how would you hunt this?
how would you hunt this?
Here's the situation. It's the first week of the season. You're driving the roads just after lunch, showing your buddy the property lines, etc, preparing for the next morning's hunt. As you're driving, you see two toms strutting for some hens out in a field 300 yds away. ("T" on the map) You're not sure how many turkeys are out there, but saw two strutters and at least two hens.
Here's what the situation looks like:
The field is last year's cotton, with nothing but low chickweed growing in it. There are no ditches or anything in the field. There is a small island patch of woods to the east. There is a nice stand of mature, mixed pines and hardwoos bordering the field, and a 5 year old cutover to the north of the woods, also bordering the field.
After the seeing the turkeys, you decide you don't want to wait till morning, and decide to try your luck with them. You both have a valid tag to use.
What would you do?
Here's what the situation looks like:
The field is last year's cotton, with nothing but low chickweed growing in it. There are no ditches or anything in the field. There is a small island patch of woods to the east. There is a nice stand of mature, mixed pines and hardwoos bordering the field, and a 5 year old cutover to the north of the woods, also bordering the field.
After the seeing the turkeys, you decide you don't want to wait till morning, and decide to try your luck with them. You both have a valid tag to use.
What would you do?
Re: how would you hunt this?
I would get in the woods before the first bend, where the gobblers couldn't see me. Then sneak in the woods all the way to the point of woods closest to the strutters. Call then to that point.
TRKYHTR
TRKYHTR
Eph 2:8-9
Re: how would you hunt this?
Well here is what I would do. Probably the dumbest answer you will get, lol. If it where my brother and I, I would drive back to where the road meets the woods. Then I would get out and make haste getting from woods to cutover. We would then sprint/jog the edge of cutover until we arrived where the woods turn straight north. Then I would suspect we are 200ish yards from the turkey. I would maybe try a crow call or hope they gobble at something to get a bearing on how much they have moved. If we hear nothing then we would creep north as fast as one could creep until I got to where we thought we were on the same latitude as the turkeys on the back edge of those woods. Then I would try a crow call again, and if nothing this time I would try some soft calling and pray we get that sweet response. I would try to keep the calling sweet as to try and get the hens to come check us out and maybe drag the ol' long beard with her. Depending on what we heard I would inch further closer towards the turkeys. I would be thinking at some point we are pretty close to where the turkeys will end up. If I felt like there was time, I would probably slip my brother 40 to 50 yards closer to birds and try to call from behind him. That's my thoughts on how I would tackle it. Probably be a total whiff and get busted. Brother and I would end up in a cussing argument about how we mucked it. We will be pissed for maybe an hour, then start laughing about it, and have a hard time sleeping that night because its the first week of turkey season! woo hooo.
- Stinky J Picklestein
- Gobbler Nation
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Re: how would you hunt this?
Step #1: Stop the truck.
Step #2: Roll down the window.
Step #3: Ask your buddy to hand you the 22-250.
...and so on...
Step #2: Roll down the window.
Step #3: Ask your buddy to hand you the 22-250.
...and so on...
- Shooter
- Gobbler Nation
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Re: how would you hunt this?
Dang it Stinky, you beat me to it, but use 55gn FMJs,...lolStinky J Picklestein wrote:Step #1: Stop the truck.
Step #2: Roll down the window.
Step #3: Ask your buddy to hand you the 22-250.
...and so on...
- Shooter
- Gobbler Nation
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- Location: Deep South, Middle, TN
Re: how would you hunt this?
All joking aside, I'd send one guy straight through to the island. Provided he is a good sneaker. Thats where I would go if by myself.
Send the other to the left all the way around and to the backside of the pines on the edge. Then sneak closer to the field.
And then the fun begins.
Send the other to the left all the way around and to the backside of the pines on the edge. Then sneak closer to the field.
And then the fun begins.
- Turkey Talker
- Gobbler Nation
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Re: how would you hunt this?
.22 mag is good out to 350 yards.
Seriously though, i would sneak in the point closest to the T. I would stay away from the island.
Seriously though, i would sneak in the point closest to the T. I would stay away from the island.
- ArkansasDon
- Posts: 646
- Joined: August 10th, 2012, 12:24 pm
Re: how would you hunt this?
either of these
Camo Solutions http://www.camo-solutions.com
Red Hawk Archery Pro Staff http://www.redhawk-archery.com
Red Hawk Archery Pro Staff http://www.redhawk-archery.com
how would you hunt this?
I'd handle 'em real gentle and be sure not to mess them up for the next morning. Hearing them fly up would be considered a win for me, killing one of them would be gravy.
The way that bottlenecks it would be about as close to a layup as a man could get the next morning as long as you didn't alter what they were doing the evening before
The way that bottlenecks it would be about as close to a layup as a man could get the next morning as long as you didn't alter what they were doing the evening before
Re: how would you hunt this?
ArkansasDon wrote:either of these
Option 1 here was my first thought as well. Gobblers love cutover, and with the field adjoining the pinch is right at the edge of the both. The woods allow you to cut the distance without being seen. I think this would be a good morning or afternoon spot, since the birds may roost right there in the trees between the field and cutover.
- guesswho
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Re: how would you hunt this?
I'm guessing their not going to roost or feed in the five year old cutover, to thick, at least down here. I'd enter the mixed timber out of sight and work my way towards the little horse shoe in the mixed timber across from the island. I'd be in bobcat mode trying to gain a visual. If I got a visual I'd hang back and just mirror their path with minimal calling and scratching. If I couldn't get a visual I'd make it close to the horse shoe where I could see most of the field and hang out, again with minimal calling. I'm figuring their going to roost in the mixed timber or the island of trees. Either way I'm in a position to either kill them, or not spook them and see where they roost. If I didn't kill them I'd still feel pretty good about my chances the next morning.
I don't know whats east of the field, but if they go that direction to roost I'd have to regroup that night.
I don't know whats east of the field, but if they go that direction to roost I'd have to regroup that night.
Double Naught Spy!
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RCD's Owner----------------Badonka Deke Prostaff
MoHo's Prostaff-------------Lighter Than HTL Shooter
The Storm Whistle Prostaff
Official Member Of The Unofficial Firedup Turkey Calls Prostaff
- SCtrkyhntr
- Posts: 369
- Joined: January 11th, 2012, 9:36 pm
Re: how would you hunt this?
I would stay in the truck with the binos and watch where they go to roost if I am dead set on waiting until the next morning. I would not have a set plan until I knew where they were sleeping that night.
how would you hunt this?
X2Turkey Talker wrote:.22 mag is good out to 350 yards.
Seriously though, i would sneak in the point closest to the T. I would stay away from the island.
Double beard guide service LLC
Re: how would you hunt this?
Well, there's more than one way to skin a cat, but here's what we did.
We drove back down the road and parked well away from the area, and cut across the woods to the north into the cutover. It was very thick, and we had to weave and duck and slither through it, using it as cover to quickly get all the way to the edge of the timber nearest the place we'd seen the turkeys in the field. Neither one of us liked the idea of trying to get to the island of woods via a wide open field like that.
So, we used the cover of cutover to quickly work our way into the woods near the field where we’d spotted the birds earlier. As we eased out of the cutover into the edge of open woods, we paused, and shifted to stealth mode. And I immediately heard scratching. I motioned to my brother to sit down, and it soon became apparent that there was a fairly large group of turkeys nearby. The turkeys had moved from the field into the woods, and were tearing it up. ("X" - our position; "S" - for scratching)
We went to work on them, and after about 5 minutes, I could catch glimpses of them starting to work over our way, scratching as they came. It looked to be 15 or more turkeys. Then, a tractor drove by out in the field, and the turkeys turned and ran deeper into the woods away from us.
Aggravated, we stayed put and continued to give them some soft stuff.
After several minutes, I decided to crank it up a notch, and was rewarded with hearing my first gobble of the day!! It was one of those lazy afternoon half-hearted gobbles, but it was sweet to hear. And they were probably about 100 yards away.
So, we went to work on them, and soon we could see them coming our way. My brother was going to be the shooter, and I was the backup.
But suddenly, a couple birds started approaching quickly, swinging wide to our left – the only place my brother couldn’t shoot! We had already discussed what we would do if that happened – I was to shoot if a shot presented itself.
So I scooted around the tree I was on so I could cover the entire left flank before the birds could see me. They were coming fast, and staying behind some bushes. And within 30 seconds, I saw the lead bird was a tom, and the bird behind him was a strutter, with the hens following behind. When the first one arrived at an opening where he could see us and stopped, he craned up his neck, and I gave him what was coming.
My bird went down, and the second bird ran up and jumped all over him. But the bird just stayed right there in that spot flogging and pecking, with his fan up and facing away from us. I was blocking my brother, so I laid down, inviting him to shoot. But he didn't want to shoot with the turkey's head unseen, so he kept waiting for a shot. In the meantime some of the turkeys were trotting away back through the woods putting and carrying on, and I was beginning to think my brother was messing up. Most of the birds were moving away quickly, and the one doing the flogging was bound to go join them before much longer. Finally, after what had to be a couple minutes, the bird ran off to join the others, and my brother took a bad running shot at him, and missed.
We drove back down the road and parked well away from the area, and cut across the woods to the north into the cutover. It was very thick, and we had to weave and duck and slither through it, using it as cover to quickly get all the way to the edge of the timber nearest the place we'd seen the turkeys in the field. Neither one of us liked the idea of trying to get to the island of woods via a wide open field like that.
So, we used the cover of cutover to quickly work our way into the woods near the field where we’d spotted the birds earlier. As we eased out of the cutover into the edge of open woods, we paused, and shifted to stealth mode. And I immediately heard scratching. I motioned to my brother to sit down, and it soon became apparent that there was a fairly large group of turkeys nearby. The turkeys had moved from the field into the woods, and were tearing it up. ("X" - our position; "S" - for scratching)
We went to work on them, and after about 5 minutes, I could catch glimpses of them starting to work over our way, scratching as they came. It looked to be 15 or more turkeys. Then, a tractor drove by out in the field, and the turkeys turned and ran deeper into the woods away from us.
Aggravated, we stayed put and continued to give them some soft stuff.
After several minutes, I decided to crank it up a notch, and was rewarded with hearing my first gobble of the day!! It was one of those lazy afternoon half-hearted gobbles, but it was sweet to hear. And they were probably about 100 yards away.
So, we went to work on them, and soon we could see them coming our way. My brother was going to be the shooter, and I was the backup.
But suddenly, a couple birds started approaching quickly, swinging wide to our left – the only place my brother couldn’t shoot! We had already discussed what we would do if that happened – I was to shoot if a shot presented itself.
So I scooted around the tree I was on so I could cover the entire left flank before the birds could see me. They were coming fast, and staying behind some bushes. And within 30 seconds, I saw the lead bird was a tom, and the bird behind him was a strutter, with the hens following behind. When the first one arrived at an opening where he could see us and stopped, he craned up his neck, and I gave him what was coming.
My bird went down, and the second bird ran up and jumped all over him. But the bird just stayed right there in that spot flogging and pecking, with his fan up and facing away from us. I was blocking my brother, so I laid down, inviting him to shoot. But he didn't want to shoot with the turkey's head unseen, so he kept waiting for a shot. In the meantime some of the turkeys were trotting away back through the woods putting and carrying on, and I was beginning to think my brother was messing up. Most of the birds were moving away quickly, and the one doing the flogging was bound to go join them before much longer. Finally, after what had to be a couple minutes, the bird ran off to join the others, and my brother took a bad running shot at him, and missed.
- guesswho
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Re: how would you hunt this?
I knew I liked that little horse shoe.
Double Naught Spy!
RCD's Owner----------------Badonka Deke Prostaff
MoHo's Prostaff-------------Lighter Than HTL Shooter
The Storm Whistle Prostaff
Official Member Of The Unofficial Firedup Turkey Calls Prostaff
RCD's Owner----------------Badonka Deke Prostaff
MoHo's Prostaff-------------Lighter Than HTL Shooter
The Storm Whistle Prostaff
Official Member Of The Unofficial Firedup Turkey Calls Prostaff
- SnootSnapper
- Posts: 109
- Joined: January 20th, 2013, 8:07 am
- Location: The Lowcountry of SC
Re: how would you hunt this?
Sounds like a heck of a hunt! Those slightly complicated sneak attack missions are the most fulfilling for me when they work. They are the worst moments of suck when they don't.
Re: how would you hunt this?
So do the turkeys. I've gone back and hunted that little place 6 more times since then (2010), and watched 4 more turkeys die in that horseshoe. Plus my sister killed one there while I was across the road one morning...guesswho wrote:I knew I liked that little horse shoe.
I didn't know it at the time of this hunt, but it seems to be a favorite late morning or afternoon hang-out for the turkeys around there. The only problem is that the landowner and the other guys in the lease have seen them there too many times, and everybody is starting to stir it up real bad and I don't know how long it'll stay a favorite hang-out place for them.
Re: how would you hunt this?
Great post and story. Learn more about turkeys every time you guys post up.
how would you hunt this?
Great story and way to set up a session in turkey logic 101
Double beard guide service LLC
Re: how would you hunt this?
Great scenario and story Hal! We need more of this sort of thing here. Good discussion tool! Well done.