Turkey Season

Btaylor

WKR
Joined
Jun 3, 2017
Messages
2,441
Location
Arkansas
Our season opened Monday but I have been stuck working. Headed to camp after work with a forecast of severe thunderstorms and tornados for the 3 hour drive. Wind 15-25 tomorrow. Should be perfectly lousy but I need to be there to confirm that.
 
Joined
Nov 25, 2016
Messages
3,721
Location
Utah
Hunted the opener, missed Sunday and then back out yesterday. We got 3 inches of snow, so I thought lets go get me a chicken.
headed out, got stuck, hiked to another hunters truck, got a ride to my house, grabbed chain saw, went back out, cut down 6 trees so I could get out.

Oh and on my way out, killed a turkey. 15 lbs. Not huge, barely not small. Lol
I also met a new friend from Salt Lake, and another fire fighter.
A good day turned bad ended great.
ba0c960881e073381411fda62ba26a3f.jpg
65fe35416eaee2bdc29c6728797048e1.jpg
70c24754d5d20dab8f01ea5aeff2b473.jpg
ed5fa904943cddecf8e66177ea14c2d3.jpg
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
2,241
We put the first one of the year in the freezer Sunday.

On our way back to the truck, around 1:00, I heard a bird respond to a crow so we closed the distance. After a few yelps, they responded and started coming in. I had my girlfriend setup to shoot and her hand signals to me were hilarious (very spastic). I couldn't see the birds but I knew they were close when she shouldered the gun and started tracking them with the muzzle. As the two birds went behind a log, she moved around her tree and smoked the second bird when they came out at 15 yards. The Jake was ablout the size of a large chicken but I was happy for her and she was stoked.
 

realunlucky

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 20, 2013
Messages
12,624
Location
Eastern Utah
Drew Utah tag again finally. These damn birds always make me look stupid hopefully I can call one in for the kid this year

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
It was over in the first hour of the opener crazy but I'd almost rather grind a few days. I'm tagged out and bear season is still 4 weeks away what now?
d8c2e45bf84d7c424c05855b29281e76.jpg


Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 

vanish

WKR
Joined
May 26, 2016
Messages
550
Location
Colorado
2018 Colorado OTC. Front range, public land.

Opening day, the weather forecast of 20-50mph winds with a low temp in the 20s kept my wife in bed, but I climbed the mountain anyway. It was very busy with other hunters, so around 7:30am I decided to scout some new territory. After an additional 2 mile hike, I found the canyon I was looking for. It didn't look too promising, so I sat down for a nap just before 9:00am.

I wasn't sitting for 5 minutes when I heard a faint sound. A couple clucks on my call confirmed, it was a gobble. I cut off 100 yards and made contact again. 30 yards more and I could tell I was within 50.

I quickly set up, but was caught off guard as 3 Jakes flew in to me a mere 5 yards to my left. I couldn't shoot, so I let them walk by, turned around, and called them back. Finally, one became uncomfortable and I used that opportunity to shoot the closest.


attachment.php
 

vanish

WKR
Joined
May 26, 2016
Messages
550
Location
Colorado
I took the dog for a walk last night. "Just happened" to roost two different gobblers.

My wife committed to the 4am wake up. By 5:45 we were sitting 60 yards uphill of the big boy, who was gobbling his brains out well before we arrived. He continued gobbling non-stop until 6:30, and then shut right up. I don't know if he spotted us or what, but he finally flew downhill at 7:00am. He crossed off public land. We went for plan B, towards where I had roosted the other tom.

As we neared his roost, a real crow gave him away in the meadow ahead. A slight rise between us was perfect, and we set up less than 50 yards from him. A single set of yelps had him strutting at 30, but there was no shot. I gave a couple light clucks and let it sit. A few minutes later he gave FireTiger a perfect 15 yard shot.

This is her first turkey, and its mature mountain merriams on public land to boot!

uc


uc


This season was too short. I think I'm going to have to find a way to slip over to the West slope and help my dad get his first CO bird.
 
Joined
Mar 27, 2017
Messages
1,365
Location
North Carolina
Came up dry last (opening) weekend in NC but got to see a hen on my first day turkey hunting. Man was that cool! Hopefully I get my first this weekend. Its so odd feeling totally out of your element hunting a new animal but very cool at the same time.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2017
Messages
440
Location
WV
I killed a slammer Wednesday morning here in WV! His hen got overly excited for some reason and got him fired up after a quiet morning. I moved in to try and get a shot and the hen busted me and flew. He had no clue what was going on and went over the ridge away from me. I circled around and setup and it wasn’t ten minutes and he gobbled looking for her. I yelped and he responded. Two minutes later he gobbled again and had cut the distance in half. I yelped one more time clicked the safety off. Three minutes later he was coming through the timber full strut and stopped at 30 yards. His last mistake. 10” paintbrush beard, 1.5” spurs and 24lbs. A giant for this area!
2f87ec1177f0fe74514860e0fa103fdc.jpg

a94ad9d959d438cbe5d3d905a0e7f83f.jpg

be3150f0c5e214f2aeea152ffaa21ea7.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Joined
May 17, 2017
Messages
701
Location
Mount Airy, NC
Called in a Mtn bird in NC for a buddy. Bird came in from above us and stopped up on a ridge strutting away. A hen came out about level with us, so I got her all fired up so she would come to me and not him. It worked, and he came down (slowly) strutting the whole way. Super cool hunt ending with a long shot across the holler. 1” spurs ~10” beard.
 

DavePwns

WKR
Joined
Dec 9, 2017
Messages
441
Location
ID
So far I have covered approximately 35 miles of public land off trail in good habitat with oak trees and streams, calling and searching for a Tom here in Central California, I've found 7 total hens, 1 gobbler (who was just over the fence on private land) and have only heard 1 gobble. I owl hoot before dawn, and cut / yelp throughout the day as I walk every 150 yards but can't seem to locate any gobblers! Just gotta keep getting boots on the ground I guess
 

Sodbuster

WKR
Joined
Jan 9, 2016
Messages
713
Location
Missouri
Monday opener here in Missouri also.Including the wind chill it was 18 degrees.
Spring is late in the northern part of the state so many of the birds are a still flocked up.
Spotted a group after first light but could not get a response from the toms.

Backed out and went to a new calling area and on the way spotted a couple very small jakes crossing an old railroad bed.9 Jakes passed over then a mature bird at the end.
Dropped a Featherflex and yelped just enough to get his attention then stopped calling.
It took almost 45 minutes for him to get to 45 yards.
Our season closes at 1 pm daily and my shot was at 4 minutes till.

Whiskbroom beard
26 lbs
Spurs not so long but that is ok by me.
9b72ab7f3d2317bd74dceeea29b490d1.jpg
f9981f7ffe0a0e61da0360649cfc4776.jpg
262a9d0b8824fe60267438b55d231849.jpg
 

woods89

WKR
Joined
Sep 3, 2014
Messages
1,779
Location
Southern MO Ozarks
Congrats to all who have killed one!

Here in southern Mo it has been very slow. I've been out on public land two mornings this week and haven't heard a gobble yet. We did have a couple birds gobbling just down the hill from our jobsite one morning but those are the first gobbles I've heard this year. Like has already been said, our spring is really late, so I hope things pick up in the next couple weeks.
 

Sodbuster

WKR
Joined
Jan 9, 2016
Messages
713
Location
Missouri
woods89
Congrats to all who have killed one!

Here in southern Mo it has been very slow. I've been out on public land two mornings this week and haven't heard a gobble yet. We did have a couple birds gobbling just down the hill from our jobsite one morning but those are the first gobbles I've heard this year. Like has already been said, our spring is really late, so I hope things pick up in the next couple weeks.


woods, I hunt mostly in Northern Missouri but live again in Southern MO as of Dec. I firmly believe the cold weather has all the birds backed off more than usual for this time of year.It will only take a couple of days of sunshine for things to get really good down here.
Monday for the opener I observed over 30 birds and never saw a fan or heard a gobble bit still lucked out.
Tuesday I took a young friend out and heard multiple gobbles from two different directions and both groups went away from me.They would not even respond to my calls. I think they all had hens roosted right with them. It will only get better.
 

milksteak

FNG
Joined
Apr 20, 2018
Messages
13
Location
Oregon
Hunting Oregon for the first time this year. Going to try my luck in the White River WMU, I hear it gets super crowded but I have Mondays/Tuesdays off so hopefully I can escape the weekend crowds. Grew up hunting in FL/GA so I'm looking forward to tagging my first Oregon gobbler
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
2,241
Tracks in the snow said a lone gobbler walked right through one of my setups... after I had left to chase his departing comrades. I put a lot of miles on the boots and made a few tactical errors yesterday. Maybe next weekend?

Oh to be an impatient bowhunter.
 

Shadow14

WKR
Joined
Feb 28, 2018
Messages
360
Location
Georgia
Hunting Oregon for the first time this year. Going to try my luck in the White River WMU, I hear it gets super crowded but I have Mondays/Tuesdays off so hopefully I can escape the weekend crowds. Grew up hunting in FL/GA so I'm looking forward to tagging my first Oregon gobbler[/QUOT]

Thats literally the same situation with me. I just moved out here from Georgia last summer. Me and the gf hunted out towards Paulina opening day and had an incredible hunt. Ended up killing a bird after working him for about 30 minutes lol. We found quite a few other birds as well. Id recommend checking that area out. PM me and I'll point you in the right direction.
 
Top