Attempted to take a nice Tom with my bow on Friday and missed at 30 yards...twice! I was shaking so bad I guess I just blew it. The birds spooked on the second miss and took off. I figured I would leave the area alone for a few days, but I'm wondering if now that they know they've been shot at, did I just ruin my chances? It's a small area so I don't have a lot of room to place the blind in a completely different spot. Just curious if anyone has any advice.
Go back after them again.
Maybe with a different call so they hear a "different" hen.
I think it's safe to hunt the same area, but I'd probably hide in a different spot just to be sure.
It happens. Turkeys are about like deer, sometimes unpredictable however they will come back at times. You'll never know if you don't go back and see
Give them a few days. They will be right back. They don't know they've been shot at. All they know is some noise and some movement spooked them.
Thanks guys! I was so mad at myself. Now I just need to make up for it. :(
I killed the dominant bird of a pair of gobblers yesterday. My buddy killed the other this morning (~75 yards from where I shot the first).
They have a short memory. Just about everything is out to get them in nature. You were not the only thing that spooked them Friday. I'd say the shotgun report would have been more traumatic than an archery miss.
If turkeys never went back to areas they had been boogered they would never stop moving.
Give it a day or two and those birds will be right back in that same area you will be fine. If you turkey hunt long enough your going to spook some birds. I think you will be just fine I would use a different call to be on the safe side.
turkeys get spooked several times a day. They are extremely paranoid anyway . Most likely did not have a clue as to what happened. I have shot them with a shotgun and their buddy get out of dodge , go back the next morning and kill the buddy. They do not reason and are not very smart. The reason they are hard to kill is because they are so paranoid and their instincts. Go kill him. Good luck.
Nah, you'll be just fine. Like lots of guys have said, they spend a good part of their day freaking out. I'd hunt them again soon.
Missed a bird this year in Texas...4 hours later same bird comes back and I nailed him.
Quote from: cuppednlocked on April 09, 2017, 11:39:59 PM
I killed the dominant bird of a pair of gobblers yesterday. My buddy killed the other this morning (~75 yards from where I shot the first).
They have a short memory. Just about everything is out to get them in nature. You were not the only thing that spooked them Friday. I'd say the shotgun report would have been more traumatic than an archery miss.
:agreed: :agreed: Get back after them as soon as you get a chance. I missed a gobbler early one morning last year and he left flying, I checked out another couple places nearby then went back to original spot around 11 oclock, he was in the same field and almost in the exact same spot I missed him earlier.
I agree with everything said. If you were using decoys, change your setup as well. Ditto to the calling, although I doubt that is really all that necessary it will help your confidence. The only time I feel like I have blown it is when I bump them across a big creek or road or river. Even then, they will be back, it just may take longer.
I've called a bird back in within an hour of watching his buddy get shot, let things settle he flew into the woods moved positions, changed calls and got him answering right away and coming. The shot separated him from the hens and that's all that mattered to him
He'll be back. Ive seen one bird get shot at 6 different times in the same field.
Quote from: birdman561 on April 11, 2017, 08:20:16 PM
He'll be back. Ive seen one bird get shot at 6 different times in the same field.
Gotta love turkeys. If they could flip you the bird they would.
Turkeys don't care about yesterday, and don't care about tomorrow. They live in the moment
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