Yesterday and today, I just sat at our deer camp and listened to this bird. He's doing his normal thing after he flys down, also, he's not gobbling as much. Anyway, this morning he was within 200 yds of the camp, which I walk the last half mile to, well he gobbled twice and flew down. I thought I'd try a little experiment to see if he would follow his pattern, which is go away from the calling. I could tell the direction he was going, which was to my right, when I called to him, he turned and went straight away from me.
I honestly admit, this one has whipped me.I've been hunting this land for 27 years, I know everyslough, flat spot, and ridge, I know where the water is,etc., so the land is not a problem for me. I've tried everything I know, and I mean everything, plus suggestions from members of this forum and another forum. Anybody got any new ideas short of nuking him.
I'm just going to sit and listen for one more day. I've already got a bird, so I just want to come up with something to take this bird if it takes the rest of our season. I keep thinking he'll mess up, but I'm the one doing the messing up. I've got til May 15th, HELP!
dog1
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It ain't the killing, it's the going and doing.
You need to read the old classic book "The Old Pro Turkey Hunter" by Gene Nunnery. It is a great read, written in an earlier time. I don't know if the stories are fact or fiction, but the author was obviously well versed in turkey hunting and the stories are probably based on his experience.
The book describes a turkey that they named "Gallberry Joe". He was the dominate bird and would gobble and walk straight away. Everybody around there knew about the turkey. They tried everything and nobody could get this bird close enough for a shot. A young boy who became the protege of the "Old Pro" finally killed him. One day late in the season, after he gobbled and flew down from the roost, the young boy called to the turkey then started walking straight away, clucking the whole time. He walked fast and clucked for about 200 yards down a clean road, then turned around and ran about 70 yards back down the road toward the turkey and quicklyhid. He never made another sound. A few minutes laterGallberry Joepopped over this little hill in the road, walking and looking for the hen that wouldn't come to him. The young boy shot him at 25 yards.
Its probably worth a try.
__________________ Captain, Team 1 - The Last Gobble 2009 HuntingNet.com Spring Turkey Contest Champions
It's out of print, but I'm sure you can get one from the book resellers. Try Amazon. My best friend and turkey hunting mentor had it (he died tragically in 1999) and now his son does. I've read it twice from cover to cover and remember the story about Gallberry Joe. Gene Nunnery was indeed a master turkey hunter from Mississippi, and killed nearly 300 gobblers in his lifetime. He felt that one became a better hunter by taking on the type of turkey that you are currently hunting, even though you will kill fewer turkeys overall in the process. I tend to agree with him. He hunted according to a code that went something like this:
1. Never shoot a turkey flying or out of a tree.
2. Don't hunt out of a fixed blind.
3. Use only a shotgun or bow.
4. Never hunt over grain or bait
5. Never use a decoy - the challenge is getting them to gun range while hunting in the woods.
Mine is working better than I hoped for!.....pulled in two jakes and 2 hens today!
Read my post on the other forum.......Bruce is a rubber carry lite jake to which I added my own full fan that is mounted on a board painted flat balck to match the butt of the tail and has a removable piece of iron flat stock to which is wing-nutted so I can remove it. The flat stock iron pushes in te ground very easy - even if hard!
I poke the stake for Bruce - then poke the tail in right behind it! Adding a laying hen about 2 ft and on an angle from Bruce - is what brought my bad boy in......if I had let him...would have whupped Bruce....as that was what he was heading for....I was going to vidoe tape it until I saw him lift his leg and saw the spur!
Too much for me so I whacked him....
Bruce is my version of the Pretty boy decoys which IMO is way over priced!
JW
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Turkey Hunting! ~ One Turkey Calling Another!
Day 18, Whoopbutt has Whipped Me!
