Since turkey season is close, I got to thinking. I've been turkey hunting 6-7 years now and have never been to serious about it. I've been probably a grand total of a dozen times. I've never been a turkey hunter thant spends hundreds of bucks on turkey gear. I started out with a box call, a hen decoy, and a 20 gauge shotgun with a fixed full choke and a handfull of 3" #6's bought at the local wally world. I used that gun up until 2 years ago and the same call and decoy until this year. In my total of a dozen trips, I've killed get this........0 turkeys. I've never had a piece of land that had a good amount of turkeys until I moved to TN 2 years ago, but I've called up 3 with my meager set up. 2 longbeards and a jake. I missed a big old gobbler, at 35 yards with my 20 guage (too far). Then, I picked me up a used mossberg 500A, from our very on Nimrod777, since my primary 12 gauge was at benelli being worked on,I got a little more serious.
Didnt have a lease due to my first year being in TN. This flat lander was in for a rude awakening, I found a piece of National forest that was loaded with turkeys in polk county, TN. I finally called up my second longbeard way up on a mountain, and I could see the hiwassee river. Heres the good part, one of the biggest turkeys I have ever seen, I called him up on a string off of a ridge joining to a T at the ridge I was on. He appeared behind an embankment not 10 yards from where I was, I got ready to shoot. Here I was 2 miles from the nearest road perched on a mountain with a big old gobbler about to be my first bird...... wrong. He got spooked over I still dont know what, and took flight. Fast foward one year to last season in Rhea county, picked up a 870 supermag and got a little more madder and more serious at turkeys and turkey hunting. Called up a jake and missed at 7 yards with a rifled down 3.5 inch shotgun, wish I had the 20 guage I talked about earlier, he'd be toast. I dont guess that is too bad, called turkeys in an average of 1 in 4 times, okay for a green turkey hunter.
Fast foward to this year. I plan on hitting the turkeys woods a dozen or more times this year. Picked up some new dekes, a vest, and a diaphram call or 2 and a slate call. I've gotten pretty dang good on my woodhaven diaphram and slate. Fellas, let me tell ya. This year is the year, I've learned more and more about turkey hunting since I've started and this year the ole thunder chickens are in trouble. Im going to finally kill my first, although my goal is to limit out, We'll worry about that when the time comes
.
Get-r-done, lets kill some birds.
Didnt have a lease due to my first year being in TN. This flat lander was in for a rude awakening, I found a piece of National forest that was loaded with turkeys in polk county, TN. I finally called up my second longbeard way up on a mountain, and I could see the hiwassee river. Heres the good part, one of the biggest turkeys I have ever seen, I called him up on a string off of a ridge joining to a T at the ridge I was on. He appeared behind an embankment not 10 yards from where I was, I got ready to shoot. Here I was 2 miles from the nearest road perched on a mountain with a big old gobbler about to be my first bird...... wrong. He got spooked over I still dont know what, and took flight. Fast foward one year to last season in Rhea county, picked up a 870 supermag and got a little more madder and more serious at turkeys and turkey hunting. Called up a jake and missed at 7 yards with a rifled down 3.5 inch shotgun, wish I had the 20 guage I talked about earlier, he'd be toast. I dont guess that is too bad, called turkeys in an average of 1 in 4 times, okay for a green turkey hunter.
Fast foward to this year. I plan on hitting the turkeys woods a dozen or more times this year. Picked up some new dekes, a vest, and a diaphram call or 2 and a slate call. I've gotten pretty dang good on my woodhaven diaphram and slate. Fellas, let me tell ya. This year is the year, I've learned more and more about turkey hunting since I've started and this year the ole thunder chickens are in trouble. Im going to finally kill my first, although my goal is to limit out, We'll worry about that when the time comes
. Get-r-done, lets kill some birds.
