doetrain

Left work for an evening hunt was at my spot in 30 min. set up a few decoys 15 yards in front of me. I decided to hunt in the same spot I finished out my Deer season Jan. 2nd. Made one call with slate call then with my mouth call, one gobble then dead silence for 10 min. First thing I heard was a sound I had never experienced in the wild before "This is my first year hunting Turkey" and it spooked me good. That Tom had come up behind me about 5 to 6 ft. away and was faning and shaking his tail right behind me.I was facing at 12 o'clock he moved to 3 on my right about 10ft. away all the while eyeing the decoys from the brush we were in. I really did not know what to do other than be as still as a bush and try not to let him see my eyes. He moved right to the edge of the brush all the time looking it seemed right at me,what a RUSH! I have not felt the pump sence I took my Deer last year,it was great. These birds are a sight to behold at close range,simply awesome to watch them do thier little dance. Well I waited for him to move closer to the decoys to get a shot but he backed up turned right and moved away only to cross the field and go away from me. If anyone can give some insight or pointers to help me seal the deal next time I would appreciate it I'm not sure If I did anything wrong or if this is a common thing when hunting these birds. Back out tonight for another try. Good Hunting All!

UncleNorby

The sound you heard was the tom "spitting and drumming". It is not uncommon as it's part of their mating display.

I'm pretty sure you could have shot the bird if he was within 6 feet. It would have taken him a second or two to react to you as you turned to shoot. They seem to be in a little bit of a trance when they are displaying. But then again, he's still out there and you know you can call him in.

JW

Yep you wehre busted - just think if he would have gobbled from behind you in your ear at 10 yards........one signature a user has here = "That warm fuzzy feeling in your pants as the bird gobbled behind you!"

The bird defintely was in range. Rule of thumb on any shotgun not patterned is no more than 40 yards for a good shot and yo had that!

Again the only ting you want to aim at is the head and neck.

Now to re-hunt this bird. I would use less decoys and maybe only one or maybe none.

Welcome to the world of turkey hunting! First year? Add 23 more onto that - the Rysh is still the same and is at times more intense! The lessons learned each year are different!

but the good thing th ebird was not spooked -

JW