A turkey's memory

**woodsman2230** · 05-16-2007, 02:40 PM

About how long does a turkey remember an incident, for example getting shot at? I am planniing on going back to a spot tomorrow where I missed a bird two weeks ago. This is a follow up post from one I posted earlier "DANG"

DANG!!!!!

I am kind of hesitant to use that call again. But there are other birds there that might respond. Im just not sure how to hunt these birds because that is the first time I have ever missed a bird, (never shot at many LOL) so I dont have much experience with how to deal with the after effects. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Chris

**toddyboman** · 05-16-2007, 04:41 PM

He will still possible remember so I would not use the exact same setup. He may be wary of your decoys and he probably wont come running in either. But you could still call him in.
If not him maybe one of the other birds you think is in the area.

GOOD LUCK!!

**LifeNRA** · 05-16-2007, 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by woodsman2230

About how long does a turkey remember an incident, for example getting shot at?

Better than me lately! LOL! Just kidding! I would think he wont forget it. But I would also think there are still ways to get him. Try a different approach from his roosting area. Use different calls, make darn sure you don't move! You just educated him more, but you might still be able to get him!

**Covehnter** · 05-16-2007, 06:09 PM

You have nothing to worry about. . . . turkeys arent good at remembering isolated incidents such as these but may if the situation happens repeatedly. He will likely be in the same place and may be willing to play the game again. Missing a bird doesnt make them uncallable or unkillable.

Couple instances. . .

2 years ago: My dad's first bird, called in 2 hard gobbling longbeards right off the stick and he missed at 15 yards. The very next week off of the same setup tree, birds roosted in the same tree. . . . came gobbling hard off the roost and he killed them both in one shot.

Last year: Last day of the season about an hour after flydown i missed a longbeard with a muzzleloader out of an old dove field. About 6 hours later he was back in the same field with a hen and a jake, he died about an hour before flyup.

**jcs3344** · 05-16-2007, 08:26 PM

i would say that you would not kill the bird in the same place. Hints like if you missed him on one ridge you might kill him on the ridge next to it but not the same one.

THis year i had a turkey see me on one ridge. the next week i set up sorta in the same spot in the afternoon and called the turkeys up. I was able to see the birds but they came up on the next ridge over way out of range. I finally killed one of the birds the last day of season on that ridge that i saw them on. turkeys do remember things. So change it up, use a slat if you were using a mouth call when u missed him or something like that, switch it up. The bird is def. still killable. GOOD LUCK

**Rhino** · 05-17-2007, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by Covehnter

You have nothing to worry about. . . . turkeys arent good at remembering isolated incidents such as these but may if the situation happens repeatedly. He will likely be in the same place and may be willing to play the game again. Missing a bird doesnt make them uncallable or unkillable.

Ditto to what Covehnter said. I've killed a bird before in the same place where another guy missed the same bird 2 weeks prior to his demise. Pulled some of the other guy's shot out of my birds breast.

nc_hunter · 05-17-2007, 11:43 AM

Two years ago I killed a bird where I had missed him the previous day. He came in faster and gobbling better the second day than when I missed him the first.....