Turkey Hunting Blues

[Ironranger]

Have a little story for you about last year's turkey hunting trip in Minnesota. Earlier in the season I managed to take an average gobbler on the first day of the hunt so I was on the board. That was first season in Wisconsin (Mid April) so I had about a mont to wait for my Minnesota hunt. I always hunt late season in MN as I get picked every year.

The first morning it was raining hard and no gobbling to speak of. That afternoon the rain subsided and I headed up to a meadow in a valley not far from the farm I was staying at. Don't know what I was thinking as my setup was not good. I sat there calling every so often on the MAD Super Crystal but no gobblers were responding. I'd been there for a few hours and was thinking of maybe moving farther up the valley and running/gunning a logging road that ran the top of the ridge. All of the sudden, I felt like something was behind me. I started slowly inching my head around and straining so hard with my eyes that they literally started bugging out on me. It was getting so bad I had to turn and at that point I could see whatever was tehre was dark in color. Kind of knew it was a bird but my eyes were going blurry so I turned my head. It was a gobbler and he started putting and

running around in a circle but didn't run off. My head was against the tree facing him and there was a dirt hump between me and him so he couldn't see the lower part of my body. I decided to make a move for a shot as he was still standing there about 7 to 10 yards away. Only problem was I'm left handed and I'd be shooting right handed. I swung the gun around, pulled up, BOOM!!! The bird jumped straight up and hit the ground running. By the time I got up there was no shot. It was about 10 minutes to the end of the day's hunt and I did some shaking the head and muttering to myself and took off for the house. I know now how people miss birds so close.

The next morning, I set out for that logging road on the top of the ridge and the birds were gobbling already. Sounded like quite a few of them up there. I worked my way to the edge of a meadow and they were just over the hill from me. I could hear and occasionally see the top of a fan or two and then some hens come into view. I decided to back off, move down the meadow farther, and intercept them. I setup on the lower part of a meadow on the other side of a fence where they were headed. Suddenly, behind me another gobbler was sounding off. I started working him and he moved up the hill towards me thru the woods. Then a hen started yelping between me and him and they both moved off together. I tried to match her with louder calls but nothing doing. Then from the meadow about 20 yards away came a thunderous gobble. It was that low gutteral sound that comes from the big boys. They were right there and I was concealed by a slight rise up to the field. I turned around to that side of the tree and got the gun ready. Then nothing. They didn't show so I stayed put for awhile. All of the sudden there they were in the lower part of the meadow and one by one they came into view. There were two gobblers that were huge so I slid the gun up, took aim, and waited. One of them came out of strut and I let him have it. Birds were running and flying everywhere but nothing laying on the ground. I later went out there and paced it off. I'd misjudged the distance and it was about 60 yards. Shouldn't have taken the shot.

I stayed put as the birds really didn't know what happened and didn't see me. I could hear hens yelping and one of the gobblers was sounding off over the hill where I'd been working that other one. So I gave it about 10 minutes and started yelping and he'd gobble. I did that a few times and switched to cluck/purrs. He didn't respond. I sat there for awhile and clucked/purred a few more times. GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE. One of them sounded off about 25 yards in front of me thru the trees. I could see his fan and moved the gun around to my left side as much as I dared. He came into full view and moved to my left. When his head went behind a huge oak tree I pulled the gun up. Just then he came out to the right running full speed. BOOM. Missed again. There is no way he could've seen me move. I figure another hen was there and spooked him. I tell ya...I sat there and almost started tearing up. I was so disappointed in myself. I sat there for a bit, collected myself, and snuck around to another ridge which would bring me around on the other side of the bottom where some of the birds had gone and that one I briefly

worked had taken his hen. I walked up the logging road and stopped. Made some sweet yelps on the Super Crystal which were met instantly with GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE!! This bird was right there in the thick brush down the hill maybe 40 yards. I got on my knees and crawled back across the road and sat against a tree. We traded calls and I shut up except for a real soft cluck now and then. He wouldn't budge and after some time I moved on. I kept hunting till the last hour of the hunt but didn't connect again. I've never been the greatest shot in the world and I think my biggest problem is taking the cheek of the stock and hurrying the shots so I'm working on my shooting. I've missed birds before but never to that extent and I won't soon forget about that 24 hour period in May...

[Guest trakker]

Re: Turkey Hunting Blues

sounds like a true glo sight would help it help me from looking over instead of down the barrel,at least you had plenty of birds for mistakes.