Haven’t got it done yet.
Connecticut
Hey everyone, my first Turkey Season Archery only, got a nice big Tom to come in on my first hunt ever. Got him talking and strutting to my decoy. Well within shotgun run, far outta bow range. Second time yesterday May 8, overcast not as many gobbles, but he was there had a coyote come within 5 yards and take off as I drew back had no other option as he was closing fast to an uncomfortable distance lol. That was awesome and my first face to face encounter with another predator. Moved over 60-70 yards across the field set up again and boom he comes gobbling looking at my decoy struts and walks off gobbling. Crazy first two Turkey hunts more than I have time to type I’m hooked. I bought a funky chicken decoy to see if that will get him to come in for a fight any other tips to get him to commit? From what I see he’s just not willing to chase my hen down but adding a wirey jake in the mix I think may get him jealous?
Yes. Add the Jake. They will come right in. Good luck!!
That's the way turkey hunting goes. Some days you make one call and they come running and other days you can see them in the distance, or they gobble once, and you never see them in gun/bow range. That's what makes it fun and a challenge. Keep at it, sounds like you're going down the right path.
BBB is 100% spot on. I go 3 days of frustrating hunts, hang ups, jealous Hens, scared 2.5 Year olds, ect.
Then one day you call once and a pair of adult's run inside 20 yards gobbling like crazy.
That's Turkey hunting.
Keep at it. It is fun times
I went out yesterday. Covered 7 different places and found no turkeys. No responses to any calls.
Toms used to hens frequently coming to them; later in the AM toms will do some searching.
I’ll go after him Thursday with a hen and jake decoy and see if it pisses him off enough to come in. He hangs out there till about 11-12 it seems. Ish I got that yote though that was quite a rush to see him come stalking my calls. Didn’t smell or see me in my natural blind and I was smokin like a chimney.
I’ll go after him Thursday with a hen and jake decoy and see if it pisses him off enough to come in. He hangs out there till about 11-12 it seems. Ish I got that yote though that was quite a rush to see him come stalking my calls. Didn’t smell or see me in my natural blind and I was smokin like a chimney.
I’ll go after him Thursday with a hen and jake decoy and see if it pisses him off enough to come in. He hangs out there till about 11-12 it seems. Ish I got that yote though that was quite a rush to see him come stalking my calls. Didn’t smell or see me in my natural blind and I was smokin like a chimney.
Id go after him on Thursday lol..... good luck
11-12ish 3 times will bring you to saturday..all good..lol
Be patient and persistent. I have a big bird that has avoided me 3 different times. He Gobbles like a fool but so far has only come to 50 yards and strutted like a pimp. The hunt continues!
Noob, we had a big coyote come in to some hen clucks in Vt. We cancelled his travel plans. Stay with it, talk to knowledgeable hunters and one day it will all come together. An X-full turkey choke and #5's did a number on that dog.
The bad news is, up to this point many have been henned up. The good news is it is starting to get late, which means their responsiveness should become more obvious. There are always variables out there that we can’t control, like those annoying coyotes or other hunters, so we must concentrate on that which we can control. Make sure your roost setup is the best, make sure you don’t over call or under call, whatever the case may be. Concentrate on being the best turkey hunter you can be and the chips will now begin to fall in place for you!
Nehunter - you stated that you spoke with a DEEP officialy about the changing wildlife picture in the NW corner, .........what did he say was happening? I'm guessing he said the predator population was increasing dramatically, resulting is lower deer and small game population.
BBB, Here's the email that I sent. I'll post what he told me. He didn't want to just email me back, figured a phone call would be the best.
Hi Michael, Just wanted to email a Turkey biologist in CT. Been hunting in Cornwall since 1985 on private farms, about 2,000 acres. I've seen the population dropping in the past 10 years. Why?
Avian Pox and Lymphoproliferative Disease Virus (LPDV)???
Or is it something else? Last year was the first year since I've hunted I or my family didn't shoot a Turkey. We usually have at least 10 mature Tom's on our property's. Now there is zero, well maybe 2.
Trail cameras prove there is a drastic decrease in the population.
Why?
I have three old dairy farm's with corn fields that have way too much food available. But zero turkey's. No hunting pressure either.
Would love to hear from you.
Thanks
Steve Davis Goshen/Cornwall
Well the call lasted about 45 minutes. He explained that he's been a Deer biologist also and was one of the people I saw a bunch of times using the telemetry anteana looking for Fawns during the study in 2013. I shot one of the GPS collared Doe's in December.
So he's well aware of the Bobcat and Bears killing off the Turkeys. But he said the biggest concern is the disappearing dairy farm's spreading cow manure containing silage full of corn. They would attract flocks for many miles during the winter. Now the birds require human bird feeders to stay alive in major snow storms. Goshen received almost twice the snow than like Danbury and it lasts on the ground all winter. He gets dozens of calls about over abundance of Turkeys in Zones 11&12 and call's about zero abundance in Zones 1,2,3 4. Hoping a dry spring will help with a rebound.
He and all the biologist are asking and demanding a predator season to help with Deer as well as Turkeys.
Note: Grouse is also in the same boat, Bobcats are the major problem. That's why we all get the questions on the surveys.
It's not the DEEP but the legislative branch. They probably are afraid of public back splash of promoting the killing of cute Bobcats and Bear's.
There was so much information given to me and I can't remember most of it. I'll add more when I remember.
Pray for a Bobcat season soon or were in Turkey trouble.
When you go to set your hunting blind down and within 100 yards there’s 4 gobblers strutting!!!
When you go to set your hunting blind down and within 100 yards there’s 4 gobblers strutting!!!
I for one would love to here what Michael has to say. We all know about the increase in predator population, so now multiply that by 4 for those we didn’t know of. But the real question revolves around a known disease like the one Steve mentioned or is there something new out there that has been killing them. Also, is there any correlation between the declining turkey population and the onset of the West Nike Virus? Anyway to get Michael on here for an interview? I would be happy to conduct the interview if possible.
Longbeard I agree I use to get turkeys in my yard and now I get bobcats and coyotes it’s obvious the predators are having a field day incentivizing predator hunting could be an idea even if not monetarily. The woods I hunt Has a ton. Tracks everywhere, rabbit remains scattered about it a literal killing field. I’ve been looking into coyote hunting seriously, 1. To have more time in the field year around. And 2. To support the local deer and Turkey population and maybe discourage coyotes from call info this 300 acres home.
I'll PM you his email address
;Nehunter - thanks for the update and I have to disagree with his comments about the decline in dairy farms being a major issue. There were no dairy farms where I live in Southington near the ski area and I would see and hear turkey just about every day years ago. I know when I hunted near Bradford Mtn south or rt44 in the NW corner there are dairy farms there and there were plenty of birds. The farms are still there but the turkey are much more difficult to find. I think the predation is the single biggest concern, so I'll be interested to see where that goes.
Thanks again Steve.
He said the bird's would travel many miles to winter at the farms. They would show up and no food. Similar to the big Deer yards in Maine Vermont and NH.
Hmmm, turkey migration? Laurelbrook Farm on rt44 is still there, and it's right at the base of the ridge where I've taken several birds and some deer, but today you'd be hard pressed to see any birds or deer in that location. This is why I'm doubtful of the impact dairy farms have on wildlife. It will be interesting to see what happens with bear and bobcats over the next few years.
Not just the larger predators, start taking out the egg eaters. Raccoons, skunks and opossums raid a lot of nests. Not a lot of fur trapping anymore with PETA, HSUS dictating what and how we can trap. Then there's China and Russia, and conflicts around the world. So no longer a demand for USA furs. It's all connected.
When eagles are in an area turkeys seem to disappear.
https://youtu.be/G4V0hOO1EOI
Iron maiden. Great stuff. Imagine telling young adults of today they had to do what those guys did. Put down the cell, lose the skinny jeans, man buns and fight. Noob, any luck today?
No luck today I think the decoys are freaking him out every time he’s in full strut coming at me sees the decoys and struts the other way had a hen in range and the Tom taunted me.
By the way I know I can’t shoot hens I’m just saying she was close enough I could see her blink caught me in a awkward position. Then I scared her away by accident but the Tom was there too just to far.
I think everything we’ve mentioned has some noticeable impact. And maybe it’s just that simple. Maybe our answer(s) are right there in front of our faces and we’re overthinking it. That’s exactly why I would love to get the opportunity to talk to a certified professional. I want to know if we’re overthinking this or is there something else that the average turkey hunter isn’t privy to. I know I can show you some of my trail camera pictures from just 5/6 years ago where I had up to 15 mature birds strutting in a single picture. That was the norm in that area. Now I’m hard pressed to see more than 3 strutters at any given time. I haven’t shot a bird in Ct in over 2 seasons, that’s how bad things have gotten at my spots. Last night I roosted a bird at dark for the first time in two years. Thank god I hunt in multiple states every year to get my fix!!
The public I hunt has at least just saw two
Hopefully the DEP will lower the tags from 5 down to 2.. One bird in spring and one bird in the fall. That should help.
Last season, the 2 areas that we hunt, birds were down. We found the same small group of a few Toms, a few Jakes, and a few hens..approx 7 birds total. And that was it.
This season, we are seeing a few more birds than last year.
What is encouraging this season, is that we are hearing more gobbles in different directions, and not in just one small area.
Good luck the rest of the season. Still plenty of time.
I used to get Turkey pictures, now I just get Black Bears and Black Squirrels?? Two different spots from this morning
That squirrel might not be the black one that I've been seeing.
My wife hunted there and said that was two or three black squirrels running around.
I don't mean to hijack the thread but it seems that I see black squirrels much more often over the past few years than I did 20 years ago. Bears too, for that matter...
I’ve been seeing a decline in turkeys in both MA and top of CT over the last 5 years. Could be the avian pox.
