Some years things line up, and some years they do not... More often than not, I have gotten in my own way, but have had some bad luck outside of my control as well (as I am sure all of you have).
I have had a bird I working on all season come in with cattle and could not shoot; 25 minutes of watching that bird strut and gobble right in front of me with cattle preventing a safe shot. Same bird next day came in a gully (15 yards below me) and a coyote ran out of nowhere and chased him off; I should have stood up and shot them both.
I have had cattle run me off... Trying to call in a bird and an aggressive cow with a calve walked up to me and started stomping and pawing close enough (as in just about to step on me) that I had to stand up and spook the bird.
I once had horses come and run off a bird that was coming right at me. Bird cut through a small property, and was headed my direction, when horses ran over to see what was up...
I have had bobcats, foxes, and coyotes stalking my calling and chase off birds... I have seen both bobcats and coyotes chase birds I was hunting.
I once had a bird coming around the edge of a pond, headed right towards me, when he was assaulted by a pair of Canada geese (that was a helluva thing to see).
I was working a bird on a cattle ranch. He was with a hen that was coming to me (to show dominance I assume), and the hen was leading and about 20 yards away (just the other side of the road). I was sitting on the edge of the small dirt road, and that tom was just out of range... Here comes the rancher in his little truck. Even though I was right off the road, I knew he would not see me, and I also knew if he drove past (without stopping or slowing) the birds would likely not get spooked.
Well, he stopped 2 feet away from me, and I figured he saw me and wanted to talk. He got out of his truck (I was near the passenger side) and when he came around, I stood up, and he just about had a heart attack. He had no idea I was there, had not seen me or the turkeys, and was stopping for some random reason.
I also know why decoys come in solid bags... While walking back to my truck going up a steep canyon logging road, I got a gobble right in front of me. I dropped my decoy (in a mesh bag) and crouched at the bend of the road. Bird went above me and around (I have no idea why he did that), and could not have been more than 20 yards away just around the bend, when he happened on my decoy (in the mesh bag)... He saw that decoy, putted, and flew off.
What are some of your stories???
Jakes came in on a KS archery hunt. I shot 'em. The End(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190503/1d23cce756ef7d354c7b14fa1d0c7949.jpg)
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LOL, all the above. The only thing I can add is that I had a goat run into a gobbling tom about 30 yards from my decoy once. I guess goats don't like gobbling. Oh well :turkey2:
Had a bird gobble like 100 yards away. Fit tree I saw happened to be really close to a fire ant den. For a few moments, I forgot about that turkey.
At one time or another, I have had most of the stuff you mention happen, Marc. The cattle, horse, and coyote interference especially had me nodding my head. There are certain things that happen that make you say,..."The turkey gods just did not want me to kill that gobbler". Some of your incidents certainly fit that bill.
Here's one for you that just happened last month. A friend of mine was working a bird with his brother. They had closed the distance and had the gobbler coming steadily to them. The tom was almost in shooting range when a 40' pine tree between them and the gobbler decided to fall down right between them.
Now, when that sh*t happens, a guy knows he wasn't supposed to kill that bird! :o :newmascot: :o
Someone shot him out of the tree 100 yrds from where I was set up. Gotta love a good sportsman.
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Deer snorting.
I have had several picked off with rifles on their way in.
Quote from: tal on May 03, 2019, 08:54:20 AM
Deer snorting.
I never have had a deer snort chance a turkey that was fired up but I have had a few bears chase them.
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Quote from: Gooserbat on May 03, 2019, 08:03:25 AM
Had a bird gobble like 100 yards away. Fit tree I saw happened to be really close to a fire ant den. For a few moments, I forgot about that turkey.
Ants... Hate em'...
We do not have fire ants, but we do have some big aggressive red ants...
Was hunting with a buddy back in the day (who is now a more avid turkey hunter than I am) who had yet to kill a bird... Bird was coming right towards us, when he starts flailing and making some awful sounds...
Turns out he was getting bit the whole time and was trying to suffer through the pain, until one bit him on the eyelid... Apparently the eyelid was his breaking point (he was covered in ant bites).
A greasy breakfast sandwich as "ruined" one for me a time or two.
Mine would have to be when I got stung on the back of the neck by a white faced hornet while hunting in NY. Fortunately I was only about 200 yards away from my truck. Used my epi pen and drove about 8 mins to our local ER. I don't do well with anything with venom and always carry an epi pen in my vest (first thing in my vest and then TP, then everything else)
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Wrong setup more than anything else.
wow I have never had any of that stuff happen to me, you guys must be jinxed or something :TooFunny: :funnyturkey: every turkey I never got was simply because I was feeling gracious and let him have a reprieve that day........
Now about this land in New Mexico I have for sale, nice ocean front cottage and cool breezes with great surfing. Cheap and immediate possession just send cash. The only thing is there this old codger that lives there you'll have to evict .....gooblenut or something like that
Opening day I had a bird cruising down the logging trail 15 minutes in, PERFECT SITUATION! Then it turns around and left. Then a coyote jogged by. I just wanted to take my gun throw it as far as I could and leave.
Hens are just killing me this year. Roost right next to the gobblers and fly down to them, even if 150 yards across a river! They torpedo like fighter jets! I can't beat them!! I am so close to waiting for them to roost and go busting through the woods the break them up for the night. When fall season rolls around I might take my anger out on one.
Had a big gobbler strutting in the shade of an oak tree in the middle of a pasture. He had been there for an hour gobbling like crazy . He wasn't coming . Until a big black angus bull walked over an ran him out of the shade . He came straight to me . Sometimes it works out .
The last week one Nebraska, deer had been my nemesis. At first I would be working around a bird and spook deer on my way in. They wouldn't inevitably sprint through the turkeys and bump them. I'm still not sure how much it takes for deer to bother them, but it does bother them if a few sprint through their group.
On this subject, DO I HAVE A STORY FOR YOU GUYS!
A couple nights ago I was camped out next to their roost tree awaiting their return to thecspotbibfailed that morning. 15 minutes into my sit I hear a Jake yelp. Not two minutes goes by and I hear walking behind me. Slowly turn and there's a deer b-lining it to me. She gets to about 10 feet before blowing up and of course running through the turkeys. They get spooked wide of me so I follow, hearing yelping every once in a while. I climbed the hill to get an ear on their roosting location when I hear some nervous clucks 200 yards below me. I still can't believe they saw me as I was sitting there motionless at the time but it must have been me getting in my own way. I went to slide backwards out of there and when I did they all blew out like pheasants. I watch in agony through my binoculars as a few hens flew over the remaining public and were just about to land just across the cedar fence row when a nearly all white coyote jumps up and tries to snatch one! I yell "holy ****" and he does a great job of spooking the turkeys BACK into public. I never did put eyes on the gobbler but he was there! Bright and early the next morning i promptly got in my own way and screwed it up.
I've had deer, coyotes, wild hogs all spook deer. Hogs are the worst becuase nothing likes o be around them.
I worked a bird forever one morning and when he was almost in range, the trapper on the property came by to check his traps on a side by side and spooked the gobbler bad enough that he flew off.
I spooked one myself that was in sight when a rattler decided to slither by way too close scaring the crap out of me. It was within a few yards and headed to me when I decided that was enough and quit the game that morning wit the gobbler.
I totally get what you are saying.Cattle can really mess things up.Coyotes are out there, and they can ruin a hunt.Goats, geese, dogs. Turkey hunting, is always a cheap shoot, there are a lot if variables, but that makes it fun.One time, I had a goat, and a Lama come in.
I did unknowingly setup once right next to a big bull snake! Girth was about the size of my wrist and I'm no small fry at 6'1 pushing 200 pounds. I got up in a hurry when I saw him slither off in my peripheral vision. The bird had been in a field with a bunch of hens when a dune buggy came blazing by at 50+ MPH which actually worked to my advantage as it flushed the tom onto public and separated him from the hens that scattered in all directions. Got him to gobble a couple of times, but as soon as I sprung up from where I had setup, he never made another peep. Probably saw me.
Had a logging crew drive through my set up a couple weeks ago. That was a first for me
I've had many adventures in the woods hunting. It's part of what keeps me coming back for more!
I've had my decoys surrounded by 100 cows who just stood there staring and mooing at them. :TooFunny:
I've had a cow walk in, pick up my decoy by the neck and walk away with it. :o I had to chase it down and yell at it to get it to drop my deke. ;D
I had a bald eagle swoop down and grab and old foam style deke right off it's stake and fly away with it. After about 50 yards, it figured out that something wasn't right and dropped it.
One time I had a huge hawk (biggest I've ever seen!) swoop down and attack a hen deke. It was an inflatable with the A-Way Turkey Skinz feather outfit over it, so it looked very real. The hawk hit it in the neck with its talons, and punctured 5 big holes in the decoy's neck. Likely would have been lethal on a real hen.
Another time I was hunting a FLA WMA and had 2 idiots sneak in and raise their guns to shoot my decoys. I heard and saw them coming, so how in the world did they think they were going to sneak up on real turkeys? ::) I whistled to them, and they lowered then guns then looked around. Upon not seeing anything, they aimed at my dekes again. This time I stood up and yelled at them, "Don't shoot my decoys!!!" >:( They turned tail and ran away. :TooFunny:
One other time, also on a FLA WMA I had a gobbler coming in. He was just out of range when I heard a box call nearby. So did the gobbler. He stopped and turned towards the call. I looked and there were two idiots (we call them Walking Wally's) stand on the top of a nearby hill hammering on a box call like they were on a turkey hunting show. ::) They would call, look around, walk 50 to 75 yards and repeat. They didn't see the gobbler, but he dropped out of strut, and ran to a nearby clump of bushes and hid. I jumped up and ran closer, diving behind a bush when I got in range and aimed at the bushes the gobbler was in. These idiot Wally's saw me but kept coming and calling. ??? Finally they got close enough to spook the gobbler. He stood up and looked at them, I put the dot on his neck and fired. I ran up to my gobbler, and I was really pissed at the two morons. I picked up my gobbler and hoisted him and my shotgun into the air before letting out a victory yell. :z-guntootsmiley: :you_rock: The two Wally's kept walking and calling, going right by me. Weirdest thing I've ever seen ???
I've also seen Florida panthers, coyotes, bobcats, elk, mule and whitetail deer, moose, otters, alligators, snakes, big boar hogs, and all kinds of birds while in the woods. Never a dull moment!! :icon_thumright:
The oddest hunt I can remember was maybe 25-30 yrs ago and on a state forest. we were working a gobbler below a parking lot. A car pulls in and 4 mushroom hunters dressed in bright colors descend into the woods talking way louder than necessary and walking right at the gobbler. The gobbler walks over to a tree and stands like a statue. The shroom hunters hit the bench below us and walk right by us oblivious to our presence. Soon as they were like 100 yards away the gobbler lets out a big gobble and I hit him with a call. He responds and starts our way. when he is about 50 yards I hear talking behind me (my buddy is 30-40 yards in front of me). I start hammering the call to try and let the shroom hunters know we're there. One guy says lets sneak up and see those turkeys. Just as they are about 25 yards from me the gobbler gets close enough to my buddy and he drops the hammer. We could see all 4 of the mushroom hunters and knew they were clear. Soon as he shoots I hear a, "what the F&*#". I stand up and they about crap themselves. I turn and apologize for the scare and one guy calls me an asshole. I'm like didn't you hear me call, you parked by our truck and you could hear the gobbles, didn't you think someone might be hunting. His buddy lights into him and says, I told you so, we shouldn't even have come in here. My buddy and I just collected the bird and walked to our truck with the one jerk still yelling, "YOU FING ASSH%$S".
Now I was younger and more brash then. I would not do that today, the good Lord has changed my heart enough I would look at things a bit different.
Quote from: yelpy on May 03, 2019, 08:48:40 AM
Someone shot him out of the tree 100 yrds from where I was set up. Gotta love a good sportsman.
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Same thing happened to me.