate a new plan.
Kinda blows. Need to formulate a new plan.
That sucks.