Day five of my five day season and things aren't looking very likely. Couple distant gobbles over the course of our time in the woods but overall it's been really quiet. I was with Riley Friday night and he had one coming but we ran out of shooting light long before he got to us. Never did hear him roost.

We had one hen on the food plot last night and one (probably the same bird) this morning. Made for a good live decoy when she was really close but no boys came to see. We had some fun when she was leaving. Le gobbled and the hen stopped, fluffed up, and preened her feathers for about 10 minutes while watching a b-square decoy.

Seems there are very few birds around and with the warm spring, the main excitement is over with as far as breeding goes. Anything I'm not thinking of?

Don

Darn turkeys anyhow.

Grass must be greener on the other side of the fence.

Over here reports are they are quiet as can be North of me and gobbling like crazy South of me.

My neighbor boy got his first ever turkey and it was a 10" bearded Tom last week. Shot him at six yards with a 12 ga.

My nurse called me yesterday. All excited. She was out Saturday with her uncle on her first ever turkey hunt. First time ever using a gun. Her uncle called in two really big, really pretty, really long bearded turkeys as she described them. She raised the barrel of her uncle's 20 ga. out the blind window and when they got at the 15 yard mark. She pulled the trigger...and missed...clean...never touched them..
I asked her how she could miss at 15 yards...and her story was...She had been doing all her practice shooting at non-moving paper targets and these birds were moving...plus she said...she was so excited and the adrenalin was pumping so bad that she couldn't keep the gun from shaking. But she is pumped to go again.

Just stay afield Don
You got a professional caller in Le, right there with you. Can't beat that.

We're heading out again in a few minutes. Hopefully this evening...
Don

Go get him Don!

We will be right here waiting for the stories...and the pictures...Can't forget those pictures.

still rooting for you Don!!!! :ThumbsUp:

Mark

Good Luck, Don. Sure hope their moving for ya. Been real slow around here. :dunno:

Nothing hanging last night. :dunno: Gusting winds but otherwise a nice set. One hen kept us entertained much of the time. We only heard one gobble but the wind was loud.
Don

Sorry to hear things are not going better.

Mark

It was great being out there anyway The weather was beautiful and we had enough activity to keep things interesting. Season is over now(Wisconsin only allows five days per license and that was it) Time to focus on getting stuff ready for graduation.
Don

Our spring turkey season here in NY starts Saturday and runs all of May. I'll be out there with a few new toys to murder Tom Longbeard. It'll be the first time out with the turkey barrel on my new Mossberg 935 and I got a great deal on an Ameristep One-Man Chair blind. I've also added the new HS Squealing Hen to my call bag. I checked out the area yesterday to ensure there'd be no surprises and met the landowner there. He said he's getting another 10 tags this year for crop-damage deer. That will start on June 1st. Let's see, that's a 6 month deer season from June to December. :D

Good luck, Rob! I'm curious how that new call works out. Certainly looks good in the commercials...
Don

Here, the season strarts tomorrow and runs till the end of May.

Mark

I love new toys.

Are you going to be able to carry everything out there in one trip?
...and what's with a June deer season?...and 10 tags? You got enough bullets?...and film for the camera...Don't forget the pictures!

Don - Yeah the commercials and the outdoor show sold and me too. Hope they're not just meant to draw in (turkey) hunters. Will let you know.

Chuck - Not going to "carry" anything into the woods. Chair blind, decoy bag, backpack, gun, and more will find spots on my ATV. I'll scare them off with the ATV first thing in the morning I'm sure. I'll need to wait for a while after setting up until making the first calls to get them interested and re-group. That's the theory anyway.

As for the deer, it will be anterless only. Still want photos?

Of course we want photos! Stories too!!
Don

Sounds like a plan to me...and

Yeah, what that flying guy said..... :D :ThumbsUp:

Leep:

I wasn’t sure whether I should post this in the humor section or here. You’ll see why. Although some of you might find this funny, I decided to post it here because it really happened.

No turkey photos as yet; here's why...

Saturday, May 1st, was the first day of spring turkey hunting in NY State. I have 3 areas within half a mile of my home where I may hunt. (1) is a field on the fringe of dense woods with a pond for the (it seems) express enjoyment of geese to play; (2) and (3) are just around the corner from (1) in a 500 yard wide field surrounded by horseshoe-shaped woods thicker on the (2) side and across the road from a creek on the (3) side. My preferences would be to hunt (2) (1) (3) in that order. Everybody have the mental picture now? Good, let’s move on.

Before dawn on Saturday, I approached area (2) and found a white pickup truck sitting on the side of the road. Hunter in the woods and probably in the primary site I had selected; damn. Since the noise I would have made with my ATV would make the other hunter P.O.d, I decided to try elsewhere. Okay so I drove to site (1) to find a gray pickup on the roadside and decoys already setup where I would have put them. What time did these guys get out here? 3:00 am? Drove over to area (3) and parked off the road. Then I loaded onto my ATV the decoy bag, my 4-prong cane, my shotgun, the new chair blind, and a knapsack I use for calls and other stuff. Dropped the rear gate of the trailer and backed down the ATV. I approached the large tree where I was to sit and dropped off the decoy bag and knapsack. Moving onto the edge of the field, I stopped to set up 3 decoys, 2 hens and a jake. Drove back to park the ATV behind the tree, set up the chair blind, loaded my gun, got the calls out and got comfortable for about half an hour waiting for dawn to break.

I could see the white pickup from where I sat about a quarter mile away but I don’t know if the hunter was facing me or the woods. Since my back was to the creek. I was hoping for fly downs into the field in front of me. I hadn’t heard any call so I decide to make some light chirps and tree calls to start. No response. Well that’s not unusual, so I waited. About 20 minutes later, I forced my eyes open and reached for my slate and box calls. 4–5 passes on the chalked box and about the same on the slate might convince Tom Longbeard there were a couple of hens nearby for him to check out. Right? Not this time. 30 minutes later chirps and purrs from me still brought no response. Gunshots heard about 1.5 miles away. Glad somebody’s getting some action. 8:45 am and the white pickup takes off from area (2). Do I move or stay put? I stay put. 9:10 am and two vehicles approach area (2) a red and a black pickup. Shortly afterwards the black pickup leaves. What’s going on? About 9:30 and a big MF (keeping it clean here) farm tractor comes up the road, enters the field, and starts to plow. Damn, better pick up those decoys.

Got the decoys loaded in the bag and drove back to the tree to load the ATV up again. Put the ATV on the trailer and headed over to area (1). I have about 2 and a half hours to hunt before noon so maybe I can set up quick if the gray pickup is gone. The pickup is gone. Want to know why? Isn’t the landowner plowing the field directly across the road? Is someone trying to tell me I should give up hunting? Okay I pull over to the roadside to transfer all the equipment from the ATV to the back of my van. Now it’s getting close to 10:00am. I have another spot to hunt about 30 minutes away. Nah, I’m going home for a nap.

I would be looking for spot #4

Tough start to the season. Stay after them.
Don

All stories and photos are always welcome here!

Mark

It poured yesterday morning. It's about to pour this morning. I am starting to formulate a new game plan. It goes something like this. Get dressed from head to foot in camo; load everything in the back of the van; hook up the trailer that carries the ATV; kiss girlfriend goodbye; smile as she wishes me "good luck" yet again; then head over to Wegman's Food market to buy a damn turkey. It's not sport but it is less frustrating. LOL

Don't forget the pictures of you holding up the turkey at the checkout counter :ROFL:

There's gotta be a turkey farm around there somewhere....Buy a couple hens and a big gobbler and stake them out together and start calling..You shoot the first wild one that come along then turn the others loose for seed.. :D :ThumbsUp:

Then have a shot or two of Wild Turkey..(if no wild ones show up) and shoot the tame one...But give him a running head start.... :D

Or, this might work..wait until someone kills a big gobbler and then u take his and put the tame one in the back of his truck, still alive , and let him figure that one out...Tie his leg to the bed of the truck or he might get the idea to leave...

That guy will be getting free drinks for a month telling that one... :ROFL: :D

Leep: The problem solver...... :dunno:

Thanks for the advice.

Leep

Are you telling stories again?

NY-str8tshooter, been there done that. I moved to another part of the county and kept at it. I can no longer move around like that so I let the turkeys come to me when I can get a permit.

Remember turkeys are dumb birds created to drive us crazy and make us humble. :D