Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

Im interested in seeing how everyone thought their season was this year. Compared to last year my season was polar opposite. Last year they would work real nice to the call with lots of gobbling. This year they were stubborn and required some finesse partly I believe the breeding was a bit behind this year cause of Ole Man Winter was hanging around a little to long.   

Started off a tad slow due to the late spring. 2nd and 3rd week heated up nicely with lots of gobbling. Filled my two tags during 3rd week and then called a few in for family and friend . Overall another great spring in God's creation.

I was crazy lucky this year. Filled both of my tags in less than one hour hunting time. I felt almost cheated, but I know next year might be a struggle, so I am happy.

Worked more birds than normal here in NY but had a heck of a time compared to past years getting them into range. I tagged out, but had to really work to get it done!

in a nutshell , I took a couple and enjoyed myself. thanked god everyday for being there and being healthy and able to go.

I have hunted more and also more places this year than before.  However the birds have schooled me more this year than ever.  I hope next year will be a little easier.

Last year birds came a runnin', this year birds stood a gobblin'.

Nut shell; killed 11 watched 30+ die. Some tough others not. So pretty much turkey hunting. Good season overall.

Neal

Birds did not really come running to the call in general, lot of mature birds in my spots, filled 6 of 8 tags so it was an outstanding year! 

About normal.

A million questions. One great bird. No success on public land.

This was the season of rain and fog for me.  The first week and the last week were great.  The middle 3 weeks were rainy and/or foggy every day I could hunt.  Worked hard for the birds this year, but got in the game during the good weeks and finally killed one on the next to last day I could hunt.  Some years it seems easy, others tough. I did not get any redfishing in during turkey season this year (I often hunt in the am and fish in the pm).  Spent a lot of hot afternoons turkey hunting.  Still had fun.

1 Bama bird
1 Texas rio
1 Arkansas bird

Wasn't easy but overall a great year!!!!

Mixed bag for me.  Killed my public land bird in the first 30 minutes of my first day out on my late-season hunt.  A week later called one in for a friend on private land within 10 minutes of his feet hitting the ground after flydown.  On the other hand I'm still trying to get one for my son on the same public land that I killed my bird on.  We've been out twice and the birds have just flat-out run us in circles.  His 3 week Michigan season ends Sunday so we will probably get one more crack at it.

In the southern zone of NY, they were HUHA (henned up & happy) as Will Primos puts it. I did score one bird, but that was the third week of the season. He was very quiet and followed four hens and a smaller gobbler in to my setup and met his demise.

Im in ohio, and the general trend is they are getting tougher.  I guess I should say its getting tougher to find a bird to hunt.  Once you find one it isn't always terribly tough to kill him.  In the early 2000's we were killing 25-26,000 a year.  Now we are down to 16-17,000 a year.  the flock is a fraction what it once was.  I hunt strictly private and hunt numerous smaller farms.  typically 60-100 acre parcels.  In the hay day there would be 3-4 gobblers on every farm I hunt.  No youre thanking your lucky stars if you hear one. 

My season fit perfectly into the normal, but had to work a little harder. I didn't encounter many birds that wanted to run in strutting and gobbling all the way to the gun, I also battled temps that were about 18 degrees above average for a large part of my days afield. Birds still died at roughly the same rate I just had to adjust to how they were working this season. My sucess (shooting/calling) afield was 54%, the previous 3 years (62.5%, 50%, 58%).

I obverserved slightly less mature birds on most properties but saw a very healthy dose of Jakes so I have no concerns for future flocks.

I scouted harder, hiked further, and stayed out longer to get to the birds I got but wouldn't change a thing. 

I got skunked again, making this 9 years in a row without a bird. Hopefully I tag my first gobbler next season.

It took me longer than average to get my one bird limit at home.  So I put harder than average.  I kept running into weather and set-up problems so maybe it wasn't all the birds' fault. :toothy12:

Got my one in NH and two in Ct but called in birds for both my boys which really made for a memorable season. Nothing like watching the kids getting so into it, I've killed enough in 20+ years, not like it used to be, couldn't get enough when younger. One of my buddies has an older gent hunting nearby that we used to joke about as he'd say, "Can't wait to shoot my bird so I can get back to my golf!"  I'm beginning to understand now.

Filled all 4 of my tags in Tenn within the first 15 days of season. All long beards ...Didn't hear a lot of gobbling but still the same I had another great season.. in 2014 filled all 4 of my tags within the first 12 days of season. As I tell people patience is the name of the game and don't stop hunting just because it 10 clock in the morning.. I kill a lot of my birds from 10 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon..

Lots of birds talking on our farm in southern Ohio....seemed like they were pretty henned up the majority of the season. My buddy scored a real nice bird there but it was pretty much a sit and wait them out kind of deal. I was striking out till the end when I was fortunate enough to get on three hot birds and put one nice one in the back of the truck. To me....dead birds=success. Sure they could have worked better for us but I'm happy overall

Pretty normal season for me.  Gobblers were quiet and busy with hens early on. By the end of the second week, the hens were going to nest and gobblers were looking for action. I tagged a nice 3 year old on private land at one of my favorite spots. I tagged a good two year old on public land in the middle of the third week to tag out. I learned a new place that should pay off in the future.

Jim

2 Ky Birds, son tagged out also wasn't  easy but overall had a great season in ky.

Normal for the most part. The weather this Spring has been the real challenge. It's been a long time I had to deal with this much rain. Digital rain gauge says 12.25" so far this month. I'm hoping for a dry weekend since it's my last to fill my remaining tag.

I was fortunate to hunt 6 states, but 3 were new to me so I have no basis for comparison. In my home state the birds were just weird compared to normal for myself and many of my buddies, and remained the case through the whole season. Was able to fill my two tags in 4 hunts and help a buddy get his in a morning. KS and NE was pretty normal. MN birds were maybe the toughest birds I've ever hunted, but was able to get one to come in the second evening of two solid days of hard hunting. Got birds in SD and WY in snow storms, those WY Merriams sure do talk a lot and made it fun. Black hills birds on the other hand seem like they could give you fits.  I never heard a bird, so resorted to driving and finding birds.....they were few and far between and weren't responsive to calls so I had to resort to spot and stalking the 2nd group I located. 

Filled tags in 3 states, so I'm thrilled!

Very visual year...almost every bird worked into a jake decoy set up....I learned much about how setting up the jake decoy can affect the birds...

Not a typical year for sure, but great in my opinion!


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I have 2 best buddies that I try to turkey hunt at least one time with each spring.  This spring on separate hunts they each connected on a nice gobbler while I was hunting with them.  So, a very good year. 

I had a very good year dont get me wrong.  Killed more this year than I ever have, but most of them, including the birds I helped others get, were pretty tough.  The kinda acted weird, I dont know how to describe it.  Just didn't quite act like they do most years.  But that is turkey hunting, you never know whats gonna happen.

Probably my worse year in SW PA.  Happy I got a longbeard on the opener but i could not fill #2.  After my first one I heard 5 other birds on various hunts.  All but 1 either had hens yelping back at us or would keep heading away leading me to believe he wasn't alone!  Otherwise the wind was a howling almost every day I went out.   So hens and wind did me in but the birds and sign were there.

Worked hard, lots of gobbling. 5 birds down. Great season! Just love being in the turkey woods.

I was blessed to hunt 5 states this spring and harvested 8 gobblers. I killed two in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado. I got a big goose egg hunting the public land birds in Mississippi. Already planning for next spring.

I am new to this sight, so I probably will not do everything right, however we share the love of the sport, so please excuse any mistakes I might, and probably will make, thank you. Here in eastern Ky. things were about the same as usual, some gobble some don't, some come in when they gobble some don't .I don't consider myself a good turkey hunter, but I do enjoy trying. If you have patience and determination which I do, even a blind hog will find an acorn occasionally, which I did first two days of season, both birds probably 3 year old, good birds. Thank you for your patience,

Broke my ankle on March 5th and, with the help of my wife carrying the decoys and gun, took a gobbler on April 6th via a walker. Two weeks later, hobbled a couple of hundred yards in a walking boot but couldn't convince a tom to close the distance and I, because of the boot, couldn't maneuver to him through the woods. Two weeks later found me still in a walking boot taking a nice gobbler and able to drive up to the gobbler for an easy retrieve.

Bad year for me. I usually kill one maybe two if I'm lucky on the public land I hunt. Heard less gobbling than in the past but most of the days I got to hunt (mostly Saturdays) were not the best days to hunt by no means. Had a lot of rain this season. The last 3 days of the season I heard a bird or two in the morning but they were too far to go after & they only gobbled a few times in the tree. The only thing I called up this year was one hen. My hunting buddy called two gobblers in around noon the last day only to swing & miss. Very frustrating year for both of us. Maybe next year will be better.

It was a good spring.
I filled all 5 tags total I had in 3 states.
I had a hunt for the ages with my final tag...solid gobbling from 5:30-11:30, when I finally called one to the gun...I'll think about that hunt all winter. 
But best of all, my 10 year old boy killed his first gobbler this spring.
Greg

My worst season in 20 years. ::)
Heard, but didn't even see a gobbler in FLA or SC in nearly a month of hunting every day. Thankfully, I got an invite to NC. Had a scope malfunction that cost me one gobbler, but I finally got a nice gobbler after that. That's the only bird I got all season.

Had a great season....completed my Grand Slam in Oklahoma harvesting two Rios, then tagged an Eastern in PA the first week of the season. Lots of action...almost filled the second tag in PA but just couldn't quite close the deal. Can't wait for the fall season in a few months.

My season started off great in March in Alabama killing a nice bird on my second day of hunting.
Took a new kid who helps around the shop for his first hunt in April for the Long Island youth day (my first time turkey hunting L.I.as well) had a bird roosted on public land only to have hunters sneak in from opposite property and spook off the bird so no luck there.
Had a good morning in NY Chemung Co. on May 2nd calling in a nice 2 yr old from across a 150 yd open field with bird strutting all the way into the 2 bird decoy setup that my son killed at 35 yds all recorded on his head mounted Go-Pro. Done at 7:20 am...awesome hunt...First turkey hunt on video for us
I've been at it ever since to fill my own tag with a few close calls.. but this last week out in 3 days of hunting hearing only 2 gobbles total....very discouraging. Heard it rained hard up there today so I dont feel bad about losing closing day.I've been chasing turkeys on and off for 3 months. must get back to work..time to let all the scratches and mosquito bites heal up and get back to normal life..I'm done... another season in the books
Sometimes I'm glad its only 4 weeks and finally comes to an end... some of you more afflicted will know what I mean..
I'm already getting the deer stands ready for fall..

Filled both tags in PA. And one in MD. Two of which were on public ground, but did not hear as much gobbling as other years. All in all it was tougher than normal

About normal. I killed 5 in SC, 1 in FL, 2 in KS, and 3 in NE.  I got to watch my son kill 5 gobblers in SC and saw 6 others get killed.

Good season.  Turkeys acted like............turkeys.

In a nut shell...lame.  Only worked one bird, never saw him.  Hen took him away.

But a bad day of hunting is better than a good day at work.

Had a good year. Tagged out in KY in 3 days, killing 2 big gobblers. Finally killed a good one on public land in NC.
Birds gobbled and worked good, not too many ticks...a little rain. Not bad at all, I give it a solid A-


Sent by this stupid phone

Had an awesome season in Kentucky.  I was able to fill all 4 of my tags the first week as well as calling in birds for my kids and my dad throughout the season.  I was in on a double with a great friend.  Was fortunate to watch 8 birds fall this year.  My favorite was dads hunt because it was nonstop gobbling from the first time we made a call to him and dad had had a rough year up to that point.  So to see it all come together for him was priceless.

Good year for me. Tagged out in 2 states with 4 birds. 3 of the 4 were shot almost to the minute of each other about 45 minutes into the hunt, two of them on consecutive days in different states. All took a bit of work to get in front of the gun and I could have easily blown each hunt, but I guess I did everything right. Can't wait to get out again next season!

Was a good year considering, I heard way less in the areas I hunt in both PA and Ohio. Some areas that always held birds, didn't now as the birds have changed in my opinion. Less of them and very selective in the areas they hang in. Years ago I could go through big Public tacts and strike a bird about anywhere. Nowadays most birds are hanging tight to very specific areas with open steep terrain. Makes them very tough to hunt as they can stay in the bottoms and see up both sides. I feel the rise in coyotes makes them feel safer in these deep steep bottoms, as they can stay low and see predators coming, hens coming, hunters etc. Just don't strike them in the big open woods like I used too years ago, they are adapting.

says it all