Just a friendly heads up on what saved our turkey season
May 8, 2015 10:31:14 GMT -5
Genesis 27:3 likes this
Post by art338wm on May 8, 2015 10:31:14 GMT -5
First off sorry no pics, still have not learned how to post pics. I am quite fortunate to have been given permission to turkey hunt some rather good Prvt property, unfortunately AFTER the IN. youth turkey season. As I had failed to get one of my boys a bird last year I started out taking him. Long story short, birds EVERYWHERE but NOT on my property.
About 400-450 yards (LRF confirmed) across a large grassy field off my property, I would constantly see 1 to as many as 4 big toms strutting and gobbling for the first hour after fly down than they would fallow the hens into the woods. Although I was good at using them, I had never had any luck using mouth calls but seeing as the wind was blowing from the toms to me, my slate could not reach the toms, I figured I had nothing to loose, so at about 12pm when a I heard a lone tom gobbling often from across the big field but still out of sight, using the mouth call ( a Primos double reed call) I let loose with a 6-7 note ee-yuk ee-yuk, as loud as I could.
To my son and I total delight, he gobbled back at me. I waited and his gobbling told me he was definately getting closer, I had two hen decoys on a nice high point, in hopes thay would help "seal the deal". About 10 minuets or so after first contact he showed up on the strutting field and I let loose with another 6-7 note call, he almost instantly spotted my decoys and went into full display.
For the next hour and five long minuets thats how it went, I would call a little, and he would advance about 50 or so yards stop and gobble and display, I would only call to get him moving again. My son was so excited he actually started to shake all over, took a while to get him to calm down as this was His first hunt of anything bigger than a squrle.
Finally after over an hour he hung up at forty yards and would come no closer, my concern that my son would loose his composure and start shaking and alerting the turkey to our presence, I told him "safety off, aim and fire" the Winchester 1.5oz #5, 12 gauge 2-3/4" magnum turkey load knocked the big tom flat, he was thankfully DRT. Quite a great hunt for my 10 year old son, and what a first turkey, a 24.5lb tom with 1-3/8" spurs and a 9.5" beard.
My second sons hunt went quite the same but much quicker, tons of hens at fly down off the roost, but no toms, not even a Jake. About 10:30 we heard a gobble from the same area and direction, once again used my Primos mouth call to get him headed our way, except this time when he saw my decoys he only took about 15 minuets to cover the 400-450 yards and at 30 yards my other boy took his second big tom in two years.
After all the hugs and congrats and pics were over I spotted some jakes about 300-350 yards off my property on the other side of a small pond no less. I figured might as well try. My son and I set up and once again I let loose with my mouth call, and these three jakes let out gobbles and headed quickly towards us, but my decoys at this point were still not visible to them, at about 250 yards they saw the decoys and literally started to run and gobble their way to my decoys.
As one of my hunting partners had a young son he was going to take hunting today, I chose to let the jakes go as I had seen them frequently in the past, just never in range and today and tomarow are the last two days of IN SWT season, and besides I've killed more than my share of toms including a 25.5 pounder last year with two beards and 1.5" spurs. Sure was fun watching those jakes display for my decoys though, reminded me of when I was a teenager and had "discoverd" girls for the first time.
As to the mouth call, it was a Primos model #110 True Double stacked aluminum frame call. It makes excellent raspy hen calls and is magnum loud. With a slight wind in my face it can be clearly heard by turkeys over 400 yards away. I will NEVER go turkey hunting without one again.
Also for those Moms and Dads out there looking for a good reasonably priced ($9 for 10) turkey load that wont kill your kids with kick, give Winchester's plane Jane gray box 12 ga 2.75", 1.5oz #5's magnum turkey loads with grex buffer a try. The gun my boys used is a 12 ga 3" 870 express with a 21" Remington deer barrel with Remchoke and a Remington Xtra full lead turkey choke topped with a Leupold 2-7x33mm slug scope set on 2x. I used a after market Remington thumb hole stock fitted with Remington's special recoil absorbing pad, seamed to work quite well.
The above load out of the above gun/choke combo gave devistating patterns out to 45 yards.
So based on my experience, if you don't already, for obvious reasons, you might want to strongly consider including a mouth call capable of extreamly loud calling in your bag of tricks.
Art.
About 400-450 yards (LRF confirmed) across a large grassy field off my property, I would constantly see 1 to as many as 4 big toms strutting and gobbling for the first hour after fly down than they would fallow the hens into the woods. Although I was good at using them, I had never had any luck using mouth calls but seeing as the wind was blowing from the toms to me, my slate could not reach the toms, I figured I had nothing to loose, so at about 12pm when a I heard a lone tom gobbling often from across the big field but still out of sight, using the mouth call ( a Primos double reed call) I let loose with a 6-7 note ee-yuk ee-yuk, as loud as I could.
To my son and I total delight, he gobbled back at me. I waited and his gobbling told me he was definately getting closer, I had two hen decoys on a nice high point, in hopes thay would help "seal the deal". About 10 minuets or so after first contact he showed up on the strutting field and I let loose with another 6-7 note call, he almost instantly spotted my decoys and went into full display.
For the next hour and five long minuets thats how it went, I would call a little, and he would advance about 50 or so yards stop and gobble and display, I would only call to get him moving again. My son was so excited he actually started to shake all over, took a while to get him to calm down as this was His first hunt of anything bigger than a squrle.
Finally after over an hour he hung up at forty yards and would come no closer, my concern that my son would loose his composure and start shaking and alerting the turkey to our presence, I told him "safety off, aim and fire" the Winchester 1.5oz #5, 12 gauge 2-3/4" magnum turkey load knocked the big tom flat, he was thankfully DRT. Quite a great hunt for my 10 year old son, and what a first turkey, a 24.5lb tom with 1-3/8" spurs and a 9.5" beard.
My second sons hunt went quite the same but much quicker, tons of hens at fly down off the roost, but no toms, not even a Jake. About 10:30 we heard a gobble from the same area and direction, once again used my Primos mouth call to get him headed our way, except this time when he saw my decoys he only took about 15 minuets to cover the 400-450 yards and at 30 yards my other boy took his second big tom in two years.
After all the hugs and congrats and pics were over I spotted some jakes about 300-350 yards off my property on the other side of a small pond no less. I figured might as well try. My son and I set up and once again I let loose with my mouth call, and these three jakes let out gobbles and headed quickly towards us, but my decoys at this point were still not visible to them, at about 250 yards they saw the decoys and literally started to run and gobble their way to my decoys.
As one of my hunting partners had a young son he was going to take hunting today, I chose to let the jakes go as I had seen them frequently in the past, just never in range and today and tomarow are the last two days of IN SWT season, and besides I've killed more than my share of toms including a 25.5 pounder last year with two beards and 1.5" spurs. Sure was fun watching those jakes display for my decoys though, reminded me of when I was a teenager and had "discoverd" girls for the first time.
As to the mouth call, it was a Primos model #110 True Double stacked aluminum frame call. It makes excellent raspy hen calls and is magnum loud. With a slight wind in my face it can be clearly heard by turkeys over 400 yards away. I will NEVER go turkey hunting without one again.
Also for those Moms and Dads out there looking for a good reasonably priced ($9 for 10) turkey load that wont kill your kids with kick, give Winchester's plane Jane gray box 12 ga 2.75", 1.5oz #5's magnum turkey loads with grex buffer a try. The gun my boys used is a 12 ga 3" 870 express with a 21" Remington deer barrel with Remchoke and a Remington Xtra full lead turkey choke topped with a Leupold 2-7x33mm slug scope set on 2x. I used a after market Remington thumb hole stock fitted with Remington's special recoil absorbing pad, seamed to work quite well.
The above load out of the above gun/choke combo gave devistating patterns out to 45 yards.
So based on my experience, if you don't already, for obvious reasons, you might want to strongly consider including a mouth call capable of extreamly loud calling in your bag of tricks.
Art.
