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Turkey hunting newbie

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Buck_fever

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shelby forest
Im usually a deer hunter but a couple of my friends turkey hunt and it seems like it would be fun so i guess Im gonna start gettin into it. But yesterday i saw 5 hens,2 jakes, and one tom was struttin. They were all scratching and moving in the same direction. This was about 5:00(45 mins till sundown) and i was wondering if they were heading to their roost.If yall could help me out it would be greatly appreciate. Also i went out there this evening and blew my owl call a few times but no response. but the wind is blowing about 30 mph and it is thundering so i dont kno if that played apart in that.

Thanks

hunter
 
bsl said:
i would guess they roosted close by that does not mean that they will roost there anytime soon again.they may also roost there everyday hard to tell.best thing is to go listen at daylight and see where they are gobbling at.
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Thanks. Do they always gobble at daylight?
 
no they dont always gobble in the morning, :( but its prolly your best chance to her one right before daylight ! it was prolly to windy to hear one . when i try and locate one i will call (hoot call, crow call) right as its barely light enough to see in the morning and right at dark, , if you need any help with them birds around shelby forest give me a shout. :grin:
 
haha yeah there are some big ones out here. A few years ago i saw a group of 17 and about 4 of em's beards were dragging the ground.
 
bsl said:
thats why you go listen at daylight.if you hear a gobble then you know.It's better to learn where they go after they fly down and be set up there.
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thats my plan as soon as i find their roost
 
theres a roost there close. look for fairly large trees on the off side of your prevalent winds. then look on the ground for droppings, it might look like green slime, if they hit green stuff before roost.(it acts like a laxative).

then look for some open areas nearby, it could be a small field, large field, logging road, clearing in hardwoods, etc. this could be a good place to setup early morning. birds like warm areas first thing in the morning, usually south side of a slope.

as for an owl call, in 18 years i believe i have had one respond to it(but i still use it), i have had more respond to a diaphram using peacock call, and coyote howls. they dont always gobble in the morning. the first day of season last year my first bird for the year never made a sound, but snuck in on me, he was a 2 year old sentry bird. the other three gobblers were on top of the hill strutting, none made a sound except for the hens.

the best thing you could do to guarantee an opening morning bird is scout those birds and know their patterns. know where they fly down and were they travel from there, then setup somewhere close. if the gobblers get henned up you probably wont call them off, so be where they are going and ambush them. turkeys are so set in their spring patterns you could almost set your watch by them. good luck.
 
WTM said:
theres a roost there close. look for fairly large trees on the off side of your prevalent winds. then look on the ground for droppings, it might look like green slime, if they hit green stuff before roost.(it acts like a laxative).

then look for some open areas nearby, it could be a small field, large field, logging road, clearing in hardwoods, etc. this could be a good place to setup early morning. birds like warm areas first thing in the morning, usually south side of a slope.


as for an owl call, in 18 years i believe i have had one respond to it(but i still use it), i have had more respond to a diaphram using peacock call, and coyote howls. they dont always gobble in the morning. the first day of season last year my first bird for the year never made a sound, but snuck in on me, he was a 2 year old sentry bird. the other three gobblers were on top of the hill strutting, none made a sound except for the hens.

the best thing you could do to guarantee an opening morning bird is scout those birds and know their patterns. know where they fly down and were they travel from there, then setup somewhere close. if the gobblers get henned up you probably wont call them off, so be where they are going and ambush them. turkeys are so set in their spring patterns you could almost set your watch by them. good luck.
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thanks man that helped alot. they were on the side of a ridge when a saw them and my neighbor said they are roosting on the other side of it. thats where they were headed so ill get up probably tommorow morning or the next and see what i hear. I appreciate all you guys replys.

thanks
hunter
 
Well i got up at 630 this morniing and went over there again and looked around. And i was walking all over the place and still no sign of turkeys. I was so disapointed!!!! I thought i heard a turkey gobble but it could've been a dog. so I just kept looking around and decided to just go over there on my way out. So i kept on looking and was getting frustrated finding no clearings, just sticker bushes everywhere and i keep running into those freakin spider webs!!!! So i walk towards the supposed gobble when i can see this patch of green. No way!! so i keep getting closer and closer and now i can see the whole feild and no turkeys. Im just standing there looking and all of a sudden i hear a distant gobble. thank you jesus!!!!!! so i threw my rain jacket down and sat down for about 5 mins. Nothing happened. so I stood up and inched forward step by step and i spotted a hen coming into the feild. Again GOBBBBBBLLLLLLLE!!!!!! I thought i was losing my mind.....where is this turkey. so i peeped around the tree and there he was,long beard and all. Hes going in and out of strut gobbling his head off. so i looked around the other said of the tree and i see like 7 other hens and a few jakes. So before they got any closer i gto up and left as quickly as possible because i have to go to school. But heres my problem. You know how the grass is always greener on the other side??? Well it is. The beautiful green feild isnt on the property i can hunt. Its got this little old crappy wire about 31/2,4ft tall. Do you think it is possible for me to call a turkey in over that. I hear turkeys skirt fences but would it be too much trouble for it to jump over?? I could ask the guy if i could hunt there but i dont know. Hes older but i dont think he hunts. And im only 14. but he may let a kid hunt but help me out guys.

thanks

hunter
 
You did every thing correct you really dont even have to blow a hoot tube for roost we usually jus watch em and know they r in the area!!!!

Good Luck!!!
 
spitndrum said:
You did every thing correct you really dont even have to blow a hoot tube for roost we usually jus watch em and know they r in the area!!!!

Good Luck!!!
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What do you think about the fence??? Will they jump it to come to my calling?
 
Buck_fever said:
When they come down to the feild they all ready have like 9 hens with them so im wondering how to get him to like me better.
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That Juvy Bird I called in had 30 hens with him well close to 30.....I did 2 series of soft yelps and he strutted to us...maybe to get us back rounded up with the others???

Nobody will ever know!!!
 
you got what they call a "conundrum". lol

here's a couple of things you might do:

1. setup between where they roost and the field on your property, and hope they flydown before they get to you and not directly to the field.

2. get permission to hunt the field.

3. find where they are crossing the fence line onto your property and ambush them there.

4. ambush them in the evening where you saw them on the ridge.

if you cant get permission to hunt the field them try #1. get there well before daylight and get 50 to 75 yards from the gobblers roost, set out your decoys and wait. when you hear him sound off start purr and cluck sequence. you might just have a shot.

i had the same problem last year, had that first gobbler sneak in on me. i had my decoys 3 ft from a 3 strand barb wire fence. he would not come under that fence, he went back up the hill and i let out with some excited cuts. he and 3 hens came running down the hill. the hens crossed under the fence, the gobbler was reluctant but finally stuck his head under. i dropped him right there on my side. so sometimes they do cross and sometimes they dont, it all depends on the mood of the bird.
 
thats good addvice WTM. But the roost is on their property too so I either have to get permission or call them all the way across the feild to me. Or i could hope they keep coming up the ridge on the way to their roost and ambush them there. Its a small feild. About 1/2 an acre.
 
a gobbling turkey will make a law abiding hunter trespass ,, so i would go ask the neighbor if you could hunt , being only 14 might help and also could hurt , you will need to insure him that you are a safe hunter. and so on and so forth , sounds like you found um ,, good luck
 

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