Your favorite turkey story


Gobblegobblebang

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My favorite adventure was last year during a hunt with a good friend of mine named Larry. It was a hunt in Oregon and it was my first solo long beard.

It was the later part of the season and we were hunting in an area that we were not familiar with. Larry took the high road and I took well the other high road. I found myself on top of a very windy peak over looking a very beautiful wooded turkey paradise. I had received a new boat paddle in the mail just before leaving on this trip and I was ready to give it a try. I took it out of its case and gave her a little worm up but did not hear anything. I waited to see if the wind would calm but it did not seem to be in my favor. I packed up my things and started down the hill side and as soon as I did the wind stopped. I got the boat out again and as soon as I made a few strokes I had four gobblers answer me. I was instantly in heaven. I worked down the mountain side to the point where I was at the same level and tried to work them over to me, but they were having nothing to do with me. There was a creek in between the birds and myself. After going to the bottom of the mountain and back up to the same side that the birds were on all they wanted to do was to go the other way. I climbed up onto the ridge and ran to the top getting in front of the foursome and cutting them off. I sealed the deal with the last gobble in the group the first solo is sweet I can not wait for the next.

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Re: Your favorite turkey story

My favorite is the first bird I ever killed. I was hunting behind my house before school one morning. I heard one gobble and I went to him to try to call him in. I sat down and called to him and I heard 2 gobblers. I wasnt sure which way they were going to so I stayed put. Suddenly 5 different gobblers hammered a crow call. I was dombfounded! I heard the birds start to walk the other direction and I needed to get closer. I used this old dry creekbed to get up closer to the birds without them hearing or seeing me. I got into about 70 yards of where I had heard them last. I started calling and Immediately they hit it. I could only see about 20 yards because of thick brush in front of me. I called to the birds once again and he gobbled. I didnt hear anything for a couple minutes until finally the bird gobbled right on the other side of the bush. Then I saw the tail fan and heard him spitting and drumming. I yelped and clucked real softly. He came in to about 7 steps in full strut. I cut real hard and he picked his head up. BOOOOOMMMM!! Down he went. He never even flopped. His final measurements were 23 lbs. 10.5" beard and 1" spurs. Not to bad for a 17 year old who tought himself how to turkey hunt! LOL!

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Re: Your favorite turkey story

Hunted behind the house, Pouring down rain. I was supposed to have a shooter that morning, but he backed out do to the rain. I had the decoys set right beside me, 4 ft. away. Did a fly down cackle, no answer, waited 20 min. did some light clucks and yelps, no answer. At 6:35 the rain was pelting down, I thought breakfast might be in order. I looked at the decoys and there were 3 decoys instead of 2. LOL yep, a longbeard was looking to beat up my Jake decoy. to make a long story short. When the bead crossed the bird @ 7 steps, I pulled the trigger and had a beaut.

I also shot one a 4 steps, I squeezed the trigger first at 25 yards but never loaded the gun. LOL

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Re: Your favorite turkey story

I have many. Here's two.

First turkey my dad ever killed:

I roosted some birds the nite before the season opener. When I left at 9:00 PM they were still gobbling on the limb. Me & Dad got in on them next morning bright and waaaay early. We set up shoulder-to-shoulder in front of a big double cherry tree. They started gobbling before 5:00 AM!!!! Bet they gobbled 400 times before flydown!!!! They pitched off and landed just out over the brow of the hill in front of us along with a bunch of hens. I started to call and they gobbled like nuts. So I poured it on. Me & Dad had decided if multiple gobblers came in he would take left, I would take right or he would take front & I would take back. Either way......since he'd never shot a bird before.....he got first whack. The gobblers broke the brow of the hill already well within range. I could have let fly as soon as I saw beard. But Dad could not get on his. The gobblers started moving to our left. I had to start leaning over to my left to stay on my bird. I kept asking "Are you on him?? Are you on him??" I kept leaning more as they walked. Finally Dad said "O.K. On him." I said "Give it to him!!" He shot & I shot milliseconds after. Our birds fell within 8 feet of one another. We ran to the birds and started the hugging & backslapping. I pulled my net down & Dad says "You're bleeding!!" I was leaned over so hard on the BPS 10 gauge that when it went off, the stock "sanded" off about a nickel-sized chunk of cheek skin with my headnet. Didn't care. Dad had his first-ever spring bird and I had one laying beside it. laugh.gif

First turkey I ever killed:

I had made a call from a 35mm film canister, a rubber glove & some black tape. I showed it to one of my brother's buddies..........5 years older than me and a "seasoned turkey hunter". He looked at the call and smirked. He said, "That's the good thing about homemade calls.........when they're no good you can throw them away and you're not out anything." Well.......I went out on opening day (about a week later) and on my first ever day of turkey hunting and the first turkey I ever called to, called in a pair of jakes and hammered one dead at 19 yards. laugh.gif My brother's buddy didn't get one that year, if I recall correctly. smirk.gifgrin.gifgrin.gifsmirk.gif

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Re: Your favorite turkey story

Well heres my story. It was opening morning of Indiana's Turkey season and my buddy and I spotted some gobblers out in this big field. After a hour of sneaking we finally got set up. We had the video camera so it had to be just right. I called the birds for about 15 min before I got a shot. The first shot feathers flew and so did the bird a second and third shot didnt find there marks. I watched the bird fly over a small rise and didnt see it any more. I got up and walked over to see the bird laying there. I got with in 10 feet and he raised his head up. Of course I was out of shells and my buddy's gun was back where we were set up. I got a little closer and he jumped up and took off running and the chase was on. I had my gun and attempted to hit the bird with it. As many of you know you know you can not swing something when you are running all out with out doing a face plant. Yep a face plant right in the dirt. I got back up and finally got the gobbler subdued. Luckily for me the camera was left back at the set up as well so all of it wasnt on camera. Thats my story of stupidity in the woods for today.

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Re: Your favorite turkey story

OK here goes...

I was hunting with my oldest son Joe( you guys might know him as Squirrelhunter91) last May. He did ALL the calling. We had a heads up from a farmer friend who said where he has been hearing the birds sound off in the morning. So Joe and I get going to the spot. Set out the deke( we only had one, a hen, I forgot the rest in my friends truck). We are sitting and calling for about a hour and nothing...

We get up and start walking to another spot. We take about 10 steps...GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE! blush.gif Joe says Dad can I have the 835? Here ya go son. He hands me his youth stocked .20ga mossberg. We stick in the deke, plop down on the ground get set and as soon as we cover our heads and get the gun up...2 nice toms come up over a hill. We see their heads bobbing and letting go of some huge raspy gobbles too! They see the deke and one goes into strut. Back and forth back and forth...they won't come closer. Joe putts...heads up....BOOM! I couldn't shoulder the little kids gun Joe gave me so I let the other Tom leave unscathed. Joe sat this bird down at 30 yards. You had to see it...it hopped up and over, upside down after it was shot.

About 20 lbs, 11" beard and 1 1/4 spurs.

Thats my boy!

My turkey stories have all been over written since I am hunting now with my sons smile.gif

I get to live it all over again thru my sons.

Life is good.

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Re: Your favorite turkey story

my favorite story.....me and a friend my Alabama hunted together, he had hunted 9 days prior,didn't take a bird... then the day i went with him, we had to leave early,we both were thinking the only way to top off the day is for him to get a bird when we got back out to the woods... we went back, i gave my bobblehead and him a big ol kiss for good luck and i laid on the ground next to him, then a buttload of birds came walking in...that quick...i didn't move, not even to watch,lol... i saw a lil, but not enough, after he shot his bird, he broke bad on the box call and those birds went nuts, i had never seen such a thing.....it was awesome.....

every hunt has it's memories, every hunt i wouldnt change a thing......sharing hunts with someone is the coolest thing........hunting alone has it's advantages and i prefer it, but it's not the same.....

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Re: Your favorite turkey story

My favorite turkey story is when me and my dad were riding our golf cart, and had to go through a huge mud puddle, i got mud in my hair and everywhere else. Later that day we were walking down the road, and here came 3 turkeys out of nowhere. We ran across the road and got set up. Soon after that he killed the gobbler, and we were on our way home.

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Mossberg: 'Cuz hunting ain't catch and release!!!

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Guest realtrhunter

Re: Your favorite turkey story

Two years ago was my first year hunting turkeys and only got to hunt one day due to things going on with the military. The one day that I got to go it was pouring and I found a field to set up in. After awhile I figured I would go investigate what I though was gobble I heard off in the distance. When I rounded the corner of the field there was a group of 10 jakes and one long beard headed my way. I set up in a hurry and watched coem running in. I lost one of the jakes and thought he was behind the tom so I didnt shhot. When I finally found him he was arms length away, we saw each other at the same time. I shot three times at the gobbler as he flew away, not a feather touched. Hopefully this year will be better, I got two tags for the same season and county.

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