I think back to when I began turkey hunting and I wander how I made it this long! Some of the stupid things I did. Get all the way to the blind 350 yrds...No Shells!!! Get in a hurry to set up on a bird...Set down in a pile of cow crap!!! Start to draw down on a bird...phone goes off!!! I imagine we could all go on and on with stories...So let's see how stupid we really are! BEGIN.
First bird I ever worked came for several hundred yards, gobbling all the way, all of a sudden the gobbling stopped, it stayed silent for what seemed like forever, I knew better but I turned and looked behind me, it was maybe 20 yards behind me and we saw each other at the same time and he started to run, I started to lift my gun to take a shot but I remember reading how tough the feathers could be to penetrate and I did not shoot. That day hooked me as a turkey hunter, I will always remember it because I got so amped up hearing him come in that I nearly puked.
Sat through a tornado warning in my pop up blind because lightning was crashing hard and I didnt think it would be wise to be the tallest thing around as 1/2 mile of winter wheat was between me and the truck.
Sat up against a tree while getting pelted with hail up to about nickle sized another day. Killed the bird shortly after the storm abated.
just at daybreak one morning a few years ago I heard a gobbler gobbling non stop over the break of the hill about 300 yards from me. I grabbed everything I needed and cut the distance in half and within minutes he was coming. things were happening fast so I got the gun up, safety off and just waiting on the head to pop up. couple minutes went by and I saw a gobbler running across the wide hollow just to my left and never heard another gobble. I was clueless and decided to go back to my SxS and head over the mountain. just as I opened the door I noticed my reflection in the side mirror. pollen was terrible that year and I had worn a white dust mask in. when I hopped out that morning (not thinking) I put in on top of my head just like I do in the garage. I guess when that gobbler spotted that bright white cone head he knew he better get to running. my buddy still rides me about that.
Killed a bird. Got all the way back to the truck to realize my gun was leaning against a tree where I took pictures.
Stopped to take a piss. Was a half mile+ away when I realized my gun was still leaning against a tree where I had stopped.
First bird I tried to shoot with a bow, sight was clear of the blind, arrow was not. Wondering why I missed I renocked and did the same thing again.
Mounted a camera on my gun that was barely hitting the forearm keeping the bolt from being all the way forward and causing a misfire intermittently.. took misfire on 4 birds to figure it out.
I could keep this going for a while. Lol.
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Roosted a bird from one side of the canyon in the evening, propped gun against a tree.. Drove around (35 minutes) to the other side of the canyon.. Reached into my case the next morning and realized it.. Drove back around to the gun,, got it,, dropped down on the bird and ended up killing it..
Was my slam Merriam's this year.. I grinned the whole drive back because i knew the day could only get better from there!
Back in my younger days, one afternoon just before dark on some new public ground i could hear a gobbler, gobbling across the woods. This was all new hunting ground, so i had not checked it out like i should of have, anyway that next morning sure enough he was gobbling before daylight and as i may my way to him across the fields and woods i came upon this fence row and there he was in a pen and gobbling his head off.. he was pen raised domestic turkey that a farmer had in his pen.. the walk back to the truck was no fun at all... LOL... You do have to realize back them we didn't just have a lot of turkey's ... I still laugh about that turkey in the pen..omg....
I went back to work because they did not gobble for a day or 2.
You guessed it, the pictures from my buddies killing them blew my phone up the next few days.
While the turkey continued to gobble at my hen yelps, he did not move any closer. Frustrated, I slowly began to move in his direction while keeping to the woods, eventually coming to a creek about 10 yards wide and up to my waist. Continued calling on my part did not move him my way, so I decided to wade the creek which in early April was very cold. As I continued to slowly move in his direction, a barn roof came into view soon followed by a barnyard full of chickens and a few turkeys. I'd come all that way and waded a cold creek only to discover that a domestic tom had been the source of excitement. Knowing that I'd have to re-cross that creek put a damper on the morning's hunt.
I used to miss at least as many as I killed, every year from my first bird in 2011 up until 2019. I switched sights, choke and shells several times and finally confirmed the obvious, it was me, not the gun. Then last year I started shooting good for some reason. Same thing this year. I'm not sure why but I'm not complaining either
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Stupidest one this season, last day of season and had my wife out trying to fill her tag. Nothing at our first spot so I decide to throw a Hail Mary and hike in deep to a place I knew hadn't been touched. We start getting close and I show her a ridge where I chased a bird for two seasons that would always bugger. As we climb the ridge I crow call a few times just to try and make sure nothing's up there (we're trying to get past this spot). We come up on the ridge and she says, "Dang, it looks like a turkey should be here." I point to a lot of fresh scratch and say, "He has." No sooner than those words left my mouth a good gobbler shot straight up at about twenty five yards, set them wings, and off he flew, his beard just a swaying. Lesson I knew but didn't follow: always sit a spell at places that have historically held birds. Wouldn't have cost us anything to have wasted ten or fifteen minutes sitting there, and that day we likely would've killed one.
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Quote from: Greg Massey on May 25, 2021, 04:55:28 PM
Back in my younger days, one afternoon just before dark on some new public ground i could hear a gobbler, gobbling across the woods. This was all new hunting ground, so i had not checked it out like i should of have, anyway that next morning sure enough he was gobbling before daylight and as i may my way to him across the fields and woods i came upon this fence row and there he was in a pen and gobbling his head off.. he was pen raised domestic turkey that a farmer had in his pen.. the walk back to the truck was no fun at all... LOL... You do have to realize back them we didn't just have a lot of turkey's ... I still laugh about that turkey in the pen..omg....
Did that one this year as well. Spent an entire morning trying to figure out why this bird wouldn't leave the yard. Convinced myself he was going from one side of it to the other at that. Guess he was just facing different directions. Finally got to where I could see him. "Penned up"
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This year one morning I got so caught up with calling and watching the gobblers I was trying to pull in I forgot all about shooting one. All I could think about was getting them to come my way. So I stopped calling and started rustling the leaves and they made a beeline to me so fast I didn't have time to get situated for a shot and my gun was hard to get to. I did get the gun and take aim but I was in such thick brush I couldn't keep the red dot on a red head long enough to pull the trigger. And it really doesn't take long for me to pull the trigger. They eventually became spooked and walked off. If I had been ready with the gun in less brush the outcome may have been very different.
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Someone I know left his gun on the ground next to where he parked his truck and didn't realize it until he got home that evening........2 hours away.
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Wow I've never left my gun, but I did one even worse this season. I got to the gate, got ready and hopped on my bicycle for about a 1 mile pedal. When I got off the bike I unslung the gun from around my back and realized the safety was off. I'm not sure if I forgot to put the safety on or if it pushed off during the ride. Needless to say that was stupid, and I won't ride my bike ever again with a loaded gun.
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The stupidest and the greatest thing I ever did was going on my 1st turkey hunt. Been a life long springtime obsession for me.
By the way, I did the calling to a penned turkey deal for an hour and a half during that 1st trip.
stood up!
I've never done this thank God, but my friend who works for Fish and Game Dept convinced his wife to go hunting with him. Together they were able to call a nice gobbler into close range in front of them and then he shot it.
Stupidest thing I've done was join this here Forum, because it has cost me a small fortune in calls, accessories, etc. :funnyturkey:
Just kidding, I love this place...
Got the days mixed up in regards to the season opener
I also have bushwacked through a thick creek to a bird in someones yard. It's been 25 years ago and I had completely forgotten the incident until I read the previous posts about others doing the same thing.
Thanks for the memories...
I had a guy come in on a bird I was working on some public a couple of years ago. I could hear him calling and approaching from another ridge. I should have just shut up and crawled out, but I stayed trying to work it. Ended up being a pretty dangerous situation as the bird ended up between us. I had positioned myself on backside of the tree because I could tell what was going to occur. The other guy got it, but I got to watch him chase the bird around the woods ending with a tackle that would have made Mike Singleterry proud! I normally concede in those situations and should have that day.
Here's another...lol, me and my bud were walking and calling when all of a sudden he says "Bird" and squats like a catcher and I'm right behind him like the umpire with my gun up and after 10 min. of not seeing one, he says" your going to have to shoot me in the head, because I can't feel my legs anymore' LOl
When I first took him turkey hunting he didn't know anything. We sat facing different directions because we didn't know where the bird would come in from...all of a sudden he said in a loud voice, "sounds like someone started a motor, guess that will scare the birds away" lol. I said that's drumming and I'm sure you just scared him away!
I've boogered birds in so many ways it's not funny. Some I'm sure I never knew where there.
This spring I was hunting in NE and had seen some birds using a specific little area. I was in well before daylight the next morning and set up with a good hide. In the dark I didn't realize quite how steep the spot was. When I sat down I rolled it backwards and did a flip in the woods. I''m getting a bit old for backward somersaults. ;)
Last year drove 6 hours home on the last day of the season after shooting a bird that morning. Everything was awesome except I realized I left my gun in the case at the launch ramp I used to put my kayak in/take it out that morning. Called the police/local game warden and that gun was long gone. Someone got a brand new Franchi 12 gauge
There has been sooooooooo many!
The one that has taught me the most, that I have done several times.... Don't waste days playing with the same turkey. If I go after the same turkey now two days in a row there were circumstances on the first day that were not from the Tom.
Usually if I hunt the same Tom now multiple days, it's a week or two apart.
The real question for me would be,..."what have you done that was SMART while turkey hunting"? It would take me much less time to answer that question. ;D
Quote from: Greg Massey on May 25, 2021, 04:55:28 PM
Back in my younger days, one afternoon just before dark on some new public ground i could hear a gobbler, gobbling across the woods. This was all new hunting ground, so i had not checked it out like i should of have, anyway that next morning sure enough he was gobbling before daylight and as i may my way to him across the fields and woods i came upon this fence row and there he was in a pen and gobbling his head off.. he was pen raised domestic turkey that a farmer had in his pen.. the walk back to the truck was no fun at all... LOL... You do have to realize back them we didn't just have a lot of turkey's ... I still laugh about that turkey in the pen..omg....
Yep.
Worked a hard-gobbling bird for a couple hours before I came to find he was pure white and perched atop an Amishman's outhouse.
BTW............. On a whole other subject of stupidity............ do yinz realize that 20 gauge 2 3/4" Walmart low brass #8's from the 100 pack are the same exact color as Federal Heavy 7's ???
Just sayin'..................
Do you want an example from this year or from years past?
I once left a perfectly good 870 laying beside the road and lucky me it was still there 1 1/2 hours later.
I leaned my gun up against my truck ( passenger side)to throw a gobbler in the back and get him squared away for the ride out... got distracted and Drove off driving over the gun in the process with the back tire... realized it about an hour later and believe it or not it was still laying in the road when I returned with a few Rock indentions in the wood stock!!
I left my gun against a fence post last year on the opener of Missouri season, 30 yards from the road. Realized it the following morning, I was taking a client out so I did not have time to go see if it was still there.
Text a friend and asked him to drive by and see if it was there, meanwhile as I am working a bird for client I am simultaneously shopping for a new gun online. Bird never showed and my buddy text me a photo of my gun still leaning against that post!
Was hunting some public ground in Indiana. Ended up a couple miles from the truck. I unloaded my gun because I was going to be walking the road back most of the way. When I got to the truck my buddy still wasn't there so I walked up a hill and heard a bird. After about 30 minutes of working this bird I looked down and realized my gun wasn't loaded. I yelped a few times to cover the sound of me loading my gun and shot the bird less than a minute later
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Quote from: aclawrence on May 25, 2021, 08:35:47 PM
Wow I've never left my gun, but I did one even worse this season. I got to the gate, got ready and hopped on my bicycle for about a 1 mile pedal. When I got off the bike I unslung the gun from around my back and realized the safety was off. I'm not sure if I forgot to put the safety on or if it pushed off during the ride. Needless to say that was stupid, and I won't ride my bike ever again with a loaded gun.
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Did something similar this year. Worked a bird in close but didn't get a shot. Afterwards walked the 2 miles back to the truck went to unload the gun and realized i had never put the safety back on after the encounter. Needless to say i was pretty shook thinking about all the ways that could have ended badly and definitely one of the stupidest things I've done.