Three Toms strutting in my field today..
Turkey Hunting
2020 Reports
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Here is my 2020 spring season turkey! Shot him this morning at about 830. After having close encounters all week with having 6 toms within 80 yards in 5 days, my persistent finally paid off.
After noticing two Tom's and a hen out in a field just off the road. Brother and I drove down the road and parked about a 1/2 mile away. Knowing that there was a stand pine trees separating two field and having a trail connecting the two field. It was out goal to get to that trial and decide from there what to do. Well we snuck to the trail and was able to see both birds strutting out in the field about 125 yards away. Made a game plan to take the strutter decoy and go right at the birds. I started going and got to about 70 yards when one of the Tom's heads popped up and noticed the decoy and immediately started strutting my way. When he got to about 30 yards, he would strut then pop his head up. So I knew once he cleared the pine tree ahead of me I was gonna shoot as soon as he popped his head up again. Well for some reason I couldn't get the safety off, looked down to figure out what was going on and looked back up and he was at 8 yards. Boom!! Down went mr tom. To look down then up and see him that close was pretty dang exciting.
I did end up shooting some of the beard off, which has about 5 inches left ( did have about 10-11 inch beard) 24 lbs and 3/4 Spurs.
Now it's fishing time!
Great play by play. Set up on public land field edge. Heard gobbling early, not close. Seen 11 deer and one hen. Sounded like a hunter stalking birds between me and gobbling. Quiet since 7. Will sit some more, then scout. A long season when bow hunting. Extra time this spring.
I headed out Tuesday night to land near Dodgeville where a friend had a ridgetop and fields I could hunt. Snow squalls made the drive interesting and temps in the low 30's that night made me happy I could set up my cot next to the Franklin stove in his new Cleary garage.
No birds sited that afternoon, deer greeted me as I watched the woods from the log cabin nearby (social distancing kept me out of the cabin).
Cold start to opener Wednesday morning with birds gobbling away several hundred yards away on the neighbors land. Silent as they hit the ground. That day I saw no birds and was very happy I had my heater in the blind.
Moved onto another location that afternoon to scout. I set up the blind on a field edge where land owner was seeing them come out.
Nothing doing Thursday morning. Toms gobbled and hens talked trash-which quickly went quiet when the Toms hit the ground...They were only 100 yards up hill from me and went off with hens. 11am gave up and headed home for a bit of work I had to do.
Friday I decided to get above them in the pre-dawn as they gobbled from the same roosting area...slow crunchy climb up and popped the blind up. Quiet calling had them continuing to gobble and a few hens had a nice(?) conversation with me. Nearly silent as they headed away from me again.
11 am I hiked away from them to get ahead of them. Climbed slowly around the top of the the steep hillside to find talking toms nearby on the neighbor's land. After having a nice visit with them and hearing hens near them, I gave up since the rocks where unforgiving and I forgot my padded seat.
Back down the way I came and got lunch. Grabbed my small blind and headed up the logging road to their roosting area since none had come down to the fields and the wind was coming up.
Jake and hen decoys set up and a few calls later, I cooled off after the long climb uphill. I called once on 2 box calls and a diaphragm, finished a fine Backwoods Cigar and settled in for an after-lunch nap. Moments later heard crunching through the oak leaves...peaked out to find him coming, fast at 30 yards. Grabbed gun, accidentally kicked a box call (it seemed SO LOUD). That made him stop and look at the blind (glad I had most of it buttoned up), eased the gun up and rested it on window which moved the blind a bit...he caught that dumb move. Then my leg cramped up kneeling downhill, and I had to stretch that out...reset (after moving more stuff out of the way), waited till he had his head turned away and set up on him. He was only 22 yards away when the 3" #5's put him down. Right after taking pictures his buddies busted me about 60 yards away as they were coming in. None of them looked bigger than this 3 year old Tom. 25lb, 9" beard, 1" spurs. Biggest for me...2pm Friday April 17, private land, Plain, WI.
My brother got this bird about 9:30 this morning. He had birds gobbling from the roost and all morning until he shot. About 5 min. after he shot a Tom came in and stayed by his decoys for a least a half hour. Brother said he acted like he wanted a go at his Tom Decoy. I guess as they say, when it rains, it pours
Really slow morning for me Wednesday (April 15, 2020) morning, and we didn't even see a bird. We hunted fairly hard all day and didn't see a turkey until just before dark, but it was one that counted!! Big boy with a 10.5 inch brush as well as another 6 inch beard! We documented the day and made a little video for you to enjoy. Check it out!
Pretty dead here in central wisconsin too..lots of gobblers this morning gobbling like crazy for about the first hour...now silent...I got my bird wednesday morning so I'm calling for my dad who is 79...he missed twice on wednesday at 15 yards....to close I guess..
We had a couple of hens feeding in the grass in our decoy setup..good luck..beautiful morning.
Wadu
Displaying 61 to 75 of 87 posts
