A nieghbor and I went out this morning. This is how it went. I woke up 5mins after he wanted to be in the woods, called his cell, he's there, I arrive at 4:25a. (he wanted in at 4:15a), so we start. as soon as we enter the woods, we kicked something out of the tree, we later found it to be an owl. Anyway, at 5a, we are whispering about what will happen. 5:10a, first gobble. roughly 50-60 Yards away. This bird is gobblin at anything and everything, we had crows, owls and songbirds goin, plus a thunderous gobble after each one. 5:20a, we call back, small yelp on the Black thunder Slate call. He answers, and then gobbles on his own. as our story progresses, we find ourselves at roughly 5:30 with this bird Really hott and coming...the Wrong way. We are setup with one blind spot, to my back, and his side. and guess where that bird came into. Yep, that one spot. at 5:40a, he is Thunderin and Drummin not 10 yards from my back. No one has seen him yet. We are in a forest, not too heavy in cover, isolated trees, with large open areas, we are in a clump of about 3 trees, with mosquito heaven. I, being the smart kid i am, try and get a looksy, and move. He Putts. I thought the gig was up, so i jump up, and so does my nieghbor, and he shoots twice, all we find is a broken off half piece of a wing feather as the bird flys away. Definetaly a Longbeard with no hens. now my question, even though i messed up roughly...4 times, will this bird be back this week? We till the 31st of may, and this is the second time we know of that this bird has been hunted this year, first and second time shot at this year. I just hope i didnt Mess up. This was the closest i've ever been, and the First bird I've ever called in. [:@][:'(]

He will stay in the area, but will probably be hard to call. If you get on him early like that again, use a different call and maybe only cluck once or twice to get his attention, then shut up. Good luck, keep us posted and tell us how it turns out

We only used the one slate call, with an acrylic striker. so if i changed strikers to a wood one, think he'd come in? (in general). We are going to try after him again thurs or friday, he was big, and im still pissed at myself! [:@]

I think we called to early on the roost, prolly shoulda only gave him one yelp, and not three or four, but i wasnt sure if there were any hens [:-]

md, sounds like he liked your calling,he just came in to your blindside.a different sound at this point sounds good,soft calling.i probably would of done the same thing trying to take a look but your story reminds me that patience is very important.resist the urge to move and hope he comes in for a clear shot. good luck.

thanks determined, it was both a confidence booster, and crusher, since this is my second real year of hunting Turks, the first bird i've ever called in, or even seen while hunting (gobblers anyway), so it was good till I moved. im not a patient kid, but i'll learn, all i do know is that im hooked for life!!!! I am thinking on trying the wood striker on that call, the acrylic is a little sharper, so it should work out...hopefully!

I would try something a little different. If he gave up his position again, I would try to get in as tight as possible to him. Before he flew down, I would not call, but rather I would slap my hat against my leg like a bird flying down. Odds are decent if you are close enough, he'll gobble at that. I would wait a minute, then I would begin scratching the leaves like a hen scratching. Do this periodically, but be carefull and be ready, it's a good possibility that he'll come in quiet. If you have to call, do some light purrs and clucks after the flydown, but not before.

Slice

But odd are, he should be back tomorrow? We didnt go up today, but people hunted on the adjacent property...hopefully that doesnt mess us up! Please Let me know.

that sounds like some excellant advice from sliceandice,im gonna remember that srategy,it makes sense.

MDM I really think it depends on how much pressure those birds you hunt get. I'm sure he is still in the are if the hens are still in the area. But I'd be willing to bet that he wont be as easy to call in next time. You might want to try some soft flock talk as S&D suggested...

As far as i know, only us, and the guys on the adjacent property have hunted him, and not very hard at all. he wasnt here begginning of season. Alas, We heard NO HENS at all on Tuesday, and last thursday, there was one that prevented my buddy from gettin him. Thanks for the advice guys, gonna go after him tomorrow!