How was the season for you? Personaly, it was pretty good but eveytimethat I heard gobblesI was also hearing hens and saw many hens on their own. Also,I hunted the last four days of the season without hearing one gobble. The weather was not the best, but I had been hearing atleast one every day in the beggning of the season. Do you think the good weather early in spring had anyeffect on the birds?I didnt have the oppertunity to harvest a bird but was able to spend lots of time in thewoods and heard lots of gobbles so I can't complain.
On opening day I heard one gobble and that was it for the whole season. I also had one bird come in at 35 yards but it didn't have a beard. It did have a bright red head and stayed quiet. I tried my best to make it gobble. I had my bead right on him waiting for the sign but nope. That was the only one I had in range all the rest were hens. I did have fun as I always do when I am outdoors. I saw tons of coyote tracks which makes me think why I didn't see the birds like seasons before. I saw one yote as I was walking in. The track I wanna compared to a large rottweiler. Where where they in early march when I was freezing with a rabbit call.
__________________
Trykon XL 60 lbs. 27 draw
Qad Ultra Rest Pro Series
Extreme Sight
S-Coil By Limbsaver
27 in. XX75 Camo Hunters 2215
Rage 2 Blade 100 Gr.
It sure seems like things are changing out there. Same amount of birds, maybe a few more even. But theyre not talking. I heard "some" gobbling in April here in NY. But by May, they were getting quiet. I see a trend toward them gobbling a couple times going to roost, and maybe, MAYBE once or twice in the morning. Later in the morning they might fire up a bit, but thats it. I think theyre aware of the coyotes, and just talk less. I see coyotes while turkey hunting more than I ever have. I dont see a lot of turkey wings and legs, something you would see when theyre being preyed on. Once in awhile Ill see that. More often Ill hear a guy tell me how he shot three times at a tom, though. I cant help wondering if the carcass I saw was just THOSE leftovers, a cripple that a predator finished. Id say the birds are there, but getting progressively tighter lipped. I can tell you this much, anyone wanting to shoot a late season coyote ought to include a loud box call to his arsenal...
Bill, I agree with you 100%about the coyotes. I dont think they kill alot of adult turkeys. Like you say, they are aware of the coyotes and may be less vocal. They are also aware of more humans in the woods. I know alot of guys that walk around in the evening yappen on their turkey calls hoping to hear a gobble. They call this roosting a gobbler, I call it spooking a gobbler. www.pbase.com/mlo3135127
__________________
My site: www.pbase.com/mlo3135127 & www.wildturkey.smugmug.com & www.yessy.com/mlo3135127
Here in western ny the cold weather played a big part, numerous times I roosted birds only to have them not make a peep in the morning, I couldn't understand it. All around it was a below average season for most, it seemed like there were more hens than males, there probably were. Everything around here was lip locked for most of the season with the exception of about 8 nice days all month, I know I took the whole month off work. Hopefully the DEC see's the poor harvest results and pushes the season back two weeks, but I won't hold my breath for it.
I am from MA but hunt on leased land of a club I belong to.
We (the family) hunt turkeys on a piece in Slatersville. Was able to go out there twice for a couple days each time during the turkey season. Heard maybe a couple gobbles, after each gobble a hen would come in and take him away. Friends/locals that belong to the club say it was the worst hunting season they have ever had. Usually tons of turkeys are killed by the club members, maybe five at the most were killed by a group of 300 or so. That indicates a bad season by any standards. They found it was a waste of time to hunt turkeys, so they went walleye fishing at Lake Cayuga.
The locals say that a bad season is usually followed with a great season. Hopefully that holds true for next year.
Hunted in Greene County, spent 7 days in the woods scttered over the fist and third weekends. Spoke to a bird or 2 or 3 everyday. Called 2 in at 50 yds but could not get a shot off. The rest hung out of site gobbling but would not budge. Tried every trick in the book and could not get them to come in. I did see a good number of lone hens and actually faced off with 2 before they stole Tom!!
NY turkey season
