Jim Bright
05-04-2006, 08:04 AM
Sorry for the longs post, but hoping to get some advice so need to tell the whole story.
Got out turkey hunting Monday and Tuesday morning. Tried a public spot on the Eastern Shore of MD that I scouted once or twice before the season opened.
I didn't find any birds Sunday night so Monday A.M. I went in the woods without much confidence. After a mile or so walk along a firetrail I found a spot i liked on the edge of the road....figured the edge would be the best shooting. It was a few minutes still before legal shoot time so I let out a couple soft yelps with my box call. And to my suprise I got a reaction. A bird (i think a Jake) gobbled right away. I'm guessing he was still on the roost since it was still early. I waited a few minutes and hit the box call again. Again the bird gobbled. And this time he gobbled probably 5 times. But it didn't sound like the bird was moving. It was still roosted I think....about 100 or so yards from me. FOr the next hour this bird was talking to me and eventually worked its way to within 50 yards of me, but I never got a look at it. And for some reason the bird just stopped talking. So I waited for a while and eased out of the woods and figured I'd set up on it Tuesday morning.
I tried it again Tuesday and it was like dejavoo. I went to the same spot, set up, hit the box call, then the bird gobbled again. But only a few times this time around and I never heard another gobble all morning.
Kicker...about 80 yards from the truck on my walk back the edge of the firetrail was all ripped up --- a solid 20 yard line of scratching that the birds had taken down to nothing but dirt. They had to have done this Monday afternoon or first thing Tuesday morning. Guess I was in the wrong place/wrong time.
As an amateur, I'm wondering what any seasoned turkey hunters would have done different than I did. In retrospect, I'm thinking I should have used some decoys, or maybe moved in a bit closer to the bird once I heard it gobbling on the roost. What do you think?
Got out turkey hunting Monday and Tuesday morning. Tried a public spot on the Eastern Shore of MD that I scouted once or twice before the season opened.
I didn't find any birds Sunday night so Monday A.M. I went in the woods without much confidence. After a mile or so walk along a firetrail I found a spot i liked on the edge of the road....figured the edge would be the best shooting. It was a few minutes still before legal shoot time so I let out a couple soft yelps with my box call. And to my suprise I got a reaction. A bird (i think a Jake) gobbled right away. I'm guessing he was still on the roost since it was still early. I waited a few minutes and hit the box call again. Again the bird gobbled. And this time he gobbled probably 5 times. But it didn't sound like the bird was moving. It was still roosted I think....about 100 or so yards from me. FOr the next hour this bird was talking to me and eventually worked its way to within 50 yards of me, but I never got a look at it. And for some reason the bird just stopped talking. So I waited for a while and eased out of the woods and figured I'd set up on it Tuesday morning.
I tried it again Tuesday and it was like dejavoo. I went to the same spot, set up, hit the box call, then the bird gobbled again. But only a few times this time around and I never heard another gobble all morning.
Kicker...about 80 yards from the truck on my walk back the edge of the firetrail was all ripped up --- a solid 20 yard line of scratching that the birds had taken down to nothing but dirt. They had to have done this Monday afternoon or first thing Tuesday morning. Guess I was in the wrong place/wrong time.
As an amateur, I'm wondering what any seasoned turkey hunters would have done different than I did. In retrospect, I'm thinking I should have used some decoys, or maybe moved in a bit closer to the bird once I heard it gobbling on the roost. What do you think?