Heard two gobbles downhill from my favorite turkey hill yesterday morning. Set out
my decoys and got ready for a very interesting morning. One gobble was long and deep, while the other was, no doubt, a jake. Called softly for a few minutes and had both of them going nuts. After about 15 min. or so they flew down. My two hen and one jake decoys were about 10 yds. to my left. I kept my gun barrel pointed in the direction of the big tom' s booming voice. Out of the corner of my eye I saw two hens moving into the decoy set up. They walked all around the decoys and one of them actually sat down like she was sitting on a nest about 5 feet from the jake deke. Then the real jake sounded off with a nice gobble and moved in on the jake decoy. He circled the jake decoy several times making a loud clicking noise.
Never heard that before. Meanwhile the big tom stayed about 40 yds. out strutting
back and forth, gobbling every minute or so. Talk about tension! My camo certainly did it' s job as I had two hens and a jake less than 10 yds. from me. Finally, after about 15 minutes the big boy moved in towards the crowded flock next to me. He strutted to within 20 yds. when I rolled him over. He went 22 lbs. with a 9-1/2" beard. This was the end of my season as I scored on a 17 lb. jake the first week. It really makes me wonder what real turkeys think when they walk into a flock of decoys. Why don' t these guys move????
__________________
Vegetarian - Primitive word for lousy hunter.
The squatting down hen was assuming the breeding posture. The jake on the jake was just tryin' to get his new friend to loosen up a bit, not be so stiff. His clicking was after he asked him to be wing man for him so he could get some action with the slutty hen, and when stiffy didn' t respond, he got a little sharp with him. Be around enough birds like I have and you' ll learn their lingo, too!!
__________________
Peace.
"Always do the right thing- this will gratify some and astonish the rest."-- Mark Twain
Snowdog2, thanks for the info. I thought that' s what was going on but I never saw this before. I hunt in Massachusettes and this area has been hunted pretty hard for three weeks, mostly on Saturday. Not too many " nuts" like me willing to get up at 3:30 every morning before work. I' ve taken two birds every year since MA allowed
two Toms to be taken in the spring (about 5-6 years), and one each year before that since MA allowed turkey hunting (about 25 years). I' ve also called in many toms for my buddies when my tags were gone. This is an awesome spot and I know the mountainous terrain very well. Knowing where and how to set up is the biggest part of success, I believe. This area is about 45 min. from my house but it' s well worth the drive. Thanks to all.
__________________
Vegetarian - Primitive word for lousy hunter.
Reaction to decoys.
