I have been on this forum on and off for 20 years and may be the supreme lurker of all time. Time to pick up my game...
Acquired a 1923 12 ga Ithaca side by side last spring. It is a Flues model and shoots 2 1/2 in shells. 28 inch barrels choked mod and full. 1 ounce max load. Took a nice spring gobbler and a great fall gobbler. Had a good chance at another fall gobbler but couldn’t do it as they are so magnificent to hunt in the spring. Gonna hit it hard this spring in MO. Whose ready for turkeys?
I don't care what a guy hunts with. I am on private, and the birds are very predictable. That's why I use a bow. I have several bale blinds out, but also use a DB to move as needed.
I’ve killed 4 gobblers with a recurve or longbow from blinds. I will have almost a whole week so if I shotgun one may try to stickbow one. It’s been a few years
I bowhunt in MN so can pick when I go all season. After a few years of waiting my wife got picked for season A, including opening day. We might still be dealing with 3 ft. of snow this year. All the roads in the key parts of the state (SE MN) were closed last couple of days due to snow, ice and high winds. Hopefully some birds will make it . Per the Madelia research center they can handle -70 IF they can get to their food.
I am starting to lose my fire for hunting turkeys even with my bow. I love to eat them so it will always keep me going, but i'm just not near as mad at them as I was in the past. I have hunted them with my bow only for about 10-15 years and shot 1-2 every year. Prior to that I killed 2 every year with a shotgun since like 1990. I will focus on getting my girls a bird. My oldest has tried to kill one with a bow for many years and we have continued to screw it up. Even though I lost my fire to chase them with a shotgun many years ago I believe I am looking more forward to taking my youngest one out this year. She will be going after them with a 20 gauge. I haven't been in run and gun mode in many years and I am actually looking forward to it.
I love turkey season! It took me awhile but I found a nice spot on public right next to private land. I hunt up in the catskills which is a 3 1/2 drive from long Island. Last year took my wife with me and it was 35 degrees opening morning. I took a big tom with the shotgun and we had a lot of action that morning until I called in the big guy close enough. The next day I took a smaller tom and that closed out my season. I spent the next couple of weekends calling for a friend in a different spot. This year i'll be taking two novice friends to my primo spot.
Can, not, wait! Love THUNDER CHICKEN season. Plus, my kids are rounding into the age where they are getting psyched about it. They walk around working a slate call and on nice mornings they want to open the door and see if they can make the neighborhood turkey gobble :)!
Really looking forward to getting them out there this spring.
We had a short Winter season. The weather wasn't that great but I went a couple of times with my Ravin Crossbow. I can kill a turkey as far away with the crossbow as I can with a shotgun. Didn't see a turkey. When Deer hunting I had gobblers all around me several times. I don't do a lot of turkey hunting in the spring because the white perch are running and I would rather catch them. When I am coming home from fishing I often see turkeys and two years in a row I have called a neighbor and told him where to set up the next morning. He got a gobbler both times exactly where I told him.
Be here before you know it. My son is talking about coming home for the opening few days.....I hope that works out. The feral hogs have really disrupted the turkey population on my property and the surrounding area since they have arrived.
I'm with Bowfreak on this one. I don't get as fired up about turkeys as I used to. A lot of that is because they've become plentiful and pretty easy to hunt around my place. It's just not much of a challenge any more, even with a bow.
I have a young friend who still hasn't killed one, though, so that's my focus this year.
We have a trap but so far have only tripped it on a single hog....and it damn near busted out. Work in progress, but the plan is to bait it and when they come three nights in a row trip the gate and kill them all.
I killed two with a shotgun back in the 80s. That was fun but nothing compared to bow hunting them. I’ve got about thirty with a bow over the past 20 years and have two Ks tags for April. Looking forward to it.
If you don't get pumped after seeing those pics check your pulse or better yet have a friend do it because you are dead. Going back now a ways, but the first time I called in a spring mature Tom I was shaking so bad I shot a squirrel out of an old Ash stone cold dead. ;-) Wow. Those are some really nice pics. They got me to go rooting for my old calls which have been shelved for years and the first one I pull out is the killer original Red Wolfe gobble. The reed is dried and shot but ah...the memories, when all else failed late morning.
Hunting NY pressured public land either with a gun or bow is a lot of fun. Unfortunately we have a lot of hunters who will move in on you while working a bird so I try to keep the tom as quiet as possible while he is coming in. That's usually not a problem since we have a lot of coyotes around now.
I received a survey about opening up a spring season on Long Island and hopefully it will happen. I hope they make it bow only though so it won't be too crowded and keep it safe. We already have a youth spring season.
Smart. I hunted Pa. Red Rock also pressured. Many times I would give up morning prime time and slip in up high about 10:30 AM because we would close @ 12PM and send out a gobble. We hunted private on property next to George Washington State Park and Bowman's Tower in Bucks County and that was about as good as it gets. Send out a fly up in the evening, get an answer and slip on out. Half the work was done. All gone now to the root plow and $2M and up homes. Damn. This thread got me to checking my birth certificate.
That's what I've experienced too Rock. Usually after opening week it starts to heat up around 11:00am when a lot of hunters left the woods and that's a great time since the hens have gone a left the toms by then.
Wish I had the pic's on my phone... Driving home from Boston yesterday, we are going through the city of Cambridge (think, Harvard, MIT, lots of people, houses and businesses) and there is this one little "common" space on the north side of route 2 (hwy we were driving) and there were 8-9 toms hanging out in the snow. I rolled the window down to gobble at them and they all got interested. The kids thought it was hilarious.
Had a great weekend with my daughter during our youth season. The bird we hunted had about 20 hens with him which makes it tough(especially with a 10 yr old) we’ll try again this weekend.
Shiloh - is that a 20? I ponder that with my kids, figuring a 20 would help reduce some recoil and keep them enjoying shooting... But I cant tell what that is and it has me wondering if your kiddo shoots a 12? Tips on helping kids get into it?
Thanks guys. Will it’s a Mossberg 500 in 20 gauge. I added a kick lite tactical stock and a Burris fastfire III. I loaded some light handloads in #9 TSS for the kids. I shoot 1-5/8oz and they shoot 1oz. I shoot the same gun with the stock extended.
For youth we always used 870, 20 gauge youth models. Plenty of turkey killing power. Semis would have been better on recoil, but we seldom had complaints. Good luck to you!
It's been a real show around here, lately, too. I've been seeing birds virtually every time I look outdoors. And the symphony of gobbles in the mornings and evenings has been a beautiful thing.
Starts 4/24 here in CT. Can take 3 on private property and 2 on state land. I'll be happy with one bird. I'll be using my side by side 12ga or my longbow. If I get one with my gun first, the rest of the season will use LB. If I start with the LB (probably) and unsuccessful, I won't take out the gun until final week. If I get one with the LB, I'll just be on a high until deer season, and the gun will collect another year of dust.
Good luck Brian. I assume with a LB you do not use a blind? Are you sneaking up on them or using natural blinds that give your bow more room?
Came back from the farm and was able to review the SD cards I pulled. I am pumped myself, but it will be using a compound, 32" axle 2 axle and a pop-up blind.
Opens May 1st in NY and I hunt up in the Catskills which is a 3 1/2 drive for me. I took off May 1st & 2nd. I'll be calling for a friend that never hunted turkeys before so he is really psyched. Then on the weekend I'll be hunting a different spot with another friend and since he was skunked last year while I limited out he will shoot first. Hopefully I'll get a chance to roll one over but I'll be just as happy if my friends score. Heck, I'm happy just hearing a few gobbles and being away from work out in the woods.
HfW, I have two semi permanent blinds that I can shoot my LB out of. But, most likely I'll be using my ghillie suit. I've only got one bowkill turkey, it was with my LB a few years ago. No blind, just camo.
Thanks Brian, good luck! That is really hunting. I have taken them out of my pop-up, and several as I was deer hunting in a stand well above them. But never how you are trying, that's impressive!
Matt, I had a picture somewhere that I took one time where I had 3/4 a grand slam in front of me at one time! An Eastern, a Rio, and a Merriam's! They were likely all hybridized in reality but it was a cool experience. All the reintroductions they have done here in SD we have all 3 types scattered about.
3 out of 4 is very cool. Here in Colorado, the Merriams are the only native subspecies. Rios were introduced in the '80s.
Our DOW's wild turkey plan has been one of the most successful conservation efforts in their history. We now have wild turkey populations in 53 of 63 counties. When I moved here from Boulder 20 years ago, it was rare to even see a wild turkey. The population has exploded since then. There were at least 30 at my barn this morning, and I've had as many as 50-60 at one time.
The tips of the Rio's tail feathers are more yellowish, the Merriam's are almost white. Truth be told, the Rio in my pic probably has some Merriam blood in it. A full-blooded Rio doesn't have the light colored feathers on his rump.
They are pretty much all hybrid now. No real difference. But when I have more than one gobbler in front of me I'll take the one with the whitest fan every time. They are pretty.
Regarding subspecies ID. The top pic is an Eastern I killed in east Kansas. The bottom pic is a Merriam I killed here. A Rio is somewhere in-between, not as dark as the Eastern, but not as light as the Merriam.
Had 7 toms in my yard this morning....... this one tried to steal my truck.....
I took the first 2 days of the season off work next Monday and Tuesday...... but I don’t know if I’ll even try to kill one. I think I’d rather see one of our kids kill one. We’ll see.
That is awesome. I’m a recurve shooter myself but it’s been a few years since I killed one with a stick bow. Looks like a Widow bow. What’s the story about the hunt?
Jkmo, not much to tell, really. My birds are fairly predictable, especially early in the season when they haven’t been pressured. So it’s not a matter of if they’ll come in, just when.
The first group to arrive at my ambush was all hens and jakes, but the toms were not too far behind. 3 came strutting in to 15 yards and I whacked the first one I could.
Good luck Frank. I'm headed to the turkey woods myself this afternoon. I'm going to try to put them to bed/roost tonight so I can find them tomorrow morning. I'm taking a couple kids tomorrow morning who have never been turkey hunting. I hope I can call one in front of them. I want to put a gobbling tom right in their lap and get them hooked.
I am seeing gobblers nearly every day. I had some logging done and the turkeys walk through the loading clearing quite often. I told the neighbor where I saw four gobblers two mornings ago and he will probably shoot one Saturday. I don't normally hunt turkeys since I spend the mornings fishing. White perch are way better to eat but I do enjoy turkeys on the table.
Question for you successful turkey hunters. Do you hang your bird for awhile before you clean it .... or clean it right away ?? I got a tick on me cleaning my bird this week and I’m pretty sure it came off the bird. I was able to pick the tick off my arm before it dug in too deep but it was biting in.
I remember killing a lot of rabbits and letting them sit for awhile outside before cleaning them and the fleas seemed to jump off the dead rabbit..... I wonder if I should wait awhile to clean turkeys after they’re dead ??? Thanks in advance.
My step daughter Jessica and her boyfriend are out back in my pop up...... They’ve had one gobbling since before daylight.... but they haven’t gotten him to come in yet. It’s pretty awesome standing on my front porch I can hear the gobbles and faintly make out their yelps. She’s hunting with a shotgun.
They had that big Tom in their lap in shotgun range but couldn’t get a shot...... I think inexperience got them..... fantastic morning..... then we moved my bear into the new house....
Jessica and her boyfriend Brandon went back out early in the afternoon and immediately were able to call in the longbeard they had working earlier in the day. I contemplated wether to post pics or not...... because it was a shotgun kill and this is the Bowsite...... but here it is.
My new house has been a dream come true since my wife and I first laid eyes on it 3 months ago.... And I’m looking forward to retirement and living there permanently....... it’s only 8 acres but it hunts much bigger because we are surrounded by about 2000 acres of state land and a bird sanctuary owned by the Audubon Society...... We are covered up in deer and turkeys. Our spring turkey season is done..... and I look forward to deer season.....
Oh..... and we have a pair of wood ducks and bufflehead on our small pond...... very cool.
Congrats on the birds, guys. BB, that looks like a gorgeous place to call home. Nice bear, too.
I'm hoping to get away for a long weekend in May sometime to chase some turkeys around with my longbow. I've had some fun in the past but never sealed the deal...yet. No blind, trying a leafy suit.
Thanks Damon and Frank. I have bear hunted with bow but have yet to harvest a bear with a bow. That bear was from 1998 in Alberta with a rifle.... and is in the B&C record book at 21 2/16.....
I have hunted hard for seven days in S central MO. Had three two year old birds just out of range twice the same day. Shooting an old 1923 Ithaca SxS that shoots max 1 ounce loads. Worked some gobblers at daybreak that just walked away, with hens probably. Gobblers are henned up bad.
Had a yearling coyote stop and eyeball my decoy before I shooed him away. This cat walked right by by me. Can’t hunt again till sat and sun and that’s end of season. Might be better by then.
Hab, I totally agree with your assessment... when raining, i set up at the corner of open field where turks will pitch down in the morning. tonite i'll set my ground blind and sneak in tomorrow morning. good luck feather chasers!
Good luck Frank !! A friend of mine sent me a video of a longbeard breeding a hen on his driveway yesterday..... It’s that time. You gotta find one that’s not henned up.
I did some tilling in my garden yesterday morning. My wife was planting some cucumber seeds and said there was turkey tracks in the freshly tilled dirt. They come across my garden almost every day. I think a hen is nesting in the woods next to my garden. Did the same thing last year.
Really pushing it on this last morning. I have watched a wise tom come out on the high point of my property for the entire season. He checks out the big open field but will not come to decoys.
I set up within 30 yards of the timber. I pushed a feeding hen all the way into the ground, and put a Jake on top of her.
He has gobbled 2X so far, within 50 yards. Hope it was dark enough when I set up. This is the same guy as yesterday.
Hopefully he will think a hen was coming to him and was intercepted by a Jake and want to kick his tail feathers.
No other gobbling! Late season is tough. Jeff, with that many toms taken already, that is some hard hunting. Good job!
Two, but only one the first week. Two in KS as well.
This guy might be calling to my calls. He is gobbling like an early season bird right now and has not come out of the tree. He is waiting for me to show up.
I baled at 11, figured he would not be coming back. Strategy worked though, happy with that. I figured he was on the ground as the deer kept looking back in the woods. They spooked a couple of times, I thought they might be catching my scent. But they really spooked when he came out in full strut. I put the phone down and grabbed my bow thinking what a cool hero shot it would make. Ahh, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. But, he might not have come out without seeing them there.
Those might be a set of twins from last year. The one had velvet nobins, the other a female. Their mom might have been harvested or maybe she kicked them away already in preparation for this year's fawns? They came right down the edge travelling for over 400 visible yards to get to the lick. They were jogging at times.
Congrats to everyone that scored! Went out opening day May 1st and 2nd trying to get my buddy his first turkey. On opening day I had a hen come in and head over the hill behind us ad then an hour later I called in a nice tome but he circled us and came in behind us. I had a shot at him at about 35 yards but my friend didn't have a shot and after gobbling his head of I saw him display and walk up the hill. I'm pretty sure that hen led him away. Next day saw a bunch of hens but no toms. That weekend I went with another friend to some private land we hunt that can be ok and didn't hear a bird. All those days I hunted was cold, cloudy and raining so not prime hunting weather.
The UPS driver just stopped and told me there was a big gobbler in the edge of my woods. I told him I didn't need to walk 200 yards down there since there was one right in my garden, earlier. I could sit in my back yard and kill a turkey but normally I don't bother them. There is a hen nesting right inside the woods near my garden.
Last week of our Archery season here...Called one of the few hens not on their nest full time in and this one and his brother followed...Not a bad CA bird! 20# 8.5” Beard and 1” and 1 1/4” Spurs
Big Bear, I know coons eat eggs but at night the hen turkey will be on the nest and I would guess the turkey could handle a possum. My neighbor saw a hen turkey chase an eagle that was after her chicks. He said the turkey took some feathers out of the eagle and saved her babies. He said the turkey had real fast take off and caught the eagle easily.
It’s the third best thing that ever happened to me Frank.... behind my wife and kids.....
I don’t think a day has gone by that I haven’t had deer and turkeys in my yard...... and my wife is quickly making friends with the bluebirds in our boxes and the hummingbirds in the feeders.....orioles..... grosbeaks.....indigo buntings and cardinals....2 pairs of wood ducks on the pond with a bufflehead......birds we’re not used to seeing in the city...... and the sandhill crane preserve owned by the Audubon Society behind our place. I truly feel like I’m already in heaven when I’m here.
Chris, that is cool. I really like when people are unabashed in expressing their appreciation for wildlife.
Your place sounds very nice. I always loved MI. In '91 I was transferred back and was excited, I love MI. Robin never did and that is how I ended up getting out of the corporate world.
Thanks for your kind words, but I have no expertise. I am a student who is willing to learn and try. Sounds like your place is doing fine on its own! FYI, every property is different, and must be appraised for what may be any missing ingredients of habitat. I spent the first two years creating cover. My first project was identifying where I wanted a sanctuary- a place we do not go in, especially do not hunt in there. I did this in a mature timber area, today you can barely walk through it.
On the other thread I shared a site that is also very helpful. You can purchase books that will really increase your knowledge. A Sand County Almanac needs to be read more than once.
I know you said you tried food plots. Hopefully you started with a soil sample. Chris, on my Micro thread, the soil you just saw me turn was in NG for ten years. NG creates a lot of bio-mass, and that soil was in poor condition and one of the reasons I had it in NG originally. Turned soil looks great, but food plots can break your heart. I am a bigger fan of creating native browse. But, my home property I also have to take appearance into account. I have the least expensive home in the neighborhood. It has taken some time to convince my neighbors that manicured lawns will limit what wildlife we see.
It is a fun journey. I hope it continues in heaven. I imagine I will be in at least a 100hp John Deere up there with Robin in the jump seat:-)
Frank.... when will we start to see hens with babies ?? My sightings have tapered off here so I’d assume that means the hens are on their nests. I have been catching that white hen along with a few black ones on trail camera. The mosquitos are out in force.
