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General Discussion => LEARNING TO TURKEY HUNT => Topic started by: Holtbensley on April 28, 2019, 06:41:34 PM

Title: Where did I go wrong?? Rookie mistake or just bad luck?
Post by: Holtbensley on April 28, 2019, 06:41:34 PM
I’d like to start off by saying I have been a successful turkey hunter for about 7years now! Here’s my story! Any advice or opinions would be great!!!
Well it was windy and rainy as hell couldnt hear a bird or gobble and it was super cold this morning. Got up at like 8 and drove around well I seen a strutter with two hens in the same field I was hunting first thing in morning I just couldn’t seem them cause the field is huge. So I go back to where I started and he musta just left his hens and he started gobbling good he’s still a few hundred yards away well the wind hits him and he goes into the woods and stops gobbling. I pack my stuff and drive around to another road I can get to the woods he went into at. So I go to walking to cut the distance with this bird and I stopped a few times and called to get a location on where he was at well he never gobbled back at all. So I keep walking to get a little closer and I call again and of course he don’t gobble. So I walk a little further and we met face to face about 50-60yrds he takes off flying
Title: Re: Where did I go wrong?? Rookie mistake or just bad luck?
Post by: fallhnt on April 28, 2019, 07:05:30 PM
Patients, use the lay of the land to move,be ready to shoot when you stop to call.

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Title: Re: Where did I go wrong?? Rookie mistake or just bad luck?
Post by: guesswho on April 28, 2019, 08:58:25 PM
Any advice or opinions would be great!!!

Slow and steady.   Hunt like your being hunted.  Especially if you know there is a good chance he's moving towards you and your moving towards him.   Advantage turkey in that situation.  Your eyes and ears aren't going to beat his very often in a situation like that.   Sit longer, move less, shifts the advantage a little more towards your side.     
 
Title: Re: Where did I go wrong?? Rookie mistake or just bad luck?
Post by: Rapscallion Vermilion on April 28, 2019, 11:12:17 PM
Hunt like your being hunted. 
Like that choice of words. Just right.
Title: Re: Where did I go wrong?? Rookie mistake or just bad luck?
Post by: bbcoach on April 30, 2019, 06:23:51 PM
He didn't gobble because you kept calling, giving away your position.  He was coming in silent looking for you.  Smart bird.  Lesson to learn from this, cut the distance once maybe twice then setup, have PATIENCE (hard for us to do) and give him some time to find you.  If he isn't gobbling and your moving towards his last gobble, he holds ALL the cards. 
Title: Re: Where did I go wrong?? Rookie mistake or just bad luck?
Post by: Holtbensley on May 01, 2019, 07:17:33 PM
And that he did he held onto them tight I definitely learned a lot from the turkey. He took me to school never had one fool me like that before but I’m sure it won’t be the last time either I appreciate everyone’s opinions or advice!
Title: Re: Where did I go wrong?? Rookie mistake or just bad luck?
Post by: eggshell on May 02, 2019, 05:08:26 AM
Here's some advice; forget about hunting to fix what went wrong last time, you'll just screw something else up. Learn from a mistake and hunt using what you know. Some of the best quarterbacks that ever played football weren't the most gifted talent wise, but they were exceptional at seeing the field and reading the coverage. Mistakes are opportunities to add knowledge and enhance skills. The best thing to do is go hunt and do what you feel is right. You'll mess up again and again and again and again. when you stop worrying about fixing your mistakes and applying the learned knowledge from them  you will enjoy your hunting more and be more successful. My buddy missed a bird yesterday and was obsessing over what went wrong, I told him don't worry about it let's go find another bird.
Title: Re: Where did I go wrong?? Rookie mistake or just bad luck?
Post by: Marc on May 03, 2019, 12:12:39 PM
You bumped him...  If I am caught in an open area with a bird that is not coming, I either wait him out, or wait for him to move into an area where I can move on him (or better yet get around him).

GuessWho gives some great advice, as does Eggshell...

"Hunt like you are being hunted."  Spot on...  Move around the woods like you have something to lose if you are heard or spotted.

EggShell:  Learn from your mistakes but do not dwell on them.  Second day of the season, I bungled two good opportunities.  Next time out I had a coyote screw me up.

I tend to push the envelope more (and bump birds) when I have limited time in the field, and tend to be more successful when I have nothing to do the rest of the day...

And...  Moving towards a bird is not always the right direction (although many times it is).  I have moved parallel or even slightly away from a bird to gain their interest.  Sometimes a traveling hen will create more interest (and less apprehension) for that tom to come in.

I always try to remember to have a plan when I move on a reasonably close bird.  Can I cut him off, and where do I want to set up that he is likely to come?  I might set up in further away from the bird but in an easy path of travel, as opposed to closer to the bird with a bunch of obstacles in his way.