Today is Mo opener so I was out and thought I had two different birds coming from opposite sides. I just waiting for the first one to show up then I heard the weirdist noise. Took me about 30 seconds to realize what it was.
Once I did I finally figured out those two were beating the snot out of each other. I've never seen two gobblers actually fight like these guys did. So I got to watch the show from about 100 yards off And I'm glad I wasn't in the middle. Still wasn't able to close the deal on either though
I had the pleasure of witnessing it twice now. The one time I drove my truck to within 60 yards of them and they just kept at it. They were twisting their necks around each other and pecking more than they used their spurs. I found that a little odd. Was it about that way with yours?
Oh ya, I think they may have accidentally french kissed a couple of times
Quote from: SinGin on April 18, 2016, 07:18:45 PM
Oh ya, I think they may have accidentally french kissed a couple of times
That's a good one!
Cool sighting. I have not encountered gobblers beating the snot out of each other ... yet.
I've never seen them fighting like that but I have seen a group of gobblers fighting a little in the early season... I guess establishing pecking order... That's cool though!
they can really go at it, I could not believe how loud the kicks were the first time I heard it a gobbler was beating down two jakes that got a little too excited over the toms hen "me". At 60yds it sounded like someone was hitting a punching bag with a baseball bat. The noise drew the attention of a second long beard who came in screaming about having dibs on the winner and they were squaring off to go a bout just as squeezed the trigger to hand out the trophy. Hunt I won't forget
Another time I glassed two toms that spent close to 10min clubbing jakes before going to roost in the evening, I set up about 250yds from them the next morning over a jake hen set and opened with a jake gobble and some fighting purrs. They pitched the entire 250yds and landed at 11 steps and went to work on the decoy. That was neat because my wife was along and got to see the show.
Hitting a punching bag with a ball bat is exactly what it sounded like.
Assuming they're alone, you can usually walk right up to them. Much like a fistfight between teenage boys, they tend to forget the rest of the world exists. Kind of a cheap deal to kill one that way, but you can position yourself close aand wait until they're done.
I've seen this twice and it was just as good the second time. They're intense! One time I was mountain biking and must have come up on a hen with a new hatch because she jumped up flapping and came at my face with her toes, I pulled the bike up by the handlebars and hit her with the front tire. I can't imaging what they could do with sharp Spurs.
Great sight to see!!
I got to halfway watch a fight last year. They were over the crest of a hill in a field and I kept seeing them jump up in the air attacking each other. I was a few hundred yards away watching through binoculars. It was wild. It looked like they were on a trampoline and would disappear behind the knoll when not in the air.
Watched 3 jakes surround a longbeard 2 years ago and flog the fool out of him. Ol boy took it to one of them for a second but he was surrounded and had no chance. He started running between them trying to find a way out and when he did he took off!
Sent from the Strut Zone
Awesome stories. That's why I love this sport. You never know and they always have you on your toes. I myself have not seen a fight buy I have heard one. And I was fairly new to hunting turkeys at the time. The sound was so intense I thought my bird had gotten eaten by a coyote or wild dog or something. Until I realized it was a bird fight. Hope to see one someday.
Got to experience two bull moose fighting in Saskatchewan before, but never got to see a pair of Toms get after it. I've experienced several different bachelor groups of Rios but they generally always seem to know who the boss is
You can believe this or not, if I had not been there I do not think I would.
In December 2 years ago I was quail hunting with two birddogs, both were wearing Sonic beeper collars. These are very loud low tone collars that beep every 7 seconds and then every second when the dog points. I kept hearing a noise at a distance, I could not recognize the noise but at first I thought it was someone working a gravel road about 3/4 miles away with a blade. Dogs went over a rise in the cutover next to some very large pines that go down to a creek and then came back to heal. My dogs will NEVER heal when hunting. They insisted on staying with me as I went across the rise.
By now the collars have switched to point mode and both are beeping every second, did I mention they are very loud. when I topped the rise the noise was coming from inside the large pines. When I got about 100 yards away I could recognize some individual turkey sounds. There were two distinct group of long beards that were in some kind of major fight and all were calling at the same time. Birds were strutting, no gobbling but a lot of purring and clucking. A turkey would fight with one for a few seconds then blow up and fight with a different bird. I counted 23 long beards and I am sure there were more. These turkeys let me walk close enough to them with two bird dogs at heal with beepers going off that I could have shot one of several. I could not have shot each of them because they were spread out over a little less than an acre and I was carrying my 16 gauge open choke bird gun with 7 1/2 shot. It is a double barrel and I know I could have killed one and would bet that I could have killed two. The turkeys that were closest to me flushed and lit again about 40 yards away, then the battle continued at a leisurely pace through the woods with groups of birds flushing to fly a short distance then others flying to them and fighting. They broke into two separate groups as they left but both groups continued to fight but not so aggressively as they had been originally. An old man stood with two bird dogs at heal with beeper collars blasting and watched them for about 3 minutes as they left. The dogs were not the same the rest of the day.
Now the part that is really hard to believe. The first day of the following spring season I went to that cutover sure that I would hear turkeys in all directions and did not hear a peep.
I've seen birds fight a few times. A few years ago I saw a gang of jakes about kill a gobbler. 5 of them wore this gobbler out. It was brutal.
I saw a pair fight like there was no tomorrow about 15 years ago. It was shockingly loud and they didn't seem to care what was in their way. They scrambled up and thumped the crap out of each other. it was really impressive how after each other they were.
Another day 6 years ago I was hunting at my old lease in the first week of the season and heard gobblers in the distance at dawn, but nothing once they flew down. I saw some hens cross the ridge and move down the draw about 60 yards off in the direction of the gobbling. All was quiet for the next couple hours, so I decided to move to higher ground. I checked around to see if anything was close before I stood up and right when I did, I heard fighting turkeys less than 100 yards from me. I started purring on my slate and a group of 4 hens and 2 gobblers moved in range. Only one of the gobblers left with the hens.
Jim
Have only seen it once in almost 30 years of hunting them, a great experience . they were really going at it, jumping up spurring , one would go rolling and come right back for more!
Have heard it some more times, but only saw it once. Hoping again, soon.
I've never seen two gobblers really go at it but one deer season I had a group of turkeys and a few sandhill cranes feeding out in front of me when a gobbler and a crane started fighting. That gobbler was serious with them spurs, it got pretty violent for a minute till the cranes left.