Turkey Hunting.....Tips/Techniques/Stories

hey 'bow, I believe the extended range is what I went too last year. It worked very well. I'd have to check again at home to know for sure. As far as talking Beretta, way out of my range, but hopefully one day. You'd crack up at my 'rig'. But its a killin' machine.
Of all my birds, never killed one past 42 yards. With your calling skills, I bet you ain't needed to kill many past that range either

that sled will be sweet for the 3"ers.....if I ever get me a new top notch turkey gun, I will be looking you and your new sled up for a little help

 

Hoosier, thanks for the words

I am not to worried about taking them, my concern is pellet placement and the amount of hits.
At 45 yards I get to many pellets out of the kill zone than in, I know it only takes one, but don't like those odds especially if a bird fly's off and ends up dropping dead.

I have changed my ammo, but this is when I found the choke wall getting thin. I called Kick yesterday, ..................crap can't remember the guys name, but he was the owner and talk longbeards with him. He stated what he would use in my Beretta, down to the load. Guess the only thing to do is wait on the choke, get the ammo and hit the range to see how the pattern goes.

 

Part 2 of post #13........My Daughter.

It was her turn to hunt, and the day called for taking the Double Bull and setting up in a narrow field before first light. This field was about 1/4 mile long between two big ridges and about 80 yards across.

My girl had just turned 9, been through the state hunter ed courses, her new youth model Mossberg sighted in, and she was ready to go.

Got set up about a half hour before sunrise, settled in and waited for sunrise. I had found a couple birds roosted up above our location the night before. We heard a few gobbles shortly after sunrise. Made some fly down calls and other blind calls through out the morning.

At around noon I decided we would pick up and head out for something else to tackle for the day. You don't want young hunters to reach the state of complete boredom, makes for a bad experience.

Just before folding up the DB I decided to make another long series of calls. This time I got out of the blind and walked around the field from side to side as to simulate a bird moving around in the field. Waited with no avail and decided to pull the decoys and blind and head out.

I sent my daughter to get the decoys and I folded down the blind. By this time the wind had picked up quite a bit limiting the ability to hear very far away. After she had 1 decoy of the 3 folded up, and I had put down the blind, I heard a gobble just on top of the ridge where we were. Our eyes met with excitment and I whisper-yelled, "get over here quick!". She ran over to me and I frantically popped the blind back up and gathered all the supplies laying on the ground in and around us. Chairs, calls, vests, guns, and all kinds of stuff laying in a pile and this big boy was gobbling and getting closer quick!

I did not have time to re anchor the blind and I was fighting hyperventilation, excitement, and the blind getting blown over. I have never been so excited in all my life. Killing a bird myself in no way compared to the excitement I felt for that little one.

As we were preparing for a shot, and I was trying to hold the blind down as still as possible with my hands, the wind started gusting.

One last big wind gust grabbed the blind and picked the back up allowing a lot of sunlight to enter the blind causing the longbeard to make one last big shock gobble right in front of us just out of the field at about 45 yards. His next gobbles were heard at farther distances away which meant he had seen us and was moving away.

I'm sorry this story does not end with the harvest of a bird, but I'm proud it ends in the tremendous success my daughter and I had at making memories that will last a lifetime.

I hope you enjoyed our adventure, and I hope to bring a tale this spring that ends with the harvest of one of these elusive creatures in the vest of a 10 year old little boy and/or girl.

 

Great story hoosier, it's about the hunt, not the harvest

"Take A Kid Hunting"

 

The turkeys are strutting, and I'm squirming..............warm days, and birds chirping, making me antsy to get in the Turkey woods.

 

HEARD THAT.......
Thinks its time to pull everything out, just to be on the safe side, don't want to miss anything.......

 

Longbeards in strut in southern In, small groups. They are itching for a fight, one month and counting...........

 

Yep, it's time for a countdown.......

I think 37 days till opener........correct me if I'm wrong 'bow.

Earlier for my kids though, youth hunt is the weekend before.

 

not sure on the exact date, need to look. Great news on the early hunt with the kid's.
Need to figure what place I want to set up at.........gobble, gobble

 

find any good turkey sign at the lease yesterday?

 

4/22 is the start date.

Yea found a bunch of sign, scratches, prints, and droppings. Use the mouth call as soon as I hit the woods, heard a reply some distance off.. made it to the first field seen a bunch scatter. Looked off in the distant field and seen 4, 3 hens and a longbeard.
Found a pretty good ambush point, but would have to have someone watch my back in the blind. While I was standing there and checking out a old deer scrap had 2 hens come up the ridge.
Property is going to be hit and miss I believe, haven't had that much time to check it out, since I just got paperwork on March 1st (my start date).
If it does not pan out will most likely hit the other farm, just not liking that drive. Need to look at a map to see how to cut across.

Going to the range this weekend to get this new choke patterned, going to use some of that new shot too. We'll see...............

First kill buys dinner.....................

 

AHhhh.. Turkey season is two weeks away. I've been fishin nonstop. Its about time to put down the pole and pick up the ol Mossberg 835. Nothin beats walkin through the woods with the sun barely comin up and hittin the owl call. Once that gobbler starts hammerin my blood starts boilin. To bad the fishin is gettin good durin that time. Hard to do both!

 

Turkey season 5 days away! Anybody's season started yet. I hope I can post a picture of that big gobbler layin on the tailgate of my truck that evening.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^I know what kind of ammo to use too..........

hope you kill a good'un........bring on the pics with a good tale to tell when you do..........

 

Went and field tested this new choke and ammo.
Beretta A391 x-trema turkey barrel set up
Choke is a KICKS GT .680
Winchester Supreme Elite Dense shot #5, 3" maker of choke stated this ammo works best.

No pic's to prove this. but have a buddy who will chime in for those non-believers.

40 yards......30 pellets in kill zone.
50 yards......23 pellets in kill zone.
Ranged all targets to get proper yardage, I know you only need one pellet to do the job, but I am getting 30% better placement than the Beretta choke.

No let's see if it all pays off....

 

haha you can tell hes never shit in the woods.
i love living in pa and having easterns piling out of the woods.
anyone hunt turks with a bow? i did it last year and its the greatest thing to do.

 

You have an early season...Ours starts end of april...Staring very very late this year for some reason...

Been hunting for 7 or 8 yrs now...only interesting story i have is last year...all year long never killed a bird...killed 2 coyotes and a bobcat...Almost had the bobcat jump on me...had to shoot it...coyotes were all less than 20 yards away...

I was sitting up against my big ol oak tree calling...I never heard a gobble but i could hear something comming my way...Thought it was a bunch of deer...ended up being 6 coyotes....probably looking for the turkey...they got real close. I mean scary close...I had my gun up just incase it was a big Tom comming in silent...and I saw them...I thought they didnt see me...I was just watching them...ugly things...then they got close...and i got a little freaked out so i shot one...They all took off running and i got 2 more shots off before they were out of sight...3in nitro mags do a number on a coyote...but they didnt kill it...wounded 2 of them...had to finish them off...damn things are out of control down here...open season on them all year...

Didnt get the bird, but got the 2 coyotes...

 

Great story kris, thanks for sharing man. Yeah, the blasted coyotes need to be thinned a little around here too. Hope you kill a great longbeard this year..........

 

Getting ready for those turkeys, I just bought my 9 year old twins their hunting/fishing license.
Indiana offers a license for youth under 17 to buy for $7. I think that is a great deal. Helps to encourage the youth to get out and hunt/fish without breaking up mom and dad.

Indiana also offers youth only hunts the weekend before the season starts.

Does your state cater to the youth? And how? I'm just curious about other states.