On this mornings scouting trip, I found 4 toms, 2 jakes and 12-14 hens. The woods where they roost is very thick and it would be hard to shoot more then 20-30 yards at best. Also, sneaking in at dark would be difficult because there are tons of thorns and slashings. The field runs east and west with the woods on the north. The birds were 100 yards off the edge of the field and were in different groups. Then hens were to the west of the toms about 200-300 yards. As the sun came up the toms gobbled and there was very little hen talk. The hens flew out into the field on the highest spot. The toms flew down in the woods and looped through the woods and came out by the hens. From there they fed and strutted together until I had to leave for work. I plan on watching the field a few more mornings before my season next Wednesday.
My question is, how would you set up on these birds? I have a blind, DSD jake, upright hen and a tail fan on a jake decoy at my disposal. Would you set up on the high spot where the hens flew out and wait them out?
I struggle hunting birds in this situation so I am open to all ideas.
If you have a blind and have the decoys I would get out there early put a popup blind on the high spot with your jake decoy right behind a hen decoy and wait for him to fly down...more than likely he ain't gonna like it too much seeing another gobbler in the field. I have put blinds out in the open and they don't seem to mind at all. Good luck!
Quote from: tha bugman on April 21, 2017, 09:23:15 AM
If you have a blind and have the decoys I would get out there early put a popup blind on the high spot with your jake decoy right behind a hen decoy and wait for him to fly down...more than likely he ain't gonna like it too much seeing another gobbler in the field. I have put blinds out in the open and they don't seem to mind at all. Good luck!
Good advice.
Yup, turkeys will usually walk right passed a newly placed blind without so much as giving it a second glance but if the hunting pressure is high around your area the decks might spook him, I've had them fly down in a field see the decks and go the other way plenty of times.
I would try to get like this:
These birds have not seen a hunter since seeing me last fall when I was deer hunting the property.
Quote from: wisconsinteacher on April 21, 2017, 02:08:08 PM
These birds have not seen a hunter since seeing me last fall when I was deer hunting the property.
My Favorite kind! Good luck. I like your odds.
Quote from: tha bugman on April 21, 2017, 09:23:15 AM
If you have a blind and have the decoys I would get out there early put a popup blind on the high spot with your jake decoy right behind a hen decoy and wait for him to fly down...more than likely he ain't gonna like it too much seeing another gobbler in the field. I have put blinds out in the open and they don't seem to mind at all. Good luck!
Agreed.
Quote from: stinkpickle on April 21, 2017, 06:45:43 PM
Quote from: tha bugman on April 21, 2017, 09:23:15 AM
If you have a blind and have the decoys I would get out there early put a popup blind on the high spot with your jake decoy right behind a hen decoy and wait for him to fly down...more than likely he ain't gonna like it too much seeing another gobbler in the field. I have put blinds out in the open and they don't seem to mind at all. Good luck!
Agreed.
X3
Just remember, "Roosted ain't Roasted" those walnut sized brains Kick our Butts everyday. I'll be in Wisconsin, with a buddy, on the 3rd of May for the 3rd week of the season. Good Luck!
Went scouting one last time before the season opener tomorrow. Today there was only one tom and he flew out to the field and walked down to the low spot and gobbled for a few minutes. The big flock that was there a few days ago was no where to be found.
Crazy birds!!!!
The temps are dropping 30-35 degrees today and rain is coming. Going to be a miserable morning but I will be out there enjoying the opportunity to hunt.
Have you watched them enough to get a sense of where they are going 30 mins to an hr after fly down? Staying tight on the roost is by no means a dead gobbler. Sounds like, but of course I really don't know your spot, that it could be better of you had an idea of travel and get yourself set up. Might have to put in some wait time, but as you know, they rarely will go where they don't want to....good luck
They come off the limb and go to a corner of the field and hang out to strut and feed. I will be in that area tomorrow morning.
Honestly right now you have the ball in your court. The rain is the best thing that can happen to you. The only guarantee is that those birds will be in that field after the rain. Get in a spot they like.
This seems obvious. They aren't pitching down into thorns. Locate the area they went up to the roost from by long range watching the night before n set up there tomo. No guarantees but a good start
Woke up to rain this morning so I planned on taking the blind to stay dry. I put out a single upright hen in the field and took a nap. At day break a tom gobbled to my left and gobbled for a few minutes. At fly down, a jake and hen flew down to my left and circled around me. The first tom the gobbled never made another sound but 2 other toms started gobbling to the right!!! At that point, hens started to fly out to the field and the 2 toms joined them. They circled around me and the 4 jakes with the flock came into the decoy while the rest of the flock walked to the picked corn field to feed. When I had to leave for work, I believe I busted the jakes in the corn field 250 yards away.
I would set up where Toms are coming out of woods, if consistently the same area.
I was out there early again today. Today it was only one tom and a few hens. He was in the same spot as yesterday and I know where he is sleeping now so I have a plan for the night. At fly down, he comes out with 2 hens and a jake 100 yards away. Next a hen lands in my decoys and 2 more sail over the blind. Eventually, all the birds are 400 yards south of me in the middle of a huge field. There is not a tree around for 300 yards from them.
I watched them for 10-15 minutes when I noticed a guy coming from the neighbors with a tail fan. He walks towards the flock and they start to move away from him. He keeps coming and they keep moving towards the creek bottom. Eventually 2 hens fly away and the flock goes over the hill. The guy then kneels down on top of the hill and sits there. He is 500 yards away so I decide to break my set up down and sneak out because he cleared the field. As I'm putting the blind away, I look up to see a black blob moving towards the guy...Bang, flop. There goes my tom. All I can do at this point is shake my head and laugh because I don't know what else to do.
There have been 2 other toms in the area but I did not hear or see them on Tuesday or today (Thursday). Do I go back one more time to see if another tom is around of abandon ship and go looking for a new spot???
If I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all!!!!
Ouch!! You got reaped!!
Yep, and the bird was on the land I can hunt while he was standing on land he can hunt. Oh well, move on and try some other place tomorrow I guess.