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The closest shot thread made me think of this.  What is the closest a gobbler has been to you when he gobbled?

Two years ago on a Rio hunt in N. Texas I had one come up from the side and gobble about six feet from me.  That is quite a thrill!
I was hunting with a friend, he was already tagged out.  He set up one of those low ground blinds and some decoys up against a fence and I was in the blind and he was behind it, kinda hidden by a cedar.  I was facing down the fenceline. The gobbler responded from a long way off to the left, across the fence line.  He came on a string, gobbling a few times along the way. When he got to the fence exactly next to the blind, he gobbled.  I think he got some spit on the blind.   :D I took him when he spotted the decoys and bee-lined to them. 

What's your closest gobble?

Never measured, but I know they were close enough that I thought that thunderous, penetrating gobble they have at that range was going to make me explode!  A gobble at that range just feels like a sonic boom penetrating your body!  ...Hard to explain it unless you have been there,...which I am sure many here have...   :D

Close enough that i could almost smell his breath ....

My closest was back when I was a novice. Sat down to take a break, hadnt made any calls and wasnt paying attention. He hammered at 16 yards on his own behind a big oak. Glad no one was around to see how bad I flinched! I pay better attention now lol

Inside of 20 yards

9 yards. Came from behind gobbling then spitting and drumming. Exciting when they blow your hat right off you.

About 5 steps (2 birds).  Thundering.  They had circled back behind me and did a full circle.  I was facing north and they came around to my east.  My gun was up (facing north) and I could see them in my peripheral vision-not even daring to blink.  They were walking right to the gun barrel.  They were gobbling to each other, piliated woodpeckers, the prison siren, etc.  As they stepped into view where I could look at them a little more head on, I realized it was two stinking jakes.  Little turds.  They stayed around me for 30 minutes and I would fire them up again when they started to cool off.  They walked away through the woods, still gobbling.  Dang teenage hormones! 

Sitting in a homemade blind scouting a week before opening morning with father. 10ft from blind he was opening up, strutting, drumming and i could swear I felt him spit on me lol. Never forget that, especially with pops being there.

Forty years ago hunting in Oklahoma...sat down on a big sycamore tree...had one gobble out front...called a few times...nothing. Decided I  would go silent and see if he would come looking. Never heard the bird... no idea how close he was, but he was directly behind me close enough to hear him suck in air then emit a thunderous gobble. Never experienced anything like it before or since. Took a few minutes to regain normal breathing.

I've heard a lot of close gobbles but the closest one...I was sitting in a WMA in California doing some blind calling. And out of nowhere one gobbled directly behind where I was sitting. Couldn't have been more than 10 yards. I have no doubt that the flinch me and my friend made scared him probably as much as he surprised us. We never saw the bird but man, that was something.

Directly above my head in a tree. I think I got a little to close.

Too close for (his) comfort...... :turkey2:

Straight above my head on tree limb. Dang limb hopping swamp turkey. Bounced from tree to tree til he got where he could see good.

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He was behind me but I'd guess 5 yds or less.

This past youth season I took my buddies daughter. We got up with 2 mid morning. I put her on the side of the tree with the decoys and where i thought she'd get the clearest shot. It was her first time turkey hunting but she'd practiced with my 20 ga so I was confident she'd kill if given a good opportunity. I worked the birds in and just like big woods easterns do they circled. I was on the back side of the tree and as the birds circled they walked within about 7 maybe 8 steps spitting and drumming and gobbling their heads off. You could feel it that close. The kid held it together and the birds circled to the field edge and as soon as the lead bird saw the half strut jake he took off running at it. He spurred the jake decoy and my buddy's daughter pole axed him at 20 yards. 26 pounds and change 1.25 inch spurs 11 inch beard. Probably the best hunt I've been on in years. Ive had them clucking and purring so close I could spit on them but gobbling that close is awesome

Directly above my head a number of times, but on the ground, probably around 3 or 4 yards.

Six feet. Just off my right shoulder and on the wrong side of the young spruce tree I was buried in. He walked away, but still one of the coolest moments of any hunt.

Whether you make a kill or not, any time you're close enough to 'feel' them gobble is a major win and a wonderful memory you'll always have.

Quote from: Sir-diealot on January 31, 2023, 06:34:17 PM
Directly above my head in a tree. I think I got a little to close.

Ya think?    :TooFunny:

Quote from: mcw3734 on January 31, 2023, 11:35:09 PM

Quote from: Sir-diealot on January 31, 2023, 06:34:17 PM
Directly above my head in a tree. I think I got a little to close.

Ya think?    :TooFunny:

Tis a possibility.

Quote from: Jbird22 on January 31, 2023, 07:21:12 PM
He was behind me but I'd guess 5 yds or less.

Same here. Listened to him spit/drum/strut for 10 minutes just over the bench till he went quiet. He tiptoed around the point behind me, and no idea he was there, until he gobbled at 5 or so steps.

Had 2 slip up on me , hadn't heard a gobble there yet and both gobbled inside 10 yards behind me and about blew my hat off. And didn't even get a shot. Over 30 years ago, remember it like yesterday.

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Youth weekend in a blind with my daughter, less than 2 yards. If we didnt know they were there, I would have had a heart attack. On the roost was about 20 yards, we knew where he roosted but he bumped over our way during the night. First gobble was eye opening. Z

A similar experience to that of duckdogdad, except mine was an oak tree and I had no clue the gobbler was there.

I still remember it to this day. I was sitting against a large oak blind calling mid morning. A doe came meandering up the hillside on a path that would cause her to pass me maybe 25 yards on the downwind side.

When she got directly in front of me, she stopped broadside, turned her head towards me and bird dogged me. This went on for maybe 30 seconds or more and the whole time I was puzzled as to how she could possibly have seen me? I was in full camo, the woods were greened up with lots of ground cover and I hadn't moved a muscle.

Next thing I knew, a gobbler cut loose behind me right next to the tree! I'd like to say it didn't scare me, but that would be a lie. I absolutely jumped enough so that my butt lifted completely off the ground!

Never saw, or heard him again. One of my favorite memories from the early days.

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Inside six feet off the end of my barrel. Hen came walking by looking for me at about five yards...he was following behind. Didn't dare move because I could no longer see the hen and what she was doing. Slowly got the gun up and made a call after a bit taking a chance they could no longer see me.  She came walking back and passed me at several feet. He was following closely behind to his demise. Looked like his neck got slammed in a car door.

mine would be just a couple feet, my second year hunting, sitting against a big ol oak, he gobble right behind me then walked within a couple feet of me on my left we were eye to eye, he knew something wasn't right and did a 180, I was able to spin around the tree and shoot him tied for my longest spurs to date at 1.5, he never gobbled on the roost it was my first time hearing spit and drum, couldn't figure out what it was but could hear it and wings dragging, then he let out the gobble and I couldn't stop shaking. Over 20 years ago now and I remember every second of it.

8-10 yards. He hadn't gobbled for about 15 minutes and last gobble he was probably 125-150 yards away slightly to the left of straight ahead. He eventually snuck in from my right a little and I couldn't turn because of some brush it would have moved. He gobbled, I flinched, he flew.


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5 yrds..was wearing Walker game muffs single mics (long time ago)
Had him gobbling mad! I'd cut on a scratchbox he'd gobble. If he gobbled once he gobbled 30 times in 30 minutes. Sitting against a huge pinetree looking down a decline into a thick bottom. He was so close and so loud I could not figure out why I couldn't find him. Pretty open for 30 yrds. All of a sudden it sounded like an apache copter taking flight right next to me to the left. Never swung the bead his way. Just sat there and laughed. The entire time he was behind me....curiosity finally got the best of him and he came around to my side of the tree, came across a wide open field to get to me. That's when I realized any direction I'd look, that's where the sound came from! Wearing medical aids now...been a game changer for me.

Less than 6ft

Less the 10 yards. One snuck right behind me once and let one rip, I didn't know he was there. He just about blew my hat off, scared the bejessus outta me!  :TooFunny:

My father in law was calling 10 feet behind my wife and me and 2 two year olds came in between us and gobbled like crazy.  No shot!

Under 8 steps and boy it rattled me to the bone!!