First things first I guess, hello to everybody on huntingnet.com, this is my first post here. I have read the forums for awhile but finally decided to join. As a little background I am a newer hunter, this year was only my 3rd year to deer/turkey hunt. I grew up in a family that the most we did outdoors was cut the grass, but have always wanted to hunt inside. After settling down and starting a family of my own, and with the help and advice of a few really good friends, I started hunting. Up until this year I had strictly spring hunted turkeys with a shotgun, and had zero luck. I had seen a couple hens last spring, and two springs ago got a tom gobbling at me but blew it as he got close.
This fall while deer hunting I happened across an area in the woods I hunt that you couldn't take two steps in any direction without stepping in a turkey scratch. I decided to watch this area closely over the course of the next week or so while deer hunting, and found that a flock would roost close to this area every few days. I then set up a blind in this field and came back the next morning. I put my tom decoy about 20 yards from my blind and before first sun as soon as I made the first call I had birds returning the calls from the roost. After about 20 or 30 minutes I heard them fly down from the roost and start moving through the woods coming toward me. The flock came within about 80 yards of me and hung up feeding. I called and called but they seemed to care less about my calling. FINALLY, I made a few extremely loud calls, and I noticed a few jakes seemed to notice my decoy, and started acting more aggressive. Four of them eventually worked their way over to me, and I was able to get my first turkey ever with a bow at 30 yards!
I had noticed through my binoculars a couple really nice long-beards in the flock, and I ended up just getting a jake, but I have to admit after all of the times I have been turkey hunting with nothing to show for it, I would have been excited with a hen, and to have something now to mount, even though it's just a jake's fan, and especially having taken it with my bow really made all the hard work I've put into turkey hunting worth it. I honestly had started getting a little burnt out on turkey hunting, but am now completely hooked.
Hopefully this picture works. I have attached a picture I got on my trail cam of *some* of the turkey flock. I think I counted 24 in this picture alone.
Last edited by imabballer; 01-20-2011 at 10:00 AM.
Welcome to the Hunting forum. I'm a turkey bow hunter myself. You will get a lot of positive and negative comments. I took my first turkey with a bow. I am up to 92 birds with a bow in 12 years. I am a very active turkey hunter. I got a Grand Slam in 2005 and have all of them mounted. I have 8 full mounts and 1 on the way. LOL I am from Illinois. I hunt coast to coast every year for turkey. I cant' wait until Spring!
Welcome to the forum! That Jake fan will definitely come in handy this spring! There are a number of decoys that will fit a real fan in the rear. In my (also limited) experience turkey hunting, some Toms will be intimidated by another Tom decoy, but anything with a 8"+ beard will run right up to Jake standing behind a sitting hen. Good luck!
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Welcome imabballer!!! To Hunting Net AND to the Turkey Forum!!!!!
First of all - CONGRATS on killing your first turkey with a bow - that's AWESOME!!!
Secondly - LOVE THE PIC!!!! You leave me DROOLING for April to get here! LOL
I hope you like the website - I've made a lot of friends here who LOVE to hunt just like I do!!! Check out the chatroom too - we're usually hanging around in there! See you around!
Kim
__________________ Silence is Acceptance. "To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Team 2 Sunrise Shooters - 2012 Spring Turkey Contest
My first turkey, and with a bow!
To Hunting Net AND to the Turkey Forum!!!!!
