TEAM #12: Strut Zone


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Last night I watched 8 mature toms fly into a small woods. I set up in the AM and was ready for them. NO LUCK. When I watched them the night before for 45 minutes there were 5 dominate birds chasing off three sub-dominates. As a result, I put out three hens and my Montana full strut decoy. This decoy has worked great in the past for dominate birds. Well, this morning all five birds that saw the decoy from 100 yards away took off in the other direction.

I went out tonight in the same place and did not use the Montana decoy, only a jake. Well I had a jake come into the decoy set-up at 7 yards (if only he was a tom). He gave me a perfect shot opportunity (those youngsters are so stupid, however, they go smart very quickly...LOL). I was hoping that the tom that was following 60 yards behind would come in, however, he stalled out at 45 yards. Too far of a shot for the bow. Great day of hunting and 6 more weeks to go!!!!!!

the dog

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I started packing yesterday. I'll be out of here on my way up to hunting camp on the early morning of the 27th. I probably won't be around online much until I leave. Got to pack all the gear and don't want to forget anything. Hopefully I'll return a little over a week later with a nice gobbler for the team! See you all around the 5th or 6th. Good luck to anyone else who'll be out there chasing those birds on the team while I'm gone. :D

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Well, guys I'm back from my hunting trip. Sadly I struck out and didn't get a bird for the team. I tried very hard to get one though, even went out hunting when I was sick as a dog with the flu and running a fever. We still have the rest of May in this state to hunt, but I cannot guarantee I'll get out again before the season is over. While I was up there we were hit with some pretty bad storms that threw most of the turkeys that I scouted out pre-season off their normal travel paths. It took me a day to relocate the birds after the bad storms and then the closest I had one come in was 50yrds and he stayed behind some very thick cover. I tried like crazy to convince him to come out of it for a shot, but a hen came in and led him away. I could only make out his fan sticking up through the brush and hear him gobbling, so I never got a good shot on him to take one. Another day I had a different bird come in to 70yrds and get hung up for an hour and then he turned right around and went back away towards the other gobblers in the distance. I had over 3 different birds that I was trying to get in through the week, but just couldn't seem to get them in close enough. The second to last day I had a hen come into range and try to start a fight with my hen decoy, but that's the only bird that came into shooting range and she wasn't legal to shoot. I was hoping she was a bearded hen, but no such luck. I even tried the last day to find the group of jakes I saw the day before the season opener, just to get a bearded bird for the team and a bird to eat, but I believe the shooting I heard most the week was those jakes getting shot off, because I only found a lone jake and he wanted no part of my calls, was very skiddish. He ended up spooking over a squirrel digging in the leaves and left. I had a lot of fun this year though and seen and heard a lot of gobblers and seen two strutters at a closer distance than the years before. I wish I could have got my first gobbler this year and helped the team out, but seems this just wasn't meant to be my year yet again. Nobody in our hunting group had any luck on getting a bird this year. I was the only one to get birds in as close as I did. I'm going to try to find someone in the area willing to take me out again hunting before the season closer, but I can't make any promises on being able to do that. I hope all the other teammates have better luck at getting birds.

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Heard a turkey gobble late last night as I returned home (behind my house). I furgured he was in the oaks about 300 yards behind the house. I go out and set up and wait for the first gobble. 5:15 and there is the first gobble, however, it is not near me. The first gobble is back towards the house. Comes to be that he roosted 60 yards from my house and I walked right under him as I went to set up that morning. I am not much on "sneaking up" on roosted birds, however, I tried to close the distance and of course he saw me. End of story.

Good luck to all

the dog

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  • 2 weeks later...

Figured I'd check in again and see if anyone has any updates on how their seasons are going? Anymore luck on some gobblers from anyone? The turkeys around here are being very difficult this year. They have been the quietest they've ever been in the past three seasons. The first week was the hottest week for me and even then they were still only gobbling until 8am and then going quiet until just before dark. So far all the weeks that followed they aren't even gobbling to 8am anymore and just gobbling on the roost flying down and going quiet until they flyup on the roost at night again. I've been trying to get out around here locally, but it's playing hard to find and locate any of the birds to setup on them. I did come across quite a few fellow turkey hunters with the same issues as me that were disappointed in this year's season. It's not looking too promising this year for me and the seasons is growing to a quick close in this state.

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last day bird

"If you cann't shoot'em with the bow, then shoot'em with the gun" is my new saying!!! (LOL). I set my blind up last night and went out at 3:55 this morning and just waited. They gobbled right over head (not my intention). They flew down and landed 17 yards away and I shot him. Not a very exciting story.

I will enter him as soon as possible

Good luck to all

the dog

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just a reminder to fellow teammates if you shot a bird this season and haven't entered it into the photo thread and need any help feel free to PM me and I'll shoot you my e-mail to send the pictures to. I'll host them for you for free, until the contest ends, and I'll send you the codes to put into your submission thread entry so they show up. We have until June 16 to get all our entries in and for all the teammates to check out with the team letting us know how their seasons went. ;)

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