Share Your Favorite Turkey Memory

[Brian Lovett]

Because it's Thanksgiving — a holiday most folks typically associate with turkeys — I thought it'd be a good time to ask forum members for their favorite turkey memories. You can tell us about your most memorable gobbler, share a funny anecdote or even just let us know what you like most about our sport. Let's hear those turkey memories!

[Gobblerman]

That's a tough one. I have been blessed to have so many great turkey hunting memories that I wouldn't even know where to start in regards to choosing one of them as significantly more memorable than the rest. The one thing that stands out for me are the friendships I have been able to make over the years through this simple but fascinating pastime of turkey hunting.

Due to my extraordinary circumstance of being fortunate enough to co-own a cabin right in the middle of some of the most spectacular public-lands Merriams turkey hunting in the country, my friends and I have been able to, over the years, host many other hunters from all over the country each spring. The friendships that have been made, and the experiences we have all had together in pursuit of our grandest game bird, have been priceless. I would not trade those past experiences, and the ones that are to come, for anything. Indeed, the turkey that is the Thanksgiving tradition resonates with a much deeper and far-reaching meaning because of my long-time association with the wild bird and all the blessings of family and friendships that it has bestowed upon me.

[ticklishtompro]

I too have been blessed with many very memorable hunts. My favorite was during my 2011 Learn to Hunt, when I took a young man named Jacob and his dad out. It was cold and quite a bit of snow on the ground yet. The birds were so cooperative they literally came running in off the roost and across the field into our set-up. It was one of those unbelievably perfect hunts, just like you see on TV. But then we had to convice this lad that it doesn't always work that way but enjoy it when it does.

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I am thankful for turkey hunting in general, it has allowed me to meet many great people(including you Brian), spend time with friends, and introduce many newbies to the sport that I love.

Have a great Thanksgiving all.

Randy

[Treerooster]

Like the others, I have been lucky to have had a lot of great memories from my turkey hunts. Too many to single just one out.

So I will go with what I like best about turkey hunting.

It's the dawns.

Oh I love the gobbling and the drumming and the strutting and even just having some good conversation with a turkey...any turkey, hen or gobbler. But it's the dawns for me. I know it is because I have had my soul soothed by them, even on turkeyless mornings.

I love getting to a high point or sitting down near where I have roosted a gobbler and seeing, listening and even smelling the new day unfold. I never want to be rushed at this time and would rather be 20 minutes early than 2 minutes late.

Don't talk to me now, just listen and observe. The whippoorwill trying to hang on to the night. The cardinal or robin calling to signfy the day crew starting up. Maybe the shadowy figure of a deer that strolls by so close you hear its foot steps before you see it in the dim light. The barred owlls that get so cranked up you think you couldn't hear a gobble if he was in the tree you are leaning against.

Weather can make a dawn special. Fog lends a bit of mystery to a dawn. When it is snowing but calm you can sometimes hear the flakes hitting the ground. If a rain has just ended before the dawn begins, you have been given a gift.

Dawns are chock full of promise and anticipation. Turkey hunting is a great excuse to be out there to take one in.

[retranger]

Little disappointed here,,,,I thought I was in for a lot of good reading,,,,,,Guys must all be chasing the 4 legged critters.

I have only been chasing these crazy birds for 9 years and I think I can recall every hunt, but I have two that top the list. The first would be my first turkey hunt.

Having no idea of what I was getting into I started early winter and purchased the "Turkey Hunting Digest" by Jim Spencer and studied it from cover to cover. I had secured permission to hunt this power line on private land and had scouted it many times beginning 6 weeks before the season and had determined there were indeed turkeys there.
Opening morning I was on scene just before daylight. Standing in the power line I did a yelp on the box call. Sure enough a gobble came back about 200 yards down the power line. Time to cut the distance, as the book says, I headed up the hill on the power line, when I reached the top of the hill and a little out of breath I did a yelp on the box call,,,,,about got my hat blowed off. It was about 20 yards away down over the bank. There I was shaking in my boots in the middle of a 30 yard wide power line, no mask or gloves on. Trying to make the best of it I quickly went to the other side of the line and plopped down against the nearest tree and rushing to get mask and gloves in place. Just finishing putting the second glove on two toms appeared in the scattered 2 to 3 foot white pine shrubs. Slowly I readied the gun and when the first came out he ended ujp on the ground, the other flew into a tree and stayed and watched me tag his buddy and head out. I was back home in an hour with my first bird. This is easy!!!! Well I can tell you I have learned much since.

The second was a couple years later when I took my buddy on his first hunt. We hit the same power line at day light and I yelped on the box call but nothing. Went to the top of the hill where I had killed my first bird. I did a couple yelps and Mike said I think I heard a bird way down the line. It was down a deep valley and up another hill but we headed out. When we reached the top of the second hill I yelped again and sure enough a gobble down over the side of the line. We set up and I called again and he gobbled again. I switched to the Freak friction call and he kept answering. I was set up to the right and slightly behind my buddy so I had good view of him and the area the bird appeared to be coming out on the power line. The talk continued and he kept getting closer,,about to enter the line I could see my buddy against the small back rest tree and could see he was getting nervous. Couple minutes later the lone tom appeared on the line amongst the short pines, his muzzle began to waver and finally at 25 yards he let the load of lead go. Bird down,,,,a beautiful 4 year old sporting 1 1/4 inch spurs. A great first bird and a real happy shaking hunter. It was real great. We have had several great hunts since but he hasn't gotten a better bird since.

[TheCallDr]

It would have to be my first turkey I killed and called it up myself almost 30 years ago. It was a Jake but I was hooked for life after that.

A close second but for completely different reasons would be calling up my fathers first turkey ( since passed ).

I don't keep count how many deer or turkeys I have killed over the years. Yet my turkey hunts have stayed with me. It's the only sport ( if that is what we call it ) where failure is viewed as an asset on the long road of what I feel can't be mastered.

[kygobbler]

One hunt that I will not forget happened last fall. I was walking down a dried up creek and not having any luck on finding the turkeys. I decided to do a lost yelp just out of boredom and for some pure dumb luck. As soon as I finish the call I got a hen to responded and she was close. So I sat down real quick and started looking on the other side of the creek thru the thick briars and sure enough there she was only 30 yds away. I noticed that she had a limp and she needed to come home with me instead of the coyotes but she would not come out of that thicket no matter what sounds I made.

After 30 minutes of watching I figured I could shoot her thru that thick brush. Wrong. She only flew a couple of hundred yards and into a fench row. Well now Im mad and decide to go after her. I walk down the fence row that she flew in hoping to scare her up and wouldn't you know as soon as I get a couple of feet past her she takes off flying. Yes when she took off she startled the crap out of me and when I went to put the gun on her I had a tree in the way. She only flew a couple of hundred more yards and into a small wood thicket. So here I go to the wood thicket.

When I get to the thicket I start looking for her and there she is. I sneek in a little closer and boom. She falls over stone dead. I walk up to her and set my gun down and take off my vest to cool off after walking what seemed like a mile. As I am sitting there looking at her I go to grab her wing and what do you know she gets up and starts running. Thankfully she has a bad leg and I was able to catch her. I stomped on her head a few times and she doesnt move. I take her back to where my vest and gun are and throw her down. I sit back down to cool off again and guess what. Yep that durn bird gets up again and takes off. I chase her down again and this time I left no chances and used my knife on her.

That is one stubburn hen that I will never forget.

[allaboutshooting]

Many years ago, a young friend asked me to tell him what it was that I enjoyed so much about hunting turkeys. We talked a bit and I tried to explain the thrill of hearing a gobbler in the woods, calling one in, watching him strut, hearing the spit and drum and all of the other things that hook all of us who enjoy the sport.

The next day I gave him a mouth call and explained how to use it. He put it in his mouth, gagged a couple of times, and managed to make a few squeaking sounds. I saw him again the next morning and he was excited to show me that he'd learned to cluck and yelp. He'd stayed up most of the night learning to make those sounds.

Spring was not far away and I offered to take him on his first turkey hunt. He gladly accepted the offer and we began to make some plans. We talke often about hunting tactics, camo and how an "ideal" hunt would work.

I'm not sure who was more excited on the frst day of the season. He was very eager and I wanted him to be successful. It turned out to be a perfect day, crisp, clear and best of all, the woods was full of gobbling turkeys.

We set up near the closest one and heard him fly down from the roost. I made a couple of quiet calls and he came back strong and continued to gobble all the way in to Chad's gun. At about 25 yards, Chad took the shot and dropped his first gobbler, a very nice 20 lb. bird. It was a great feeling seeing such a nice young man take his first wild turkey.

Chad has become an excellent turkey hunter over the years. That first hunt hooked him and he's traveled all over the U.S. chasing spring birds.

Last year he took his older daughter on her first turkey hunt and called in a gobbler for her. He called me shortly after that hunt and sent me a picture of her with her prize and a message, "See what you started?"

Like many of you, I have a lot of memories of hunts over the last few decades but taking Chad on his first hunt has to be one of my favorites.

Thanks,
Clark

[Treerooster]

Little disappointed here,,,,I thought I was in for a lot of good reading,,,,,,Guys must all be chasing the 4 legged critters.

'Kay...

Here is a one of my more memorable hunts


More than other forms of hunting, turkey hunting is usually associated with early mornings....VERY early mornings. I have always wanted try spending the night with the turkeys and one spring I finally did it. I knew of an area on a Merriam’s hunt that was a little over an hour from the truck. Packing in certainly wasn't necessary but camping out would make the morning less busy. I packed up enough food for a day or so, and a little one-man tent I had. I decided to try one of those micron-filter type bottles for my water. There was a trickle of a creek where I was headed and that would be my supply.



On the way in I met a couple with the same idea as mine. The man and his wife had packed in the day before. They were quite friendly and we talked a good while. I learned he was hunting while his wife was just along for the scenery. He told me about all the turkeys he'd seen the last day and a half and how he called some up. Showed me a bunch of pictures he had on his digital camera, including one of 2 gobblers fighting! I asked him if he had spooked any and he said "oh they saw us now and then but they didn't spook too bad". My 1st thoughts were he boogered these birds and they probably left the area. I told him where I intended to camp and hunt, which was about 1/2 mile further in, and asked him if that was OK. I didn't want to step on his toes since he was there first. He assured me it was no problem as he intended to hunt the area towards the trucks while I would be hunting more away from them.

After setting up camp I headed to the little creek for some water. There wasn't much water flowing, it was only about 2 to 3 inches deep but I found a small drop where I could get water without too much dirt and leaves getting in. I sure hoped the filter would work. I guess it did because I didn't get the "green apple quick steps" anytime later. Somewhat disappointed at not seeing fresh turkey sign going down to the water I headed up a ridge after dropping the water off at camp and having a quick early dinner. With roost time just an hour and half away I took up a position on top of the ridge and waited. Just 20 minutes later a bird sounded off on his own. I could hear him pretty good so I just stayed put. He began to gobble quite regularly in the same spot so I thought he may be in his strut zone. As sunset got near and I slipped a bit closer I realized he'd been in a tree the whole time. I called just a little to let him know there was a lady nearby and put him to bed as darkness grew. I heard no other gobbles that evening.



Back at camp I had a snack and enjoyed the stars for a bit before turning in. I slept well and awoke just a few minutes before the alarm went off. Got dressed and was ready for my regular morning coffee. Now I didn't want to go to all the bother of packing in a stove and I sure didn't want to get that caffeine headache that coffee drinkers get if they skip the ritual. So I had packed in a pint of coffee that I made at the truck and just drank it cold. Yuck. Next time I'll go ahead and bother with the stove.

I headed for my roosted bird and used what little cover there was along with some darkness to get as close as I dared. I almost set up in one spot but then thought I could slip just a bit closer by staying low and using a little scrub brush as cover. Settling in I was happy to be in position with time to spare. I love this part of turkey hunting, being in position with nothing to do but watch the dawn unfold and knowing a bird is going to sound off close by anytime now. And sound off he did! REAL CLOSE! So close that even sitting with my legs flat out in front of me I think my butt came off the ground an inch when I jumped from the startling gobble. The bird was hard off my right shoulder. I had my pot and peg laid out by me but I decided not to even use it for fear of movement. Instead I went with the mouth call that was tucked in my cheek. I did a soft tree call about 10 min before shooting light and then an excited call right about shooting light. Not long afterward I heard wings and saw a flash of movement. He landed directly behind me. I was able to slowly turn to my left and stretching for all I was worth and could just see him past the tree I was against about 25 yards away. There was a shrub growing by the tree on that side and I was able to swing my gun low to the ground and bring it up without him seeing much movement. He began walking away though so it as now or never and I brought the gun to my right shoulder and took the shot after VERY CAREFUL aim. I needed that care because I normally shoot lefthanded.



On the pack out I saw the coulpe from before.
I waved and they invited me down for some coffee....Is it HOT I asked.

[retranger]

nice stories fellows