I missed what would have been my first gobbler.

[Danger DAve]

I was set up on the edge of a small food plot sitting behind a rollup blind with a single hen decoy in the food plot.  I had been working a glass call  for a while and only heard a single gobble way off all morning.  I decided the give the box call a try and one immediately blew up.  Close.    I hit it again and he blew up again.  There was good cover between me and him so I adjusted my position and had my gun shouldered and pointed his way.

Very shortly two birds appeared in front of me in  among some small trees probably twenty yards away.  I determined they were legal (made no effort to judge size since he would be my first) put the front sight of my tru glo sights toward the bottom of his neck and Blam.  Whereupon they both flew off and landed in a tree in the woods beyond the clearcut, where they sat and clucked for probably twenty minutes and flew down.

It gets worse.  After a period of time I decide to walk over and see if there are feathers and blood where they were standing.  I found three feathers that were gray and resembled the maribou that some jigs are made with.  Oh.  And I spooked four birds that were probably forty yards out  walking out to check.

It gets worser.  I decided to try an area close buy and when I turn the corner leading to another foodplot maybe six birds are in there and see me and run off.  At this point I am really frustrated and decide to call it a day.

What happened with the shot do you think?  Gobber fever?  I shot a beer can when I got back to the truck at about the same distance to make sure nothing catastrophic had happened to my sights and shredded it.

What lessons should I take away from this because I'm really frustrated right now.  Aim small miss small?  Also would it maybe be a good idea to wait a few days before I go back to the area and let it rest.  I'm the only one who hunts this land.

Thanks for any tips support.

[hobbes]

I believe the majority of misses are the result of the shooter not staying down on the gun which will result in shooting high over the top of the bird. 

I did miss one to the right last year.   I swung on him when he went behind something, but didn't stop swinging quick enough when I shot.  So, I shot to my right of the bird and powdered him with bark from the dead tree I smoked.

It happens to all of us.  It still sucks, but you won't find a turkey hunter with any experience to speak of that hasn't done it.  As far as what to take away from it.  If your hunting a small area with a limited amount of acreage to cover, and it has several broken up flocks of birds, I would have just stayed put after the shot and kept hunting.  Also, before walking into sight of any opening/field, you need to use a locator call to see if anything is around.  I know some guys don't care for using a turkey call to locate, but that is what I do.  I just make sure I'm near a tree that I can quickly take a seat next to if necessary.

[open door]

Man, I feel for ya, especially since it would've been your first bird. I missed one 3 years ago, shooting thru a thicket & hit a small sapling. The bird ran off, but didn't seem too scared (it was a jake who was in love with my hen decoy). I said, well, I messed up. Put another shell in my gun, looked, & here he came back. I didn't miss that time. Body language tells a lot about game. I didn't know it at the time, but since he didn't run off really fast, like he was scared bad, that meant there was a chance he would come back. Luckily, he did, without me even calling.

You're in a place with a lot of birds. You WILL get one there, completely forget about the miss - block it out of your mind, & go get them. Speaking of the tru-glo sight, I put one on my new Berretta Urika 2, & I noticed you can slightly move it from left to right. I took that thing off for fear I might bump it or something & it cause me to miss. check & make sure yours fits tight like it's supposed to. Good luck!!!

[open door]

Agree, they do stupid things sometimes. That jake I killed earlier this year, he started flopping on the ground, and 2 more jakes ran up & acted like they wanted to jump on him. I just sat there & watched (we can only shoot one a day, here). Also, the big boy down in the pin-oak flat & the hens didn't run off either. So, if you miss, stay put, & wait 10 minutes, & start calling you might get some back in if they didn't spook too bad.

Also, don't give up on afternoon hunts. I've never killed one then, but they are moving around, just not as vocal as in the a.m. from what I understand. 2 years ago, I went to a location about 1 p.m., & was still putting up my blind, and say movement. I eased down by the tree, & 3 hens came up about 25 yards away, & finally moved on. I didn't see a gobbler, but was back there early next a.m.  Got a 2 year old - 45 yds out with Winchester Extended Range.

[Danger DAve]

Thanks for the tips and support.  I'll be back at 'em Monday morning.  My respect for the box call really went up this morning.  I was making the sweetest yelps on my high-dollar custom glass pot and getting no responses.  As soon as I made those big  obnoxious yelps on that box a member here made for me it was game on.

[beard collecter45]

A very good lesson learned is to wait a few minutes and start calling again to the birds they may come or more likley diferent birds will come to your calling. Also be carefull of silent goblers and also make sure ur ready to make a quick shot around a corner and try to be careful and sure about ur shot so try to creep around a corner it may not work but there has been miracles.

[WyoHunter]

I believe the majority of misses are the result of the shooter not staying down on the gun which will result in shooting high over the top of the bird. 

This is why most shooters are much better off by having a scope or red dot sight IMO. Sorry you didn't connect but try to learn from the experience. 

[beard collecter45]

Its just hunting for you

[lmbhngr]

I`ve missed before myself. Just gotta keep chasin them. 

[TRKYHTR]

If you've hunted long enough you are going to miss. You just got yours out of the way right off the bat. Good luck next time.

TRKYHTR

[SpringFever]

Took me 3 years and about 5 misses within 30 yards before my first gobbler. Yes, 5 misses at 3 Toms. My dad and brother in law have had quite a few laughs and have given me plenty of jabs over it. I realize now that I was lookiing over the barrel and in turn shooting high over there heads.

Last year I was out walking and calling around 11am and finally found a Tom to respond. Sat down at the nearest tree gave one more set of yelps and got ready. About 5 minutes later I noticed a red head moving through the trees. When he was about 25 yards away, I told myself cheek down and look through both rear and front sight. touched the shot off and there was a flopping Tom. Best day of my life to get the monkey off my back.

So dont sweat missing. Yes its not fun. But hang in there. Took me till my fourth year turkey hunting to finally bag a bird, but it never felt better! Keep going you'll get em! 

[turkey_slayer]

If you've hunted long enough you are going to miss. You just got yours out of the way right off the bat. Good luck next time.

TRKYHTR

I agree 100 percent.  I missed a few birds when I first started because I would get tunnel vision so bad I was literally seeing doubles.  Must have aimed at the wrong one 

[trkehunr93]

I believe the majority of misses are the result of the shooter not staying down on the gun which will result in shooting high over the top of the bird. 

I did miss one to the right last year.   I swung on him when he went behind something, but didn't stop swinging quick enough when I shot.  So, I shot to my right of the bird and powdered him with bark from the dead tree I smoked.

It happens to all of us.  It still sucks, but you won't find a turkey hunter with any experience to speak of that hasn't done it.  As far as what to take away from it.  If your hunting a small area with a limited amount of acreage to cover, and it has several broken up flocks of birds, I would have just stayed put after the shot and kept hunting.  Also, before walking into sight of any opening/field, you need to use a locator call to see if anything is around.  I know some guys don't care for using a turkey call to locate, but that is what I do.  I just make sure I'm near a tree that I can quickly take a seat next to if necessary.

Agree!  When I replay the miss in my head I usually have been able to see the top of the barrel when I shot.  It's sometimes hard to stay focused and keep your head down when the adrenaline rushes.  Keep at it, the misses make you wiser!

[Belo83]

misses happen man. best thing to do is get back in the woods and get back after them. nothing cures the self-inflicted abuse after a miss like a kill.

I shot over the back of a real nice 8 point this past gun season, had a second shot but my $1100 browning gold auto jammed on me (isn't that why i shelled out that much money for a gun? so it doesn't jam?) anyhow, i was shooting without a rest freehanded from a treestand and had been holding the gun for about 30 seconds waiting for the buck to come into the clearing, by then, my arms had been getting tired and were getting shaky. my heart was pumping and my only thought is that what should have been a dead to rights easy kill, wasn't due to adrenaline and fatigue. Might be your issue too.

still think about it, and unfortunately i didn't get another shot at a big buck the rest of gun and now i have to wait until next bow to get my revenge. thankfully i had a nice bow kill earlier in the season.

I too found a beer bottle and of course, blew it to pieces at 70 yards. was hoping it was the scope causing me to miss, but it wasn't. it was me.

[natman]

I... put the front sight of my tru glo sights toward the bottom of his neck and Blam. 

Where was the REAR sight? Sounds like you made the classic mistake of lifting your head for a better look at the turkey. The front is spot on, but lifting your head causes you to shoot high.

I missed my first turkey in exactly this fashion. I got a set of fibre optic open sights. I put the red dot between the green dots and haven't missed since for the last 25 birds.