Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

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backstraps
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby backstraps » Thu May 10, 2018 1:36 pm

Congrats to all the killas lately!!!! evanszach,Dan, JM, Ack and buddy

I have been so very busy lately that I have not punched a single tag this season. Was able to get out a couple days and get a couple to my daughter, which is always the very best hunts for ole dad.

Hoping to get out this weekend.. season is winding down here and coming to a close Sunday.

Good luck to all the BEAST still giving chase to the ole chickens


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stash59
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby stash59 » Thu May 10, 2018 3:37 pm

After the rain broke I decided to do an easy short afternoon hunt. But on my way to the spot I had picked. I saw a small group of birds on a field heading for public. It was a quick glimpse, but a couple looked good sized and really dark backed. So change of plans. I'd seen birds there before and had cyber scouted the area thoroughly. As well as roosting a bird on the public a couple nights ago. So I had a plan.

I took the round about way in on the edge of a marsh. Started calling as I neared the spot I had picked out cyber scouting. Called abit as I moved away from the area I had seen the birds. Found a large diameter tree that offered a good view, set up and called again. Then went quiet.

About 20 minutes later I see a bird. I was facing NW and it was cloudy when I set up. Just before the bird showed the sun peaked out. I tried to get my gun up as the bird went behind a tree. But it must have caught my movement. Helped by the sunshine. Never got a great look at it's breast. It for sure wasn't a tom, but may have been a jake. It stayed well out of range and headed away from me over the hill. Don't know if any other birds were in tow.

I moved a couple of more times and called a little from each spot. Nada. Did a little scouting loop when I headed out at 6:30. Yes that was early but I was already wore out and wanted to beat darkness to make walking easier. Bumped a bird near the field edge. Didn't look like a tom. It took flight and I'm pretty sure it flew all the way across the marsh. Took my sore body over an hour to get back to the car.

For my physical condition and limited boots on the ground scouting I consider this hunt a huge personal success.

Sorry for the long post, but this may turn out to be my best hunt for the year. Chronic Lyme sure makes things more complicated. Hope I'm up for an easy hunt someplace tomorrow.
Happiness is a large gutpile!!!!!!!
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby Evanszach7 » Thu May 10, 2018 10:59 pm

We passed a Jake yesterday, but Ava came home with a piece of her target buck. Gonna be a fun season!

https://instagram.com/p/Bik4G_ABNVe/
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Jackson Marsh
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Fri May 11, 2018 12:32 am

Nice find evanszach!
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby Bigburner » Fri May 11, 2018 6:31 am

passed on two Jakes this morning. My seasons over. I have a RX fire to do with MD state tomorrow so that's that. Good luck to everybody out there grinding it out.
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backstraps
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby backstraps » Fri May 11, 2018 1:09 pm

Evanszach7 wrote:We passed a Jake yesterday, but Ava came home with a piece of her target buck. Gonna be a fun season!

https://instagram.com/p/Bik4G_ABNVe/



Good stuff man! Hope lil miss Ava can get a chance at him this fall :clap:
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby stash59 » Fri May 11, 2018 3:42 pm

Jumped a bird within 60 yards of the car, from some shattercane. Flew straight away from me way across the road. Didn't look like a tom.

Heard a bird gobble a couple times spread out through the afternoon. Across the marsh. Gonna rain tomorrow, so gonna sit it out and make a pot of grub. Might drive around and even try roosting something if it's not too windy.
Happiness is a large gutpile!!!!!!!
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby Cuzzinfish » Sun May 13, 2018 5:30 am

Bagged my first gobbler this morning on my third hunt. I set up in an area where I had 5 roosted within earshot on Tuesday. This morning? Only one bird could be heard, and he shut up before I had a chance to move on him.

After giving the spot about 1.5 hours, I decided to make a big loop around to see if I could spark up another gobbler. I had two responses but they wouldn’t give me anything more than that. So, frustrated and time-limited, I decided to get in the truck and hit a few spots to see if I could hear one from the road. Wouldn’t you know it? The very last spot I was going to try and the first time I’ve ever stopped in that area, I had two gobblers respond.

I gather up a decoy, my license, gun, and a shooting stick and head toward the nearest bird (about 150 yards). It was in a small clearing I only found because I checked On-X maps after the birds responded. As I got to the edge of the clearing I saw the wings of a turkey flutter as it walked out the other side. Knowing I couldn’t have spooked it, I hit my mouth call and got an immediate response.

The clearing wasn’t much bigger than a baseball infield with a small rise in the middle. So I placed my decoy on the rise and set up on the West side of the clearing and called. He hammered back again a little further away.

After a couple more calls I knew he had hung up. So I waited 15 minutes and moved to the north end of the opening and called the opposite way (like a hen turning the other direction) and he hammered. I answered back on top of his gobble and he hammered again. So I shut up again for about 10 minuteS.

I moved to the East side of clearing and set up under shaded apple tree with some dead grass stems between me and my decoy. I called real soft and nothing. So I called a little louder and BOOM. He’s within 50 yards.

I pause for a couple minutes and then I see heads bobbing through the grass in the clearing. Not seeing the Tom I make one more call and he hammers again. This time I see the top of his fan just over the rise, facing my decoy.

I let him take another 4 or 5 steps and let the Mossberg eat. My only regret is not picking up spring gobbler hunting sooner. Oh well, we all have lives, right?

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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby stash59 » Sun May 13, 2018 6:26 am

8-)
Cuzzinfish wrote:Bagged my first gobbler this morning on my third hunt. I set up in an area where I had 5 roosted within earshot on Tuesday. This morning? Only one bird could be heard, and he shut up before I had a chance to move on him.

After giving the spot about 1.5 hours, I decided to make a big loop around to see if I could spark up another gobbler. I had two responses but they wouldn’t give me anything more than that. So, frustrated and time-limited, I decided to get in the truck and hit a few spots to see if I could hear one from the road. Wouldn’t you know it? The very last spot I was going to try and the first time I’ve ever stopped in that area, I had two gobblers respond.

I gather up a decoy, my license, gun, and a shooting stick and head toward the nearest bird (about 150 yards). It was in a small clearing I only found because I checked On-X maps after the birds responded. As I got to the edge of the clearing I saw the wings of a turkey flutter as it walked out the other side. Knowing I couldn’t have spooked it, I hit my mouth call and got an immediate response.

The clearing wasn’t much bigger than a baseball infield with a small rise in the middle. So I placed my decoy on the rise and set up on the West side of the clearing and called. He hammered back again a little further away.

After a couple more calls I knew he had hung up. So I waited 15 minutes and moved to the north end of the opening and called the opposite way (like a hen turning the other direction) and he hammered. I answered back on top of his gobble and he hammered again. So I shut up again for about 10 minuteS.

I moved to the East side of clearing and set up under shaded apple tree with some dead grass stems between me and my decoy. I called real soft and nothing. So I called a little louder and BOOM. He’s within 50 yards.

I pause for a couple minutes and then I see heads bobbing through the grass in the clearing. Not seeing the Tom I make one more call and he hammers again. This time I see the top of his fan just over the rise, facing my decoy.

I let him take another 4 or 5 steps and let the Mossberg eat. My only regret is not picking up spring gobbler hunting sooner. Oh well, we all have lives, right?

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https://s7.postimg.cc/v0upzbbbv/AAEA866 ... 1313_E.jpg
Happiness is a large gutpile!!!!!!!
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Jackson Marsh
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Sun May 13, 2018 9:15 am

Congrats cuzzinfish! ! :clap: :clap:
brkissl82
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby brkissl82 » Wed May 16, 2018 11:17 pm

How u wisconsin boys been doin? Heard a lot of gobbles and toms responding to calls first 2 season. Last weekend i think i heard 1 gobble all weekend even from the roost.
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strutnrut716
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby strutnrut716 » Thu May 17, 2018 1:43 am

Just finished week 4 here in WI. I took my 71 year old uncle all 7 days, ending yesterday. This was in Northern Wis. in zone 4 (I would have posted more but its remote with limited cell coverage). We both had tags but I tried like heck to have my uncle harvest a gobbler but it didn't happen.

HOWEVER, this was a very action packed hunt with non stop early morning gobbling. The snow is finally gone. The area we found has been overrun with ATV's and motorcycles on the logging roads. But, we never saw another hunter so we had the place to ourselves. The vehicle activity didn't seem to blow the birds out of the area.

In a nutshell, gobbling would start off the roost each morning about 510am. Most days gobbling would last until about 9am and then would shut down completely. We chased em hard and of the 7 days, 5 days we got within 80 yards of roaring gobblers. Two of the times that distance was 40-50 yards but it was tough with two of us. I would drop back like a hen going the other direction but that never worked. If it was me alone I would have tried to get closer and "snipe" them but I thought that would be a little unsafe with my uncle nearby. If a gobbler walked away , we had many more options on other gobbling birds. It was this fact alone that made this past week a truly memorable one.

We tried mid-day hunting (9am to 1pm) but had no luck at all. Each night we hunted then roosted but only got one real close good roost in. The next morning, I thought we had it figured out. Got in clean and had the birds in the trees 64.5 yards away. And yep, they flew down but escaped out the other side of the woodlot from us.

So bottom line is I think gobblers were very much henned up. Learned a ton about the area and gobbler movement after flydown that will help in future years.

Back down here for a needed one day break and then will hunt zone 2 in this 5th week and then back up north for week 6.

Good luck to all....
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby Tempy » Fri May 18, 2018 10:41 pm

Shut down here in PA, haven't heard a morning gobble since Monday :cry: had one gobble twice last night but 2 vehicles parked there this morning. What a frustrating year for me
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby northeast beast » Tue May 22, 2018 10:38 pm

I managed to put one down in NY...4th hunt lihhtbcalling...zero!!! Gobbles...these birds by me this year are not acting right. Hardly any gobbling in the roost or the ground. Any suggestions I'm hitting the big timber this weekend and I haven't been all season....hoping they are a little lonely and want to cooperate
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Re: Spring 2018 Live From the Field Turkey Reports!

Unread postby Ack » Fri May 25, 2018 8:50 pm

Not quite live as always with me. :oops: But whatever.......killed a solid MI bird the other day......

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