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Getting Humbled this yr

J

JDUB

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So i have 3-4 amazing yrs of Turkey hunting. The kind of deal where 80-90% of the time things just went right. I have not limited out every yr as that is not important to me. I call amazing shooting 2-3 birds in 10-12 hunts. This yr i am snake bit, figuratively. I have missed 2 good birds and watched one get shot on opening day that i didnt have an angle on but my buddy did(i was stoked for him) where things just didnt go right. The first i was in thick woods and thought i was hid really well. I moved like 6 inches to get the gun up and have never seen a bird duck and run so fast. Not even a courtesy putt lol! Then yest i went in the afternoon and had a bird gobbling, came in to the edge of the woods but i never saw him, he was close though. He gobbles again and he like 100 yds so i ease up to the edge of the field and get in a tree/bush, real good cover, call and i see him gobble. Well he starts to work my way and i just got impatient. had i just sat there i feel like i coulda shot him at like 30 yds even though he had 10-15 hens with him. I jumped the shot and mis-judged the distance pretty bad. So i am now remembering that this turkey hunting isnat as easy as i thought. I did have a piss poor attitude on the first miss but now im just trying to learn with every hunt. Who else has eaten some humble pie lately? Im ready to put the pie down and have some dang turkey nuggets!!!
 
All I will say is that wide open shots in fields, etc., are VERY hard for me to judge the distance.

Was it a clean miss? I had one a few years ago that flew off after the shot, but he was only about 20 feet up. I went the way he had flown and about 150 yards away came to a big briar bush of some kind. I looked real close, and saw just the tip of one tail feather. He was dead. Just something to keep in mind.
 
Hunting turkeys will always keep you humble. They are full time turkeys and we are only part time hunters. They have been evading danger since before they were born. He ain't yours till you have both hands around his neck. Hang tough and just learn from every mistake and you will make fewer but learning never stops and that my friend is the beauty of it all.
 
Hell at least your getting some action.. I have had more days without a gobble then I can ever remember.. I limited out in 15, 1 last year and big zero so far this season... It's kind of driving my mad, I have more private access this year but seems like less birds..? Need some turkey karma


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You're not alone, this has been the toughest year for me by far, I've been hunting since 2011 and I've usually killed 3 or 4 by now and just killed my 2nd this year. Now if I was just out to kill my limit, I could have done that, but the lack of gobbling birds or even birds that will come to a call has been very frustrating. Certain days were good but they were few and far between. I also have missed 2 birds and the first one I was so mad I threw my shotgun. Second one was a 10 yard miss and I was kind of shocked at that one. I've filmed 2 buddies kill birds that we stalked and I didn't want to shoot. I had one dead to rights on day 2 of season that some guys from Arkansas blasted out of the tree right at daylight. I almost got a friend his first turkey and we would have doubled that morning but he shot through some vines and missed. Early season definitely was better for me although it was still slower than usual and I thought it would pick up, but it just got worse.

Just be glad you've got on a few birds. I know I could have it a lot worse and try to remember that on the slow days when nothing will work out. Just glad to be in the woods as much as I have.


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I can accept the misses, just really want one for the freezer before season ends. As for the clean miss, i checked all around where he was, no blood no feathers. I watched him fly strong for 200-300 yds off into the bottom, so he is more educated than hurt lol. Cat, i was hunting with my friend on opening afternoon and watched him shoot a good bird that came in off my back right shoulder. i was stuck and couldnt move but he was able to get turned, so at least i got watch one go down.
 
I've been living on Humble Pie since Alabama. :) After a miss and having to let 3 different Gobblers walk off because of no shot, I've still got 3 tags left. A string of bad luck and some bone head decisions have made it tough so far. Turkeys are still gobbling good though going into this last week. Been letting a few "rest" for a while now and hope to have a change in luck in these last 10 days ;)
 
It's certainly not over yet. Saw two sets of strutters with hens yesterday afternoon......


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