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Levee Jumper

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Got up at 2:15, drove an hour and fifteen minutes, snuck in fairly tight to a roosted bird that was solo and ready to die. He gobbled the few times I called and pitched down to about 80 yards. I went quiet on him and he was slipping toward me looking and stopping to strut. Hear something behind me to my left.... some doofus was walking straight toward the turkey like Elmer stalking a rabbit. Gobbler stopped putted a couple times and he was gone... guy proceeds to set down and starts calling. It was so bad it was almost like a bad dream.

I stormed out of there breaking every stick and log I walked by stopping to ask the guy if he thought he could just walk up to a turkey in the open woods.
 
I feel you. I'm happy I have some private land to hunt now. I'm not scared of the challenge of smart, pressured, public land gobblers. But it isn't enjoyable to me to put up with googans and idiots that some even shoot at movements or sounds.


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After today, most of the jack wagons will stop. You'll have a few but most of those are pretty good hunters. I had a hilarious encounter yest, but the guy was really good about it once he saw me and run the other way trying not to mess me up anymore. Just hang with them and good luck bud.
 
Levee Jumper":1i1pwu9l said:
Got up at 2:15, drove an hour and fifteen minutes, snuck in fairly tight to a roosted bird that was solo and ready to die. He gobbled the few times I called and pitched down to about 80 yards. I went quiet on him and he was slipping toward me looking and stopping to strut. Hear something behind me to my left.... some doofus was walking straight toward the turkey like Elmer stalking a rabbit. Gobbler stopped putted a couple times and he was gone... guy proceeds to set down and starts calling. It was so bad it was almost like a bad dream.

I stormed out of there breaking every stick and log I walked by stopping to ask the guy if he thought he could just walk up to a turkey in the open woods.
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That's been my weekend, I've been set up on gobbling birds on the roost both mornings and someone gets between us hammering his calls. This morning was probably my fault I was first there and as I was walking in 2 trucks pull in. I should of waited I had a spot I was pretty certain birds would be but it's close to the entrance but I went in anyway and set up well they started gobbling about 100yds away and he went right between us on the down ridge side yelping and throwing everything he could at the gobbles.
 
I've been overrun with Kentuckians. They can come cross the border and buy our license to hunt early but we can't buy theirs to hunt better quality public ground, go figure.
 
I first read the title as 'Public Land Snuggles'. And then laughed out loud because I had folks snuggling me all weekend!!!
 
That can be terribly frustrating and precisely why I spend the money to hunt private land. Anyone that's hunted public land has stories of botched hunts including me. Sorry this happened and I hope for better success next time.
 
It's part of it. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but some of what these people pull make me question what the hell im doing considering the close quarters, camo and loaded guns situation.
 
I almost don't bother hunting them off the roost on public land. Bird I missed last year was at 2pm. Killed one today at 11:30 that interrupted my nap..

I like working the hardwood edges of the googan fields..


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I feel your pain. I took my daughter to public land for juvenile last weekend. We got there early and set up on a bird we knew was there. We were half way there and a truck comes hauling in and parks right near our spot. Then a little after daylight another truck comes in. We slowly move to another spot and see a tom with hens. Then the occupants of the truck that flew in run down and cut us off. We go the opposite direction in hopes the birds turn. We get set up and they are slowly coming. Then the tom acts like he sees something. The boy takes a hail Mary shot and misses. The turkeys all take off. They walk out in the filed look where he was and then go to the truck and leave. Public land can be frustrating.
 
I knew AEDC was gonna be crowded so I went to my private land spot. Get there and somebody has a blind set up. Turns out he had permission too so I leave and head to AEDC

Since that was the birds I roosted the night before, I had no clue where to go. So after running in to 3 different hunters, I just went home
 
Lol that's the general turkey hunter for ya... I got to my spot at 2:15 on opening morning and someone was already parked down the road from me


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timberghost3591":1lbzb5qv said:
After today, most of the jack wagons will stop. You'll have a few but most of those are pretty good hunters. I had a hilarious encounter yest, but the guy was really good about it once he saw me and run the other way trying not to mess me up anymore. Just hang with them and good luck bud.
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I hope you are right but i have my doubts. This Virus has a bunch of folks at home and many out of work. I work for Nissan corporate and can work from home. Our plant guys are not so lucky. Most are out of work. Now the good thing is that they have a job when they open back up, but that is still to be determined. The silver lining is a lot of them hunt, so while I don't know what their pay situation is, they can at least hunt pretty much everyday. I'm gonna guess a few of them hunt public land as that may be all they have. it has been more crowded than normal. Sunday I had to leave and go to my land due to too many people. Its nice to own land but the birds don't seem to get there until last 1/2 - 1/3 of the season.
 
I feel for you guys in TN. I'm a public land novice, but in my experience, the turkeys are as easy to kill on public as anywhere. It's just a lot harder FINDING one and dealing with the jackwagons that disrupt the hunt.

If there are any birds left, last 2 weeks of the season should be lighter pressure than normal. I hope we all get back to work, and a lot of folks (me included) need to work a lot extra to make up for the income lost past 2 weeks due to corona

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megalomaniac":qup2efhq said:
I feel for you guys in TN. I'm a public land novice, but in my experience, the turkeys are as easy to kill on public as anywhere. It's just a lot harder FINDING one and dealing with the jackwagons that disrupt the hunt.

If there are any birds left, last 2 weeks of the season should be lighter pressure than normal. I hope we all get back to work, and a lot of folks (me included) need to work a lot extra to make up for the income lost past 2 weeks due to corona

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Click to expand...


That has been my experience. you have to look for them a lot harder on public. It didn't used to be like that, but with the population explosion in the 2000's by 2010 people started to really hunt them (me included) that has really made it tougher these last few years. I simply don't have a ton of time to scout and locate birds, but when I do find them, it has been as easy as anywhere to kill one.

with the extra hunters, it will make it that much harder to find a bird and not have 2-3 idiots trying to move in on you, especially in the morning if they gobble on the limb.
 

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