WOW Just WOW.!!!!!

[contagious]

Made the biggest mistake of 25 years of turkey hunting.!!Started Sat morning with the camp house bird.Listen to him all season behind the camp house and made my mind up it was time for him to come back to the camp house.He was 250 yards down in a big open bottom,gobbling his lungs out.On the far side of the bottom there is a high ridge(about 20' high)and he would not leave it.listen to him gobble for 2 1/2 hours,cut me off if i called or gobble every 30 seconds to 1 minute if I went quite. He finally went quiet and left at 9:30am,did not see him leave,but had a good idea were he went.Decided to try and fool him that afternoon.Went in the bottom at 4:00pm,got up on his happy place (the ridge) and set up with a lone hen decoy.Called soft yelps two or three times every 15-20 minutes,at 4:45 I see him at 60 yards entering the bottom from the planted pines.He walks at a pretty fast pace straight at the decoy.Clear shot at him all the way in,bead on him and let him walk up within 5 feet of the decoy.There is a small dip just before the ridge,and I can't see in it,the plan is to pull the trigger when he starts up the ridge.(5 or 6 more steps.10 seconds go by,now 20,at 30 I start to panic.Can't find him anywhere,look to the left and the right,no bird.after 1 minute or so,I start to have a sick feeling,finally see him to my right,45-50 yards out  leaving the bottom,back into the pines,still walking fast?He is a STUD by the way,and I let him walk right up to me at 20 steps and disappear.Still have no idea how he slipped back out with me not seeing him.Must have got a tree between us,I have no idea.The whole time he was walking toward me he had his head down,started to putt to make him stop,but thought he was coming up the ridge with me.WRONG.!!! Now I can't sleep,kept slapping myself in the head.Wife thinks I need to see the doctor,but he can't help me.I let a trophy bird walk within 20 steps and did not pull the trigger.?This is a TOUGH game we play.!!!! 

[pullit]

kill them when you can...

[contagious]

I will always take the first shot after Sat. lesson.Never again.!!

[hookedspur]

kill them when you can...

If your not filming dont let him Audition .

[TRKYHTR]

It's not that hard if you pull the trigger. I'm talking big and then let a gobbler walk off after seeing him at 30 yards for 20 minutes. Only reason he didn't die is because I couldn't see his beard. A buddy of mine saw him and said he was a hog. The big ones always get away.

TRKYHTR

[TANK]

kill them when you can...

If your not filming dont let him Audition .

Well Said!

[BOFF]

In my opinion you did the right thing. As you wrote, it's a game, and fortunately, it looks like your still in it. If you had him once, you can get him again. May not be tomorrow, but the time will come.


God Bless,
David B.

[busta biggun]

I wouldn't be too hard on yourself. The bird was walking steadily towards you and you had no reason to believe he would have hesitated or tried to escape. Sure in hindsight you should have stopped him before he went into the dip, but these things happen. It's better to do this than to rush a crazy shot in panic and drop a leg or mortally wound him as he flies off.

The only thing you can do is learn from the experience. Now you will be more aware of dips and possible escape routes or hang-ups in a gobblers approach route. He is still out there and he wasn't badly spooked. Don't beat yourself up, Just keep trying!

[Hognutz]

That's not a mistake, in my book. As turkey hunters, we all make split second decisions that seem right at the time. You must make a decision that seems right at the moment. If it turns out to be the wrong decision, that's all it is. Not a mistake. You do what you think is right, at that given moment. You have no clue as to how it will unfold, and that is the game. You guess right, you guess wrong. Wrong decision, maybe..Mistake? I think not..Don't beat yourself up over this.. There will be other chances, with better outcomes..Mike

[runngun]

I have always said the best time to kill a turkey, is when you first see him "in range"!!!

[vaturkey]

Don't feel bad ! Year before last I let a monster buck walk right out of my life. He was walking slowly up an edge of a winter wheat field coming right to me. Then all of a sudden he made a sharp left right into a briar thicket. The next day I had my rangefinder with me . It was 90 yds. from my tree to where he went into the thicket. The way he was slowly walking I was sure he was going to walk right up to me. Boy was I wrong. I still think about him. Stay with them gobblers. You'll get him !

          Good Luck 

              vaturkey   

[tha bugman]

If you would have shot him at 30 and missed him you would have been saying that you should have waited on him to come closer since he was on a string....coulda woulda shoulda....been there done that....

[Reloader]

I have been guilty of watching them for a little while, but usually let em have it as soon as I can.

A wise old turkey hunter once told me: "The best time to kill a gobbler is to pull the trigger as soon as you can get the bead on his head."  Good advice to go by IMO, when they break 40, let em have it.

[contagious]

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[....coulda woulda shoulda....been there done that....code]


That's why i'm having trouble sleeping.!!

[contagious]

Sleeping better now,Camp hose bird will be staying for supper tonite.!!Caught him back up on the high ledge(his dance floor)and called very soft twice.No decoy this time,he came to the edge and put on a show strutting and drumming for about 5 minutes.Started down the hill toward me and at 40 yards ,I invited him to supper.!!





Not quite as big as I thought he was.I guess they are like fish,"the one that gets away" is always the big one.Still a fine Bird and a good memory.!!!