Should have known- Never try to call a gobbler thru a hog wire fence!

[Hayudog]

I think the song goes "Never call a gobbler thru a barbed wire fence".  Well, hog wire is worse.  This 3 1/2 foot fence stopped a bird for more than 2 hours.  Must have gobbled 200 times.  Think he was getting horse by the end of the morning.
I've seen birds come up out of this drainage tons of times.  A regular route.  Set up so decoys could be seen from off property from his roost.  Heard birds way down the canyon for fifteen minutes before he lit up on the roost.  Made the mistake of thinking ... Wow - I'm in the right place for a change.
He went quiet off the roost.  All good, til I heard him going up the hill...away.  Never heard hens, but who knows. 
Eventually went after him.  He'd walk up and down a tree line gobbling about 100 yards out of sight on neighboring property.  Worked him about an hour and a half.  Thought I had him once.  Had changed the angle and gotten close when he went further up the hill one time.  Had a directional gobble and about 5 minutes later I could hear a bird coming thru the dry leaves.  Red head appears.... ten steps away... as he nervously appears its a jake... Almost got his fool head taken off.  Coming quiet from the direction of a gobbling bird.  Not sure I could have made the shot anyway, real close.  Had my heart going. 
Learned something. He went away putting.  Called him back up with a buddy, by putting back to him.  Acted like another bird that was scared too.  Not sure it will ever work again... but worth a try if I get semi busted and they go away not knowing what you were.  Answered his putts with putts and then thru in a few kee kee's, like regrouping. 
I heard the gobbler about two minutes after I watched the jakes go the other way.  He's still out there. 

[Hayudog]

Not even close this morning, but a story none the less.  Had a bearded hen come in.  I was in a blind, so she stayed quite some time.  Had a gobbler across the canyon- maybe 200 yards- just going nuts.  She's at the decoys, yelping every so often.  Went on for what seemed like fifteen minutes- then when I started to run my diaphragm she went nuts too.  Sounded like a loud box call.  Pretty soon I just had to call every so often to get her going again.  She had moved up the hill, so it put me between her and him.  I'm thinking I've got the best caller on my side... til she flew over the top of the blind, and sailed across the canyon to him...HUSSY.  Game over.  About 20 minutes later anther hen came in, not quite as noisy.  Never heard another gobble.
Different property tomorrow, but I'll most likely not be the shooter.  Asked my friend that just retired to come along. Still a day in the turkey woods.

[RutnNStrutn]

Good luck man!!

[Hayudog]

The last four or five hunts have had less than planned results.
I did get a chance to take a few photos though of some of the results.
I'll start with today, Sunday.  My college age daughter is home for my double nickle birthday, so I asked for my present to be her coming turkey hunting with me.  I got what I wanted, almost.  Had a Jake come in with a hen.  Heard her coming- yelped a couple of times...he was quiet.  He was about 8 yards off the side of the blind when he cut loose.  My daughters eyes about popped out.  Only shot was out the back of the blind.  New FFIII on my daughters 20 ga.  She'd never shot with it.  I told her to put the red dot on his neck and pull the trigger.  He was at 15 yards or so.  She did what I said and missed.  The red dot had somehow turned itself off, she looked thru the optics and put the red "bead" on him... shot high my guess.  Second time I've had one of these things turn off on me.  Feature or Flaw, the self turning off?

Saturday went to an area that has lots of birds, and lots of fences.  Can only use a bow here.  I use the Magnus Bullheads.  Black and white- miss and they run away.  Hit and they stay.  No way I could wiggle one thru a hog wire fence though.  Sorry but the camera didn't focus.  Decoys are at 12 yards.  Fence is 14 yards. Bird at 15 yards.  He finally jumped the fence about 75 yards down, but would rather go get his butt kicked by 3 or 4 monster birds.  He looked like a 2 year old.





Friday was Jake rape day.  These two heathens came in and stayed for about 2 hours.   Took turns on the decoys.  Bent the stake on the jake decoy.  Pretty funny watching them roll around the DSD hen decoy- like a football.  The one picture is cool of the snoot straight out.  They roost with the one that was hung up on the hog wire fence last week.  One of these guys is the one that walked in silent when the gobbler hung back behind the trees-










I'm planning to hunt Wednesday thru Saturday on property 2 1/2 hours from home this week.  Scouting report had birds still fired up in our foothills of the Sierr@ 's.  Last week for guns here. 

[WildSpur]

Hang in there!

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

[RutnNStrutn]

Great pics man!!! Now call in some gobblers!!

[Hayudog]

Gun season is over here now.  Hunted 3 days last week, had one tom on a string... so I thought.  Heard him gobbling and angling away.  Changed his direction with the calls.  Had him walking and gobbling in sight from 150 yards.  Coming down a road towards me.  At 75 yards, he struts, gobbles, turns 90 degrees and walks up the hill gobbling.  I was hunting with my neighbor and I think he killed him the next day.  I'll find the picture later.

Hunted Saturday with the Junior that I took to his hunter safety course before season.  Hunted his property.  Small piece.  When I walked out to check the property lines on Friday late afternoon- two toms, 3 jakes and a few hens in the old apple orchard.  They acted like we were there to look for apples.  I'm thinkin this should be a piece of cake.  Well.  Called in these guys, pictures below.  I think we could have waited out til the big boys showed, but neighbor started to mow his orchard.  We'd be shooting in his direction, so I called the hunt.  Young man had a good time.  Chose not to shoot a Jake.  Got to learn a few things, and we'll try again soon.  Jr season stays on for 2 more weeks.

[RutnNStrutn]

At least you were in the woods with some good action, and good photo ops. Beats being at work!!

[Hayudog]

This bird I think is the one that I chased a few times on this ranch.  He roosted in a thick group of trees on a knoll.  But always roosted in the same area.  Lots of understory brush which made closing the distance on him tough.  He never seemed to go off the roost in the same  direction.  Had set up above him and Leo was on the lower side.  Told Leo not to call to him on the roost.  That seemed to guarantee he was going the other way. 

My plan was to sit tight if he came towards me, or get after him quick if he went away.  Well, Thursday he came down out of the roost and going cross hill away.  I was able to get above him, flanked him as I could still hear him gobble.  Had a large open meadow that stopped my progress, so stopped and called.  He turned and started coming.  Actually watched him come out, about 150 yards across the opening.  Gobbling and walking.  Called as he reached a road and he turned directly towards me.  Gobbling and walking.  I had only made a couple of soft yelps, but he had responded to the calls.  He was walking down the barrel of my Savage 220 20 gauge for its first bird when at 75 yards he gobbles, strutts and turns 90 degrees and walks up the hill. 

As he disappears into the brush and timber I see Leo across the opening in hot pursuit.  Chasing this turkey was not going to work.  Too steep and too thick.  Thought my best play was to make a set on him in the area he came into the opening the next morning.

So, Friday morning I'm set in what was his path on Thursday.  Leo went high where he seemed to have disappeared.  The area that he had always roosted was vacant.  Not a gobble.  About an hour after fly down time Leo shot him on his way down the mountain.  My guess is he had gone up the mountain, found a girlfriend, and stayed the night up the hill.  He was doing the walk of shame coming back down the hill when Leo got in the way.



19.2 pounds , 1 1/4" spurs and a stubby 7 1/2" beard.  My guess at least a 3 year old. 

[RutnNStrutn]

Yeah, with 1-1/4" spurs, likely so. Congrats to your friend!!

[Hayudog]

Hunted Monday morning.  Set up before they woke up.  They gobbled in their normal roost area, off property.  Hit the ground about 5:30 and I never heard or saw a bird and at 8:45 I started to pick up.  I had broken down the blind, picked up decoys and back into their bags.  Calls and camera, tripod all broken down.  A set of crows fly over raising hell and guess what... a gobble.  Set everything back up in a hurry.  Sitting again I run the slate, kind of quiet.  nothing.  Today I don't have all day, so I stepped it up.  Got aggressive on the call, cuts and fighting purrs.  Ok, that got him to go off.  I can hear him gobbling and moving.  He's gong off about every ten seconds.  He walks all the way to my left and into a small ravine and proceeds to just hammer.  If I touched the call he'd go off.  It was obvious it was a stand off.  So, I went quiet.  After about ten or fifteen minutes of him entertaining himself I can hear him move back in the direction he had come from.  Just about the time I figure he's directly down the hill and going to come out into the open two toms go running down and obviously go after him. The two in the pics.  They then walked up and were on a string.  Walked up to about 16 yards, but wouldn't come thru the gate.  Strutted there about ten minutes, just about where the red T post is in the top photo. 
I had a string on the strutting jake, just to add some movement.  No go.  They just couldn't figure out the opening in fence.  When they were coming I thought I'd finally get a chance for my archery bird.  I can't believe hung up at 17 yards is a term I'd use.  Decoys are at twelve steps.
Third bird came out as these two strutted, but never came close.


Pic is as they were leaving the scene.  About 30 yards.  They stopped at below the red "T" post on the right side of the picture.  Three steps up a little berm and they are at the gate!



As they walked up the hill trying to get thru the fence.



These are at about ten yards or so.  5 to the fence and 5 to the birds.
May try again.  Closes down this weekend coming.  Frustrating, but sometimes it works.  Killed a nice one last year, last weekend.

[RutnNStrutn]

Wow!!! Talk about frustrating!! So you can't hunt on the other side of the fence, but you can open the gate? 

[Hayudog]

Yep. Gate stays closed all the time except for the owner to get access to the opposite side of his fence.  I've  had them figure it out like it was no deal, one bird for the last 4 years.  Maybe I've taken out the smart ones? Or not.

[Hayudog]

Called it a season today.

Didn't make the call at 0400 today.  Bow season the last two weeks and 6 hunts put no birds at the decoys.  The last 3 have had gobblers roosted gobbling and quiet once they hit the ground.  Actually snuck over to see where they were mid morning on Friday.  Could see one of the birds that was on the wrong side of the fence.  Called to him, he raised his head- looked and went back to eating.  No gobble, didn't even turn his body to look.  Its been a long season for him too!  He may have lost a little of his drive too. 
Hunted a different property yesterday, Saturday.  Could see a horse barn area they frequent.  5 hens and young jake came thru.  No long beards.  Only saw one on this ranch all year- he came from off property and I killed him.  This ranch was a huge producer in the years past.  Owner had pictures of 40-50 turkeys in the stable area.  Now there are just a few hens.  I've seen coyotes this year.  Stable hands say there are 2 bobcats that have moved in.  And I've heard that a mountain lion is up the hill.  I think the turkeys have moved down the hill closer to houses- away from predators...and me.

Its time to hit the bricks and get some new properties.  I didn't draw a single hunt on limited access property, except the early junior hunt- and we connected on that one. The dry January, February and March got all the breeding going early and over early.  Last year was not a good poult year- it shows this year.  Lots of Cali guys had a tough year this year. 

I had fun.  Killed 2.  Both with 20's.  My 12 gauge may never go out again.  One with my single shot, and one with my daughters 3 shooter.  No bow birds.  Didn't get a chance to put the Savage 220 on a bird, but it walked with me lots of times.  Didn't write them down, but about 25 days in the field total.

Time to plan for next year.  I need a Merriams and Eastern for sure next year.  May try to put together a Florida hunt too.  I'm easy to trick into going.

[RutnNStrutn]

Sounds like you had a lot of excitement, and you got two. So that's pretty good!! Congrats man!!