6-8 Tom's just up and left! what did I do wrong?

Xx08NYHunter22xX · 05-01-2007, 11:07 AM

6-8 Tom's just up and left! what did I do wrong? Today was opening morning for new york and it was my first by my self turkey hunt i walked in at roughly 5:30am sat down waited about 10 minutes and called i heard gobbles in the background... wait till about sun up so i said to my self ill call agian so i did and the woods just lit up no joke i counted roughly 6-8 toms and about 3 jakes all of them were about 200yards away from me, so i called agian and they ran a little fast struting there stuff i waited (as my heart was pumping fast and almost threw my chest lol) then i stop calling sat for about a hour the whole time they were edgeing over still struting and then i said to my self i want a turkey so i called onece it was like a siren went off or suttin they all booked and sum flew the others ran i am like damn it. so how do i call and what do i need to do to get my first turkey?

thanks steve

mauser06 · 05-01-2007, 11:18 AM

if you can see the turkey the turkey WILL see you if you move. period. heck they will see you when you CANT see them. sounds to me like they seen you call and thats all it takes. turkeys eye sight is absolutely amazing. if they had the nose of a deer they would be dang near untouchable. they will catch movement very very easily..camo or not they will bust you..

and if you can see turkeys and dont have decoys you are better off to let them come in looking around..if you call they will pinpoint the calling and if they dont see the hen they are gone. ive had birds walk right to where i was sitting and stare directly in my face...he KNEW thats where the hen sounds came from. they are that good.

when i hunt without decoys i dont hunt fields or open woods. i setup so when i see the turkey i can shoot the turkey. weather its brush 40 or so yards between me and them or a ridge and they are down below or whatever...just so when they come looking for the hen i can send a load downrange...

also when hunting like that i watch my calling. once i got the bird interested and coming the calling is done. if they get hung up ill cluck, purr and scratch some leaves to grab their attention and play "hard to get" with them..

good luck...

Western MA Hunter · 05-01-2007, 11:21 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: mauser06

if you can see the turkey the turkey WILL see you if you move. period. heck they will see you when you CANT see them. sounds to me like they seen you call and thats all it takes. turkeys eye sight is absolutely amazing. if they had the nose of a deer they would be dang near untouchable. they will catch movement very very easily..camo or not they will bust you..

and if you can see turkeys and dont have decoys you are better off to let them come in looking around..if you call they will pinpoint the calling and if they dont see the hen they are gone. ive had birds walk right to where i was sitting and stare directly in my face...he KNEW thats where the hen sounds came from. they are that good.

when i hunt without decoys i dont hunt fields or open woods. i setup so when i see the turkey i can shoot the turkey. weather its brush 40 or so yards between me and them or a ridge and they are down below or whatever...just so when they come looking for the hen i can send a load downrange...

also when hunting like that i watch my calling. once i got the bird interested and coming the calling is done. if they get hung up ill cluck, purr and scratch some leaves to grab their attention and play "hard to get" with them..

good luck...

couldn't have said it better myself.

Xx08NYHunter22xX · 05-01-2007, 11:21 AM

I was moving a bit but i did not think moving my legs 200 yards away that they would see but ill stay still next time and try to get a hen decoy

tigerw10 · 05-01-2007, 11:31 AM

A decoy would have absolutely helped. The toms could see what was making the calls, and also it diverts thier attention away from you. everytime you call, instead of looking at you, they will be looking at the decoy. If a tom sees the hen thats making the calling.... he feels alot more comfortable and safe coming in. Also try a jake decoy along side the hen or couple of hens..... it will get him aggrivated, and he might even come running in to take "his" hens away. Good luck and lket us know how your next hunt turns out.

Western MA Hunter · 05-01-2007, 12:35 PM

Don't beat yourself up about it... it's all about the learning... If i had killed all the birds I messed up on and still do... I'd be a legend!

It takes a long time... i have been turkey hunting seriously for 5 years now and have messed up on at least 1 bird per year...

Xx08NYHunter22xX · 05-01-2007, 01:43 PM

yea this was my first time by my self so i was kinda nervous i guess u can call it.

r33h · 05-01-2007, 02:15 PM

I agree with the previous posts. A turkey can see very, very well and the slightest movement will send them running the other direction! If you aren't able to use a mouth call...start practicing so you are able to. When a turkey is close by, that is the only call I ever use. Also, as long as the gobbler is walking your direction, don't call....there really is no need to...he is already walking the direction you are needing him to! One thing that several new turkey hunters do that is a mistake is call way too much. Now I am not saying that is what you did, but make sure you aren't over-calling. Sometimes a gobbler just wont commit and it happens to us all. This happend to me a couple of days ago. I circled around this bird and got into position. A few minutes later I saw him coming from about 150 yards away and he got within about 75 to 80 yards from me and stopped and stared at me for a good 10 minutes with moving. Eventually he left. Sounds like you have a good spot and the birds are in your area. Just try the same spot again and let us know what happens (hopefully with pics)!

Xx08NYHunter22xX · 05-01-2007, 07:52 PM

ill be the first to admit i did call alot but this was also my first hunt by my self but ill learn i am goign to be bring decoys next time.

Xx08NYHunter22xX · 05-02-2007, 04:32 AM

ill be going out friday morning or sunday morning so ill see ifi can get a bird.