2020 Spring Turkey

[MN BassFisher]

I finally went Turkey Hunting for the first time ! In the neighboring state of WI. I put together a detailed write up of my experience and how the day went down. I learned a lot over the weekend on do's and don'ts and look to apply those to future hunts. LONG READ - if you don't want to read it, scroll past for some pictures.

 

After talking about it for roughly 2 years, we finally went Spring Turkey Hunting! My buddy Matt and I went to his family farm in Wisconsin over the weekend for our season (Period C). This was basically both of our first attempts at Turkey hunting (he has sat with his Dad when he was younger). We went into this with a lot of excitement, realistic expectations and just hopeful that we could interact with a Gobbler or two.

 

Friday night we setup the blind on the edge of a treeline overlooking a harvested corn field which was in a valley surrounded by ridges. Saturday morning well before sunrise we went directly to the blind, Matt setup his 2 Hen decoy's as I got prepared in the blind. His goal was to get me my first Gobbler so he left his shotgun back in the truck. The morning sit was so peaceful and full of wildlife (Deer, Raccoons, Pheasants, Grouse and what felt like thousands of Birds). After a few hours we hadn't heard any signs of nearby Turkeys when we finally heard a Jake gobble on the other side of the ridge to our left. Over the next 45 minutes we heard a Tom gobble 3 times on top of the ridge in front of us - probably 400-500 yards away. We didn't call too frequently but they weren't responding to our boxcalls. We went back to the house for some breakfast and to draw up a new plan.

 

Since the two Gobblers we heard were over or further down the ridge we decided to get up on top of the ridge to try to stalk and sit. Matt's knee has had some recent pain so we didn't want to push it too hard. We slowly worked our way up to the top, called a few times, found a big tree to sit up against and waited for an hour looking for a response or a visual. We repeated these steps for the next probably 4 hours without any interaction or sightings before finally heading back down the ridge. Walking back to the house we decided to take a drive and see if we could find any turkeys in the neighboring fields or coming down from any of the nearby ridges. The afternoon and evening before we had seen quite a few hens, a couple Jakes and 2 Tom's out in corn and alfalfa fields but today we only saw one hen.

 

For our evening sit we decided to go back to the blind in hopes that one of the Gobblers we heard in the AM would respond to our calls, come down into the field and spot our decoys. With that in mind we put out the full decoy spread (2 hens and 3/4 strut Jake). 2 hours had gone by with no action when we spotted 2 hens come down into a pocket across the field and to the right of us. They ate for a few minutes, went back into the treeline and up the ridge. Not long after that we heard a gobble on top of the ridge in front of us. Matt yelped a few times on a different boxcall than we had been using all day. No response.

 

At this point our spirits weren't low but it was wearing on us that we weren't getting any responses to our calls or our decoys. A few more minutes passed and that's when I see a redhead coming through the trees 240 yards away from our blind. He is heading directly at us! Matt put away the call and looked through his binoculars to identify the incoming gobbler. He quickly let me know that it was not a Jake, it was a nice Tom! At this point my heart is racing. I get my shotgun ready but not shouldered yet as the Tom is still 220 yards from us. He is moving slowly but on a direct path to our decoys (which sit directly in front of me). Don't get busted, don't hang up, don't shoot too soon, wait for the right shot...all of these things are going through my mind as this Tom takes what felt like eternity to cross the field. I was a bit nervous he wasn't going to come all the way across as occasionally he would stop and lift his head to look around. Matt however was confident as the Tom never wavered from his direct path straight to us.

 

As he passed the old apple tree (which I knew was 75 yards from the blind) he began strutting. My heart is now beating through my chest and I'm shaking like a leaf! When he wasn’t strutting his pace picked up until he was right on top of the Jake decoy. I still hadn't shouldered my gun as his line of sight, right past the decoy, was our blind. He began doing a 360 around the Jake decoy while in full strut. As he turned and I knew his focus was fully on the decoy I shouldered my gun. He gave me a quick opportunity that I passed on in hopes for a better one and then his tail fan was blocking any shot. As he completed his full turn around the decoy, he reared up to spur it, lifted his head and I knew I wasn't going to get a better opportunity. I squeezed the trigger and to my delight the Tom folded. It was a clean shot and he was dispatched instantly.

 

High fives, shoulder punches and pure joy erupted from the blind. We quickly went out to inspect the bird. We marveled at being able to see him up close, all of the different colors, patterns and textures that make up this beautiful bird. Matt took some awesome photos to honor this Tom and to document the memory and adventure that we had just shared together. He went 23lbs, had a 9.5 inch double beard and his spurs were 5/8ths of an inch.

 

The right spot, the right bird. I was definitely spoiled on my first hunt and know that it doesn’t often go as planned. I know I will have many unsuccessful hunts in the future so I will revel in the memories now. I’m thankful for Matt giving me an opportunity to stay at his family’s place and hunt their land. Along with providing the blind, decoys and calling for me. Next year my friend we’re getting you on your first Tom! To say that I am hooked is an understatement!

[Borch]

Congrats MN BassFisher! What a great hunt for your first bird!  It's definitely addicting and fun.  Looks like great turkey land there. These birds will force you to learn what will work.   Every one is different and learning to read a bird in the moment will help your success.

[CLPDB]

Season C was a different hunt than season B.  My 14 yr old son and I each got a turkey in season B.  I went with my other son and his girlfriend for season C to help call and to just get out of the house.  The Tom's were about impossible to call.  They wouldn't hardly gobble back while roosting.  On average, we would see 2-4 Tom's everytime we went out but they would have anywhere from 3-6 hens with them which made it impossible to get them to come close to us.  Yesterday morning we saw a total of 17 turkey's,  4 Toms and the rest were hens.  Still a blast seeing all the birds and after reading that around 22% of turkey tags get filled each year I have to feel happy that we got 2 out of 4 tags.  Maybe we will get another chance come season F.  

Edited May 6, 2020 by CLPDB

[ANYFISH2]

You will probably wonder why you waited so long to hunt them.  They are a great, worthy foe.  

Glad you were able to have success you first time, Congratulations.

[Barbelboy]

Awesome story. I love it! As a non resident i've applied for the first few seasons of turkey hunting  in wisconsin with no luck. After 10 years of nothing but surplus tags the last 2 seasons i gave up. So basically i'm jealous!

I LOVE the pictures. It's so fun when it comes together. The fact that you got to watch him walk across the whole field to you is so awesome. it's what makes them so fun to hunt. The interactive portion of calling and responding. Their strutting and body language. So cool. Congrats!

Edited May 6, 2020 by Barbelboy

[MN BassFisher]

22 hours ago, Borch said:

Congrats MN BassFisher! What a great hunt for your first bird!  It's definitely addicting and fun.  Looks like great turkey land there. These birds will force you to learn what will work.   Every one is different and learning to read a bird in the moment will help your success.

Thanks! We have so much left to learn in regards to reading birds as this was the only interaction we had but that makes me excited for more encounters - a lot of unsuccessful ones I'm sure! We got lucky this Tom was alone and came down in a good spot to see our decoys and the rest was history.

 

18 hours ago, Barbelboy said:

Awesome story. I love it! As a non resident i've applied for the first few seasons of turkey hunting  in wisconsin with no luck. After 10 years of nothing but surplus tags the last 2 seasons i gave up. So basically i'm jealous!

I LOVE the pictures. It's so fun when it comes together. The fact that you got to watch him walk across the whole field to you is so awesome. it's what makes them so fun to hunt. The interactive portion of calling and responding. Their strutting and body language. So cool. Congrats!

Is that right? I was unsure on if we'd get tags or not being that we were non-residents but that was my first time submitting. Maybe it helped that I was a "first time buyer"? What Zone were you submitting applications for? We were in Zone 4. Him walking across the field for 220 yards was awesome and nerve wracking at the same time!  It felt like it took 15 minutes but realistically it was probably 5-6.

[gimruis]

21 hours ago, CLPDB said:

Still a blast seeing all the birds and after reading that around 22% of turkey tags get filled each year I have to feel happy that we got 2 out of 4 tags. 

 

This is absolutely true.  Everyone thinks that they're going to fill a tag every spring and that is just not the reality of it.  22% is less than 1 out of 4.  If you're harvesting one every other year or even every third or fourth year, you're still ahead of the average.  Your group went 2 for 4 so 50% is still better than twice the average.  Just seeing turkeys when you're hunting them should be considered a good hunt.

Edited May 7, 2020 by gimruis

[Barbelboy]

I was applying in Zone 4. Hmm. Maybe first time buyer was the ticket. Either way you got one! I tend to have bad luck with tags. Like last fall my niece drew an antelope rifle tag on her first application in Montana, me with 2 bonus points. Nope, had to get a surplus archery tag. 

Yeah, watching a bird work across a field is nerve wracking. You should have one silently work up right next to your blind and gobble. Makes a feller jump just a little. Or like Anyfish have the silly thing brush your blind. it's addicting. 

[ANYFISH2]

 It took until my 3rd year to harvest a bird.  I would take off of work and hunt the entire 5 days only taking a mid day break or a break to attend a kids program.  

I had a lot of failure, alot of mistakes made(still make a lot), and a lot of being real tired of waking up 4 am.

Then, things I saw in the field and learned on here from Borch and DonBo, started to really go together.  I then went on 7 year stretch of success.  That ended last year, and this year has been a challenge.  

The funny thing is, I do truly enjoy the tough seasons, the struggle to succeed, and the chess match with a darn bird!  The quick success now can be a little bitter sweet.  At least I have a boy that wants to hunt them as well, so If we have success quick like this year for him, I can still struggle for the next month, best if both worlds.

MnBassfisher, I hope you enjoy your struggles as much as I have over the years.  It really strengthens the addiction of turkey hunting.

Edited May 7, 2020 by ANYFISH2

[Wanderer]

It’s a great read @MN BassFisher, thanks for taking the time to write it.  Re-living the excitement of a first hunt is fun!

 

[MN BassFisher]

5 hours ago, ANYFISH2 said:

MnBassfisher, I hope you enjoy your struggles as much as I have over the years.  It really strengthens the addiction of turkey hunting.

 

I can totally see that and am expecting a similar thing to happen on my future hunts! From each struggle will come one or multiple learning experiences.

[Dave S]

I heard a lot of birds but didn't see much. The weather made it tough hunting. So did our visitor to the turkey blind.

 

 

[gimruis]

Bear?

[Dave S]

Yes. He came within 50 yards.

[ANYFISH2]

Probably should be hunting and not working today.  Saw no less than 40 birds on my way to work this morning.  They were everywhere!

[Barbelboy]

yeah, i feel the same way. 

[Borch]

We've done really well in what we now refer to as the "Pity Season".  That last season that you can hunt if you don't fill your tag has been really good for several of us and most birds have been killed in the afternoon/evening.  Just remember the bug repellant as the skeeters can be really bad.

[Barbelboy]

oh i know. i've got a spot or two i've been saving for this season. Been concentrating on building brownie points with the wife for the last push of turkey season and the beginning of fishing. And what i love about afternoon turkey hunting is at this time of year sunrise is so early that a feller can sleep in and still have a good chance at a bird!

[gimruis]

Hope ya'll can tolerate the heat when hunting turkeys next week.  They're talking close to 90 degrees a couple days.

[Borch]

14 hours ago, gimruis said:

Hope ya'll can tolerate the heat when hunting turkeys next week.  They're talking close to 90 degrees a couple days.

I killed one when it was 96 degrees a few years ago.  Bring water and look for shade to sit in.  Turkeys don't mind it all that much.  Although, the walk back to the truck carrying that thing wasn't a lot of fun.

[Wanderer]

On 5/12/2020 at 7:52 AM, ANYFISH2 said:

Probably should be hunting and not working today.  Saw no less than 40 birds on my way to work this morning.  They were everywhere!

I was fishing Tuesday but after the weekend and Monday’s weather, waking up on Tuesday screamed turkey time!

[Wanderer]

22 hours ago, Barbelboy said:

And what i love about afternoon turkey hunting is at this time of year sunrise is so early that a feller can sleep in and still have a good chance at a bird!

Starting around 9 am can be pretty effective too.  At least for us in bluff country if we didn’t get the bird close to fly down he’d swing by for a visit between 9-10 if we had a good chat earlier - and stayed put.  My assumption was they stuck with the hens they knew they had and the hens would go up or down the bluff away from us (competition) and do their morning thing.  Once that was over and the hens drifted off to their nesting areas the Toms went looking for that anxious gal they were talking to earlier.

 

It played out pretty consistently that way for several birds.  Actually predictably well.

 

So my tip to someone who wants to sleep in is get into the roosting area by 9 and see if he’ll swing back through.  Or at least troll with some yelping to see if you can get a late gobble to set up on.

 

Edited May 14, 2020 by Wanderer

[gimruis]

10 hours ago, Borch said:

I killed one when it was 96 degrees a few years ago.  Bring water and look for shade to sit in.  Turkeys don't mind it all that much.  Although, the walk back to the truck carrying that thing wasn't a lot of fun.

 

Ummmm, ya I don't do a whole lotta anything when its 96 out to be honest.  Maybe sit in my AC basement until the heat wave subsides.  I don't need to hunt turkeys THAT bad.