Tina’s very first WI turkey!

I would like to congratulate my significant other who just shot her very first turkey! This is her second year of hunting and she certainly paid her dues. We had numerous encounters both last year and so far this year but we were unsuccessful. In fact this year we had 5 different toms just outside of 40-60 yards but no shot opportunities.

We got a tip from a buddy of mine who spotted a couple of toms before dark on an adjacent farm. The plan was to set up in a small strip of woods between a hay field and a freshly planted corn field. Across the hayfield from us were big woods and a ridgetop where I suspected the birds to be roosting. As we were making our way across the field we heard a gobble on that very ridgetop. Perfect….

We decided to face the hayfield thinking that the birds would fly down there. A soft yelp on my slate call produced a gobble immediately. He heard us and he’s interested. About 15 minutes went by and then the torpedoes started flying right over our heads! One, two three four turkeys flew right over us and landed in the corn field behind us only about 100 yards away!

We were facing the wrong direction and had to reposition.

I quickly made Tina get around to the other side of the tree hoping that I could call them back this way. The strip of woods was about 25 yards deep so if they did make there way over to the edge she may be able to get off a shot through the brush. There were two toms and two hens. The hens were working away from us while the toms were strutting their stuff. I softly yelped and they both gobbled. They remained strutting within a few yards from were they landed. Another soft yelp produced more gobbles. This went on for a few minutes and they slowly worked our way closing the distance to 75 yards away. We could now hear them drumming and it was awesome! Every time I yelped, they answered. This went on for about 20 minutes and they were still out 70 yards. And wouldn’t you know it, here come 3 deer. They walk right in between us and the turkeys and finally made their way to the woods, fortunately not bothering anything. At this time we could no longer see the hens and we started to wonder what would happen next.

We both feared that they would make their way towards the hens and away from us. I whispered to Tina that maybe they would get bored of the non receptive hens and eventually come over to find us. I started to call more aggressively now and they kept on gobbling. I made successions of two yelps and then waited for two minutes.

And wouldn’t you know it, here they finally come! Ever so slowly they made our way towards us closing the distance. Tina only had two shooting lanes through the brush to choose from and they were heading towards the one on her left. I told her to click off the safety and ready the shotgun. The first tom ever so slowly approached the shooting lane now just out 35 yards. He was just about to step through the small opening but changed his mind and turned the other direction! He was now walking to our right towards the other shooting lane. She had to reposition herself and get ready to shoot through the opening on her right. Tina ever so slowly made the move and did it without being detected. Just when the tom was going to walk through that shooting lane he stops again and turns back to the left again! So I get her to move back again helping her move her gun and her body about two feet. She again does a great job repositioning herself but this time there his some prickly ash on top of her shotgun hindering her from seeing her sites! I can’t believe it! The first tom walks through the small lane and she does not get a shot off. She’s fighting the brush on her gun barrel. The second tom approaches the opening and I say to her “can you see your sites now?”

She says yes! I say OK shoot. BANG!!!! The tom folds immediately! I yell “YOU GOT ‘EM!” I quickly grab the shotgun, put the safety on and run out to the field. He’s down and he didn’t even flap his wings once! GREAT SHOT HONEY!!!

We celebrate jumping up and down hugging each other. She worked so hard for her first tom and she finally did it on her very first shot! I’m very proud of her. Not once did she quit and give up. Persistence and patience finally paid off.

Her tom weighed in at 21 lbs. 6 oz., had a 9.5 inch beard and ¾ inch spurs.

This was truly an awesome hunt and I will never forget it. It had everything that you would want. Gobbling on the roost. Turkeys flying over our heads. Strutting and drumming. Gobbling every time they heard the slate call. Deer walking between us… A beautiful sunrise… And finally……. Tina’s very first tom!

It was now DeWaynes turn – Tina’s step father. This would be his first time hunting turkeys in WI. I did some scouting the morning before and spotted some toms in three different locations. As we pulled into our first location we spotted a truck right where we were going to park.

I grumbled and decided to hit the second spot. We made our way to the second spot, walked about 100 yards and I let out a yelp. No answer. I yelped again more aggressively – no answer.

I decided to walk back to the truck and go to my third spot just a mile away. I’m on plan “C” now and it 5:15am! As we walked across a large dirt field I hear the morning’s first gobble. It came from deep within the woods but right in front of the same spot I spotted two toms the morning earlier. We set up and waited. I scratch out my first yelp and got no response. I yelp the second time and still no response. I’m not sure if they can even hear me. I wait a few minutes and yelp more aggressively and finally get a double gobble! There are two toms – most likely the same ones that I saw yesterday. They stay in the roost for over a half hour. We then notice a hen about 200 yards away. She ever so slowly works her way over to us closing the distance to 75 yards. She yelps and I copy her. I whisper to DeWayne that as long as she is near us, odds are the toms will soon appear.

This goes on for another half hour. We have not heard the toms now for 30 minutes so I’m hoping they are making their way out to the field. Just about then I peek over a fallen log on my right and catch movement. Out pops two mature toms only 20 yards away! They immediately go into full strut. Dewayne can’t see them from where he is and needs to reposition himself because the shot will come to his far right and he shoots right handed. I’m also on his right. Both toms slowly walk out towards the hen. DeWayne is now ready. I softly yelp and they both gobble back at me. They stop and strut. DeWayne still can not see them because of the fallen tree top. I ever so softly yelp again and they both gobble again. They turn and here they come! I raise DeWayne’s shot gun with my left hand showing him to get ready. The toms will be at 25 yards when they come into his view. I now can not see them and that is good news. They slowly come into DeWayne’s view at 27 yards and BANG. TOM DOWN! DeWayne makes a good shot and has his very first Turkey!

DeWayne’s bird weighs in at 21 lbs. 10 oz., had one inch spurs and awesome 10.5” thick beard!

Congratulations DeWayne on an awesome hunt.

The next morning we went out for fun (without guns) and called in another tom within 25 yards. He was in heavy timber and we slowly approached him in the dark, set up within 80 yards and he came right in. BONUS!

It was now DeWaynes turn – Tina’s step father. This would be his first time hunting turkeys in WI. I did some scouting the morning before and spotted some toms in three different locations. As we pulled into our first location we spotted a truck right where we were going to park.

I grumbled and decided to hit the second spot. We made our way to the second spot, walked about 100 yards and I let out a yelp. No answer. I yelped again more aggressively – no answer.

I decided to walk back to the truck and go to my third spot just a mile away. I’m on plan “C” now and it 5:15am! As we walked across a large dirt field I hear the morning’s first gobble. It came from deep within the woods but right in front of the same spot I spotted two toms the morning earlier. We set up and waited. I scratch out my first yelp and got no response. I yelp the second time and still no response. I’m not sure if they can even hear me. I wait a few minutes and yelp more aggressively and finally get a double gobble! There are two toms – most likely the same ones that I saw yesterday. They stay in the roost for over a half hour. We then notice a hen about 200 yards away. She ever so slowly works her way over to us closing the distance to 75 yards. She yelps and I copy her. I whisper to DeWayne that as long as she is near us, odds are the toms will soon appear.

This goes on for another half hour. We have not heard the toms now for 30 minutes so I’m hoping they are making their way out to the field. Just about then I peek over a fallen log on my right and catch movement. Out pops two mature toms only 20 yards away! They immediately go into full strut. Dewayne can’t see them from where he is and needs to reposition himself because the shot will come to his far right and he shoots right handed. I’m also on his right. Both toms slowly walk out towards the hen. DeWayne is now ready. I softly yelp and they both gobble back at me. They stop and strut. DeWayne still can not see them because of the fallen tree top. I ever so softly yelp again and they both gobble again. They turn and here they come! I raise DeWayne’s shot gun with my left hand showing him to get ready. The toms will be at 25 yards when they come into his view. I now can not see them and that is good news. They slowly come into DeWayne’s view at 27 yards and BANG. TOM DOWN! DeWayne makes a good shot and has his very first Turkey!

DeWayne’s bird weighs in at 21 lbs. 10 oz., had one inch spurs and awesome 10.5” thick beard!

Congratulations DeWayne on an awesome hunt.

The next morning we went out for fun (without guns) and called in another tom within 25 yards. He was in heavy timber and we slowly approached him in the dark, set up within 80 yards and he came right in. BONUS!

It was 5am, Sat. May 12th – the MN fishing opener and I was all dressed in camo! I drew a turkey tag for southwestern WI and this year I decided to skip the fishing opener.

The morning started out slow. . I only heard one distant gobble and it was now approaching 6:30 am. I scouted the night before and spotted 3 toms in the area but they just were not gobbling. One jake came into my call but that was it. It was time to do some runnin and gunnin!

As I made my way back to my truck, I caught some movement about 300 yards away. I pull up my binoculars and sure enough… I see a Tom! He’s fanned out next to the woods just on the other side of a small knoll. GAME ON!!! He’s facing away from me and I can only see the top of his tail feathers. Now, I’m in the middle of the field and I know I have to cover some serious ground fast. I decide to go for it and make my way as fast as I can in the general direction of the tom. I need to get to the edge of the woods about 50 yards south of the tom before he spots me. I drop all of the unnecessary gear right where I was standing and literally run across the open field. As I make my way down the little dip in the field, the tom slowly fades from my view. Perfect – I made it.

I settle down and look for a tree to set up. No dice…. the edge of the filed is basically all brush. I realize that I need to do this laying down on my stomach. I belly crawl a few more yards and make my way out to a little point in the bottom of dip which will become my ambush point. I prop my shotgun on my fanny pack, pull out my slate call and softly scratch out a yelp. I lay down my call and ready my shotgun anticipating him popping over the knoll 35 yards away. The tom does not answer. I wait a mere fifteen seconds and then I catch some movement from my left back in the brush. I can’t believe it. How did he get over there so fast? I ready my shotgun and…. and…. then he finally pops out. But it’s not him – it’s a hen! Where did she come from? She comes out a mere 10 yards away, spots me and then freezes for a moment. She gets a little nervous because she knows she might be in some serious trouble. She nonchalantly turns around and strides right back from where she came from. The whole thing lasted three seconds and it was actually kind of comical. She most definitely knew I was not a good thing.

However, I knew that the game now might be over. The hen definitely came out to investigate the yelp and now realizes that I’m not her sister. I scratch out a couple more soft yelps and nothing happens. Ten minutes go by and still nothing. I’m thinking that the hunt is probably over. Then my luck changes, I spot some movement exactly where I last saw the tom. It’s him…. but I can only see the tip of his fanned out tail feathers. He’s making his way to where I last saw the hen enter the woods. He slowly walks towards the woods still fanned out and then disappears around the corner. Grrrrr……..

I softly yelp and nothing. I wait a couple of minutes and I softly yelp again. Still nothing. Did he follow the hen into the woods? Is he still there maybe around the corner just out of my view? 15 minutes goes by and still nothing. I realize my chance now of ever seeing this tom again are pretty getting slim.

As I’m contemplating my next move, I hear that awesome sound. It’s is truly one of the most amazing sounds ever. SPIT…..DRUMMMMMM….. It literally startled me. SPIT………. DRUMMMMMM……. He’s really close but I can not see him. I know he’s right around the corner but there’s just too much brush between us. SPIT…….. DRUMMMMM…… The hair on the back of my neck is standing straight up. SPIT……. DRUMMMMMM…… Come on boy, come around that corner.. SPIT……… DRUMMMMMMMM Just a few more steps SPIT…… DRUMMMMMM…… Then nothing. Complete silence once again. He doesn’t show himself. I softly yelp every 2-3 minutes. Nothing. 15 more minutes pass. nothing….. Now what do I do?

I decide to belly crawl 25 yards to find out if I can see him around the corner. I make my way very slowly anticipating that he may come into view at any time and I must be ready. I eventually make the 25 yard crawl and pop my head out to see around the corner. Nothing….he’s not there. He’s probably followed the hen into the woods. Or…. he just may still be over that little knoll in front of me.

I think for a moment trying to figure out how I should continue the hunt, when all of a sudden a head pops up just 20 yards away over the knoll. It’s him! I pull up and BANG….the game is over. I got ‘em.

Patience and persistence paid off once again. As I make my way over to him, I realize how special this hunt was and how fortunate I am to be able to hunt these magnificent birds. He weighed in at 21 lbs. 9oz, had 1 inch spurs and a 9 inch beard.

It was 5am, Sat. May 12th – the MN fishing opener and I was all dressed in camo! I drew a turkey tag for southwestern WI and this year I decided to skip the fishing opener.

The morning started out slow. . I only heard one distant gobble and it was now approaching 6:30 am. I scouted the night before and spotted 3 toms in the area but they just were not gobbling. One jake came into my call but that was it. It was time to do some runnin and gunnin!

As I made my way back to my truck, I caught some movement about 300 yards away. I pull up my binoculars and sure enough… I see a Tom! He’s fanned out next to the woods just on the other side of a small knoll. GAME ON!!! He’s facing away from me and I can only see the top of his tail feathers. Now, I’m in the middle of the field and I know I have to cover some serious ground fast. I decide to go for it and make my way as fast as I can in the general direction of the tom. I need to get to the edge of the woods about 50 yards south of the tom before he spots me. I drop all of the unnecessary gear right where I was standing and literally run across the open field. As I make my way down the little dip in the field, the tom slowly fades from my view. Perfect – I made it.

I settle down and look for a tree to set up. No dice…. the edge of the filed is basically all brush. I realize that I need to do this laying down on my stomach. I belly crawl a few more yards and make my way out to a little point in the bottom of dip which will become my ambush point. I prop my shotgun on my fanny pack, pull out my slate call and softly scratch out a yelp. I lay down my call and ready my shotgun anticipating him popping over the knoll 35 yards away. The tom does not answer. I wait a mere fifteen seconds and then I catch some movement from my left back in the brush. I can’t believe it. How did he get over there so fast? I ready my shotgun and…. and…. then he finally pops out. But it’s not him – it’s a hen! Where did she come from? She comes out a mere 10 yards away, spots me and then freezes for a moment. She gets a little nervous because she knows she might be in some serious trouble. She nonchalantly turns around and strides right back from where she came from. The whole thing lasted three seconds and it was actually kind of comical. She most definitely knew I was not a good thing.

However, I knew that the game now might be over. The hen definitely came out to investigate the yelp and now realizes that I’m not her sister. I scratch out a couple more soft yelps and nothing happens. Ten minutes go by and still nothing. I’m thinking that the hunt is probably over. Then my luck changes, I spot some movement exactly where I last saw the tom. It’s him…. but I can only see the tip of his fanned out tail feathers. He’s making his way to where I last saw the hen enter the woods. He slowly walks towards the woods still fanned out and then disappears around the corner. Grrrrr……..

I softly yelp and nothing. I wait a couple of minutes and I softly yelp again. Still nothing. Did he follow the hen into the woods? Is he still there maybe around the corner just out of my view? 15 minutes goes by and still nothing. I realize my chance now of ever seeing this tom again are pretty getting slim.

As I’m contemplating my next move, I hear that awesome sound. It’s is truly one of the most amazing sounds ever. SPIT…..DRUMMMMMM….. It literally startled me. SPIT………. DRUMMMMMM……. He’s really close but I can not see him. I know he’s right around the corner but there’s just too much brush between us. SPIT…….. DRUMMMMM…… The hair on the back of my neck is standing straight up. SPIT……. DRUMMMMMM…… Come on boy, come around that corner.. SPIT……… DRUMMMMMMMM Just a few more steps SPIT…… DRUMMMMMM…… Then nothing. Complete silence once again. He doesn’t show himself. I softly yelp every 2-3 minutes. Nothing. 15 more minutes pass. nothing….. Now what do I do?

I decide to belly crawl 25 yards to find out if I can see him around the corner. I make my way very slowly anticipating that he may come into view at any time and I must be ready. I eventually make the 25 yard crawl and pop my head out to see around the corner. Nothing….he’s not there. He’s probably followed the hen into the woods. Or…. he just may still be over that little knoll in front of me.

I think for a moment trying to figure out how I should continue the hunt, when all of a sudden a head pops up just 20 yards away over the knoll. It’s him! I pull up and BANG….the game is over. I got ‘em.

Patience and persistence paid off once again. As I make my way over to him, I realize how special this hunt was and how fortunate I am to be able to hunt these magnificent birds. He weighed in at 21 lbs. 9oz, had 1 inch spurs and a 9 inch beard.

another pic of Tina’s tom

another pic of Tina’s tom

Very nice pics Grifter!!! Thanks for sharin the pics and the great story…sounds like you had a great year…This was my wifes send year hunting and she got her first bird this year…so I feel your joy when you tell about your wifes bird…Now we all have to wait a whole year to do it again although only about 4 monthe till bow opener …again thanks for sharin the pics and great stories…Jay

Very nice pics Grifter!!! Thanks for sharin the pics and the great story…sounds like you had a great year…This was my wifes send year hunting and she got her first bird this year…so I feel your joy when you tell about your wifes bird…Now we all have to wait a whole year to do it again although only about 4 monthe till bow opener …again thanks for sharin the pics and great stories…Jay

Great Pics, and even better stories to go with them. Congrats to all involved. Job well done

Great Pics, and even better stories to go with them. Congrats to all involved. Job well done

Congrats on your hunts. Turkey hunting is way more fun when there is someone w/ to experience it. I be you’re like me and can’t wait for next year already….
To Good Stories and great pictures
Gobbler

Congrats on your hunts. Turkey hunting is way more fun when there is someone w/ to experience it. I be you’re like me and can’t wait for next year already….
To Good Stories and great pictures
Gobbler

3 hunters and 3 birds, Sounds like a success! Thanks for the great replays! Congrats!

3 hunters and 3 birds, Sounds like a success! Thanks for the great replays! Congrats!

Congradulations on the nice turkeys. Turkeys gobbling,deer,nice mornings,great company doesn’t get any better than that. Great stories and nice birds.

Congradulations on the nice turkeys. Turkeys gobbling,deer,nice mornings,great company doesn’t get any better than that. Great stories and nice birds.

Congrats to all and nice Pic’s

Congrats to all and nice Pic’s