I'm curious to hear some of your opinions on this situation.
I was just turkey hunting and on my way to my spot I kicked up a nice size Tom about 10 yards away. I'm going west, turkey slowly trotted north. What would you do?
I sat right there behind a fallen tree and started to call. Just wondering if there is a diffrent line of thinking for when you kick up a bird up. To me, they are unpredictable, but now a whitetail I could figure that out much easier. I'm still a rookie at this turkey thing.
Return to Bird Taxidermy Category Menu
I have been hunting turkey's for the past 3 years. You really don't get a second chance on a bird very often. If you identified it and it was a shooter, I would shoot. I have kicked up a couple of hens roosting under down trees. and couldn't identify them till it was to late (this is in spring in Illinois where you can only shoot tomes and bearded hens). They have great eye's. If you can see them they can see you and they are usually gone. If you try to sit down and have the bird come back it is a waste. I haven't seen this done at all, and I watch the outdoor channel a lot.
SHOOT Him at 10 Yards ! OK LET HIM GET OUT A BIT.
I would have if I had my shot gun. I would have taken his head off. But this year I'm trying to take one with bow. Now its a whole new animal.
Try him in a few days. What time of the day were you going to your spot? The reason I ask is, you should have never kicked up a bird on the ground if you were heading to your spot when you should have. I'm not giving you a hard time here, just trying to help you out a bit. I like to here the turkeys on their roost in the early morning dark. You can locate these birds by giving a Barred Owl call, and they'll respond (usually) with a "shock gobble". Once you locate them on their roost, you go to their nearest strutting zone and set up on the edge of the field and do some soft hen calls followed by a "flydown" call. You can do this with an old turkey wing by beating it against a tree or your body etc. This is not a foolproof plan, but works quite often for me. The reason I say go back a few days later to that perticular spot, is because toms prefer a perticular tree to roost in, especially if he is a mature dominant bird. These turkeys will actually roost in the same tree every night as long as they are not spooked too much. You can usually get away with an accidental stumbling upon one, just don't push it. I wouldn't expect you to get this bird to respond that day especially if he saw you in broad daylight. Get out there early and avoid using a flashlight. I will actually rake a path for my approach earlier in the year so I don't make any unnecessary noise. Remember this point "If turkeys could smell, we'd never harvest them" In other words, they have unbelievable hearing and eyesight. Hope this helps. The one neat thing about turkeys they never, ever, will be predictable!
This is just one of my mid day quick spots. Its a small woods with field and pines around it. I was walking out in the woods at 1pm to set up and I kicked this thing up about 25yards from where I was trying to get.
I would use this as a prime morning spot but I'm trying to be a little curtious to the land owner. Permision is a tricky thing around here!
Thanks for all the input everyone!
I have been guiding turkey hunters for several years, and a bird like that is not necessarily a lost cause. Give the bird 30-40 minutes to settle down. They will ussually only go a few hundred yards if they are not shot at. Try to figure out roughly where he would go if you know the land. Approach your estimated spot from a different direction if possible, dont get to close, and start calling SOFTLY. more light clucks and purrs less yelping. Turkeys are Wary, but dont have great memories. A spooked bird will settle down after a while, and the soft calling will be more effective than loud calling. These birds will usuually come in quiet, but if the bird gets fired up and starts gobbling, call a little more loudly.
I have had several clients that have shot at and missed birds, only to get another crack at him an hour or two later. The main thing is to be patient and sit for a longer time than ussual because the birds will come in slower than a fired up, unspooked turkey. good luck.
Thats exactly what I was looking for. I figured I would try to get some calls out before he was out of the woods so I started calling loud right after I saw him.
I'll no better next time! Thanks