Who’s chasing turkey this season?
What’s your tool of choice?
Share some pics or a story if you’ve got em.
My boy harvested a long beard Sunday afternoon with his .410. Was a long sit but the flock finally strolled by at ten yards around 1:30p. They left minus one.
| meatbuck
Platinum Member
Mar 28, 2022 at 6:17pm | Quote
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Bagged my first 2022 Tom. A triple beard. 12g with 3” #7 tss about 20-25yds out. Came in gobbling and looking hard. I was redlining pretty good at the last gobble. Couldn’t take it anymore so had to end it.
My son and I macheted a trail in to this spot last week and our hard work payed off.
| meatbuck
Platinum Member
Apr 2, 2022 at 10:57am | Quote
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I can’t be the only turkey killer here.
| harperc
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Apr 2, 2022 at 11:45am
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I haven't killed one yet. Used to feed a few though.
I've wanted to do it with a rifle. .25-35 and a cast bullet. Although the 100 grain Lever Hammer has appeal.Not legal to do so here though.
| rausch
Senior Member
Apr 2, 2022 at 5:07pm
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Our season doesn’t open till April 15th this year. Got a pile of em around though.
| gltaylor
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Apr 2, 2022 at 6:38pm
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Haven't fooled with them. Feed them and deer year round. Enjoy watching their antics.
Been gobbling here about a week. (Bad weather). Had 2 gobbling and strutting in the lower field this morning.
I believe my wife would shoot me if I killed one of HER turkeys
| rh300um
Platinum Member
Apr 2, 2022 at 7:28pm
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Bear season is here
Only got a couple Tom’s over the years
Bear season was and is the primary priority
Headed to New Mexico next weekend for a Buffalo hunt. 260 HH’s at work. Then back home to leave ina week for Alaska
| farleg
Platinum Member
Apr 2, 2022 at 7:48pm
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Gday
always on the hunt for a good turkey
cheers
| rausch
Senior Member
Apr 2, 2022 at 7:58pm
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Our turkey season is usually open3-5 days before bear season starts but this year it’s the same day. Unless it’s real nice the bears aren’t out much at the beginning of season anyway so turkey hunting fills that void. Once the bears are out good I forget about the birds!
| meatbuck
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Apr 2, 2022 at 9:40pm | Quote
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gltaylor said:
.
I believe my wife would shoot me if I killed one of HER turkeys
Are you my dad? We had a similar conversation earlier. Although ultimately his ol lady says he can only shoot them if they’re beating up on their “good turkey” (domestic).
| meatbuck
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Apr 2, 2022 at 9:41pm | Quote
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No spring bear season here in commiefornia. Have to make do with turkeys and striped bass until trout season.
| meatbuck
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Apr 2, 2022 at 9:43pm
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Well I’ve got more pics and stories from today and yesterday’s successful hunts but my service is so poor I can’t upload the pics. Will try again tomorrow.
| gltaylor
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Apr 3, 2022 at 5:30am
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meatbuck said:
gltaylor said:
.
I believe my wife would shoot me if I killed one of HER turkeys
Are you my dad? We had a similar conversation earlier. Although ultimately his ol lady says he can only shoot them if they’re beating up on their “good turkey” (domestic).
She doesn't mind me shooting deer. They eat her shrubs, flowers and my cotton (I get a depredation permit ea year). Turkeys don't hurt anything, so they're off limits (unless she's gone visiting grandchildren
)
| meatbuck
Platinum Member
Apr 3, 2022 at 10:12am
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Friday morning (April fools day) my boy and I went out to try to fool a gobbler. Lots of gobbling action off roost but birds moved off in a big half circle around the property we had permission for. We waited it out and eventually I spotted a bird in the orchard across the field about 500yds out. I popped off a few calls and watched with binos as he took an interest and went into full strut. However as I scanned around a bit more I picked up two more strutters. Then a pair of hens. I figured I’d give some more calls to entice them but shortly after I did the hens moved away and the gobblers followed. We held tight in hopes that once those hens went to drop an egg the toms would swing back to give us some love. Plan worked. A few minutes later two toms were back at the orchard edge gobbling and looking for us. I piped a few more yelps and watched the birds commit to leave the orchard. They didn’t make a straight line across the alfalfa rather swung back to an orchard on the west side of field. But they kept coming with a bit of encouragement from my calling. Before long they were getting to our end of the field but were hard left of us now and seeming going to slip across a canal behind us. I gave em the hey over here dummy and they changed course and here they came into the alfalfa. I told my boy to get his barrel pointed in their direction but a bit of tall grass and weeds blocked his view. I knew if he didn’t get one killed sooner than later there was a good chance they’d slip by under his barrel. The birds hugged the cover until they were about 7 yds out and they let out a gobble. Was nerve racking. No sooner one pops out and skirts right by at about 5yds. However my son didn’t let the second bird do the same. He sawed it’s head nearly off with the wad. 12g 3” Hevishot mag blend. The first bird went out about 30-35yds before I was able to get the gun and get on him. Boom. Nothing. He just walked off a bit out of range and stood there looking kinda sick. I belly crawled as close as cover would let me and let another one fly. Again same results. Bird moved off slowly. Never recovered him. On the way home with his bird we saw a long beard just across a hedgerow from my family’s land. Then two more jakes in our alfalfa following hen. And further out along the north end was two more toms but they were on a mission and moved off a half mile away. I played with the jakes a bit from the truck and as I did the gobbler across the hedgerow lit up. I decided to drop my boy and his bird off at home so he could start his school day and grab another handful of shells. HevI 13 #4 shot this time. Went back over and made a loop out through our orchard up to the alfalfa edge. Sat in a mustard stand and called. North wind was starting to pick up but I heard a faint gobble froM The direction of the lone Tom. Then from the north I heard a bird lite off. I could not see the Tom I was after so I slid back into the orchard to try to put eyes on the bird north of me. As I did I moved away from the original Tom while calling. I’ve used this method to lure birds across the hedgerow and ultimately across the alfalfa about 200yds up to the orchard. Although it wasn’t really my plan to use that method on him, I was more trying to get the bird north to gobble again to get a look at him. Couldn’t see him but it dawned on me what I’d done so I jammed back up to the mustard where my gun and vest were. Didn’t even get to sit down before I realized the first Tom was only 100yds or so out in front of me. Got gun up. Waited for him to close the gap. He stopped at about 35 and I let er rip. He was hit but jumped up and moved right. Banged off a second shot and he jumped again. This time catching the north wind and blowing out to the southwest corner of the alfalfa. Looked like he was going to die in flight and then hit hard. I marked the spot and ran back to truck to get there quicker. Pheasant hunted in towards his last location and saw where he landed and lots of blood. Followed it into a ditch and up to the county road. Blood stopped there and I made several circles eventually picking up the blood leaving the ditch and crossing the county road. The drops were spread really far apart and lead to a dirt field that extends for several hundred yards before another orchard. My guess is he flew a second time as I was retrieving truck. I did go drive the orchard and field edges but to no avail. Headed home with 4 shots fired and no meat to show. Immediately upon returning home I grabbed a cardboard box and a shell and took a pop at 40 yds. Pattern was trash. No surprise that I missed and crippled at that point. Folks will say “well y didn’t u pattern before the season?” Because nontoxic ammo available here in California is expensive as hell and hard to come by. A box of 5 3” shells will run about 60$. That’s if you are registered to purchase (I’m not). If not there’s an additional fee. So say I buy a box and go home to pattern. Now if the first shot patterns well Ive got 4 loads to kill three birds with. If patterning goes poorly I don’t have enough shells to hunt with. So now it’s back to calling around to see if there any ammo available, driving minimum 75-100 mile round trip at 5.49$ per gallon. Then it’s $60 for a box of shells before the addition of non registration fee, about $60 for new choke tube just to get home and pop 12$ holes in cardboard again to more possible disappointment.
These common issues, I can guarantee, have contributed to more lost game since the non toxic ammo law went into effect than it’s ever saved a single f’n condor from lead poisoning. California policies failing in real time. I miss lead.
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| meatbuck
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Apr 3, 2022 at 10:28am | Quote
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That story ran long. Will get yesterday’s story and pics up later.
| meatbuck
Platinum Member
Apr 4, 2022 at 10:06am
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Saturday morning I went at it alone. Back to “the giving tree”. Could hear the birds gobbling on the roost per the usual. I got to my mouth call in and piped off a couple fly down cackles. The birds went silent and then bang bang. Two quick shots go off right at the roost tree at about 6:30a. My morning is shot in the *** I told myself. But in an attempt to gain intel on the subject I stayed put and listened. I threw out a few random calls just after the shot to hopefully encourage the remaining birds to stroll my way. Not long after I heard the guys truck fire up and thought he was headed home with a bird or two. But he didn’t leave. Instead he quickly drove the orchard edge to my corner of the field. He was looking hard for something. It seemed as though he had heard me calling and attempted to keep the birds from leaving the orchard and coming into the field I was in. It worked. He then backtracked around the orchard and left.
I sat it out and before long a bird gobbled. I gave him my best it’s safe over here call and a hen started chatting back. They worked my way and to the corner of the orchard where the guy had turned his truck around. That’s the usual spot they go to to look for my calling before breaking into the alfalfa and ultimately into gun range. I thought I had it one about to break into the alfalfa but instead the hens took him behind me. They stayed there for a couple minutes and he kept gobbling Then suddenly went silent after a series of excited calls.
Figured someone was out there and a few minutes later a tractor fires up and starts what sounded like flail mowing that orchard. After that there was zero turkey activity that I could hear or see from my position. Still I decided to wait and see what would happen. Well my sisters little brother must have had a wild hair because at 7:45a he fired up his atv and started making passes on a track behind their house which is in the opposite corner of the field about 600yds away. Then a second child on a motorbike joins and they rip up and down the north end of the field a few times before I watch them push the atv back home.
Now I’m near certain I’m going to kill a turkey. There’s just too much stuff going on around me not to accidentally have one in my lap. At least that’s what I told myself. So I sat and waited. A good hour has passed since motorbike kids and I see three birds head down in the alfalfa right behind my sisters place. I tossed my call in and tooted at them some. No reaction. Pulled binos out and see that they are the pet ducks they have there. Ok I’m done. Been sitting there all morning getting screwed around from every angle. Put binos away, pulled hat off, stripped face mask off, start to put my call away and bam a gobble from the direction of the roost tree. Ok, get set back into my vest, pull mask up, call back in, binos back out, gun back across lap. Call a few times and he responds. I pick him up with binos as he’s in full strut looking my way. Now I’m thinking IVe got to work him to the corner and then break him into the alfalfa. So I call a couple times while watching him through binos. Pull binos down and there’s a gobbler standing in front of me about 50yds out looking hard. I thought he saw me pull my binos down but with a soft call he kept closing. Luckily my little blind setup allowed me to swap binos for gun undetected. He kept coming as I shouldered gun and lined up the bead. Now all yesterday’s bullshift bad pattern, miss, cripple starts to creep into my mind. “Let him get closer“ I told myself. When I thought he was about 20yds I let out a squeak to get him to go head up. Settled the bead and flipped him over backwards. Patience payed off on this one. Even though 20yds was more like 25-27 the results were drt.
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| meatbuck
Platinum Member
Apr 18, 2022 at 7:54pm
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Had a quick turkey season this year. Bagged my three toms in the first two weeks of the season.
Went out Thursday before last about noon to cruise the neighborhood in search of a gobbler. Hopefully one I could make a move on and kill. Didn’t take long, went about 400yds down the road from my house when I pulled over to check a field. Hadn’t even pulled up to the field yet and I see one in the orchard towards the far northwest corner. Bird Was in perfect location for me to slip around and set up. He was bedded in the shade so I figured I’d have plenty of time to slide around him and into a stand of mustard. Same stand of mustard I blew an opportunity the week before. So I dumped truck and grabbed gear and gun. Slipped along the edge of the alfalfa and up to the corner of the orchard. Was About 200 yds. Luckily the tall mustard and elevation between field and orchard allowed me to basically just walk down there undetected. I slipped up the access road on my knees from the north end and when my gunbarrel was just above the orchard floor I sat down in the mustard and began to soft call.
Maybe two yelps in he half gobbled. Perfect, Im in the game. By now he’s probably only 100yds out but I can’t see him because he’s too far back in the orchard. I wait and then call again. He gobbled again to my right so I swing my barrel that way and call again. Then I go silent. A few minutes pass and I see him in strut to my left. I wait for him to go behind a tree and swing my barrel back left. Now he’s inside 50 yds. He strutting and looking hard my way but not breaking into (my now limited to 20yds) range (see previous stories). So I turn my head and call very softly away hoping to fool him into thinking I’m beyond the mustard stand. It worked and he closed the gap in full strut but swung back to my right again. So again I wait for him to go behind a tree to swing over on him. Bead settled too well and I popped him while he was still in partial strut causing a feather puff and a couple pellets to the breast. He flipped and was dead in seconds. I stood up and realized why he was strutting and not coming in right away. Was a hen off to my left that had his attention. I apparently was coaxing her in not him. Either way it was my last shell and my last bird of 2022.
Made it back home and hadn’t been gone more than 30 minutes. This prompted me to clean the bird and change gears to striper fishing. Headed out for the evening and boxed my limit before dark. Was a great end to my turkey season. |
| meatbuck
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Apr 18, 2022 at 7:56pm
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 |
| farleg
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Apr 20, 2022 at 4:40am
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Gday Here’s our little turkeys in disguise lol
yes a few of them were hammered 
cheers
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| harperc
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Apr 25, 2022 at 1:10pm | Quote
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www.wideopenspaces.com/black-bear-turkey-decoy/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=agora&utm_term=eh&utm_campaign=eh&fbclid=IwAR260rPiL_Sb9cexvXLcpPeaUYrTo4gPZ1v2dfBUgkKJHriaXOK1ohvJTs0
Now that's a turkey hunt.
We have a few Mountain Lion incidents a year here, the one day I went we only called in a coyote! |
| farleg
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Apr 26, 2022 at 3:14am | Quote
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harperc said:
www.wideopenspaces.com/black-bear-turkey-decoy/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=agora&utm_term=eh&utm_campaign=eh&fbclid=IwAR260rPiL_Sb9cexvXLcpPeaUYrTo4gPZ1v2dfBUgkKJHriaXOK1ohvJTs0
Now that's a turkey hunt.
We have a few Mountain Lion incidents a year here, the one day I went we only called in a coyote!
Gday Carl
They must think us aussies are a bad bunch lol this is all I got 
lucky you guys allow us in 
cheers |
| gltaylor
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Apr 26, 2022 at 6:02am | Quote
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I couldn't open the video either. Facebook wouldn't show it? |
| harperc
Global Moderator
Apr 26, 2022 at 11:06am
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Can't get the video, but not much more than in picture |
| rausch
Senior Member
Apr 26, 2022 at 7:54pm
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I connected on a long beard this weekend!  |
