Turkey Tuesday’s....
Massachusetts
To decoy or not to decoy....
ALWAYS DECOY..... thats my vote
Only consideration is weight and space. Always better with them but tough to travel a lot with em
I hear both sides! I’m gonna try and seal the deal quick tomorrow. Gonna throw some calls in my vest get in early and see what’s talkin. Saturday we will have the decoys set up and ready to tussle!
I bought some fancy DSD birds and I don’t know that I have liked a turkey over them yet
Nice bird ungie! 3.2 miles today and not a gobble. Had the kids last night so couldn’t get out and find them roosting. Friday and Saturday it’s on!
Awesome ungie.... nice bird
Been wild for me today. Jake beatin up my jake for 1.5 hrs at 5 yds.... hens calling ... 3 different toms or jakes gobbling whats next come on grampy
Such a cool looking turkey!
Such a cool looking turkey!
Crazy morning went in and did not hear a single gobble. Walked back to truck to go to work and said what the hell I will give it one more call after I just unloaded the gun. Heard a gobble right by the road up from my truck. Turned around to get away from road loaded a shell in the gun and sat down. After some back and forth calling here he comes my white colored Tom from the Monday thread! Long story short he stopped at 60 yards and for some reason didn’t come closer and just walked off. Can’t believe it was him.
Such a cool bird spike! He’s gonna be expensive to mount haha!
Spike - at least you know he's there and pretty willing! Ungie, he's a beauty man - congratulations!
Slow day for me. Real pretty light with sun pushing through clouds on the ridge above me, at one point... But only one gobble WAY off in the quabbin, not a gobble elsewhere. I stopped at a spot on the way home, having good intel about some birds, opted to just sit among feeding sign for a while and do some calling. Ended up calling in a single hen, who yelped her way in loudly. It was pretty fun overall... On to the next day.
Ha yeah I almost hope I don’t get him because he is a full mount for sure. Nice bird Ungie!
Nice bird Ungie!
5:25 am arrive late to my spot. Walking down lane to pipeline, I hear em gobbling 70 yds over pipeline. Set up decoys end of the lane, make a couple of calls, back up 21 yards & nock an arrow. A couple minutes later, walk to end of lane, make a couple of more calls; get them talking back but I am hearing a cluck close by. Back out to 21 yds & grab bow. Hear the clucking getting closer to my left, Hen appears. While holding bow on my foot, record a video as she walks between decoys and me. One minute later two big balls of feathers, fanned out, appeared quickly & walk straight ass towards the Tom decoy. Hook release to my d-loop, look up to see one Tom "pummeled" the Tom decoy. He circles and the other hits the Tom decoy. The one circling gives me a broadside shot for a second, let'er fly. SMACK'ed em, but then he flew off.
Went tracking and about 80 yds in, hear some big wings flapping, oh he is on the ground I am thinking. Nope, the Tom is high atop a tree. A couple more flaps and he is back airborne flying away. I suck.
https://youtu.be/GUDLZp5A26Q
That stinks z9. Hit em high watch em die hit em low watch em go unfortunately. Could you tell where the hit was?
Thought I hit broadside, slightly fwd of middle. Got a handful of short feathers. Nice smack but, good hunt and it happened real quick. Should have set the bow down and just recorded the Toms kickin the snot out of the decoy! That was cool...
Z9 - why 21 yards? I set my decoys up within 10 yards. Them turkeys are hard to hit right.
Total bummer Z9. Sounds like a fun hunt, but sucks when they end that way.
Took him at 30 yds with my bow. Hit him through the wing and into the lungs. I didn’t get a pass through which is weird because I would have if it was a deer.
He’s 25.1lbs on the claw. He’s in rigor now, and I just remembered why I haven’t hunted spring turkeys in the past, the fat sponge. Oh dear lord it’s gross.
Anyhow, as a reminder, don't purr and cluck, or call and cluck....don't cluck....don't mix in your clucks. If you hear a gobble, and a purr and cluck, you should just respond with a purr...just purr. A purr and a cluck or even a call and cluck = I see you handsome Tom and I'm not buying. GTFO! So he'll be headed your way.
Z9 btw. Good luck out there tomorrow!!
ya Sosso...folks underestimate the stopping power of all those feathers. way to go!
short beard for a 25#er
nice work Sosso! It was a good day out here in the Berkshires. 2 of my buddies got them in Richmond today as well. So they both stopped over for a photo opp...
MA_Bowhunter, when you set up at 10 yds, were you in a blind? I set up/set back 21 yds to give myself some cover left & right. I liked that I didn’t get busted by the hen when she strutted by(c/video link). She looked straight down the lane I was on and probably saw just a slob, i mean blob, in camo on his knees.
Next time, it will be in the chest or exit hole. It really was bitchin to see those Toms attack decoys.
Z9 thats why we shoot heavy arrahs!!!!
I know next to nothing about turkey hunting...but...I read something about you shouldn’t set up too close to decoys. I thought it was a safety thing. Is this right?
Jeb I know less than that and that sounds spot on. If any body else was to be zeroing on your decoys ....could b trouble. But we all know people r wicked smat
Went out mid morning today and set out my decoys at about 12-15 yards from a natural ground blind I use for deer hunting. After an hour I got a gobble about 1/4 mile away and coming in to my calls. I watched it come from 75yds down to 25yds in the open, (too far for the recurve) and then approach behind a bush and small tree, it didn't like something and turned to walk away. At 19yds I tried a shot between the bush and tree and my arrow deflected off a unseen twig to the left of the bird. Game over for today.
Congrats guys, sounds like a great day!
Hickstick, the beard was short, but he was that largest bird I had ever seen save for an ostrich or emu. The little bastard posthumously cut my hand with one of his barbs (1” and 1/8th). He’s sleeping now in my freezer. ...so sleepy.
Anyhow, good luck all. I’m done for the season. My hands are still recovering from plucking him.
I need a wiz bang. Scratch that. My next major purchase WILL BE a wiz bang!
Sounds like people had some fun and some success yesterday. Once again when I go turkey hunting I never see turkeys but see deer. I had a cool stare down with what I think was a young buck. When I got to my spot nature called, so I peed right in front of a trail camera I have set up. Then I went upwind about 30 yds and set up next to a nice big tree. Couple hours later I hear some noise in the direction of my camera, I turn around slow and see a deer staring at me, we both stood still for what seemed like an hour. He took off and circled back, did some feeding, then we had another staring contest. Both times he stopped dead in his tracks right in front of my camera so I should get some nice pics of him! Fun hunt for sure. I suck at turkey hunting, I just like sitting in the woods and it's good practice for deer season.
worked one late am.. took a ride over the mountain around 9. He wouldn't commit... smart public land bird
Z9, you asked, "when you set up at 10 yds, were you in a blind?".
Yes. I didn't realize you were archery hunting WITHOUT a blind - that is amazingly hard. More power to you!
Josh22 - in 2 trips turkey hunting so far this year, I have seen 17 deer and 0 turkeys, so I am with you!
22.6 lbs
22.6 lbs
My 1st. Turkey Bow Hunt, 1st. Post. Third year hunting. I Used 2 decoys, ground hunt, no blind. The decoys attracted one bald eagle, 2 jakes, an old man going for a hike, and finally a Tom. What a great day. The decoys survived the beating they got from the 2nd Jake. Z8 Auburn
2nd day bird. Tagged out quick!
I spent the last 45 minutes calling in a gobbler. I was set up 10 yards off the crest of a ridge that runs 100 yds straight out in front of me where I first heard him gobble. I was thinking he'd go over the ridge at some point within the 100 yds and come towards me. instead he stayed on the other side of the ridge the entire time, gobbling every time I called so I stopped when he got about 60 yds and he popped up just over my left shoulder I couldn't get a shot. He putted obviously busted me and he took off. I learned something about setups today.
