Turkey hunt
Contributors to this thread:Minnesota
From: MjF
28-Mar-20
Anyone turkey hunt south of the Cities?
From: DaveMSP
10-Apr-20
Going to give it a try next week. Never gone. How about you?
From: RD
11-Apr-20
I've hunted turkeys since about 1980 when I would draw a license. It was a 5 day season then so I would bowhunt 4 days and the 5th day shoot one with a gun. After the first five gun kills I got to use a buddies "silo" blind and got my first with a bow and have bow hunted them only ever since. I enjoy hunting turkeys as much as anything, it's addictive! Good luck!
From: RD
11-Apr-20
I'll try to add a picture of the "silo" blind
From: RD
15-Apr-20
13 degrees this morning but I went anyway, one hen at 10 and then a big gobbler at 1 but he stopped 5 yards short of giving me a shot. Tomorrows another day.
From: Tonybear61
16-Apr-20
Evening bird heading for the roost.
Evening bird heading for the roost.
Crappy weather, 28 degrees, COVID-19 but still a good way to spend an evening. Go get some birds!!
From: Whocares
16-Apr-20
Good job! What's in the mug?
From: Tonybear61
16-Apr-20
Tea to stay warm, can't do coffee as I would have to use the blind for a latrine
From: Tonybear61
16-Apr-20
Morning rush hour
Morning rush hour
Tom challenging a car this morning, which way to the hunting spot (to the right).
From: Whocares
18-Apr-20
RD are you hunting near home or going to some better turkey area? When you mentioned 13 degrees made me think you may be hunting up here. Been thinking about getting a license and hunting around home for the heck of it. Have never seen a turkey here but have heard yelps a couple times in the last few years. Neighbors have spotted turkeys here once in a while.
From: RD
18-Apr-20
From: WHOCARES
18-Apr-20
Way to go!
From: Whocares
19-Apr-20
Actually, my earlier question was meant for rodb! Sorry. I'll be ok....maybe.
From: rodb
19-Apr-20
Whocares, There are a very few turkeys north of Grand Rapids but I see one once in a while along Scenic 7. Had a tom on one of the cameras last fall, first one we have ever seen. Hunted them many years ago down by Huston in SE Minnesota and in Isanti county but don't hunt them anymore. Was thinking about digging out the calls to see if the tom might be still around. They should start gobbling pretty soon I would think.
From: RD
19-Apr-20
whocares my note from yesterday didn't post just the picture. I'm hunting near home, the picture was taken a couple miles from my house. The guy in the picture is a young(40) man I started mentoring when he was 12. He's still working as an essential so only gets to go weekends so when this bird came in he told me to shoot but it was too close to the blind and my bullhead wouldn't have cleared the window so He shot it at 4-5 yards. The reason it was so cold last week was we had 9 inches of snow last Sunday and the ground cover kept it cold. Snows pretty much gone now, it was 40 this morning.
From: Whocares
19-Apr-20
Yah I hunted them in Houston County years ago and then in more recent times on a friend's farm by Faribault. Been going to Nebraska but that got scrubbed on us this year. Probably go up to the shack this week and get a few beaver and seed some clover, cut fire wood and work on social distancing.
From: Tonybear61
21-Apr-20
Sunny day-my son chose a different spot. Will try and head them off next time. He almost shoots as good with his 45# recurve as this old guy with a high tech Diamond
From: RD
23-Apr-20
Took another guy with me this morning, 78-9 years young and never shot a turkey. He shoots a recurve like myself so I set the jake at 8yds and about 9:30 after no gobbling at all here comes a big boy. Walks right up behind the deke, stands there for about 3-4 minutes and turns and walks away with the deke blocking any shot possibilities! Oh well, there's always tomorrow.
From: Tonybear61
26-Apr-20
My son and I are seeing birds every time out. Cat and mouse game just out of range of his recurve or they roost 20 yds from the natural blind and pin us down. Last night he was certain a coyote followed him out of the woods. Had him at 10 yards. After roosting 5 toms last night, they were chased away by an aggressive pair of sandhill cranes at daybreak.
From: RD
03-May-20
Anybody going out? Up to now gobbling has been sparse around here but yesterday and today they're gobbling real good. Still not cooperating but gobbling. Had a coyote chase 2 off this morning. The first 2 seasons were loaded with gun hunters but from Wed to today none.
From: DroptineDC18
03-May-20
Had a great morning this morning. This guy surprised me coming in to my decoys from the left as I was fixated on one strutting inside the wood line to my right.
From: WHOCARES
03-May-20
Way to go! I decided to go to my shack and mess with these a bit.
From: 12yards
04-May-20
Aaron's tom
Aaron's tom
Mine
Mine
We didn't do archery, but my youngest boy and I each got toms this spring. Nice hunts with toms strutting up to the decoy.
From: Whocares
04-May-20
Way to go! Your son looks pretty happy. His first?
From: 12yards
05-May-20
Whocares, yes, it was his first Tom. He did amazing. When I shot my first tom, I was a wreck. He showed great patience, let the bird get to an opening, and made a great head shot.
From: RD
05-May-20
Congrats to your son! This is the first year in the past 15 that I wasn't able to mentor a youth. The covid thing cancelled the hunt I participate in and I missed the excitement of that first bird. Good luck to you!
From: Mnhunter1980
05-May-20
Congrats to you and your son 12yards! Nice work!
From: 12yards
06-May-20
Thanks guys!
From: RD
07-May-20
Hope this social distancing guideline ends soon
From: RD
20-May-20
Tried my ambush spot today, there are several dust bowls on this steep hillside and hens come in any time of day. No gobblers today but this hen came in at about 1:30 and stayed about 15 minutes. It's a steep hill and blind sits at about a 45 degree angle, this bowl is about 6 years away.
From: Whocares
20-May-20
Is that geologic time?? :)
From: RD
21-May-20
Yea, should have proof read, years = yards geologic, maybe?
From: RD
28-May-20
Anybody still out there? I was planning on this morning but it was raining pretty hard when I got up so slept in. Was close yesterday but a hen spotted me and spooked. Good luck!
From: Tonybear61
29-May-20
Went out Wed with my wife BEFORE dinner for a change as we have been spooking them while setting up. Was in the blind about 1/2 hour my wife shot a jake and we were home for dinner about 6 PM. Her quote on the video-"Dam that was easy." My son and I had been chasing them for weeks, she gets one at a little more than 20 yards, good angle wasn't alerted, etc. first time out. She also used the boom stick.
That said I have been seeing them a lot more last few days without hens, gobbling again as the hens are either on nests or caring for broods.
From: RD
29-May-20
Can sleep in tomorrow, this one came in at 6:55 this morning, no notice by gobbling, started beating up my decoy. Forgot the camera so a back yard picture will have to do. 20# 10 1/4 beard and 1 1/4 spurs.
From: rodb
01-Jun-20
Good Job!
From: 12yards
02-Jun-20
Well done RD!
From: Tonybear61
23-Jun-20
Good Job Randy!
From: South Farm
24-Jun-20
Nice bird RD! What kind of bow ya shooting there...is that a Holm??
From: RD
24-Jun-20
No, it's a JT traditions, I had it for the month of May on a pass around.
From: South Farm
25-Jun-20
Oh, nice bow, thanks!
From: Tonybear61
13-Oct-20
Any fall turkey hunting tips to share?? The birds keep giving me the slip right now...
From: RD
14-Oct-20
I've always found them to be pretty easy to pattern in the fall, if you see they in an area at say 10am one day they'll be there again the next. I didn't buy a tag this fall and haven't seen but one flock, all gobblers, regularly and would rather hunt them in the spring. We don't seem to have any acorns this year. None of the ground I hunt has any, is it that way everywhere?
From: Mnhunter1980
14-Oct-20
I usually resort to the shotgun in the fall. I’m the last person you want advise on bagging a turkey in the fall with a bow:) For some reason it never pans out while sitting in a stand.
I’ve had the best luck still hunting with a shotgun . I seem to run into them in bigger flocks . Either break them up and sit and wait or try to cut them off on some sort of an edge. Good luck!
