Most Memorable "Should Be Dead" Turkey

[redbeard]

Thought this might be a good post for everyone that has hunted long enough to miss or screw up a bird to participate in. Here's my story.........I used to hunt this farm below the Appalacian foothills in Georgia. It was a killer setup, all to my own. Most of the time, my birds were very vocal, plus a few far off, up in the hills. I took special notice to this one bird way up above me, on National Forest land. He would gobble at the same spot for at least an hour every morning. Thru those mountain valleys, his music sang out, tempting me every morning I heard him. Well, one morning the farm I hunted was silent but this bird just kept a going. A private pasture separated him from me, not to mention beyond the pasture, up the hillside was almost vertical to the top of that mountain. Well, the farmer turned me down for trespass rights ( all I asked to do was walk across his pasture to get on NF land ) So, I got in my old truck and took to exploring. I found a corner of the NF land that met the road, parked there and took out. It took me 3 hours to reach where I though that bird might be and sure enough I got him worked up again. He went to gobblin, struttin', drummin', all the good stuff. I estimated him just around the bend and I stayed at the ready for over an hour until the silence lengthened enough to convince his departure. When I eased around the old loggin road, there was my hang up. A huge tree across the road and beyond it were the signs of Mr. Tom struttin' his stuff, back and forth. Well, I decided to scout a little and not far away I found his roost tree. Boys, I tell ya for certain, I ain't never found one before or since, but this was a GOLD mine, ceptin' it weren't gold, more like black/white/green putried turkey dumpins', at least a foot deep under this gorgeous beech tree limb. Heck, I expect ol Mr. Tom had his name carved in that limb, he'd been roostin' there for so long. I didn't need to see no more! I left outa there look for the shortest way back in for the very next morning's hunt. Shore enough, I awoke about 3 am, took the hour drive, got in those woods and hiked over hill and dale till I got to that little loggin road right above his roost. I guestimated I was about 50 to 75 yards right above him. Sittin' up at 5 am, I had a cold hour's wait for fly down time. Talk about gettin' excited, when he started up with his morning's glory, my heart nearly jumped outa my chest. Only problem I foresaw, was it sounded like more like 100 yards away. I sat there and listened and listened some more, getting more anxious by the gobble. It was a mite foggy that morn so I guess that got the courage in me up to think I could just get about five yards further where I could see better. Well, that was a mistake. I took one step and you'd thought Air Force one copter was taking off. Straight off that mountain Mr. Tom went, sailing right into Mr No Walkin' My Pasture pasture. Turned out, he was facing away from my setup and that's why the gobbles sounded further away. Never did see that bird again and he never went back to his comfy roost. Sure did miss hearing that bird every morning. Needless to say, I scraped my forehead pretty bad draggin' it all the way back to the truck after screwin' up that "guaranteed" bird.

[KYLimbHanger]

Nice story RedBeard!

I have a story when I was a young lad and first started out turkey hunting. I climbed the gigantic Appalachian mountain behind my parents house early in the morning. I didn't roost a bird the night before, but I knew they were in there. When daylight starting to break, I hooted the ole tried and true Knight and Hale owl call. One gobble right back. Yes! I thought. I moved in maybe 200 yards and set up shop with the dekes. The bird gobbled maybe 5-6 more times then that was it. I decided I would just wait it out. 3 hours later I was discouraged and hungry, so I trotted off the mountain to grab an early lunch. I wasn't able to get back in the woods till late so I didn't bother to take all my gear. I just grabbed my 870, hoot tube, and my double reed QuakerBoy. I went back to the same spot where I first heard the bird and yelped. I thought I heard one gobble but I wasn't for sure. So, I cut real loud on the mouth call. Tripple Gobble!!! Wow! At that time, I was deciding what to do when out of nowhere I started hearing something. It sounded like a coon or bushy tail running through the woods. Then I thought to myself, "Surely it couldn't be that ole gobbler?" The sound kept getting closer so I settled at the first tree within 2 feet. Looked up at the ridge and there he stood. Boy was he beautiful. His beard stuck out from his chest a good 3 inches before it touched the earth. His spurs hooked up to the sky. He stopped on a rock and exploded his feathers in a full strut for what seemed like forever. I was shaking like a leaf. I just knew he was gonna see me. My 870 started to feel like a M60. I decided to shoot him when he finally broke strut. But, I missed him. He stumbled off the rock so I thought I got him, laid my gun down, looked up and he was mid-flight with a destination to the next county. Boy was I mad. I was shooting a 3.5 inch shell and thought it would reach. I misjudged the distance. Nothing between us but Appalachian air. He was probably my biggest bird I have never gotten. It was a stupid, costly mistake. The bird was hot and alone. What I should have done was wait it out, lower my gun when his fan covered his eyes, and left him there. He would have roosted near and I could've had a nice story book morning hunt the next day. Ah well. That's turkey hunting. I speak of the ole longbeard often. I'm sure we'll meet again, hopefully in 4 weeks!!!!!!!!

[BRDNSPR]

Excellent stories ..This was kind of funny after the fact. I found a place out of my state along a pretty busy highway where gobblers were hanging out. It was tough to hear them at times because of traffic. Well I get there with a friend and we decide to get in the woods about 100 yds to hear for the first gobble. As that magical time comes, the first gobble is in a tree not 15 yds away from us. We about fell over ! Well we as quietly as we can sit down by a stump. Then another gobble,and another..Ends up being 4 longbeards all perched within 25 yds and closer to us.I was excited and worried about what would happen when they flew down.Believe me it is quite a feeling to be sitting there watching 4 gobblers on the limb gobbling and strutting. As Iam trying to get a plan in my head for what to do when they hit the ground, One of the gobblers that is about 20 yds away comes off the limb and is coming down right toward me. Keep in mind I have my gun up on my knees ready. He is coming straight at me wings a flappin..Now I don't know what to do..He lands not 2 feet from my right shoulder..He was closer to me than the end of my gun barrel !! Not sure who spooked first me or him but he went running. I tried to gather myself and shoot him but missed !! My olo buddy is there just laughing away...How could you sit down and have 4 longbeards within 25yds and walk away without a bird ?? What a morning..Gotto love it

[Strut10]

Several years ago I killed a real heavy 2-year old bird. He was one of two longbeards along with 2 jakes and a slew of hens. I actually had to thread the shot between the jakes' heads at about 10 yards to pop the longbeard at 35 yards.

So the next day I took my dad back to that spot along with the video camera. I knew for a fact there was at least that one good longbeard hanging in there. Well, the bird fired up off a field down over the hill. So we got all situated on him. And with the camera rolling atop the tripod, I gave him heck. A bit later he came picking his way in along out in the hayfield with a hen or two. My dad was off to my right about as far away as I could whisper to him. I pleaded my very best case on a slate call and on came the tom. He semi-circled his way past my dad........out of range in the field........then swung back toward him. He walked through the viewfinder of the camera so close he looked to be the size of a T-rex. As he walked past my dad, I whispered "kill him........kill him!!" as loudly as I could. Dad was swinging with the bird as it walked and he slapped the trigger................just as he swung past a chokecherry sapling. Blew the living daylights out of the sapling. The gobbler took wing for some other state...........all on film.

I took out my knife and sawed the stump of the sapling off at the ground. My dad still has it in his gun cabinet.

[WhiteHead]

guys, i'm new to this post, but yall got the best stories, keep them comin, I like to read them

[PAbowhunter4life]

Well mine actually isn't a screw up story, it's a glad to be in the woods story. Anywho, I bowhunt for turkeys 99% of the time. To make a long story short, I had 2 BEAUTIFUL toms come in to the decoys just like they were on a string, all the while I was waiting for my chance to draw my bow. Both birds strutted side by side and eventually wound up within 7 yards of me. They strutted and gobbled there for what seemed like eternity.

Well, they apparently got bored of the song & dance routine and wandered off, leaving me in aww. I never got a chance to draw my bow and both birds lived to gobble another day. Had my shotgun been with me, one of them would have been taking a shoulder stroll back to my Blazer

[redbeard]

Good story Strut, I've got some trophy saplin's my self

[MadHuntinPastor]

This was last year, my first ever turkey hunt.

My friend was taking me this year after getting his first bird on the last day of last year's season. As the dark sky began to give way to dawn, I heard my first thunderous gobble. My heart was galloping at this point. We heard two gobblers about 200 yards apart and we snuck in between them and set up. We were expecting the birds to come in from either side of us and we were pumped. After several minutes of calling, we both were startled by a third bird who blurted out a huge gobble very close by. This Tom decided to come up the ridge right in front of us. I couldn't see him coming and he just suddenly appeared in front of me in full strut. he was 2 yards from our decoys and they spooked him and he disappeared as quickly as he came. It happened so fast I missed the couple second opportunity to kill the first bird I had ever seen. My friend would have had a great shot at him, but he didn't even have his gun up. A beautiful longbeard gave me my most memorable hunt to date. Can't wait to go out this year and make a more memorable one by carrying a gobbler out of the woods instead of watching him fly out of them!!

[13littleones]

This ole hen got the best of me and my brothers 3 years in a row......

Talking about fall turkey hunting here.
You know how it works ... find a flock with a hen and some 6 month old polts and have some fun, bust them up and get all of thoughs young turkeys flying in all direction, start calling with the kee kee run, maybe throw in some clucks and get the entire flock all worked up, it's just a matter of time before one of those birds come walking in to regroup.
This ole hen and her polts would not make a single call, regroup and vanish 3 years in a row ! That just never happens!
As it turned out on one october day (the 3rd year) I had my bow with me and busted up a flock in a cedar thicket as i was walking to my bow stand. I didn't even bother trying to call to the birds, I was more interested on getting up im my stand and waiting for this big 8 pointer that was in the area. As luck would have it, I watched this hen fly up in a cedar tree some 10 yards away. She set up there and gave some the softest tree calls (yelps) you would ever want to hear, her little polts were coming from all directions without making a sound! I was amazed that they could ever hear her. It was a true pleasure to watch and listen on how she pulled that off.Not to mention the polts 3 years on a row not saying anthing! I knew right then and there it was that ole hen that always gave us the slip and some headaches..

[beardsNspurs]

I had been calling to this one old tom all morning...tryin to coax him across the river. As luck would have it, eventually he he did appear on my side of the drink...followed closely by a second longbeard. Once across, they came at me like I had em on a string. They got to within about 20 yards....and why I didn't shoot I'll never know. I guess I was caught up in the moment of watchin the show. There was a small rise in the landscape right in between myself and the birds. They disappeared behind that little knoll. I had my gun up and ready....and the next thing I know one of their heads pops up over that rise. They were a scant 8 yards from me. (I later stepped it off) I touched the trigger and off both of em went...I hadn't clipped a feather. How I missed?? I haven't the faintest idea. But I never heard or saw anything out of either of those 2 toms for the rest of the season

[redbeard]

Now that was a good 'un. Sure wish that shell had been fresher!

[maddhunter]

PLEASE DON'T TELL ANYONE!!!!!!!!

I could go on for hours but my most imbarresing one was when I shot a big tom, went out and got him, (he didn't flop at all just fell down) took him back to my setup and when I through him over my shoulder he came alive whipped my 250 pound but and flew off!!!!!!!!!
I had scrapes from his spurs all up and down my arms!!!! I only had a hold of one leag and couldn't hang on.
Scared the krap out of me, took me a while to figure out what happened. I guess I just knocked him out, that was the first turkey I had shot and didn't even think of making sure he was dead.

[redbeard]

Hey, been there done that. Once, during my second year, I'd read where this guy had taken two with one shot. Well, I had a double barrel 10 gauge then, what better than to split two for one (I was pretty turkey stupid then and greedier than now) Well, two jakes were coming in to my calling and both had thier heads dang near against one another. I figured if I aimed right between the both of them, I'd get 'em both. The shot went off as planned, yet one bird immediately took to the air, the other flopped a bit and then got airborne. By that time, I was right on 'em, not twenty yards away. I dumped that jake with the second barrel and he dropped like a dove. I didn't even bother to reload. Just started walkin' to 'em thinking how I'd have something to say to my two mentor's that wouldn't let me in on thier exclusive lease on opening weekend. No sooner than I got to that bird, he hopped up and flat outran me on a motorcross trail. It was a sight to see for sure. I learned my rookie lesson not to be greedy and foolhardy when it comes to a chance to take one bird.

[JimT]

I did not get drawn for a spring permit last year, and headed out with just a camera in hand. I got a couple birds within bow range. I would have to say those......

[JoshM]

all the writeing and reading is making me dizzy