How Close?

[FullChoke]

Turkey hunters wear camouflage from head to toe in an attempt to avoid detection from the sharpest eyes in the woods. The camo that we wear is generally very good at helping us meet this goal, so tell us, what was the closest that you have been to a wild turkey without being seen?

Cheers 

FC

[Chuck1443]

Called in 2 hens once, dropped my head thinking they may see my eyes and seen a pair of feet under my hat bill ... few ' away


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[Gumby]

I've had Jakes within arms reach before. Like Chuck1443 said, I felt they were so close they could definitely see my eyes move

[Sir-diealot]

I was hunting a guys field and after walking around a bit I finally got a gobble, soon after that I got another gobble that was closer. The only thing to sit against was an old I think they call them sluths pipes that had a bunch of black stuff wrapped around it. Well we talked a bit and then he dummied up. Next thing I know this tom lands on top of the pipe about a foot from my head, I don't know who was more surprised, me when he landed or him when I jumped! By the way I don't know what was wrapped around that pipe but it never did come out of that shirt. Oh and no I did not get him.

[MK M GOBL]

During a hunt, 2-3 feet. But I had a wild gobbler in my hands, bird crossed a road in front of us as we drove and he ran into a woven wire fence and got his head, neck and wing stuck and all I could see was him jumping and bouncing around, as we stopped I jumped out and ran up to him and got ahold of his legs and got him untangled, I put his head under his wing and calmed him down, I gave him a bit of spin (if you have ever set birds for a pheasant club) and got him set down on the other side of the fence. Once he regained his bearings he stood up and took off. Was all and all a pretty cool deal to help him out.

MK M GOBL

[mightyjoeyoung]

I've had them walk across my legs.  Had one hen in particular hop up like my right leg was a log and proceed to preen for what felt like forever, while her boyfriend strutted no more than 6 feet away from the bottoms of my boots.  I could smell her and I gotta say, she stunk. Lol. I DID get him btw.  She hopped off my leg and fed around a blowdown and while he turned away in full strut, I picked up my gun that lay on my lap, clicked off the safety and blew his head clean off.  Got it on my boots.  Lol. I went to stand up and my legs were so numb, I almost fell flat on my face.  Found the flight control wad and it still had most of the load in it, topped of with what I can only assume was this guy's face.

[FullChoke]

I spotted a turkey down a gravel road one morning while on my mountain bike in National Forest land. I stopped and waited for it to move off the road, then dropped the bike in the ditch and slipped up the road a few yards. I set up on a big pine and waited to see if the bird would continue on towards me. After about 30 minutes of soft clucking I hear crunsh...crunch...KARUNTCH right next to me! I stop breathing and cut my eyes as hard to the right as I can. There is a large form within an arms length that starts to purr and cluck. The hen continues walking out to the road, still purring at that blue thing laying in the ditch down there. She walked right past the tree I was occupying and right when she should have made me, her attention was turned to the bike instead. If I had known that she was going to get that close to me, I would have tried to reach out and pet her as she went by.

[paintbrush]

  I've had a few very close encounters over the years. Out in SD one year I was laying flat on my belly, which was smaller back then, calling to 2 longbeards at the bottom this tall cut bank when a tom that I had no idea was there cut loose with a gobble like 10 feet behind me. How he didn't see me jump is beyond me! He proceeded to walk past me on my left at maybe 6'. Nearly blew his head off at less then 10 yards.
  Another time out there I was sitting on a creek bottom when a tom sounded off on a high creek bluff on the other side of this creek. I was watching him strut back and forth on top of this bluff for 20 minutes or so. Finally he launches off the top of this bluff and lands in the bottom 60 yards or so out in front of me.. I got the gun up on him as he is coming in when all of a sudden this jakes pops out of the creek bed not 6 feet from me. When the tom see's this he starts coming fast!. The tom is now less the 30 yards and this jake is like 4 feet off of my boots. The jake is ever so slightly to my left and the tom slightly to my right, so I have a good clear shot at this tom. When I touched off on that tom, that jake did a complete back flip! After he gather himself he took off in a drunken like trot. He was so close I might have deafen the poor little bugger. I got the tom by the way.
  Then there's this hunt here in MN.  Got into the area we hunt to late to do any roosting of the birds so I just set up in this area of a field where the turkeys usually frequent. I get in well before daylight figuring to move on the toms when they start to sound off. As it starts to get light a tom lets loose and he is close! Then another right with him. I sit down,and wait for about 5 minutes and then do a couple soft yelps,and then wait for flydown. I here one of the toms flydown and then the other. They both hit the ground just behind me. This one tom comes out into the field maybe 10 yard to my left. and walks out into the field. When he gets out to about 25 yards out, I let fly. That's when all heck broke loose right next to me! There was one heck of a rucess let me tell you. Leaves went flying, branches were being broke, I could feel a stiff breeze hitting me in the back of my head! I was so fixed on the tom in the field I lost track of that second tom who came up right behind me. Dang nere needed clean undies after that one!