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Post by Woody Williams on Apr 22, 2009 3:28:01 GMT -5
Post the details of your opening day turkey hunts here.
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Post by danf on Apr 22, 2009 6:40:33 GMT -5
Got up, got the kids ready, out the door to work I went.  Got a text from Dad about 7:25 saying he hadn't heard a single gobble or cluck. |
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Post by 10point on Apr 22, 2009 6:49:37 GMT -5
Couldn't go this year. It's my daughters b-day and she wanted me to stay home. I will be leaveing tonight. Saw a hen on the way to work. I have only seen 1 turkey in five years down from our neighborhood and I see one today of all days.
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Post by bowonly on Apr 22, 2009 9:03:32 GMT -5
Well my morning started with a stolen blind that I put up at 2:30 yesterday on posted land!!!!
Heard 3 different birds going crazy on the roost....then shup up after fly down...
Saw 11 hens, a few no more then 10 yards....then 3 jakes came in silent to about 15 yards... all had about 1 inch beards....
Great morning, just wish my blind didn't get stolen!!!!
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Post by dadfsr on Apr 22, 2009 9:32:45 GMT -5
I think my text was more along the lines of "somebody ran a turkey vacuum thru"...I didn't even see a deer and that is highly unusual. Gotta get back to work |
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Post by bomonster on Apr 22, 2009 9:41:31 GMT -5
Got up and out early, got to the spot and had some company. Someone's truck in the lane I walk down, got to my blind set out the jake decoy and waited till the sun started to come up. Had gobblers on all sides, couple hens came in taking a look at the decoy about 8:20am about 8:40 I have a tom come in to about 100yards then all the sudden everything took to the air. The guys truck in the lane was hunting the next woods over and decided it was quitting time and scared off the birds and walks right thru my set up. Guess I'll go out this afternoon.
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Post by larryhagmansliver on Apr 22, 2009 10:11:48 GMT -5
Got up and out early, got to the spot and had some company. Someone's truck in the lane I walk down, got to my blind set out the jake decoy and waited till the sun started to come up. Had gobblers on all sides, couple hens came in taking a look at the decoy about 8:20am about 8:40 I have a tom come in to about 100yards then all the sudden everything took to the air. The guys truck in the lane was hunting the next woods over and decided it was quitting time and scared off the birds and walks right thru my set up. Guess I'll go out this afternoon. quitting time at 8:40? Wow! I've heard of lazy but.... |
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Post by firstwd on Apr 22, 2009 10:42:17 GMT -5
Not the first sound this morning. I heard a couple of shots in the 1 to 2 mile range away, but that was it. Did this cold snap shut them down? Weather will be warming up the rest of the week, hopefully they will come out and play again.
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Post by hornzilla on Apr 22, 2009 11:32:49 GMT -5
At the woods at 5:45, in the woods where I wonted to be at 6:05. Heard 5 differeny birds start talking about 6:40.
First bird a hen pitched down about 75 yards from me, then 2 more hens, about 5 min. Later 2 toms there hit the ground and started my way.
7:10 dropped the hammer one the largest bird about 25 yards. The numbers 27lbs, 27mm spurs and a 12 1/2 inch beard. Great first mornin.
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Post by swilk on Apr 22, 2009 11:38:58 GMT -5
My spot was alive with birds .... starting 30 minutes before light there were gobbles as far as I could hear.
I snuck into within 150 yards of several birds on roost. Gave a few soft yelps to let them know I was there. They stayed on roost for a loooong time. As they began to fly down I gave some aggressive cuts and then a few soft purrs.
6 longbeards came trotting along with another handful of jakes and hens behind them .... the closest one got to 50 yards or so .... the spot I was sitting was very open so I decided to get 'em while the getting was good.
Not a huge bird. 2 year old. 20mm spurs. 21lbs.
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Post by Decatur on Apr 22, 2009 11:39:20 GMT -5
Grats Hornzilla!!
That sucks Bowonly!
I had them shut down on me in MI one year due to a cold front. They got back to normal when the weather did,.... the day I came home. :-(
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Post by smshinall on Apr 22, 2009 12:11:16 GMT -5
I just got home from my first ever turkey hunt (by myself...)
I woke up at 4:15 and started getting ready, my stuff was packed last night and I had everything layed out. I ended up taking my time (a little longer than expected). I miscalculated the drive time there and I got to my area and as soon as I got out of my truck I heard at least 4 gobblers sounding like thunder in the nearby woods. I went to setup and decided to switch my blind location at the last minute ( huge mistake). They gobbled from about 5:45 when I got there till 6:20 and then I heard them all fly down. I ended up seeing no turkeys at all, but I did see a cardinal fight and 3 really mature does along with some hellish coyote howls and barks which in turn made all the toms sound off. Definetly a learning experience. I'm ready to go tomorrow though. I would of setup closer but it was a different land owners property and I don't want to step on no toes and plus it was getting light out already a little.
Lessons learned today:
Get there EARLY
Be more quiet
Try to roost them the night before and plan ahead and STICK TO THE PLAN
Don't take too much stuff (I took way too much stuff today, I am going back to the basics tomorrow with the exception of my camera and tripod)
Get their attention while they are roosted.
Put decoys where THEY can see them.
If you diapghram call seems messed up in any way, do NOT attempt to use it to call a bird in, you will sounds like a coyote - mouse hybrid with a cold, Wait till you are out of the field.
I learned a few other things too but these are the main ones.
I will get my first bird this year.
It will be with my bow.
And I will get it on tape.
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Post by drs on Apr 22, 2009 12:12:15 GMT -5
On our opening day of Turkey season, here in Ky, I only got a 35 pound Coyote.  My Brother got a Jake that afternoon, but I've yet to see ANY turkeys while hunting. I hear gobbling but they are far away. I don't think Turkey hunting is my Sport. |
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Post by crazybuck on Apr 22, 2009 12:36:08 GMT -5
I heard 4 birds. I circled around one and moved in on the edge of his strut zone. He came close but I never did see him. He was so close that I heard him drumming. I thought sure this was the day. Maybe tomorrow.
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Post by Woody Williams on Apr 22, 2009 13:46:54 GMT -5
Woodmaster and I doubled on longbeards this morning. He with his X Force and me with 'Ol Betsy. He got to take the first shot, but thought that he was NEVER going to trigger his release. We were in side by side pop ups. More later.. after I have a well deserved nap.  BTW - Our taxidermist is great at taxidermy, but not much on picture taking. He cut the gobbler's heads off.   |
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Post by varmint101 on Apr 22, 2009 13:55:58 GMT -5
I got a call Thursday that I could hunt the property I had previously hunted. I hadn't been there since I killed my bird last year.
Went out at 0 dark 30 and the field hadn't been mowed. Gobblers were still where they always were. Decided to just go ahead. Put my decoys out and got setup with my bow.
Gobblers were just going NUTS. I had 4 of them come in. 3 toms and a jake. They stopped at the edge of the woods they came out of and just hammered for about 45 minutes back and forth about 100yds out from me. Then they ambled off. I'm convinced since they didn't see the decoys because of the grass that they just didn't want to come across the field.
So, I picked up my stuff and start to run n gun clucking as I went. I clucked and boom there was a gobbler CLOSE. I yanked out a decoy and ducked in the pine trees. He started coming and stopped. Then another was coming in fast from my left. Then another one coming in straight behind me! Then I hear it. chalk chalk chalk. DANG HENS! Here come two hens. The gobblers promptly took notice of the live hens and took off. Rats.
Thank ya Lord for the good morning! Got out about 10 to go back to work. Can't wait for tomorrow morning. Going to just setup up REAL close to the roost. Short grass there. Will either spook'm or kill'm!
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alan
Junior Member
Posts: 28
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Post by alan on Apr 22, 2009 17:49:04 GMT -5
Hey now, My first Turkey hunt was a blast! Started off at Painters Creek Boat ramp at Lake Patoka at about 4:00am. When it's dark the trees all looked the same ......I know where they were roosting but at about 6:23 I realized I had overshot my location.....I was confused but heard Toms gobbling from the trees and decided to approach the ones I could hear.......that was a mistake as the roosting Toms saw my boat approaching and I bumped three of them off their roost...sounded like helicopters over my head. Lesson learned, it's tuff approaching Toms from a boat. I think I'll stick w/ land hunts  I didn't take a Tom but did talk w/ one for about 20 minutes but he was not comeing back in my direction.....it was FUN! Very valuable experience. Unfortunatley the Toms I bumped were literally on the lakes edge....there really was no land to work them from , even if I had snuck up on them....just some shoreline and as you know the woods are fairly thick so I'm hopeing to take one on my buddies farm in KY. Should be easier than the lake approach but still worth the experience......they really had my cage rattled when they took off over me. Turkey hunting RULES!! Thanks for the stories and letting me share. |
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Post by firelt72 on Apr 22, 2009 18:06:01 GMT -5
Cool and windy....1 bird gobbled twice on a different property......Nothing the rest of the day.
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Post by firelt72 on Apr 22, 2009 18:11:42 GMT -5
Woody...I just figured the heads were so mangled that this being a family friendly site he was trying to save you some PR work...Or maybe you were hunting guillotines .... |
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Post by hp on Apr 22, 2009 20:30:14 GMT -5
Didn't take a bird,but had a really good hunt. Was set up at 545 not real sure when the first gooble came,I let him know i was there and wanting to"Play the Game"It gets light and i look over my shoulder to see 2 birds roosted in a tree not 50 yds away, they pitch down and come in to the rear and got REALLY CLOSE,(I'm sayin feet). I couldn't tell what they were.Long story short 1hr later i had another hen come in to the side of me and busted me. I never really like hunting in one of those tent blinds but after sitting in the thing over the weekend on a youth hunt i think i'll stick with it, you can get away with sooooo much more!!
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My Brother got a Jake that afternoon, but I've yet to see ANY turkeys while hunting. I hear gobbling but they are far away. I don't think Turkey hunting is my Sport. 
