Turkey Hunters

[TomBow]

Mr. Fothergill--Congratulations to you and all my fellow MN turkey hunters! I've got 17 days left to wait!!

Can you tell me how you got your bird with a bow: did you use a blind, how many dekes/type, how far were the dekes from you, what broadhead did you use, what position was the bird in when you drew, what position when you hit him, where did you hit him (head, neck, etc), what did he do after the shot? I know I'm asking alot but I am trying to meet the challenge of bow-turkey and I need all the info I can get. Thanks and Best of Luck to all!!

[Gordon Fothergill]

Tombow,

I was using a Doghouse blind and single hen decoy placed at 8 yrds. We also had luck with two hens and a jake decoy, although we did have some Toms avoid that particular spread. I shot my bird as he was walking perpendicular to my position at 15 yards. The shot placement I like is between the top of the legs and the wing hinge and that is where I hit him (although about an inch lower than I like). The bird did not go far. For broadhead I use a collared muzzy. I was also drawn for Wisconsin, my season starts May 21, I cant wait. Good luck on your hunt Tombow, let me know how you do. GF

[CornPirateKiller]

Finally! I leave tomorrow for Ottumwa Iowa for a weekend turkey hunt. I'm so jazzed from seeing turkey's here in SE MN that I can't hardly stand it. I got drawn for MN too but don't hunt until May 11th. I'll post my results after the hunt.

Good Luck to all you turkey hunters!

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Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

[benelli_dude2002]

Here's a good one for you guys. A friend of mine who lives in southern Indiana called me this past Saturday ( April 26 ) I dont know about some guys but some guys have all the luck and this is one of them. He's only lived there a few years and the first year he was there he took up turkey hunting and was hooked. His first gobbler was 25.5 lbs, last year his biggest so far weighed 27.5 lbs and this year well this is where it gets good. At least i think so. The season down there opened April 23 and he didnt get out til the 26th because he couldnt get off work. He didnt do any scouting or even shoot his gun to see if his scope was still on. He used a Mossberg Ultimag with a Simmons scope this is just one of his many shotguns. His girlfriend tagged along to check things out so they got their camo on and headed for the woods at daylight. He blew on his crow call and had a gobble right away and then they set up about 100 yards from the bird. They heard it fly down and from the time they set up to the time he dropped the gobbler ( at 40 yards ) was like 20 minutes. Cool I thought. I mean this guy has all the luck. the first gobbler he got was almost the same situation only he forgot his face mask, hat and gloves and that bird came in at 15 yards. This most recent bird was 24.5 lbs. He called me early in the morning and he sounded pretty excited on the answering machine so I called him back and I knew right away what he was all pumped about. I got to try turkey hunting myself last year when I went down there but I never bagged a bird and this year I never made it down there. maybe next year. Thats my story I mean it isnt my story but I thought I'd share it with you.

[elusivecrappiecatcher]

Well we baught a new house in forest lake, MN. When I went up there to look at it with my parents for the first time there must have been 20-30 turkeys in the field next to us. The guy next door about 500 yards away raises wild turkeys and when his turkeys start gobbling the turkeys from the feild next to us come right through our yard. And let me tell you there is some BIIIGG turks out there. So this december I am gonna apply and if I get drawn I am gonna get one. I have never turkey hunted before. So it will be fun. I can't wait!

[CornPirateKiller]

Well, this year was the charm. I have hunted turkeys five previous times in MN and IA and never scored. Saturday morning, I ended the slump.

I hunted SE Iowa, South of Ottumwa. A chapter of NWTF volunteers puts on a guided hunt for disabled hunters each year and I hunted with them (I broke my neck 18 years ago.) Two great guys took me out and we got set up before dawn. At 6:00, a hen made her way down the field to our deke, followed by a big tom. She came right to the setup, but he held off 50 yards out. They eventually passed through the fencerow we were setup in and she fed while he strutted for over an hour. She finally returned to our deke, but he was too suspicious and tried to sneak around behind us. I repositioned and found an opening in the brush that gave me a shot out the back of our blind. When he stepped into the lane, I dropped him. We had estimated him at 25 yards before the shot but it turned ut to be more like 40! 22 pounds with a 12 inch beard and 1 1/8 inch spurs. What a rush!

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Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

[elusivecrappiecatcher]

Congrats on the bird CPK!

[TomBow]

Congratulations ya CornPirate ya!! It's a long way to go for a turkey but, if you're like me, you'd go farther just to hunt 'em! That's part of the cool thing about turkey hunting, just watching those birds struttin' around doing their thing. Way to go and send a Thank you to those fellahs down there who got you out hunting. Hope that bird is DEE-Licious!! Got 10 more days 'till we start the turkey hunt, I'll be foamin' at the mouth by then!! Best of Luck to all!

[NELS-BELLS]

I hunted last weekend with my Dad near Redwood Falls, MN. He shot his first Turkey ever within the first 30 minutes. I was happy to witness it from the other side of the field. We were both surprised that the Tom never gobbled even though it was strutting around his decoy. As a matter of fact I never heard any gobbling the first three days of hunting but saw plenty of hens. Finally on Sunday I had a bird gobbling and when I called him in it turned out to be a Jake. I didn't know that Jakes gobbled.
To cut a long story short, I never got one but still enjoyed the hunt and witnessing my Dad shoot his first Turkey.

[Zarkohl]

TomBow. The email meeage of your that that I responded to keeps coming back with a "host" error message. I received your message, so I assume that the problem is on your end. let me know and I try and resend. Jim

[CornPirateKiller]

Hunt #2 - Minnesota. Only had two days to hunt, Sunday (5/11) and today (Monday 5/12). Sunday was a bust. My rain gauge read over three inches of rain and it was still coming down in sheets with wild winds. This morning was perfect, yet muddy. The weather had scattered the birds we'd scouted, though, and as the sun came up, the gobbling we'd heard last week was missing. Sat waiting and watching until 8:00 am when three hens showed up. One had a 6" beard but I passed on her and let her go to make more little ones. No gobblers following, though. Strange. Half hour later, three more birds. Two small jakes and one that was bigger and obviously dominant. Still no sign of a longbeard. My hunt was short and I didn't think the toms were going to cooperate. I watched them for ten minutes and then took a bead on the big one and dropped him at 12 yards. 16 pounds, 4" beard. He wasn't the trophy I was after, but I worked hard for him and I'm still smiling from a great hunt. Two birds for two hunts. It's gonna be a great year!! Good luck to all those still out hunting!!

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Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

[TomBow]

zarkohl--try 'er again there bud! About a year ago, our company bought this new fangled state of the art (read: way to expensive) phone system with it's own server to handle our e-mail. Needless to say, nuttin' but trouble!

Please give it another try! Thanks.

Tom B.

[Borch]

I hunted in the rain Sunday morning in the St. Cloud area. I saw 8 turkeys(4 toms and 4 jakes). Didn't hear a gobble until I headed back to the vehicle. Ended up thumping a 17.5 lb, 8 7/8" beard & 7/8" spurred tom. I had a very large tom within 12 yards but he stayed in the brush and didn't offer a shot.

Pretty good day despite the rain and wind.

[LABS4ME]

Good Luck to those that are hunting the last season....the Toms are getting quiet, and decoy shy. We hunt farms that are not hunted by others so it's not from pressure. If you can find a solo Tom you can probably get him worked up enough to come into a call. Two of my buddys gave up calling and ended setting up an ambush sites on field edges where birds had been seen. They both tagged out, I ended up doing the same, had 10 minutes of time left yesterday and a Tom came out on the opposite side of the field feeding. I gave a couple of clucks and purrs and got some gobbles in response, he zig-zagged his way feeding across the field all the while gobbling during my very soft, sporadic calling, he then started strutting everytime I called, but at the same time feeding away from me, so I took a chance and got real aggresive with the call. Turned him and 2 minutes later 22#'er, 10 inch beard, was taken at 42 yards. Usually don't shoot when they are that far out, but felt pretty confident as he was fully outstretched at that moment (couple of putts on the call). Was one of the toughest seasons I've had, but it was woth it in the end. Hope all goes well for those finishing up!

Good Luck and hunt safe...

Ken

[Surface Tension]

Congratulations on your successes.
I start my hunt the 21st. More sleepless nights.

[TomBow]

I'd like to be able to say that my wife and I both bagged turkeys, but we blanked. It was tough compared to last year, very limited gobbling on most days, birds not moving to us. Friday--no birds seen, limited gobbling far away, saw 5 deer including 3 bucks with 2" of antler-starter nubs on their heads, one sniffed the decoy and didn't like the way it smelled. Saturday, cut the day off short, almost no gobbling. Heard one gobbler down hill from us, then heard hens yelping and he shut right up. Sunday--Lots of gobbling, had a hen come in, yelped almost constantly, 1 gobbler came in, then attacked 1 of 2 OTHERS that came from the opposite direction, then 2 jakes, came in and left right away after seeing the decoys, 1 3" bearded gobbler came in, then heard them gobbling 100+ yards away but they wouldn't budge. Monday--6 jakes came in at 7 AM, saw the decoy and stopped in their tracks, wife almost got a shot but they were bunched too tight for a safe shot. Then it rained, started at 8:30 and we left at 9:30. Tuesday--2 or 3 gobbles, windy all day. Spotted 2 jakes out in the field, they saw us and ran into the ravine. Never heard or saw another bird all day. Maybe next year. Good luck to all hunting last season--suggestion, forget the decoys, make them look for the hens.

[Surface Tension]

I hunted the last season and boy where the birds reluctant to move.
Well except for one.
Watched a Tom strutin 60 yards away for half an hour. He didnt want anything to do with my decoys cuz he was lookin at the real thing. Next morning I set up where he liked to do his strutin, was the same place a hen liked to enter and exit the field.
The Turkey Gods have smiled upon me,,,, AGAIN. 5 for 5 on the turkey count/ratio but who's counting.

Turkeys were gobblin but not movinn for my hunting partner. After a few days of patterning their behavior it was clear the Toms wernt moving and had to setup on their morning gobble spot. He found the "spot" and was to setup there the last morning. Still dark and leaning on his backrest tree after setting out the decoy. Too bad it was the same tree the bird was roosting in. A few flaps of its wings and its an easy mile glide to the bottom of the big valley.

[wooly1]

I bagged the biggest bird of my 20 years of turkey hunting. Last season of the year, bagged Thur. May 22. It was a 26# tom with 10" and 30 mm spurs. A true tree hanger.
I thought it would be tough hunting that season with the leaves, mosquitoes and ticks. Had no choice due to receiving a surplus license.
The bird I shot was the fifth tom I saw that morning. First a small 5" bird tom came into my decs. Didn't have a good shot even though it was a close as 10 feet from me at one point. Yes 10 FEET. Then I got busted by three jakes coming in and I thought my morning was over.
Was contemplating my next move when a gobbler sounded off and I realized the game was still on. Spotted a head peering over the crest of the field hill 125 yds + out. Made some yelps and reluctantly he crested the hill. At that point he sounded off with a gobble and proceeded to strut in from that far out.
Man I thought he would never get to me. By the time he got to within range my shotgun barrel was doing figure 8s and my heart was a thumping.
Bagged him at 8:15 am. What a rush. Classic turkey hunt just like in them thar videos.