Spring Turkey 2023

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Kings!

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Any one out today? I won’t have a chance till Saturday but I will be checking for trespassers this evening. I imagine there is already one that came from the state land

Wish I was out today i seen more turkeys on my way home last night and way in this morning than ive seen in months.

Had an absolutely wonderful morning in the woods today. Was around roosting turkeys to start. They flew down and drifted away. Had other birds gobbling on both sides. Ended up having 2 jakes come in and flog my decoys. That was cool. About 45minutes later I had 4 Tom’s come in and do the same. Shot one of them and after about 3 minutes, I finally had to get up and chase the others away. I’ve never had a better day in the turkey woods.

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I got out for the last 2 hours. Never heard a gobble. Found some turkey sign in the woods and decided to stay put and try to put some to bed to find the next morning. Would give 2 yelps every 15 min. Had a tom come in silently all by himself and got a clean shot as he was about to walk away. He’s plucked and in the fridge now. Didn’t find any shot on the body so going to be a great bird for the grill. I took the next 2 days off of work for hunting so I guess I’ll take the kids for some hikes through the woods instead.

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Nice kills guys. I walked the land and cut some down trees last night, cleared a spot for the blind for my son and cut fallen trees to help the farmer clear his field edge. I might be able to sneak out after work Friday but if not, definitely Saturday morning

Nice job guys! I got out yesterday afternoon and boy was it hot. Hunted one public area never been to from about 1 to 4 and did not see or hear anything. Jumped over to a different area for the evening and ended walking up on a group of about 6 the last hour of light. They skirted away from me and I probably should have been a bit more aggressive, but didn’t fully know what the terrain looked like. Got out there early this morning to that same area and heard a couple distant gobbles, but nothing close. Walked a bit and came up on one on a private bean stubble field, but could not get it to come our way. Never had one respond to a call an they seem to be grouped up still. Might try tomorrow morning for a couple hours right at first light. Good luck everyone.

dhpricco wrote:

Nice job guys! I got out yesterday afternoon and boy was it hot. Hunted one public area never been to from about 1 to 4 and did not see or hear anything. Jumped over to a different area for the evening and ended walking up on a group of about 6 the last hour of light. They skirted away from me and I probably should have been a bit more aggressive, but didn’t fully know what the terrain looked like. Got out there early this morning to that same area and heard a couple distant gobbles, but nothing close. Walked a bit and came up on one on a private bean stubble field, but could not get it to come our way. Never had one respond to a call an they seem to be grouped up still. Might try tomorrow morning for a couple hours right at first light. Good luck everyone.

Definitely grouped up. While cutting trees up last night we had 17 walk out and to the roosting area a hour before dark

Those are some nice birds Gerty and Finicky Fish.

So I’m taking my nephew out this evening and tomorrow if needed, but I’m curious as to what turkeys do in these groups if say he shoots one tonight or Tomorrow, can I leave that blind in the same spot and let it be for a day or 2. Will the birds stay around. It is set up 100 yards west of the swamp that they are roosted up in a tree in. But out of eye site. They come down and go up in almost the same path everyday. Is plucking a bird from there going to push them to a new roosting spot or would you expect them to stay in the area if we don’t rush around and let them know where we are?
My son can’t hunt until Sunday so I’m hoping to get the nephew on a gobbler today or early tomorrow and then I’ll move solo to a different area and test my archery skills up against a tree. Think it’ll be good to go back to the blind Sunday if a kill happens there Friday night or early Saturday

Bearcat – I can’t say for sure since I have never hunted “the days after” a kill. But, after I shot my bird I filmed the other 3 toms and 2 hens that had come in for 4 minutes before finally exiting my tent and chasing them away. It seems to me they would come back to that area. I think the bigger thing is if you do shoot one, do not exit your blind (if your sitting in one) or don’t move or make any noise until all the turkeys have left the area. I think the human contact would be worse than the shot. My setup also puts me in a travel corridor so that would help my situation a bit. Others here may have different or better opinions/experience and I’d love to hear it. Good luck!

The not moving or going after the bird is my hopes, if it all works how a guy plays it out in his head then it’ll be great. But who knows how it’ll happen.

Beautiful morning out in the woods today. They were actually talking for about 30 min. around sunrise. I found the roost and could see them up in the trees. Might have pushed too close since the majority flew the other direction. Had a pair of birds cross the corn field I was sitting on and skirt into the woods about 100 yards from where I was sitting. I waited about 20 min and then followed the same direction they went. Was walking through the woods in the general area they had gone and ended up getting too close and bumped them and heard the one putt. Looks like I am going out tomorrow am again to try and get after this same roost spot. Might put out a single hen decoy and make myself sit it out in one spot for a while right next to the roost.

Gerty wrote:

I think the bigger thing is if you do shoot one, do not exit your blind (if your sitting in one) or don’t move or make any noise until all the turkeys have left the area. I think the human contact would be worse than the shot.

I would agree with this. Although I’ve never continued to hunt an area after filling a tag, I would also wait until all the turkeys have left the area until exiting the blind after one is shot. For some reason, they aren’t smart enough to figure out that one of their friends just got blasted with a 12 gauge, but if a biped emerges from that blind, they run off like hell.

My group usually hunts in pairs. On more than one occasion we have taken a gobbler, pulled it from the field and shot another from the same spot within a couple of hours. One year three pairs pulled this off on the same day, all hunting within half a mile of each other.

Thanks for the input guys.
Warning. Ticks are out like a sob already.

Had 1 big Tom talking back and forth for about a hour this evening. Came out of the woods and right in path to my decoys. Right about time telling my nephew to get ready and click his safety off, a sxs came screaming out of the wood line. The neighbors thought we were trespassers and didn’t get the message we are hunting. So the neighbor did a good deed, but to the wrong people. The turkeys beard was almost touching the ground. Was a big bird.

Got eyes on a group of 40 or so birds hitting a pasture every morning for the last week. Bet they don’t show up tomorrow.

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Good luck today every one

Nephew got it done this morning, perfect plan and great execution. He just turned 13 and is his first wild bird

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Excellent

Congrats to everyone especially the young hunters. I am not a Turkey hunter but my oldest(16) has been trying the last couple years and this morning finally got his first bird.

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Stanley wrote:

Congrats to everyone especially the young hunters. I am not a Turkey hunter but my oldest(16) has been trying the last couple years and this morning finally got his first bird.

Way to be persistent. When I first started turkey hunting, I filled my tag on day 1 the first season by 7am. I thought it was the easiest type of hunting I’ve ever done. Since that first season way back in 2006, I have not filled a tag on day 1 since. Dose of reality.

Your son shot a great bird Stanley.
We went home after he killed his bird, there were 3 more Tom’s in the field until the rain came. Then 9 hens and 3 Tom’s went in to the woods and went completely silent. We came back at noon and crept around she’d hunting. We came across 4 different groups of turkeys. But never got them to come within 35 yards or so for a clear bow shot. We are now back in the same blind from this morning and have 4 different gobbles from 4 different directions. What a fun day it’s been.

You’re a good guy Bearcat helping the young hunters.

Thanks gimruis and bearcat. My son and nephew were sitting in the blind together and had 2 toms come in so they each took aim and counted to 3 and doubled up. I’m sure it’s a hunt neither will forget for a long time.

Nice work gentleman. Still no tag filled for me, but yesterday morning was action packed again and we had one in our lap in some tight cover until a real hen started yelping the tom back to her. Think I got my father in law hooked even without getting one yet. He said he saw one sneaking through the woods but didn’t have a shot. We bailed on our initial setup after sitting there for about 2 hours. Looked back after we had crossed the field and were in the timber and there was a cayote sitting on the ridge about 40 yards from where we were originally setup. Walking back to the truck we passed a handful of tree lines and open fields. Of course we get to the last tree line and are talking and didn’t check before walking out exposing ourselves and there are 4 turkeys in the field about 200 yards up the tree line. We tried to back track and put the sneak on them from the other side, but they were no where to be found when we got to where we saw them in the field. Trying to stay optimistic and tell myself that sooner or later with persistence it will happen. Took a break from the early morning today and slept in. Plan on trying to get out Monday and Tuesday yet before my season is up.

Went out this morning, was in the blind at 540. Heard the woods waking up so I hit the box call, did 3 soft yelps and to my surprise I had a immediate gobble back. I went silent for 20 minutes and did 3 again, the gobble was even closer. But then 4 hens came through going across the field, going to the woods. After they disappeared the Tom did as well. Went to very distant gobbles. Then just silent. Sat for 2 hours more and then decided I had chores to do at home so I wrapped it up. It’s been very exciting few days. Seeing lots of birds, with 2 huge Tom’s still staying close.

Been there BC. I think your setup in more of a clearing, but if your in the woods I’ve had success aggressively calling the hens back. You call like a naggy old hen and basically those hens come over to put you in your place and they’ll bring the tom with them. Though admittedly this year the birds have been so quiet I probably wouldn’t have tried it unless it was my last day and I was going for broke.

Any one have advice for how setting up for a late afternoon setup right near the roost? We know the area they are using to roost just not 100% how they are coming into it. There is some woods that has sign all over it next to the roost ridge that we could setup in. Otherwise there is a field adjacent to the roost area that we could sit in as well. I have just one Hen decoy, but don’t use it too often. How much or little would you be calling late in the afternoon?