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Post by dadfsr on Apr 3, 2012 12:35:28 GMT -5
You are killlin' me!!!!! ARGHHHH!!!!!!
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Post by HillBillyJeff on Apr 4, 2012 14:21:01 GMT -5
Seen this bird while driving just north of the farm. DNR burnt off one of their properties just north of me and I was having a look. Hope they didn't burn up any nests!!!
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Post by throbak on Apr 4, 2012 16:09:39 GMT -5
they didnt>> the guidelines for burns are very strict burnt areas are VERY GOOD for turkey hunting go to them
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Post by HillBillyJeff on Apr 4, 2012 16:27:06 GMT -5
Considering the large area that they burnt, I don't see how they can know if they got any nests or not. Grasslands and forested areas were burnt.
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Post by featherduster on Apr 18, 2012 16:02:52 GMT -5
bodeen: are your birds still on track as other years or have they change a lot in the past week. The birds around here are hiding and keeping silent.
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Post by HillBillyJeff on Apr 19, 2012 15:47:16 GMT -5
My birds are in the normal second week of season pattern right now. I do see some small rafters here and there, and back in the woods there is a tom that is always henned up. Not going to have a 25 bird flydown opening day like I usually do.
Just have to adapt to how they are behaving. I hope lol.
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Post by HillBillyJeff on Apr 22, 2012 12:24:59 GMT -5
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Post by Woody Williams on Apr 22, 2012 13:07:54 GMT -5
You sure are getting some great pictures.
Thanks for sharing them with us. Gets the blood a pumping..
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Post by featherduster on Apr 23, 2012 5:28:00 GMT -5
Not many hens in those photos, maybe on the nests?
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Post by dawnpatrol on Apr 23, 2012 18:31:58 GMT -5
great pics.........nice honey hole!
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Post by dawnpatrol on Apr 23, 2012 18:32:39 GMT -5
You sure are getting some great pictures. Thanks for sharing them with us. Gets the blood a pumping.. blood is circulating very good after seeing those pics!
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Post by HillBillyJeff on Apr 25, 2012 10:43:27 GMT -5
Got out this morning just a little bit late. As I am going to my primary blind, I hear a couple birds gobbling up in their tree near my other blind area. I change pace and set up there. Way off to the west I see two birds coming my way and gobbling at the two over near me that are still on the roost and gobbling. I think they knew something wasn't quite right as they shied away from me. The closest bird was 58 yards and was a borderline shooter.
Not long after the one that was up in the roost popped out at 10 yards away but was not a shooter with about a 6 inch beard. The other two were around 8 inches.
Time goes by and way north of me goes a nice sized bird and he goes right by my primary blind area. Oopsie. Farmer is out in the fields now, so I will try again this evening.
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Post by HillBillyJeff on Apr 26, 2012 20:10:42 GMT -5
If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all this season. I mainly hunt two locations. SE corner of the front 40, and the NW corner. To the north of that field is the back 40. It sits about 100 yards more to the east than the front 40. Both corners give me a bottle neck that the turkeys use a lot. South of the front 40 is a woods of thick pine trees.
I get out late this afternoon, since I had to be at the hospital for my brother's open heart surgery. As I am going through a lane that divides those pines, I see at the other end a big tom run across. I don't think he seen me, something else had him spooked. The pines are fenced, so I go see if he is doing the "can't cross the fence" strut. He isn't.
I go back to the NW corner blind since I didn't see anything close to the SE blind last night and I did see a bird go across the field right to this blind the evening before.
I get there and straight north of me is the neighbor's field, since my two 40s are offset. The west edge of the back 40 sits a giant cottonwood tree on a ditchbank. Turkeys tend to go there for a drink at times. Three toms over there and I watch as they go into the neighbor's section of the woods we share. I think I will set up shop by the cottonwood to interrupt their morning drink.
About 45 minutes before sundown, there is my tom, straight east of me walking the ditch that separates the two 40s. I am in position with just my head above the ditchbank and a cedar tree behind me. Three feet north of where I took my first tom from. I am ready for this bird to mill around a bit, then beeline it right to me to roost, just like last night.
100 yards north of my other blind pops out a huge tom. Yep, this draws this tom south instead of west to me. The big tom disappears into the other neighbor's woods to the east of my property. This other tom ends up walking the fence right in front of my other blind. GRRRRR!!!
I only have a couple hours of daylight to hunt tomorrow as I have to go to Michigan for my aunt's wake. So do I set up on the cottonwood tree to try to bust them as they drink, hope they don't have a hen with then that busts me out. Do I sit where I was (don't think I will) or do I sit in the SE corner blind? The SE blind is right where the trail camera picked up the coyote pic and the paintbrush old tom. The other stand is the in the corner across the little field where the tom with the screwed up tail pic was taken.
Second guessing is murder!!!
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Post by HillBillyJeff on Apr 27, 2012 7:50:15 GMT -5
Looks like I guessed wrong this morning. Set up by the drinking hole and over in the SE corner of the back 40 is a strutter. I watch as he comes west. I get ready to get down in the water and move for the intercept, but he crosses the other ditch and goes south. Right to my blind in the SE corner of the south 40. Not sure how close he got as I did not pick him up on trail cam. Haven't picked up anything since season started, so it might not be working right.
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Post by throbak on Apr 27, 2012 12:48:32 GMT -5
Dont know but from your post you need to QUIT Deer hunting them set up close and call them to you dump the Jake decoy,Dont set up on top of them. if they gobble 1 Time shut up let them find you
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2012 12:56:12 GMT -5
If I were you, I would set up and lean up against the tree where your dang trail camera is! By the way, that picture of the howling coyote is really cool. I have never seen a picture like that. Great photos!
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Post by HillBillyJeff on May 2, 2012 4:42:16 GMT -5
Dont know but from your post you need to QUIT Deer hunting them set up close and call them to you dump the Jake decoy,Dont set up on top of them. if they gobble 1 Time shut up let them find you Not using a decoy.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2012 5:31:03 GMT -5
Quit spot hunting. Locate where the toms are hanging our mid morning, and be there. With most of the hens laying or sitting, they will be done with the hens shortly after flydown, if they even breed any hens at all. They will go to a comfort zone and spin wheels waiting for someone to disturb them. From your posts, looks as if your sitting up in two different spots or so. I'd switch to staying high in the morning, and listen for a gobble, then get there quick, and see if you can hear where the hens are roosted. Try to get inbetween the hens and toms. If that fails, go to the above plan and hope it works.
I had a feeling, that you put too much pressure on those turkeys with daily or almost daily trips to their area to check your cameras. Next year, I'd stay out of the area until opening day totally, as long as you know turkeys are in that area. All you need to know is the lay of the land at that point.
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Post by HillBillyJeff on May 3, 2012 21:00:30 GMT -5
I wasn't checking my cameras daily. I do not have woods enough to move around and get in front of birds. I only have my property to hunt and it is majority fields. I do what I can with what I have.
That being said, I had my bird shot opening morning if I wanted to settle for a smaller bird.
I am not spot hunting. I know where these birds generally want to be and I am there to intercept them. With that being said, here are tonights results.
Turkey hunting out back, and the neighbor has a couple hunters on him. I watch some birds out in front of them go north of them and not give them a shot. I have a bird coming to me on a rope. He is about 20 yards outside of range when, zoom, he takes off where he came from. I look to the north and the hunters there are leaving. Thanks guys!!!!
On the way to the house I am walking a ridge past the barn lot when I see a gray fox in the barn lot. Haven't seen one of these in a while. He is going here and there looking in the wild oats for something to eat. I start making rodent calls and he slips out into a briar patch. I lay down in the wild oats on top of the ridge and continue making the calls lighter and lighter. I catch a movement and I look to the right and I am almost face to face with the fox as he came up out of the valley to the top of the ridge. Gotta love it!!!
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Post by featherduster on May 18, 2012 12:36:53 GMT -5
Well did you get a bird or not?
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