so i'm in a new area this morning, and running way late. i work my way down into the valley, find a nice place and crow a few times... Gobble Gobble... GAME ON!!!

i set up near the edge of a small ravine and cut loose a few soft clucks, another Gobble, i purr back...
YES!!! he's on the way, just enough time left.

i'm all excited because my other two trips so far this year resulted in a total of zero turkeys. but that's ok, i'm definitely going to get this one!!! he's going straight for the decoy, and i'm well hidden in a great ambush spot. NOTHING can stop me now... LOLOLOL

all of a sudden i see a big brown dog casually walking toward me from my right, on the dirt road in the middle of nowhere... don't panic, it's still ok. he's not near the turkey's line of sight yet, doesn't see the decoy, and is not making any noise. he still may just walk off quietly... i can still get a shot at the turkey to my left. i freeze and go silent... looking off to where i think the turkey will come out.

from out of nowhere, a black dog explodes on the scene (scared the mortal HELL out of me) and delivers a devastating flying body slam to my hen decoy from behind at full speed. being that the decoy is an inflatable and in fact NOT a 25 pound turkey, both of them launch off the side of the road and go flying down the hillside. Boom! Bang! Thump! Pow! Crashing into a brush pile at the bottom. a second or two delay, and then YIPE! YIPE! YIPE! YIPE! all the way down through the ravine and out the far end.

i felt so sorry for the poor dog, but still had to laugh at the unbelievable lengths the universe is willing to go to, just to stop me from getting a turkey...

on the bright side, i don't think this particular black dog will EVER attack a turkey again... the last one tossed him 25 yards like a rag doll and nearly beat him to death.

i named the place "the valley of the black dog" in my GPS map app.

definitely one to remember...

Good story! Sorry for the bad luck

That's what can happen when your hunting in your back yard lol... I'm sure those birds you are shootin are use to people, dogs, kids screamin they'll be back I'm sure...

Beware the Black Dog Indeed!!

A couple years ago, I was walking along a trail, crow calling from time to time. One started gobbling the other side of a small clearing, and I set up next to a tree. I was working the bird a half hour or so. Then, something jumps on me from behind -- a black lab with an accomplice yellow, tails wagging and tongues going. Probably got licked 50 times. Their owners, who were just out for a hike, caught up maybe 5 minutes later, apologized, and headed on their way, as did I.

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Safety note for dog owners: I ran into them a little later. The black lab, who was wearing an orange collar, came around a corner in a trail. I saw a big black thing with a little orange patch near its head, and instantly thought turkey. So it might be wise to get a little more orange on a dog like that before you let him loose in the woods during turkey season (or don't let him loose like that).

Up here in MI by the time our turkey season starts the third week of April a dog isn't even allowed off leash out in the areas where there is wild game until the middle of July. It's been that way for years in order to give more protection to young critters that time of the year.

i have seen lots of coyote up there, but this was a first for wild dogs. i suppose i just assumed the coyotes would automatically run them off, but these guys look like they have been living off the land a minute or two.
i give him credit, he went after it like there was no tomorrow. he wanted turkey for dinner!!! bad!!!

the decoy lived, btw... no holes. she will be back out there this weekend. probably get attacked by a group of lost mexican fruit bats or something this time... lol