Ive been trying to get the girlfriend to go hunting and she finally agree to go spring turkey hunting cause she thought they were ugly and said they used to chase her on the farm back in Indiana when she was a kid.
I never have really spring turkey hunted other than driving around and shooting one when we saw one, so her decision got me fired up for this season. I bought two decoys, a diaphragm call and pull out my old box call I bought when I was in high school and started practicing... soon I was sounding good and was excited for opening day.
We went out Saturday morning and heard a lot of birds in the area, closed the distance twice and set up. Both times couldnt get a bird to commit. I'm pretty sure I was calling to much. Later in the morning we went and sat in a blind at a feeder to see what would show. Around 9:30 a lone hen showed and left. With our bellies full of coffee and no food figured it was time to head back to the house. There was very little activity from the birds the rest of the day from what we could hear and I could tell she was starting to get a little discouraged for the next mornings hunt.
When we woke up Sunday morning things were quiet. Didn't hear a single tom gobble at sun up so I suggested we just go set up in the deer blind again where we had seen the lone hen. She loved this idea cause she would be in a comfortable chair and could once again drink her coffee.
The feeder went off at 7 and a doe walked by but didnt stop. Hit the box call a few times for the next hour and a half and didnt see or hear a thing til about 8:30 when we heard a couple different gobblers heating up. Both sounded a good ways off but it was something. Then all of a sudden after hearing one of the farther birds gobble, one gobbled at him quite a bit closer to us. So I waited a minute and then hit the call to see if he would respond... sure enough he gobbled back. I called to him very conservatively for a good 20 min with him gobbling back only a few times but each time he was closer. Then in the thick live oaks just to our right he gobbled and I could hear it bouncing through the trees and I knew he was close. Hit the call one more time with a response and waited. 5 minutes go by and there he is in the trees 60 yards to our right. He was back in the woods where she couldnt see him and he couldnt see us very well so I told her to get the 12 gauge up and ready. I chirped the call one more time and he committed. Once he spotted the decoys he closed the last 50 yards in full strut. As soon as she saw him she said "Uh, that thing is ugly". I was getting impatient and so was she as he strutted around the two fake hens so when her faced us I gave her the go ahead and she put him down right there.
10" beard
1 1/8" spurs
All I have to say is "I'm hooked"! and so is she.
I never have really spring turkey hunted other than driving around and shooting one when we saw one, so her decision got me fired up for this season. I bought two decoys, a diaphragm call and pull out my old box call I bought when I was in high school and started practicing... soon I was sounding good and was excited for opening day.
We went out Saturday morning and heard a lot of birds in the area, closed the distance twice and set up. Both times couldnt get a bird to commit. I'm pretty sure I was calling to much. Later in the morning we went and sat in a blind at a feeder to see what would show. Around 9:30 a lone hen showed and left. With our bellies full of coffee and no food figured it was time to head back to the house. There was very little activity from the birds the rest of the day from what we could hear and I could tell she was starting to get a little discouraged for the next mornings hunt.
When we woke up Sunday morning things were quiet. Didn't hear a single tom gobble at sun up so I suggested we just go set up in the deer blind again where we had seen the lone hen. She loved this idea cause she would be in a comfortable chair and could once again drink her coffee.
The feeder went off at 7 and a doe walked by but didnt stop. Hit the box call a few times for the next hour and a half and didnt see or hear a thing til about 8:30 when we heard a couple different gobblers heating up. Both sounded a good ways off but it was something. Then all of a sudden after hearing one of the farther birds gobble, one gobbled at him quite a bit closer to us. So I waited a minute and then hit the call to see if he would respond... sure enough he gobbled back. I called to him very conservatively for a good 20 min with him gobbling back only a few times but each time he was closer. Then in the thick live oaks just to our right he gobbled and I could hear it bouncing through the trees and I knew he was close. Hit the call one more time with a response and waited. 5 minutes go by and there he is in the trees 60 yards to our right. He was back in the woods where she couldnt see him and he couldnt see us very well so I told her to get the 12 gauge up and ready. I chirped the call one more time and he committed. Once he spotted the decoys he closed the last 50 yards in full strut. As soon as she saw him she said "Uh, that thing is ugly". I was getting impatient and so was she as he strutted around the two fake hens so when her faced us I gave her the go ahead and she put him down right there.
10" beard
1 1/8" spurs
All I have to say is "I'm hooked"! and so is she.
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