Rare Turkey(s) sighting! :)
04-14-2014, 03:56 PM
#15
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 7,437
Well we set up where we had heard and worked a few turkeys the previous Sunday. It was a cold dreary wet Saturday for the youth opener. While we heard gobbles nothing was real close and not much answered us.
At 9 AM I got a text from a fellow mentor and his student just bagged a bird. He had them at 60 but they would come no closer. When they left the field he changed calls and they came running back. Good for that youngster. The neat thing was my buddy told me he still had one gobbling behind him. And that was a better prospect than sitting where we were. So we pulled stakes and hustled to the far side of the farm. I got to see the bird and it was a nice 2 yr old.
So John and I hustled out to that point and set up. I put my decoys out and pulled my buddies. Once we settled in I told John to pull his box call and mimic me. We did a bit of loud racket calling (my term) and at the end I gobbled. I told John once I stop you stop quick too, and then I gobbled hard twice. And we got a shock gobble not all that far away.
I waited a bit and clucked a few more times.
To our hard left this lone Tom entered the field 70 yards away. He stayed out there and this was due to my strutter. I almost didn't use it and wished I had not. But John got a good show. The bird would half strut at times and give us an occasional gobble. When I tried some different calls it just drove the bird to the far side of the field. Then it began to pour. The bird left the field to which I was going to sneak out and pull that strutter but something told me to sit tight. John saw him first. The Tom came back to the field edge with the hard rain and stood under a low pine 90 yards away. My decoys are wind sensitive. That is why I use them. Since calling did no good we just sat. Better than 20 minutes that bird stood erect and did not move while under that pine tree. When the rain subsided it did enter the field and started to make an end around approach feeding ever so slowly to the decoys to our far right and away from that strutter. When the wind blew a bit more and turned that strutter with his tail backside to that tom he started his approach anew. 4 steps forward - peck a bit and a few steps back. It seemed like for ever.
When I had him at 40 yards I whispered for John to get ready but let him come in closer. Well the lad let him walk right up to my Jake decoy to which he stood behind it. I was sure I was going to witness a peppered decoy in addition to the Tom. He stood looking at the Jake for quite some time not really attacking at all. And then he approached the tom went into strut took several steps at the my tom decoy to which he put his head up and bang!!!
15 yards. John still don't know if he aimed right but I think I coached him correctly. Not one pellet hole in the breast at all.
So it was my calling that got the bird in the field and then it was the decoy placement that got the bird to us. Over an hour and a half to do it too!
I'll load up another pic of decoy placement.
John's calling did get much better this second time out. And he does have a tag yet for the 4th season. He was extremely proud.
JW
Ps and thanks all for the comments - it was one of the most rewarding experiences ever. And the Learn to Hunt program I taught - well the comments I got back from all 10 students and mentors who attended this program at my talk......I'll be doing it again next yr for sure!
We had 10 students, 4 at ages 10 to 14, 4 at ages 34 to 47 (all women!) and 2 people at 65 yrs young!
At 9 AM I got a text from a fellow mentor and his student just bagged a bird. He had them at 60 but they would come no closer. When they left the field he changed calls and they came running back. Good for that youngster. The neat thing was my buddy told me he still had one gobbling behind him. And that was a better prospect than sitting where we were. So we pulled stakes and hustled to the far side of the farm. I got to see the bird and it was a nice 2 yr old.
So John and I hustled out to that point and set up. I put my decoys out and pulled my buddies. Once we settled in I told John to pull his box call and mimic me. We did a bit of loud racket calling (my term) and at the end I gobbled. I told John once I stop you stop quick too, and then I gobbled hard twice. And we got a shock gobble not all that far away.
I waited a bit and clucked a few more times.
To our hard left this lone Tom entered the field 70 yards away. He stayed out there and this was due to my strutter. I almost didn't use it and wished I had not. But John got a good show. The bird would half strut at times and give us an occasional gobble. When I tried some different calls it just drove the bird to the far side of the field. Then it began to pour. The bird left the field to which I was going to sneak out and pull that strutter but something told me to sit tight. John saw him first. The Tom came back to the field edge with the hard rain and stood under a low pine 90 yards away. My decoys are wind sensitive. That is why I use them. Since calling did no good we just sat. Better than 20 minutes that bird stood erect and did not move while under that pine tree. When the rain subsided it did enter the field and started to make an end around approach feeding ever so slowly to the decoys to our far right and away from that strutter. When the wind blew a bit more and turned that strutter with his tail backside to that tom he started his approach anew. 4 steps forward - peck a bit and a few steps back. It seemed like for ever.
When I had him at 40 yards I whispered for John to get ready but let him come in closer. Well the lad let him walk right up to my Jake decoy to which he stood behind it. I was sure I was going to witness a peppered decoy in addition to the Tom. He stood looking at the Jake for quite some time not really attacking at all. And then he approached the tom went into strut took several steps at the my tom decoy to which he put his head up and bang!!!
15 yards. John still don't know if he aimed right but I think I coached him correctly. Not one pellet hole in the breast at all.
So it was my calling that got the bird in the field and then it was the decoy placement that got the bird to us. Over an hour and a half to do it too!
I'll load up another pic of decoy placement.
John's calling did get much better this second time out. And he does have a tag yet for the 4th season. He was extremely proud.
JW
Ps and thanks all for the comments - it was one of the most rewarding experiences ever. And the Learn to Hunt program I taught - well the comments I got back from all 10 students and mentors who attended this program at my talk......I'll be doing it again next yr for sure!
We had 10 students, 4 at ages 10 to 14, 4 at ages 34 to 47 (all women!) and 2 people at 65 yrs young!
Last edited by JW; 04-14-2014 at 04:00 PM.
