Well, I thought I'd start the thread with my son's latest saga in the turkey woods. So, for those who don't know, prior to this season, he's 0 for 4 on shots at mature turkeys!

So, we headed out Sat. morning for the first day of the youth hunt. We started on a farm I lease and the turkeys lit it up. We got to within about 60 yards of a Tom who double and triple gobbled, but wouldn't leave the ridgeline to check us out. So we went to another spot that I have available where I saw 10 jakes last season and they are all stupid 2y.o. this season. We went down the hill to a creekside pasture where I planted 3 food plots last fall. We eased to the pasture and I saw a tom and a hen going around the corner. Every time the crows cut a shine the tom(s) would gobble. So the midget and I cut the distance in half, set out a single jake decoy and nestled into the hillside. Shortly, I started purring on the slate and the 2 toms sounded off, one behind us up on the ridge was drumming and one across the ridge gobbled his head off. Still, no takers, and I said to the little one that sooner or later we'd have a tom or two check us out. After about 45 minutes I heard the drumming get louder down the pasture. Here they came. 2 toms and 2 hens coming right at us. Then out of the blue, when they were around 50 yards the turkey across the ridge started gobbling which made the 2 in the pasture gobble their brains out. It was a great show. Then they saw the jake, they half strutted/jogged to 20 yards. Nothing between the gun barrel and the toms but air. And the midget was shaking like a leaf, and he raised his head slightly to watch the turkey "fold" and he airmailed it. The tom had no clue what just happened and stood there. He shucked another shell in and airmailed the other one. O for 2. Frankly, he was heartsick and so was I. It's been one of the most disappointing yet beautiful hunts I've ever been on. As he cried into my shoulder and I told him it'd be okay and he'd eventually get on the board, I thanked the Lord for the opportunity. Best non productive hunt I've ever had!!

Sounds great, I wish he would have been able to bag one though. I'm sure he will remember this for ever, and eventually, he will get that tom.

Doc, little spindoc will connect this season. I just feel it. Outside from the huge dissapointment with missing the Tom .....what a great hunt that you had.

These times with your son are special and both of you will always remember them. I can still rmember times with my father in the woods and I just wish that I could have them back.

Tell lil' spin to hang in there and it will happen. After he connects n the first one then you had better watch out, he will then go on a tear and put you to shame, LOL. I am sure that would be o.k. with you as well.

 

Good Luck and keep them tom's a gobblin' :thumb:

:thumb:

Well, I thought I'd start the thread with my son's latest saga in the turkey woods. So, for those who don't know, prior to this season, he's 0 for 4 on shots at mature turkeys!

So, we headed out Sat. morning for the first day of the youth hunt. We started on a farm I lease and the turkeys lit it up. We got to within about 60 yards of a Tom who double and triple gobbled, but wouldn't leave the ridgeline to check us out. So we went to another spot that I have available where I saw 10 jakes last season and they are all stupid 2y.o. this season. We went down the hill to a creekside pasture where I planted 3 food plots last fall. We eased to the pasture and I saw a tom and a hen going around the corner. Every time the crows cut a shine the tom(s) would gobble. So the midget and I cut the distance in half, set out a single jake decoy and nestled into the hillside. Shortly, I started purring on the slate and the 2 toms sounded off, one behind us up on the ridge was drumming and one across the ridge gobbled his head off. Still, no takers, and I said to the little one that sooner or later we'd have a tom or two check us out. After about 45 minutes I heard the drumming get louder down the pasture. Here they came. 2 toms and 2 hens coming right at us. Then out of the blue, when they were around 50 yards the turkey across the ridge started gobbling which made the 2 in the pasture gobble their brains out. It was a great show. Then they saw the jake, they half strutted/jogged to 20 yards. Nothing between the gun barrel and the toms but air. And the midget was shaking like a leaf, and he raised his head slightly to watch the turkey "fold" and he airmailed it. The tom had no clue what just happened and stood there. He shucked another shell in and airmailed the other one. O for 2. Frankly, he was heartsick and so was I. It's been one of the most disappointing yet beautiful hunts I've ever been on. As he cried into my shoulder and I told him it'd be okay and he'd eventually get on the board, I thanked the Lord for the opportunity. Best non productive hunt I've ever had!!

 

Awesome story Doc!! I'm sure your hunting buddy is heartsick but he is not alone. The best turkey hunters in the world miss. Ol' three toes doesn't always play the game by the rules but it sounded like you guys had the upper hand so to me that spells success. At least your son had enough moxy to be in the woods and has a dad that cares enough to spend quality time with him. Not every boy gets to experience what he just did.

Keep your head up son (no pun intended) you have paid your dues and as dad explained, your time will soon come.

Best of luck to you on your next trip and hats off to you Doc for being a Father to your son.:thumb::thumb:

Very good story Doc. He will get his bird soon it's just a matter of everything coming together perfect. I had a similar situation this weekend myself. I was calling for my friends son and they were in a ground blind and I was about 10 yards behind them calling. We got on a big Tom right after he flew down and I brought him within 20 yards of the blind, but he saw something he didn't like and disapeared without presenting a shot. The birds were gobbling pretty good, but I expect them to be right this weekend it should be a good one. Good Luck to all.

Thanks for sharing spindoc. I am so keyed up and ready to go. I love Turkey Hunting. There is a Tom at this very moment gobbling his head off in my cattle pasture just about a 100 yards from my office. There is a tree line between my house and pasture, so I can only hear him. I do know one thing he is not far from one of my pop up blinds that I have set up. This bird has been roosting about 150yds from my house. I hear him every evening going to roost. I shot a bird last season that was roosting were this bird is now roosting. I will be in that blind come Saturday morning. Did I mention that I was keyed up and Love Turkey Hunting. :dancingpa

Thanks for sharing spindoc. I am so keyed up and ready to go. I love Turkey Hunting. There is a Tom at this very moment gobbling his head off in my cattle pasture just about a 100 yards from my office. There is a tree line between my house and pasture, so I can only hear him. I do know one thing he is not far from one of my pop up blinds that I have set up. This bird has been roosting about 150yds from my house. I hear him every evening going to roost. I shot a bird last season that was roosting were this bird is now roosting. I will be in that blind come Saturday morning. Did I mention that I was keyed up and Love Turkey Hunting. :dancingpa

I hope you whack him.:flame: I suppose I'll spend the season trying to get the little man in the + column. I really don't care if I tag one or not. If he misses another 10, I'll keep him at it. I've killed a pile of turkeys from all over this country, and none will I be more fond of than his first, of that I'm sure. I wish everyone luck, hope you don't have to deal with a deluge of rain on opening day.

I hope you whack him.:flame: I suppose I'll spend the season trying to get the little man in the + column. I really don't care if I tag one or not. If he misses another 10, I'll keep him at it. I've killed a pile of turkeys from all over this country, and none will I be more fond of than his first, of that I'm sure. I wish everyone luck, hope you don't have to deal with a deluge of rain on opening day.

 

I wish him the best of luck and I know you will take care of him. I hope it doesn't rain here like it did last year on opening day. I might have to call from the back porch. My blinds are concealing but not waterproof.

I hope you whack him.:flame: I suppose I'll spend the season trying to get the little man in the + column. I really don't care if I tag one or not. If he misses another 10, I'll keep him at it. I've killed a pile of turkeys from all over this country, and none will I be more fond of than his first, of that I'm sure. I wish everyone luck, hope you don't have to deal with a deluge of rain on opening day.

 

Great post doc, and as I said my prediction is that lil' spindoc will connect this season. Always great to hear news of a father and son spending some REAL quality time together. :thumb:

Update. Chased 4 toms Saturday. 1 was dominant, had all the hens, gobbled at every call. The other 3 appeared to be 2y.o. that followed him around without any hens and basically strutted all day long. They wouldn't break and come to a call at all. Made me want my .22-.250. But we didn't booger them and will hunt them another day. Midget still not on the board!!

spindoc I nailed the Turkey outside of my office Saturday morning at about 11:55 that I had mentioned in the previous post. He was on roost, but a little farther away then he normally is. My wife and I climbed into the stand early, but when he gobbled he was farther away then what I expected him to be. When he hit the ground he headed away from us. We stayed in the blind until about 10am then headed to the house for some breakfast. At about 11am(as I was dozing on the couch) my wife came in from outside she was planting some bulbs in one of her flower beds and she heard him gobbling down at our blind. I grabbed up all my gear and made my way back to the blind which is about 500 yards from the house. I was maybe about 100yds or so from the blind when a hen walked out and caught me. I froze but knew I was busted. She knew something was wrong but turned and headed back toward the blind and out of site. I stayed there for a few more minutes hoping that the Tom had not seen her. I headed on to my blind and got my decoys set up. I made my first call at about 11:35am he answered back at about 11:50. When he gobbled I called back to him once more and he was hot. I never made another sound and he just kept coming in gobbling his head off. I first spotted him at about 75yds and he was with another Tom. He gobbled and strutted all the way up to the fence line (with his buddy following right behind) which is about 25yds from my blind. He was strutting up and down the fence line and just as soon as he broke into a gobble you know the rest. The 3 1/2 #4 Turkey load did its job. I guessed him to be a 3 yr old. He weighed 23lbs, 10 1/2" beard, and spurs just barely over 1". I have not had the chance to get back out for my 2nd bird yet and probably will not until Wednesday. Good luck to you and the midget.

spindoc I nailed the Turkey outside of my office Saturday morning at about 11:55 that I had mentioned in the previous post. He was on roost, but a little farther away then he normally is. My wife and I climbed into the stand early, but when he gobbled he was farther away then what I expected him to be. When he hit the ground he headed away from us. We stayed in the blind until about 10am then headed to the house for some breakfast. At about 11am(as I was dozing on the couch) my wife came in from outside she was planting some bulbs in one of her flower beds and she heard him gobbling down at our blind. I grabbed up all my gear and made my way back to the blind which is about 500 yards from the house. I was maybe about 100yds or so from the blind when a hen walked out and caught me. I froze but knew I was busted. She knew something was wrong but turned and headed back toward the blind and out of site. I stayed there for a few more minutes hoping that the Tom had not seen her. I headed on to my blind and got my decoys set up. I made my first call at about 11:35am he answered back at about 11:50. When he gobbled I called back to him once more and he was hot. I never made another sound and he just kept coming in gobbling his head off. I first spotted him at about 75yds and he was with another Tom. He gobbled and strutted all the way up to the fence line (with his buddy following right behind) which is about 25yds from my blind. He was strutting up and down the fence line and just as soon as he broke into a gobble you know the rest. The 3 1/2 #4 Turkey load did its job. I guessed him to be a 3 yr old. He weighed 23lbs, 10 1/2" beard, and spurs just barely over 1". I have not had the chance to get back out for my 2nd bird yet and probably will not until Wednesday. Good luck to you and the midget.

Attaboy! Trophy!!!:thumb:

Great story. Nothing like waking up to a tom that will play the game!:ylsuper:

 

Hope you tag out early. I actually had this morning to hunt, but decided to come to work, get some stuff done and after examining the forecast, I've officially cleared my Thursday morning! Midget will be in school, so ole' dad can get-r-done! Hopefully!

Attaboy! Trophy!!!:thumb:

Great story. Nothing like waking up to a tom that will play the game!:ylsuper:

 

Hope you tag out early. I actually had this morning to hunt, but decided to come to work, get some stuff done and after examining the forecast, I've officially cleared my Thursday morning! Midget will be in school, so ole' dad can get-r-done! Hopefully!

 

Good luck!! Keep me posted.

Thank goodness for two year old turkey's!!

I had to play the waiting game but patience and a little trickery closed the deal. The morning started off without hearing a single gobble. I was so cold I thought it was archery deer season.

It was 8am. before I heard the first gobble of the day. After a few soft yelps I got an immediate response. I decided to play hard to get so I stopped calling. After 20 minutes I saw a group of 4 hens accompanied by two jakes and one strutting long beard moving across the ridge about 60 yds away. I called again and the long beard and the jakes answered but kept walking across the ridgetop with their girlfriends leading the way. They gobbled a few more times as they walked out of sight. I then decided to move to the flat that I first saw them on, set out my decoy's and settled in for what I thought would be a long day. I made some soft purrs and yelps and immediately heard a gobble. I yelped again and this time he cut off my calling with a loud gobble and then I knew the game was about to get serious. He came across from the ridge top where he previuosly had gone with his hens and I watched him go into full strut. He was alone this time so I'm not sure if it was the bird I saw with the hens and jakes or a different one. I clucked a couple of times along with some yelps but he all he would do was strut back and forth just out of gun range. I decided to make him think he had some competition so I made a few gobbler yelps. He then immediately broke strut and came straight toward the decoys.

At 9:15am, I introduced him to a load of 3 1/2" Magnum, Federal Premium # 5 shot.

He wasn't the biggest gobbler in the woods but he sure made this old man feel young again.

"Ol' Three Toes" weighed a little over 18lbs. and carried a 9" beard. Left spur measured 1", the right spur 1 1/8".

Thank goodness for two year old turkey's!!

I had to play the waiting game but patience and a little trickery closed the deal. The morning started off without hearing a single gobble. I was so cold I thought it was archery deer season.

It was 8am. before I heard the first gobble of the day. After a few soft yelps I got an immediate response. I decided to play hard to get so I stopped calling. After 20 minutes I saw a group of 4 hens accompanied by two jakes and one strutting long beard moving across the ridge about 60 yds away. I called again and the long beard and the jakes answered but kept walking across the ridgetop with their girlfriends leading the way. They gobbled a few more times as they walked out of sight. I then decided to move to the flat that I first saw them on, set out my decoy's and settled in for what I thought would be a long day. I made some soft purrs and yelps and immediately heard a gobble. I yelped again and this time he cut off my calling with a loud gobble and then I knew the game was about to get serious. He came across from the ridge top where he previuosly had gone with his hens and I watched him go into full strut. He was alone this time so I'm not sure if it was the bird I saw with the hens and jakes or a different one. I clucked a couple of times along with some yelps but he all he would do was strut back and forth just out of gun range. I decided to make him think he had some competition so I made a few gobbler yelps. He then immediately broke strut and came straight toward the decoys.

At 9:15am, I introduced him to a load of 3 1/2" Magnum, Federal Premium # 5 shot.

He wasn't the biggest gobbler in the woods but he sure made this old man feel young again.

"Ol' Three Toes" weighed a little over 18lbs. and carried a 9" beard. Left spur measured 1", the right spur 1 1/8".

 

cvillecat congrads. Thanks for sharing your great morning hunt with us. I am heading out again in the morning looking for number two. Those 3 1/2" do the job. I'll take one of those two year olds any time. Good luck in the remainder of the season.