VolHunter22
Well-Known Member
Went to Knoxville this weekend and had a couple of mornings to hunt. This is my second turkey season, and I didn't get to go much last year (4-5 times probably). So, obviously I'm very inexperienced. Last season I saw some hens, but mainly I just used the time to learn from the two guys that are teaching me everything they can about hunting. The season also had me wondering if there were even toms on the farm since some mornings were spent without a gobble after the opening weekend. Anyway, on with the story:
The first day we went and set up in between gobblers. When I say in between I mean we had them on every side. However, once they flew down they seemed to walk off. Well, my uncle (who knows the property a lot better than me since he grew up on it) had told me the day before that the property behind us grows some corn and that he'd set up near the fence line if it was him. Well, we decide to head out and before we do I ask my future father-in-law if he'd mind walking back there just so I can see the property line. He agrees and we head back. Well, we stop and talk for a bit at a spot when we hear a gobble and it's close. We back up the ridge a little bit and set up and I start calling. We get an answer so I go silent. I watched the direction the gobble came from when I hear him go Pssssttt. I look at him and he kinda nods his head to my left. I looked and there was a longbeard coming right at me. I tried to be discreet and flip the safety but he was at about 20 yards so he busted me. About ten minutes later 4 more gobblers come in. I had a shot, but it was just past the max range I'd patterned the gun at so we let em pass. Wouldn't have if I had known he was waiting on me to take a shot and then he was going to.
The next day I went with my fiance's stepdad. We set up on the other side of the property beside a field at the edge of a ridge and once again gobblers on almost all sides. I did a soft yelp around fly down time and got some answers, but either hens call way more than most people say hunters should, or there were some hunters on the other property who didn't know you don't call almost constantly. Either way, they hit the ground and the gobbles started sounding faint. We got up and started walking up the ridge. We stopped and were looking for a place to sit about 3/4 up the ridge when 3 gobblers hammered off right at the top. The best guess we had was that they heard our faint call earlier and then heard us walking their way and thought we were some hens. He instantly sat down with his back to a tree and I got down on one knee with the gun aiming at the ridge. He clucked ONE time, we got answer, and in less than a minute 3 red heads came over the ridge. This one right here died at 29 yards. My first longbeard. He was about a 20 pound bird with an 11 inch beard and 1 inch spurs. One spur was shorter than the other and he had a nice gash that had healed up on his leg.
The 3rd day they were once again all around us. I was hunting with my dad and he's had both knees replaced so I tried to take a shortcut so he wouldn't have to walk as much to get up the ridge. Well, we hit the divider fence my grandfather used for cattle where I thought it had been taken down and had to turn around. Once we got settled in and set up they had gone silent. But, I did get my first experience irritating a hen and cutting back and forth with her until she came right up to us. She came up one side of the ridge and the combination of her cutting and me cutting back had a gobbler coming up the other. Dad moved the slightest bit since he didn't know where she was and she took off.
Fantastic weekend. Sorry the post was so long, but I wanted to include all the firsts. The picture is blurry, but it's because I was excited about getting that first bird, and I think he was more excited than I was.
The first day we went and set up in between gobblers. When I say in between I mean we had them on every side. However, once they flew down they seemed to walk off. Well, my uncle (who knows the property a lot better than me since he grew up on it) had told me the day before that the property behind us grows some corn and that he'd set up near the fence line if it was him. Well, we decide to head out and before we do I ask my future father-in-law if he'd mind walking back there just so I can see the property line. He agrees and we head back. Well, we stop and talk for a bit at a spot when we hear a gobble and it's close. We back up the ridge a little bit and set up and I start calling. We get an answer so I go silent. I watched the direction the gobble came from when I hear him go Pssssttt. I look at him and he kinda nods his head to my left. I looked and there was a longbeard coming right at me. I tried to be discreet and flip the safety but he was at about 20 yards so he busted me. About ten minutes later 4 more gobblers come in. I had a shot, but it was just past the max range I'd patterned the gun at so we let em pass. Wouldn't have if I had known he was waiting on me to take a shot and then he was going to.
The next day I went with my fiance's stepdad. We set up on the other side of the property beside a field at the edge of a ridge and once again gobblers on almost all sides. I did a soft yelp around fly down time and got some answers, but either hens call way more than most people say hunters should, or there were some hunters on the other property who didn't know you don't call almost constantly. Either way, they hit the ground and the gobbles started sounding faint. We got up and started walking up the ridge. We stopped and were looking for a place to sit about 3/4 up the ridge when 3 gobblers hammered off right at the top. The best guess we had was that they heard our faint call earlier and then heard us walking their way and thought we were some hens. He instantly sat down with his back to a tree and I got down on one knee with the gun aiming at the ridge. He clucked ONE time, we got answer, and in less than a minute 3 red heads came over the ridge. This one right here died at 29 yards. My first longbeard. He was about a 20 pound bird with an 11 inch beard and 1 inch spurs. One spur was shorter than the other and he had a nice gash that had healed up on his leg.
The 3rd day they were once again all around us. I was hunting with my dad and he's had both knees replaced so I tried to take a shortcut so he wouldn't have to walk as much to get up the ridge. Well, we hit the divider fence my grandfather used for cattle where I thought it had been taken down and had to turn around. Once we got settled in and set up they had gone silent. But, I did get my first experience irritating a hen and cutting back and forth with her until she came right up to us. She came up one side of the ridge and the combination of her cutting and me cutting back had a gobbler coming up the other. Dad moved the slightest bit since he didn't know where she was and she took off.
Fantastic weekend. Sorry the post was so long, but I wanted to include all the firsts. The picture is blurry, but it's because I was excited about getting that first bird, and I think he was more excited than I was.
