Set-Up Question?

[guesswho]

I asked this on another forum and figured I'd ask here as well.  Would you or have you ever purposely set-up on a bird with your back to him?

[redarrow]

Yes. This pat spring. He was in a neighboring property with some hens. I set in a corner in a pop up blind and they came in from behind me as expected into a field of bean stubble. Hens first then the gobbler. They came out on my left at about 10 or 15 feet. I shot him at maybe 30 yards.

[Tail Feathers]

Not only with my back to him but where I only had a left handed shot when he showed.  I really had no other options.
It was either set up that way or try to cross a creek bottom full of dry leaves.  I didn't think I could get away with that.
I got that long-spurred bad boy tho.

[TnTurk]

I sat up on a bird late one afternoon that was gobbling his head off on top of a ridge near the edge of a field. After a brief examination of the terrain, I decided to position myself so that the ridge and bird was directly off my backside left shoulder. Directly in front of me about 30 yards was a little knoll, and that's where I figured he'd come in from if he decided to come off that ridge.  Well after about 10 or 15 minutes of soft yelps and purrs, I went silent.  The next 20 minutes or so was nothing but anticipation and a little second guessing myself as to whether I should of made the move to get closer on his level. About then is when I saw him circling until he finally made his way to that little knoll. I never had to move. May he rest in peace. 

[Gobble!]

At this point my answer is no. But based on the terrain one day I might, who knows.

[dirt road ninja]

Not on purpose.

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

If he had circled me on his approach multiple times and finished silently, yes.......

Unless I was near a creek or impenetrable thicket where I could strategically set-up to prevent the circle.

[Neill_Prater]

Yes, when I got between a bird roosted in the timber and an open field. I figured, correctly, he would pitch down in the field rather than in the timber. He hit the ground, took two steps, which took him from behind a little bush, and "boom". I never even made a cluck. Neill

[El Pavo Grande]

I can recall one time intentionally setting up with gobblers at my back.  It was a field edge and due to brush piles, etc. it was the only option.  I went in very early before daylight and was within about 40 yards of them, but I knew it was about the only option.  It worked out perfectly.

[sugarray]

This spring I had roosted a bird, first time in my 3 yr career.  The bird was over a fence in a wooded area next to a mowed field.  I sat in my gobbler lounger right in front of a full green bush on the fence.  I carried a downed limb to my left where the turkey would come from.  He came out 5 yds or less on my left.  Walked right past my decoys is a half strut and I shot him going away at 30-40 yds.  He gobbled at 550, flopping at 613.


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[maustypsu]

I could see myself getting that creative if needed on property I knew well if I got caught off gaurd by a gobble.

Closest I have come is putting a pair of gobbling birds at my back with another gobbling in front of me.  I had seen the one in front of me do the same thing twice during scouting so I set up for him and the best set up for that bird was having the other two at my back.

Now I would have shot either of those other birds but I can't say I was hunting them.

[njdevilsb]

I did, kind of, once that I can remember,  but it wasn't 100% on purpose.  He roosted off by himself, and the rest of the flock went another way.  We setup for the way we figured the flock would come, which put this lone bird to our back left.  As luck would have it, the lone bird is the one I was slinging over my shoulder that day.

[WildTigerTrout]

I can't ever recall setting up like that on purpose. My answer is no. I do not hunt many open fields here, mostly BIG woods. I guess if I would hunt open fields setting up like that could be an advantage.

[bird]

When you hunt open fields like I do here in Iowa you almost have all the time. So yes I do almost all the time.

[MDbowman]

Couple years ago a buddy and I heard a bird at o'dark thirty, and inched in on him. We set up 20 yds apart maybe 100 yds from the bird and were just waiting as it lightened up. Pretty soon we had a bird gobble directly behind us maybe 150 yards and another back off my right shoulder that was the farthest of the three.  I gave some soft tree yelps and got hits from all three. Pretty soon I could tell the back birds were on the ground so I started sliding around my tree to get in better position. These 2 came in nice and the bird in front that my bud kept positioned for hadn't come down yet.  I saw the right bird first and got on him, in the meantime the back bird got within 25 yds of us when I finally hammered the right one at 35 yds. My buddy never saw a bird!