gobble gobble gobble - 3 for 3

[Krico]

We had a great turkey trip again this year, going 3 for 3 with many more gobblers found that we could likely have shot also.
My son and I roosted 12 birds including 2 big toms, 7 jakes and 3 hens the night before opener, after watching them feed and strut for a couple of hours. Before first light on the 15th, we were sitting quietly in my blind within 100 yards of where we watched them fly up the night before. Decoys were out and things were looking good. They started gobbling on their own, and with a couple soft tree yelps I got them really going. It was barely light enough to see when I noticed the tips of 2 fans on the ground, the toms had basically dropped straight down and were putting on a nice show. Over the next hour the rest of birds all dropped down, and proceeded to feed, gobble, yelp and fully ignore my decoys and calling. I didn't want to over call so mostly sat tight and got some great video of the performance. Around 6:20 they all suddenly got in line and started marching off in a different direction, so it was time for a quick change of approach. I got super aggressive with my yelping, and the entire flock stopped, turned, and basically ran into my decoy set at 25 yards. We were trying for a double, but the toms were surrounded by the hens and jakes and we didn't want any collateral damage, so waited for birds to separate a bit. Unfortunately this didn't happen until the birds had lost interest in the decoys and moved out to about 45 yards which is too far for my son's 20 gauge. We agreed not to let them walk, so my 12 gauge barked and the biggest of the 2 toms hit the dirt. Meanwhile, in another location, in another blind, my buddy was working some birds of his own...
8" beard, 1" spurs. We headed for a nice viewpoint and took a couple photos quickly, then it was off to find my son a gobbler.

[Krico]

Across the valley in another location, my hunting buddy was sitting tight with several gobblers just out of range of his bow - he had a self imposed limit of 25 yards...This bird circled around the back, basically peeked in the rear window of his blind, and received a broadhead a couple steps further at about 2 metres lol...he met up with us for campfire lunch and bird cleaning, some photos, a cold one or two and of course some old guy fist bumps and high fives. We had 2 down before noon on the opener. His tom was identical to mine, 8" beard and 1" spurs. Now my son had 2 guides for the trip to locate and work birds, we were pretty confident we could get it done if he did his part.

[Krico]

I will continue the hunt story later, off to watch the boy play football for the afternoon.

[twoSevenO]

Congrats. Should be a delicious bird.

[LuckyIfYouGetOne]

Nice turkeys thx for sharing

[338win mag]

That looks like alot of fun!

[HarryToolips]

Very nice, congrats look forward to the rest...you use mouth call or??

[russm]

Really wish I lived closer to turkey country

[Krico]

After a brief encounter with a group of 6 turkeys who disappeared into some private property, we spent the rest of the day scouting. About an hour before dark, in a previously scouted spot, we heard several gobbles and a few hens in the timber. We were able to pinpoint the location of the birds within 50 yards, and plan out our morning.
Once again we were in the blind (3 of us this time) well before first light. Again gobbles from the roost started our day, however the birds had either moved 180 degrees and 200 yards, or these were other birds. For 2 hours we tried to pull them in, to no avail – so rather than push and potentially bump these birds, we chose to pull out and try to find the group of 6 from yesterday.
As I crested a hill near our planned setup area, I could just see the tips of tail fans – the birds were strutting right on the road! Quickly I backed up and pulled off the road. We all jumped out quietly, and snuck behind the row of timber into the opening we had planned to set up in. A couple yelps, and we had the birds fired up – one started coming instantly, I caught a glimpse of him through the timber and just as quick he was gone back to the flock. We made the snap decision that I would stay with my son, and my buddy would pull back calling as he went, in hopes the birds would come straight to us. For a while they gobble at every call, then went silent…all of a sudden I caught movement to my right, and the birds were all 15 yards away with us caught in the open. I whispered “don’t move, they’re right on top of us. Once they pass and are looking away, I’ll tell you. Just turn, lift your gun and shoot any of the 3 lead birds.” He followed instructions perfectly, and as the birds approached 35 yards the shot rang out and gobbler #3 hit the dirt.
We spent the rest of our trip scouting for new areas, enjoying the outdoors free from the stresses of work and home. I already can’t wait for next year!
Good luck to all my fellow turkey hunters!

[Krico]

Very nice, congrats look forward to the rest...you use mouth call or??

We use a variety - mouth calls, box calls, slate, etc. Whatever the situation dictates.