Wow, congratulations! I sure would like to hear more detail about how you went after him...3rd year trying for a turkey, first day out within the first hour and a half. Couldn’t get him to come in to the blind so I went after him. Had a blast.View attachment 137554
He was responding to my calling but would not come in to the blind and after about 30 minutes of talking back and forth I could tell he was moving away from me. I got out of the blind and started moving slowly in his direction calling as I went, managed to get in bow range of a couple does during the process and when they took off blowing my turkey shut up for a few minutes. At this point I was on a ridge top trail and hit the call again and he was right on top of me, I set up just before the crest of the hill pointing down the trail and caught movement to my right and it was his backside poking out from behind a tree. I quickly adjusted my setup and hit the mouth call and he 180’d which left his head poking out from behind the tree so I smoked him at roughly 30 yards. I think the fact that I had grown up running in those woods and knew every inch of it and the fact that I happened to be dealing with a dumber than average bird helped me seal the deal, lol. Definitely went full hunting public on him.Wow, congratulations! I sure would like to hear more detail about how you went after him...
Incredible! You pulled off a feat that few ever will!He was responding to my calling but would not come in to the blind and after about 30 minutes of talking back and forth I could tell he was moving away from me. I got out of the blind and started moving slowly in his direction calling as I went, managed to get in bow range of a couple does during the process and when they took off blowing my turkey shut up for a few minutes. At this point I was on a ridge top trail and hit the call again and he was right on top of me, I set up just before the crest of the hill pointing down the trail and caught movement to my right and it was his backside poking out from behind a tree. I quickly adjusted my setup and hit the mouth call and he 180’d which left his head poking out from behind the tree so I smoked him at roughly 30 yards. I think the fact that I had grown up running in those woods and knew every inch of it and the fact that I happened to be dealing with a dumber than average bird helped me seal the deal, lol. Definitely went full hunting public on him.
I told my buddy today, we need to take notes about what we`ve done and seen, and when it all happened, so that maybe we can learn something from all this. I need to get ahold of a DNR turkey biologist and chat with him. Try to better understand what causes the mating to being for turkeys and if it varies slightly from year to year as the white-tail rut does. It`s fine to have a tough season, or a tough part of a season, but at least try to understand what`s happening and learn from it.I was if I was the only one experiencing that, glad to hear I’m not. It has been silence since my last encounter on Sunday. Walked a lot and sat over looking a huge green field they like to hang out in. Drove through Atterbury on the way home, spotted on hen crossing the road and very few hunters out but then it was around noon
Dogs aren`t going to help anything, whether deer or turkeys. Dogs are one more predator that prey animals just aren`t and cannot tolerate. Turkey eggs are already under attack from skunks, opossums, raccoons, etc., and poults are assaulted by everything from foxes, coyotes, hawks, owls, and now add bobcats. Nevermind dogs and probably house cats. I`ve seen dogs running deer, and although I`ve not witnessed dogs chasing turkeys, I would expect that it happens anywhere dogs are let to run looseReally no gobbles at all to speak of this year and movement has been limited. I'm only seeing a few birds of both sexes on the cameras. I see this every now and then during deer season as well, something just repositions all the animals.
I blame the drug dealers dogs during deer season, but don't see dogs after turkeys.
Unfortunately, even though the lease law is supposed to be in effect out in rural areas too, it`s hard to enforce. Even IF you do call the Sheriff, and the Sheriff DOES show up, the dog is generally long gone by then.Then one bird I've been able to bring in to the decoy cut and ran from what I'm assuming was a dog down the ridge from me. I heard something moving through the brush in a clumsy fashion down ridge to the right and behind me. As the tom got closer so did the noise and he shut up abruptly as he was cutting my call. The noise continued on ahead staying down ridge, but moving towards the tom's last position. I'm assuming he ran as I heard no more that day.
I prefer a tom in the hills, much easier to hunt for me.This year was a big bust, not sure what happened but the birds were not going to open spots, staying in the hills where it hard to setup. They were not making any noise at this time so couldn't call them either. Seems like the numbers have been going down last 10 years as well down in southern indiana.
I`ve looked around a little online and couldn`t find anything, but my buddy and his brother said they saw something maybe from the IDNR, about they believe bobcats are taking an unusually high number of turkey poults and that has added to a drastic decrease in turkey numbers? As I said, I`ve looked around causally and have been unable to find anything on this, but they said it`s out there.This year was a big bust, not sure what happened but the birds were not going to open spots, staying in the hills where it hard to setup. They were not making any noise at this time so couldn't call them either. Seems like the numbers have been going down last 10 years as well down in southern indiana.
Coons, possums and skunks are hard on turkey eggs, and likely squirrels are too. It`s a pretty fair guess that bobcats are preying on turkey poults and who knows how hard coyotes are on them.I prefer a tom in the hills, much easier to hunt for me.
I noticed numbers decreasing down here when bobcats started up in numbers. I know of two farms that are covered up in cats in which owners have not heard or seen a turkey this year. one is my uncle's farm the other my uncle-in-laws.
Numbers on my farm seem to be the best they have since 08.
I do have cats in past but for some reason never got a pic of them this past fall or winter. I too have been very hard on coon population.