close but no cigar

[harvester]

Had a great morning, finally found some birds. I think I heard 4 possibly 5. They didn't gobble much after fly down but was able to get on one with hens. Got to within about 60-70 yards of him and all I could hear was drumming, he constantly drummed and strutted. I got the hen to 25 yards of me and thought it was a done deal but he stayed just above me out of range. So I figured what the heck I'm almost 2 miles from the truck and nothing to lose. so I started easin my way toward them at a snails pace. got to with in 50 yards of the big boy and started hearing something coming up the ridge to my left. I stared in that direction thinkin it maybe another bird coming in to all drumming that ole boy was doing. Needless to say after about five minutes of standin their watchin and listen I moved just a hair more up toward the other birds and the daggummed ole sneaking devil saw me the one that I heard easin up the ridge, pretty good bird, could have shot him out of the air but didn't. He had a pretty good beard probalby 8-9 inches best I could tell when he was in the air.  Had alot of fun and got me two more pieces of property to hunt. Heard birds on one of them this morning. Can't wait for tomorrow morning.  

[mfd1027]

Almost!! Dustin.    Sounds like a great morning.   

I think we need to pin this thread at the top with the other one's so we can all write our stories in one spot when we don't get one.   I like the title! 

I had a good morning too.   I really didn't have too much contact with the birds but I heard a bunch.    My buddy owns the property they are on and I'm pretty sure he'll let me hunt them.   I swear I heard 10-15 birds over there this morning.   They were tearing the woods up.    I did have one close encounter but like the title says "no cigar" . lol   I'm still in hot pursuit. lol 

[ElkTurkMan]

I like this thread as well, sooner or later all of will relate to it.  Dustin I hope you get him tomorrow.  I ahd agood morning as well.  I had a bird just absolutely hammering across the river from me.  He was right on bank.  I was about 100 yards from him.  I had three hens that were roosted on my side of the river.  The bird would gobble at everything, the real hens, me, geese, ducks, crow you name it, he was on fire.  Anyway one hen was really lound.  If I hadn't of seen her, I would ahve thought it was someone with on a creaky box call with a sqeeky hinge srew.  ANyway two different times she came right over to me to investigate this new hen courting her boyfriend across the river.  I was hoping that old boy would sail across the river at anytime.  The whole time this back and forth between myself and the hen is going on the Tom is still gobbling.  Finally the hen walked down the river.  My heart sank as I heard here cackle.  I figured she flew across.  The gobbler ended up gobbling away as he walked into the timber across the river.  It was a neat encounter anyway.   

[harvester]

Good news is I only half to walk a 1/2 mile tomorrow to get where I saw the birds today versus the 1 1/2 miles I walked today. One way.

[unclerick]

Not to steal a thread, but might as well use this one instead of starting anothern.

This is how our opening week end went. Wes had to work half a day but he went and listened and a spot we acquired last year and heard several birds gobble, had them answering him  but had to leave for work so didn't stay. As for me, I went to a spot were we had seen the old man and another big gobbler, didn't hear a thing. About 7:30, 2 hens came in and I got to have a little fun with one of them, for 20minutes we had a nice conversation, I had my video camera with me so I got it on film to listen to and study, I learnt more with that hen in 20minutes then I have in 2 years of calling them in, it was fun. Also something happened that I have never heard or seen before, I had my B-mobile and she mobile set up with the hen in a breeding state when a dang hawk flew in and tried to snatch her up, crazy. This mourning me and Wes went to a WMA and set up were people don't want to walk, we set up and shortly a hoot owl hollerd and flew in eyeballing our dekes then he seen us and flew off. Gobblers were sounding off all around us and had 1 comeing in till he just left, as we walked out after 3 hours we seen why, hunters spooked them. We went to were I was Saturday mourning and 3 hens came in so we played with them for awaile, Wes got to play his trumpet to one of them and got pretty good with it, so thats our opening weekend story.

[mfd1027]

Another crazy morning.   I'm starting to feel a little snakebit-   This morning I got set up in the area I heard all the birds yesterday and I had already decided I wasn't going to be subtle.   The birds started gobbling while I was getting to the spot I wanted to set up in so I didn't have to do any locating.   i got setup and hit em with a few clucks and a loud flydown which I ended with a bunch of yelping.   They went nuts!! lol   There were 3 different birds gobbling within 100 yds and one of em flew down almost immediately.   He must have landed in his favorite strut zone because he just started gobbling and gobbling but never moved an inch.    Everytime one of them would gobble I'd do a series or fast clucking or what I call a ground cackle.   They were going nuts with each one double and triple gobbling and now they were all on the ground and all within 75 yds. or so.    I was sitting on the edge of a small clover food plot we have and there was a woods road that ran down the side of it away from me.   I just knew it was about to happen.   I even had the trigger cocked on my Encore and had it shouldered.   Next thing I know I hear some yelping behind me that I immediately know is a boxcall.   Oh s**t - a poacher.   He was about 75 yds behind me.  I was frozen and intent on shooting one of these birds.   I didn't make another sound because this guy was yelping away and the birds were gobbling their fool heads off.   this went on for another 5 min. or so when I hear some lousy mouthcalling directly in front of me.   Oh s**t  "another poacher"!!!    and now the bird to my rt. and left go silent.   I didn't think quick enough because I still thought I was going to get a shot.   After another 5 min. or so I had had it so I stood up and headed for the first guy.   Man, was I pissed...   I'm the only one with permission to hunt this property and it came hard earned.     I only caught a glimpse of the guy hauling arse through the woods.     I can't run because of my foot rt. now but if I could have we would have had a track meet.     I circled back to chase the other guy but of course he buddy must have contacted him on his cell phone because I never saw or heard him again.    I was fit to be tied and it screwed up my whole morning/day.    In all honesty that's the first poacher I've ever dealt with in over 40 yrs. of hunting.    In hindsight I kind of wish I would have just stayed seated and let things play out.    I bet one of em would have wound up in my lap.    I'll be back in that spot in the morning.   Hopefully I won't have company.     

[keyser12ga]

Dan, that really stinks.  Hope they get what's coming to them.  Good luck tomorrow.

[mfd1027]

One of these days i'm gonna figure this turkey hunting stuff out. lol   Didn't hear a peep this morning.   Looks like we're all going to deal with some rough weather later today and we'll have to wait for it to pass to get out again.   

[harvester]

I can put you on to some REALLY GREAT CALLS. 

[mfd1027]

Looks like I'm gonna be the only guy adding to this thread!! lol   

Found a new bunch of birds to mess with this morning.   I had three of them going good and 2 came together with some hens so that was the end of that story.   I'm formulating a plan for those guys and hope to have it in place tomorrow morning.   I was on the wrong ridge and it was too late to make a move through the open pines they were in.   The third one was across a clearcut that's flooded and 8 ft tall.   I had a lot of fun trying to get him to fly that clearcut.   I know I could have killed him with a single cluck had I been able to get on his side of the river and clearcut.    I went on a mission when I shut up/gave up on the fly across the clearcut plan.   Man, the creek is deep and the clearcut has about a ft. of water in it.    My newest pair of snake boots (Redhead Bayou 16"  "waterproof-bonedry snake boots- 139.00)  leak as bad as my Rocky's did.   I'll be taking them back too and now I'm on a mission to find a pair of snake boots that are comfortable and don't leak.   I have problems with pull on boots (nearly fused rt. ankle from a roof fall)  and know that's the answer  Rocky's and Redheads both suck.     I'm breaking out my hip boots and will wear them tomorrow when I hunt birds 1 and 2 and if that doesn't work out I'm wading across the clearcut and I'll sit on the near side of the bank of the creek.    If I shoot one I won't mind wading/swimming the creek to get him.

The good news in all this is the gobblers acted different today like they actually were responsive and their gobbles had a little more "get your butt over here" in them.       I have a feeling things might be making a turn for the better.    The warmth and sunshine probably have them thinking it's spring again.    Man, the mosquito's are serious.   I'd hate to get stuck in the swamp overnight without some kind of protection.   Whew!!! that would be bad.       

[unclerick]

Well I had a little good luck this mourning, went to a new place that we got last year but didnt hunt much. Went yesterday evening just to see what was there and didn't see anything but thought I heard a hen yelping somewhere but the wind was blowing to hard to really tell, this mourning I went just to see and got a nice surprise. I had found a place to set up the night before and allready had it trimmed and ready when I got there so I put out my ugly strutter and hen and got undercover. After 30 minutes a gobbler sounded off in front of me about 300yrds away then another one but not real vocal, then somewhere close behind me a big booming gobbler sounded off and scaired the poo out of me cause I wasn't expecting it, then them birds really got vocal. I watched birds fly down in front of me from where the first gobbles came from but couldn't watch them because of the lay of the land and the birds behind me I could hear fly down but couldn't see them either but I dang sure heard them, the hens were going nuts and the gobbler was as well. I tried to call them over and around and even had that gobbler comeing in and he got close but I never saw him. Gong back in the mourning and trying something different, I need to get back on them while I 'm useing all this vacation time.

[harvester]

Took the boy out this morning for a very short hunt but didn't even hear a peep. Maybe next time.

[mfd1027]

Man, I'm in a real chess match.   I got to where I needed to be "yesterday" and setup.   On the way in yesterday I called like a hen moving to a gobbler and that really got em fired up.   I didn't do that today and kind of wish I had.    I will tomorrow.  They seem to really want to gobble on the roost but get quiet when they hit the ground.   Yesterday I had fired up on the roost and they gobbled quite a bit on the ground.    That son of a gun across the clearcut I spoke of yesterday was gobbling again today.    Try as I might I can't find a way to get into the same woods as him without trespassing.   I may have to get a boat!!   Anyways,  I noticed one of the birds did the same thing today he did yesterday.   He comes out of a section of hardwoods and into the open pines I'm in but will only come to a certain pt.   He then gobbles 3-4 times and retreats.   I can't get ahead of him because of how open the pines are but I have a plan.   There's a ridge to one side that's on the opposite side of a small clearcut and I can access   where I was this morning  from it and if he does the same thing again I can jump up and circle him and wind up in the harwoods he comes from.   The glitch is if there's another bird in there I'm working but that's not a bad problem.    I've got a friend coming to hunt next wk. and if I don't get to spring the trap in the next few days I'll drop him off in the hardwoods on the way to where I like to setup and one of us should get a shot at him.     I'm still in hot pursuit!!! lol   

[unclerick]

Well I'm haveing some good luck but not exactly what I want, went back to a spot this mourning that I hunted yesterday, the old tom was there but he roosted in a different spot this time and I got closer to him, he gobbled on the roost and a hen must have been in the same tree, he gobble abd the hen would roost pit (first time I ever heard one) then do some tree yelps and I be dog gone if he didn't fly down behind me again, they never made another sound once on the ground, but I did see him atleast, going back in the mourning and moveing down the field and setting up under a tree that sets in it, so we'll see.

[mfd1027]

Not a single peep!!!  To say I'm shocked with our hunting is an understatement.   I'm blown away.