here's another one -- how would you kill this one?

[hawglips]

Here's the situation. You hunted a 600 acre piece of property in TX rio country last spring, opening week. The southern end of the property was bordered by a river, and cattle roamed the property, with plenty of feral hogs, coyote and bobcat.

Here's what the most open of the woods looked like. The majority were thicker mesquite and other varities of prickly, brushy trees.


You hunted the property last spring, 3 days, and never killed one there. There was one boss bird that dominated the place, with a couple more gobblers and some jakes. The bird and his entourage would normally roost over a slough ("A"), There was a wheat field on the south side of the slough, and smaller green pasture field to the south. Each time he roosted at "A" last year, he would fly down into the wheat field, gather up his harem and be gone, usually to the adjacent property where they kept feeders going and full of corn, never to he heard from again.

The only other place you found birds roosting last year, was "B." And after flydown, they headed towards the river, and flew across the river to what you later found out to be baited blinds that an outfitter had for his clients.

There were roads on the property that made traveling from one spot to the next pretty easy for the most part.

Here's a map of the situation:



So, you've had all year to think about that boss bird, and how you were going to kill him this year. You're hunting the 2nd week of the season. You arrived overnight, in time to get ready to go listen for one to gobble on the roost in the morning.

What would be your strategy this morning?

[el diablo]

I would try to be at the western point of slough, maybe could coax the group to land in brush close to me before they headed out to wheat field they usually land in. If they landed in wheat field too far for a shot I would consider it game over and hustle to try to get between B and the river.

[hambone50]

if that in fact says "dry" on the eastern side of that slough , i'd follow that slough in from the east side off of that road and get as close as i comfortably could to "A". dont know if you'll talk em out of the corn on the other side but it seems that'd be your best shot.

that being said, i wouldnt be too proud to go after the "B" birds. in that setup i'd probably put my back to that river and face the L shaped bend in that road nearest the river and try to cut them off at or near that flyover point.

How did it end up working out for ya?

[hawglips]

if that in fact says "dry" on the eastern side of that slough , i'd follow that slough in from the east side off of that road and get as close as i comfortably could to "A".

The problem with that is, the slough was full of water last time you were there. You only discovered it to be dry after daylight this year... and it's not daylight yet...

[toasty]

I'd throw a couple decoys out in the field just on the west end of the slough and call softly. Hide in the brush and see if they work west along the wooded area for a shot. If that didn't work, I'd go for the other gobbler, if I hunted for a day or two and didn't have anything I'd go for something unconventional. I'd set up a cow decoy in the wheat field right were he flies down and put out a couple decoys 40 yards in front of the cow decoy. When he flies down, shoot him. He if flies down somewhere else, work the cow decoy slowly toward him until he is in range. Not the funnest way to kill him, but if I have invested the time and money into the hunt, I'd have no problem getting a little nasty.

[GobbleNut]

Another great scenario, Hal. Having hunted Rios in that type of country many times, one thing I have found to be pretty consistent is that the turkeys really like to roost in the same places every night. Assuming that is true in this spot, I would feel pretty confident in killing a gobbler there,...if I had a few days to hunt them.

I think I would start out by setting up next to the wheat field in the flydown area well before daylight on my first morning. Assuming a gobble was heard from the roost site, I might adjust my position a bit, if I could, to be directly between the roost and where I thought the birds would fly down to.

I don't think I would worry about calling to the birds on the roost, but I might tree call right about the time I thought they would be flying down. I don't think it would make a bit of difference one way or the other, though. I would hope the birds would fly down into the field within range, but if they did not, I would try to call them to me with some basic hen talk once they were settled on the ground.

If there was no interest shown in approaching my calling, and if it appeared the birds were beginning to head away from me towards the other property, I would immediately "fan" the boss gobbler (safety issues considered), not because I am a big proponent of hunting that way, but because my limited experience in doing that has convinced me that it is the most effective way to kill those kinds of birds under those kinds of conditions.

If that tactic did not work,...which I think it would,....I would let those birds go and head for any other gobbler I might have heard while fooling around with these birds. Later, I would go back to the roost site in the same area I was set up in the morning, assess the area and the likely evening path of return for that flock, make myself a good natural blind with shooting lanes in the directions I thought I would need them, and then plan on returning for a late evening hunt in that location.

Under the conditions you have outlined, I would suspect those birds would approach the roost from the wheat field, likely flying up to roost from the edge of the field. Good concealment and a little calling would probably make for a good opportunity for success right about fly-up time.

[pedro]

Set up where the roads form a cross. If the birds gobble at locale B then high tail it between them and the river and try to work it that way. If they gobble at A then ease into the road north of them and st up some decoys on the road and try to get them as they cross. If I had only one day to hunt then I would try to get them as they came back to the roost.

[Johndoe]

Knowing what you know, I would park as close to the "A" birds as I dare. I would go in and set up, in the dark, on the edge of the road and field. As close to the gobbler as I dare. If gobblers "A" gobbled I would sit tight. If gobblers "B" gobbled and "A" did not I would hightail it to the river and call them to me.
I dont have to do that much on my lease, but we do it alot in the Nat. Forest. Hear a bird on the otherside of the block and drive around to hunt him.

John

[SnootSnapper]

I would stick a coyote decoy somewhere near the neighbor's bait pile so the neighbors couldn't see it, but the bird could. Then wait for the gobbler to come running back at ya!

[Johndoe]

I would stick a coyote decoy somewhere near the neighbor's bait pile so the neighbors couldn't see it, but the bird could. Then wait for the gobbler to come running back at ya!

This is an Idea.

[Johndoe]

http://attacktrack.net/the-attack-track

Put a yote decoy on this and set it in the wheat field. Not flyin down there.

[hawglips]

Here's what I did.

I had a full year to think about this, and I dreamed up all kinds of schemes to kill the big boy when I came back. But try as I might to convince myself to actually carry out one of my radical schemes on the first morning, I'm a simple minded man, and I decided on that first morning to keep it simple. Rather than try to rashly predict what a bird that might not even be living will do, based on things he did a year earlier, I decided to stick with the tried and true ABCs of killing a spring gobbler -- locate him, set up on him, call him in.

So, I got ready after a short night's sleep, and made a beeline to a spot at an intersection in the path close to the middle of the property between A and B, and elected to listen for early morning gobbles there ("X"), and then make my moves based on real-time information as the morning unfolded.



As gobbling time came, the wind died down enough to hear a little bit, and I was rewarded with a gobbling bird in that same slough where I chased the big bird last year, but never killed him. ("T") So, I hurried down the path to get into position, and discovered that the slough was dry. This was great, and as I was about to ease up the slough closer to the gobbler, I could hear several hens between he and I. ("H") It was getting too late flank them without being seen, so I stayed put and hoped for the best. ("Y") I don't generally mind henned up gobblers too much right off the roost as I like my chances with them. I'd just try to work the hens rather than him, so that was the plan. I gave few soft yelps to let them know I was there, got a gobble out of the tom, and then waited for them to get on the ground.



Once I could tell the tom was on the ground, I started talking to them in earnest. I don't subscribe to the cliche that you try to get aggressive to try to get the boss hen mad, but rather take the opposite approach, and act like a subordinate hen in the hopes of winning them over with honey rather than vinegar.

Before long, it sounded like they might be headed my way, and I could see the strutting tom through a little opening about 100 yds or so in front of me on the edge of the slough. He was busily trying to impress what looked like several hens. I caught glimpses of the strutting tom every now and again as they were heading my way.

Within maybe 15 minutes of flydown, I saw the first hen hit the opening where the dry slough started, crossing from the left to my right. She stopped to look for me, and continued on. Then another, and another, until eight hens were walking across about 40 yards out, from my left to the right. Then there he was. Instead of stopping and looking for me like the hens did, he stopped and gobbled, never coming out of strut. I put off the safety, and waited for him to enter a spot where I had a completely clear shot. He took a few more steps, and came partly out of strut right on cue.

And the turkey that occupied my dreams for a full year was dead. He was a big one too.

[Hoobilly]

Nice gobbler!

glad you got him the 2nd year go around.

and what a way to work the ladies

[Grover]

Good job, well deserved trophy.

[Spuriosity]

WTG Hal. Nice bird.