Just A Matter Of Time

[turkeybow]

Well I started out the season trying to get my girlfriend her 1st bird and we were oh so close!!  I knew at the new place we stood a real good chance of pulling off a double as several toms have traveling partners.  Here is how the season has went so far:

Friday Evening (day before season):  We drive by the pasture first and look at what we can see from the road.  We spot a strutter with one hen so I got PUMPED.  I just knew all we would have to do is follow him to roost and set up on him at 1st light.  Well as he and his hen headed up to the woods my girlfriend says here comes more birds.  I ask where and she said up in the woods.  I threw up the binoculars to scan the woods and see 3 gobblers ducking the fence.  They enter the field at a dead sprint to the strutter and try to jump him.  They all take off running and go up and over the hill.  As they cross back and forth running around 2 MORE enter the field to join.  I was about to loose it!!  Well after a while they settled down a bit and went up in the woods.  We waited until about 20min to dark and headed up to where they were.  It was hooting time so I let it rip with just a single note.  As soon as I stopped at least 4 birds sounded off only 40yds away still on the ground.  We froze and birds started flying up everywhere.  They split so the plan was to sit in between the 2 groups.

Saturday Morning:  Got up to the same spot and put out a strutter with a jake fan and 2 hens (DSD and Delta).  We had birds off to our right and left.  Never heard a peep to our left but a few were sounding off to our right.  Every time the geese would honk he would gobble and then a hen would yelp a few times.  The hens never made much noise but would only really talk after he gobbled.  I hadn't even made a peep and wasn't planning on it until they were on the ground.  My girlfriend said she heard one much closer up on the hill but I didn't so finally after a while I said it was time to start calling.  I got the bird on the ridge above us to sound of a few times.  At this point he was really the only one talking so I positioned myself so I could watch up the hill towards the ridge.  Finally I see 3 toms step out about 60yds away.  They could see the decoys and they just stood there staring.  2 finally ventured over the hill and I was worried that the 3rd would too so I threw some yelps at him.  He hammered back 3 times and then started strutting.  He then walked over the hill with them    I was worried they may try to loop around or something so I kept scanning the field on the other side of me.  Finally I spot 2 birds out in the field around 100yds away.  I wasn't sure what they were but they were on a direct path to us.  Thought this may be some of the birds that roosted to our left out in the pasture.  This was perfect because I was able to peek around the tree and see them.  I look back around the tree and they are 60yds and still coming.  I let my girlfriend know and peep back and they are 40yds and still coming.  I told here they were coming and I wasn't going to look again and told her to be ready.  Finally the walk right in front of me at 10yds and I hear one throw his wing out fast and I look to see 2 longbeards coming up to our decoys.  They came right up behind the strutter and acted real nervous.  They heads were real close and they weren't calm at all.  Their heads were constantly moving back and forth pretty fast.  My girlfriend asked me to separate them and I told here that there was no way that I could.  They didn't even stand at the decoys for 20 seconds.  I figured these birds have had their tails whooped.  They finally headed over the hill to where I could just see their heads.  I decided to throw out some clucks and purrs hoping it would calm them down and they would come back up the hill.  Well they did but they still wouldn't separate and they headed under the fence out into the other pasture.  One walked out of sight and the other strutted for 10 seconds before going out of sight too.  She didn't feel comfortable taking a shot because she was afraid that she would kill them both.  I was proud of her for having the guts to not pull the trigger.  I was just frustrated after that because I couldn't stand seeing birds that close and not coming out with one but it happens.  We then got up to try to get on all the birds we heard to our right.  We eased around trying to spot them and it turned out they were still on the tree and it was 830!!  So we decided to go back where we were and try to get them to come our way.  On our way back to the field there was 3 gobblers out in the pasture right where we were sitting............go figure.  We ended up getting hungry and headed out for lunch.

Saturday Mid Day:  We eased around the pastures calling every now and then.  I finally struck a bird but he only sounded off one time.  We started making our way towards him and finally spotted him.  He was down in a bottom strutting back and forth all by himself.  I tried to crawl out and put DSD up but he ended up heading the other way up a draw.  Since it was getting close to time for my girlfriend to be at work we decided to sneak up to the top of the draw to get a shot.  We got into position and started crawling.  By the time we got over to where we could see he was gone and no where to see 

Saturday Evening:  We only saw one bird.  Didn't hear a peep as we almost got blown away.  The bird came up to 60yds or so but never came in.  She couldn't hunt Sunday morning so I decided to go to another place by myself.  I didn't hear a peep so she called me when she was off.  We decided to head back to the same farm.

Sunday Mid Day:  As we were pulling up to park I thought I spotted a few birds.  I grabbed my binoculars to see and sure enough I spotted a strutter.  Since my decoy strutter didn't work I decided to carry my jake.  We used the hills to put us into position.  We couldn't get to where we wanted as the birds were to close to the edge of the pasture but we were able to put the decoys out in sight.  So I set up a jake and 2 hens and dropped back down into a little bowl.  I began calling and heard the hens and jakes start yelping.  We were able to tell they were slowly getting closer so I told her to get ready.  Soon she says I see them so I knew that they were close.  I look and see 3 red heads coming.  I was thinking holy cow, here comes 3 gobblers.  My girlfriend then says crap, they're all jakes!  She doesn't want to shoot a jake for her first bird.  I told her to just be patient and look for the gobbler because he is with them.  I finally look off to the right and spot him.   He is standing there 50yds away with 3 more gobblers and 3-4 jakes.  They were all on the other side of the fence.  A few of the jakes start ducking the fence and coming out into the pasture so I started thinking the gobblers would come too.  Well the jakes at the decoys started loosing interest and I realized that my decoy looked just like them so why would he care to come in??  Sure enough he ended up turning and heading over the hill with the other 3 gobblers in tow.  I figured I had nothing to lose and didn't care if the jakes spooked.  I started cutting and he gobbled.  I threw out fighting purrs and everything and he just didn't care.  We let them all walk off and tried to get out in front of them but we never heard another peep out of them.  The strutter scares some gobblers the 1st time so we don't use it and this time I think not using it kept these from coming in 

Sunday Evening:  Set up in the pasture and ended up not seeing anything until right before fly up.  We heard them but they stayed in the other pasture.  We watched the birds fly up before dark.  I got up this morning to see what those birds were and it ended up being the same flock we called in earlier.  We have been literally covered up with birds and it seems like it's only a matter of time before we lay the SMACK down on some birds 

[turkeybow]

Dang, the season has only been open two days and I have the start of a book!!  I could hunt here by myself and I have the permission to take out at least 2-3 birds.  I just can't bring myself to hunt for a bird for me until she gets her 1st.  She has this up coming weekend off so I hope I can get this to finally happen.  Her 1st bird has been 3 years in the making!

[harvester]

Dang, the season has only been open two days and I have the start of a book!!  I could hunt here by myself and I have the permission to take out at least 2-3 birds.  I just can't bring myself to hunt for a bird for me until she gets her 1st.  She has this up coming weekend off so I hope I can get this to finally happen.  Her 1st bird has been 3 years in the making!

Have you tried one of Dans whistler calls? I have been tearin them up with it. They can't resist the keekees for some odd reason this year. Have you tried gettin aggressive with them? I usually have good luck yelping 3 or 4 times and cuttin 2 or 3 times and go right back to yelpin a couple of times, non stop.

[turkeybow]

Have you tried one of Dans whistler calls? I have been tearin them up with it. They can't resist the keekees for some odd reason this year. Have you tried gettin aggressive with them? I usually have good luck yelping 3 or 4 times and cuttin 2 or 3 times and go right back to yelpin a couple of times, non stop.

I haven't tried the 2 reed call but I have the 3 reed call, I think I can run it better.  I'm not much on being able to keekee but I will keep that in mind.  I have got aggressive but they don't seem to get aggressive at all.  They just yelp back and the gobblers don't gobble much at all on the ground.  I have tried the yelping a few times and then cutting and then back to yelping and it hasn't raised much of a response yet.  Not sure what the deal is.  I know I'm not going to leave the stutter decoy behind again!

[harvester]

I carry a hen decoy that I hardly ever use. I personnally think they do more harm than good and are an aggravation to deal with if you have to reposition on a bird. I use the 3 reed whistler call myself and love it. You can get soft or a little rasp for hard callin on it. If they don't gobble much for me, I talk to them, ALOT. I try and get them fired up.

[turkeybow]

I carry a hen decoy that I hardly ever use. I personnally think they do more harm than good and are an aggravation to deal with if you have to reposition on a bird. I use the 3 reed whistler call myself and love it. You can get soft or a little rasp for hard callin on it. If they don't gobble much for me, I talk to them, ALOT. I try and get them fired up.

I hadn't been much on decoys but I hate to not use them here as it's pretty open pasture.  I'm afraid that they will come out looking for the hen and if they don't see it they won't come since it's pretty open.  But then again they may come trying to find it.  Maybe I haven't been aggressive enough with them.  Decoys aren't much of a hassle here as it's a real short walk for us.  It only becomes a burden if you need to make a quick move like you mention.  I'm all the way up on the edge of the property as that's where they spend most of their time so I don't have much room to move as it seems they go across the line a good bit.

I felt like last year I was aggressive when they weren't and I couldn't get it to work so I've tried acting just like the responses I have been getting back.  I have been a little aggressive.  Maybe I just need to let it all go and really throw it at them.  I will have to give that a shot this weekend and see what kind of results I get.  I have always been the one that would talk to them if they weren't gobbling much, A LOT as well    Maybe I just need to stick to what I normally do and quit thinking that it will mess things up if I do that.  I just want this to happen for her so bad I just think to much.  I just need to forget it all and do what I do best..........be a LOUD mouth hen

[mfd1027]

It's just a matter of time"   could be my motto this year.   Just keep messing with them and sooner or later it will happen.  Good stories.   I can't wait til you post that pic. of your GF with that big ol gobbler!!!

[unclerick]

It's just a matter of time"   could be my motto this year.   Just keep messing with them and sooner or later it will happen.  Good stories.   I can't wait til you post that pic. of your GF with that big ol gobbler!!!

Ditto