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Humbling end to the season for me

S

Setterman

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It looks like I'll wrap up the year with one TN tag remaining, first time ever but it's alright. The past two weeks have been brutal. I cannot find a workable bird to save my life. Very little roost gobbling, and ground gobbling is non existent. I've let two birds walk because they never made a peep and just showed up in full strut which is not what I'm looking for.

Before this slow down the birds had been crazy vocal and it's been a great season. Maybe Twra will let me roll over the one tag so next year I get 5 :rotf:
 
Awwwwwww......it ain't that bad is it? I'd be willing to bet you had plenty of success in other states, which should make that tag a lot easier to swallow.

cowhunter71":30vheged said:
Come on up. I'll let you borrow a tag
Click to expand...
On the other hand, you could donate your last tag to poleaxe so he and ch71 could go out with a bang, and finish with a double! :)
 
Sounds like your late season is my early season. I've been able to get on some birds recently, even had some fired up like crazy. But thanks to my A+ shooting skills, I missed one on Sunday morning, so I also have one tag left. Going to try this weekend to fill it, but not getting my hopes up. Should be another great weather weekend. If I don't fill my last tag then it's entirely myself to blame. I'm just glad to finally find a bird or two that will answer a call.


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Man I'd hang with it the next 3 days. Cold front coming thru and turkeys will be hammering when it clears. Birds are henned up here from what I've seen and reports from some buddies but they've been vocal

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I've not heard nor called a bird since Good Friday [emoji53]
I'm going to try Saturday and Sunday morning before church.
I'm sitting on 2 tags.
It's been the weirdest season I've ever had.
I've only heard one bird Roost Gobble all year.


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I also have 1 tag left but I'm gonna give it a good fight the last two days,it can happen at anytime.Long time till next spring
 
Andy S.":31bfpylb said:
Awwwwwww......it ain't that bad is it? I'd be willing to bet you had plenty of success in other states, which should make that tag a lot easier to swallow.

cowhunter71":31bfpylb said:
Come on up. I'll let you borrow a tag
Click to expand...
On the other hand, you could donate your last tag to poleaxe so he and ch71 could go out with a bang, and finish with a double! :)
Click to expand...
He ain't coming up here :) I'm still setting on two. Going to devote these final three days to two separate Gobblers that have been whooping me since the opener. I've got a gut feeling that they will live to see another Spring.
 
Tennessee Lead":3fesdrnq said:
I've not heard nor called a bird since Good Friday [emoji53]
I'm going to try Saturday and Sunday morning before church.
I'm sitting on 2 tags.
It's been the weirdest season I've ever had.
I've only heard one bird Roost Gobble all year.


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Click to expand...
That pretty much echoes the season I had here in MS. I hunted ~ 15 mornings and heard birds roost gobble 3 of those. I only got to "play the game" 2 of those mornings. Like you said, it was the weirdest season I ever had.
 
I'm done as well. It has been a battle with rain and schedules to work in an annual work trip up to IL. It looks like the weather is going to cooperate this weekend and that there are no work conflicts. So, the turkey hunting plays second fiddle. Last Sunday I had a bird that played well enough that I took the safety off, but, I'm pretty sure I had a very vocal hen just down the hollow go to him and stop the games. The next day I only heard three single gobbles.

But, I've had a really fun season where I got to play on the majority of days at some point. The birds won most of the battles. If it were easy, I don't think I would enjoy it like I do. Just hope that I can be out there next spring enjoying the same.
 
Until the last 7 hunts it had been really pretty good, I've worked a ton of birds and killed plenty, but this last week has been savagely frustrating. I'm not hanging it up, just have schedule conflicts and if I get the chance I'll be back after them.

Overall though the bird behavior this year has been unique as it always is and that's what continues to make this fun as well as challenging.
 
Setterman":2gwmygcq said:
I've let two birds walk because they never made a peep and just showed up in full strut ..........
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This crossed my mind again today and all I could think was "boy I bet those suckers had some LOOOOOONG spurs". :)

Like this LOOOOOONG............ :)


In all seriousness, some of my best spurs ( > 1 3/8") gobbled the least, and several never gobbled once, just drummed.

Did either of those two turkeys drum when they came in silent?
 
I get refusing to ambush or bushwack turkeys, and I get refusing to shoot one past a personal yardage limit, and I absolutely get refusing to decoy them, but I'll be damned if I would ever call in a turkey on public ground that comes in quietly strutting and let him walk just because he didn't gobble. That's not a criticism, but it's a level in the game I never plan or hope to reach.

Sounds like a great season, even with a tag still in your pocket.
 
Southern Sportsman":22ymuxy0 said:
I get refusing to ambush or bushwack turkeys, and I get refusing to shoot one past a personal yardage limit, and I absolutely get refusing to decoy them, but I'll be damned if I would ever call in a turkey on public ground that comes in quietly strutting and let him walk just because he didn't gobble. That's not a criticism, but it's a level in the game I never plan or hope to reach.

Sounds like a great season, even with a tag still in your pocket.
Click to expand...

I'm like you.I don't care if they are strutting or not,I will shoot them!! :lol:
 
Southern Sportsman":2mqh4wxq said:
I get refusing to ambush or bushwack turkeys, and I get refusing to shoot one past a personal yardage limit, and I absolutely get refusing to decoy them, but I'll be damned if I would ever call in a turkey on public ground that comes in quietly strutting and let him walk just because he didn't gobble. That's not a criticism, but it's a level in the game I never plan or hope to reach.

Sounds like a great season, even with a tag still in your pocket.
Click to expand...
x2 if I call in a tom and he comes in strutting then I've fooled him and he's a dead turkey if I can hold steady for a shot


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Andy S.":376pl2h9 said:
Setterman":376pl2h9 said:
I've let two birds walk because they never made a peep and just showed up in full strut ..........
Click to expand...
This crossed my mind again today and all I could think was "boy I bet those suckers had some LOOOOOONG spurs". :)

Like this LOOOOOONG............ :)


In all seriousness, some of my best spurs ( > 1 3/8") gobbled the least, and several never gobbled once, just drummed.

Did either of those two turkeys drum when they came in silent?
Click to expand...

They did not and more half strut then full strut.

My reasoning is that I am blessed with plenty of time and hunt places where there are lots of birds. I view my tags like gold and just because I don't pull the trigger doesn't mean it wasn't a successful hunt. If a tag is being burned a bird has to at least gobble once to me. Just a weird internal rule and one that I enjoy
 

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