Most embarrassing turkey hunt?

[TennLongspur]

If you hunt turkeys long enough, I know you've had them. Maybe it was beginner's mistakes, or maybe as a seqasoned vet you have made foolish errors.

I am not sure where to begin, there are so many to choose from.

I  guess it was the morning we had three walk by us from right to left at about 35 yards. My brother-in-law and I BOTH missed. But to make matters worse, they evidently didn't know exactly what was happening because they turned and came back past giving us another chance. Yep, you guessed it. We missed again. In our defense, we had some tall grass and some light brush between us and the birds. Honestly, I'm not sure that had anything to do with it, but that's my story and I am sticking with it.

There also was the time I tried to move on a gobbling bird that was taking too long to come in. Well, I busted him about halfway between me and where I thought he was. The good thing was he had two hens with him and when I jumped him, the hens went one direction and he went another. I set up in the middle, waited a little while, and started calling. In no time the hens were on top of me. They spotted me. One flew off and the other pitched up in a tree almost directly above me. She was putting, cutting and carrying on at me. That's when he started gobbling. So I waved my arms and she flew away. I moved closer to the gobbler and started hammering back at him like the hen was doing. he gobbled a few more times and then went silent. (Let me back up for a minute and say that I am set up in the edge of a clearcut and he is on the other side. There are very few trees left standing, but there are several piles of brush and treetops.) Back to the story: after about 45 minutes passed and not hearing a peep out of him, I thought there is no way he is going to come back into that clearcut after I spooked him earlier that morning. So, I gathered my calls and stood to leave - he was strutting at inside 20 yards on the other side of a brushpile. I was too busy soiling myself to get off a shot. And to this very day, I have no idea how he crossed that clearcut without me seeing him.

I guess that is enough humiliation for one post.

[Ol'Mossy]

I missed 3 gobblers last year, that is very humiliating to me, but the 3rd week I finally got one.

[redarrow]

Shot about 4 feet over a gobblers head once cause I for got to put my cheek against the stock.My buddy gave me what for.I redeemed myself the next day while sitting under the same tree.

[MouthCaller]

Ive got one from last year one one from the year before. First last years...

Got on a bird gobbling hot on the roost and when it came time I started calling softly and maybe 2-3 mins later there he was coming in on a string right to me I am positioned on the side of a big ridge facing the turkey uphill is to my right downhill to my left... Turkey turned behind some trees and started uphill and at a weird angle I shot and thought I had missed and i then heard a bird gobble when I shot... well I can see the bird I shot at in the brush not going anywhere just looking around and this continues for about 5 mins until the bird I shot at starts to flop and the bird who was gobbling starts beating him up. I got the bird but it wasnt instant, kinda strange but neat hunt.

the year before

One afternoon I was hunting on another property and was on a big ridge calling and heard a flock come down the other big ridge to the west coming down off the mtn to roost, well the next morning they were still there and I tried calling him in but to no avail he had too many hens. So that afternoon I got in there early between where he had came from the day before and his roost and set up. Sure enough he came in but got around me and was already downhill from me, a quick gobble cll and he was in my lap. I missed him at 5 YARDS!!! a week later I went on the same ridge at 11am and caught him without hens called him into my lap again and got him the second time.

[turkey_slayer]

Pulled into my spot on the last day of the season after driving an hour to get there. 4 gobblers where hammering every breath. I forgot my shells :goofball:hells . No big deal tho cause I was by myself so nobody knows about it lol

[turkey_slayer]

Ooh just thought of another one. Shot a bird about 730 one morning and an hour 15 minute from the truck. I thought sweet I can get back and get some work caught up. Got to the truck and realized I had left my gun propped up at the tree I was sitting again. It was almost noon before i got back to the truck. Noticed a pattern? Its not the turkeys that embarrassing me its me embarrassing me lol

[lumberjack]

My buddy and I were changing spots, as we emerged out of a wooded draw and into a growning up pasture field, my buddy freezes in mid stride, startled I look over his right shoulder through the tall grass and see a turkey, in the miliseconds that followed my brain said "jake" and "it looks kinda funny" but my mouth says "Shoot!!" in a loud whisper.  In the next second I realize why my brain thought it looked funny...it was a decoy!!  (I) we did not shoot, and we did have permission to hunt this property, as did others.  We never did see or hear the other hunter, and I'm kinda glad one witness was enough.  Always make sure of your target. 

[TRKYHTR]

I was turkey hunting in FL one time with a well known fisherman. We had hunted that morning with no success but when we were heading out I spotted a few turkeys in front of us. I decided to try and sneak around and get in front of their direction. At one spot it got wide open but the lay of the land made it so that if I crawled I could not be seen. I needed to crawl about 50 yards to get to my set up and be able to see. About half way there I kept noticing thes small little mounds I was crawling across. Then I realized I had ants in my facemask, shirt, pants, etc... I was almost to my spot when they must have all yelled at each other that it was time to bite. Since we don't have fire ants in CA I had not been educated as to these critters. When they started biting me I hurried to my location to find 12 hens and not 1 gobbler running together. About that time I decided to relieve myself of these so called fire ants. You aint never seen a 6' 230 pound man strip so fast in your life. From my buddies perspective he was wonddering what in the world I was doing in the middle of nowhere taking all my close off in fast forward mode. I had over 50 blisters all over my body from that adventure. There were lots of laughs regarding that situation.

TRKYHTR

[turkeywhisperer]

This happened to me 4 or 5 years ago... Had one hammering on the roost.  It was a long walk to him and by the time I got within a couple hundred yards he was on the ground.. gobbling harder than he had been in the tree.  I got within probably 100 yards of him and set up, really thick in there where I was hunting.  I worked on him for about 20 or 30 min and he wouldn't budge.  Gobbled his head off but was being stubborn.  I tried different calls, slate, box, mouth.. nothing was working.  Then went to soft calling him on a diaphram, purring and scratching in the leaves and he loved it.  Turned my head away from him and yelped a few times like I was leaving and he couldnt take it... double gobbled twice and then shut up.  I knew.. I knew.. I KNEW he was coming.  Had my box call on my down leg so I slowly went to move it to the ground in case I had to shift or move to get a shot.. PUTT!!  Rolled my eyeballs back to the front and he was 30 yards away and heading away in a dead run.  

Had another one on an afternoon hunt make me look like an idiot.  It was a late evening hunt.  Stepped 3 feet away from the truck and yelped a couple of times.  Immediate response.  He was answering with every series of yelps and starting to gobble on his own... really heating up.  Moved in and got set up... he is coming in like I had him on a string.  He finally topped a little rise at about 35 yards.. put my bead on is wattles and pulled the trigger... it was the loudest click I have ever heard in my life.  I got so exicted about finding a bird that fast and he was so eager to work that I forgot to load my gun.  

Live and learn.. LOL

[rawalley]

Missed a bird on my place opening morning last year and didnt have another bird show up the rest of the year.

[deerhunt1988]

In 2008 we drove 650 miles to hunt Florida public land for the first time. On the second morning of the hunt I missed an osceola at 30 yards. He had walked within 5 yards of me, then flew up on a log.

The very next morning, not 200 yards from where I missed the day before, I missed another gobbler at 37 yards.

First 3 mornings of hunting Florida public land= 2 misses.

Ended up hunting the rest of the week without a shot. Talk about a long drive back.. Ruined a grand slam for me and my dad both...

[twinters]

I was hunting some public land some years ago with a friend that i had been trying to call a bird in for,and as you all know when hunting public land there is more to contend with than just the weary ole gobbler. So any way we had been fooling with this bird for most of the morning with no success,and i had thrown every thing i could think at this rascal.so i told my buddy we would just kick back take a little power nap,and just let every thing settle down.Little did i know that is exactly what the bird wanted to hear,got woke up to a rumbling gobble not fifteen yards behind our setup,needles to say we did not get the bird,but my friend did manage to let every one know that my calling was pitiful,but when i shut up turkey's would come running.

[Struttin Spurs]

This happened to me 4 or 5 years ago... Had one hammering on the roost.  It was a long walk to him and by the time I got within a couple hundred yards he was on the ground.. gobbling harder than he had been in the tree.  I got within probably 100 yards of him and set up, really thick in there where I was hunting.  I worked on him for about 20 or 30 min and he wouldn't budge.  Gobbled his head off but was being stubborn.  I tried different calls, slate, box, mouth.. nothing was working.  Then went to soft calling him on a diaphram, purring and scratching in the leaves and he loved it.  Turned my head away from him and yelped a few times like I was leaving and he couldnt take it... double gobbled twice and then shut up.  I knew.. I knew.. I KNEW he was coming.  Had my box call on my down leg so I slowly went to move it to the ground in case I had to shift or move to get a shot.. PUTT!!  Rolled my eyeballs back to the front and he was 30 yards away and heading away in a dead run.  

Had another one on an afternoon hunt make me look like an idiot.  It was a late evening hunt.  Stepped 3 feet away from the truck and yelped a couple of times.  Immediate response.  He was answering with every series of yelps and starting to gobble on his own... really heating up.  Moved in and got set up... he is coming in like I had him on a string.  He finally topped a little rise at about 35 yards.. put my bead on is wattles and pulled the trigger... it was the loudest click I have ever heard in my life.  I got so exicted about finding a bird that fast and he was so eager to work that I forgot to load my gun.  

Live and learn.. LOL

Hahaha I did that same thing last year. I was so mad at myself...

[Timber Chicken]

The year before last I got a little cocky. I killed a turkey earlier in the week and never put another shell in my gun because "it only takes one shot to kill a turkey". A couple days later I called one in and wanted to see how close he would get. I missed at 6 steps he flew straight up in the air and I missed again. Then click he went back into strut and laughed at me. I just watched him.

[guesswho]

Hunting with my Dad in the early 70's.  We set up on a bird in Florida on our local WMA.  We always had predetermined shooting lanes.  The bird showed in mine and I dropped the hammer.  The bird fell onto it's belly with it's head up (I now know that means his neck ain't broke).  I walked over to get it and it started trying to get away so I grabbed it by a leg and picked it up. (I now know not to do that).   Back then we didn't wear gloves. Now this was a long spurred Osceola and he starts to spin in my hand.  First rotation puts a nasty cut in my palm.  I let go but during his rotation he got his other spur caught in my shirt and was cutting my belly up pretty good as he flopped and spun.  He was beating me with his wings and cutting me up with his spur and was working me over with his free foot as well.   After fighting for my life for about 20 seconds I finally got a hold of his neck.  I was a big Dusty Rhodes fan and I was desperate so all I knew to do was combine a big belly flop with a bionic elbow.   So there I lay on top of a 16 lb. bird that had just about killed me, bleeding and out of breath and afraid to get back up.  Then I remebered my Dad was sitting there.  I looked over my shoulder at him and he hadn't even gotten up.  He was just sitting there shaking his head with a priceless look on his face.   I can't remeber his exact words but he said something to the effect like "Boy you can't be mine"