I've had a few. One of my first hunts I was tucked in a down fall on the high side of a slope. A Tom came in below me close enough for me to hear him spitting and drumming as well as gobbling, though just the top of his fan was visible. He had hens with him because I could hear them talking. I was trying to call them up closer to me but he wouldn't budge . His hens though decided to come up looking for this noisy hen. I believe to kick my butt. Well they all came up the hill and pin pointed exactly where I was. One at a time those three hens walked right up to the end of my gun barrel, cocked their little heads and looked in the barrel then walked back down to the Tom. LOL I was sweating bullets trying not to laugh out loud, it was completely comical. Once they got to him they all walked away. I sat there thinking, that SOB sent those hens up here to mock me! ..hahahaha. What are your funny moment's
I had an interesting experience with a bearded hen a few years back with a youth hunter. The birds flew down and one hen almost instantly broke into a strut. I could see she had a crooked 9-10" pencil beard. She would run up and push off any bird that got within 10 yards of a football sized rock in this turned over cornfield. My youth hunter thought it was hysterical. She eventually would mount that rock, perform a very "male species" act to the rock, hop off the rock and go about being a normal hen. She was confused to say the least. No toms were killed that day.
Last year my buddy and I got asked to film a youth hunt. It was a big posse. “Mom” the planner had her two kids hunting, and brought in two kids from New York, had a really good caller come in, and then us two. My buddy and I woke up early, drank a couple cups of coffee and met them all at the hotel. We drove out to the spot and were a bit behind schedule. Daylight was starting to break so we set up 2 blinds in the middle of a hayfield...a tactic I had never done before. We were about 80-100 yards from the wood line. I was filming in the blind with the two boys in front of me and mom right beside me. Daylight peaks and a hen walks into the field. What I didn’t tell you is I have a small bladder. And even though I’m 32...when nature calls, it yells. This hen ignored our decoys and walked along the edge of the field and then into the woods out of sight. By this time I was aching and knew I had to get out of the blind to pee. But I couldnt just step outside because in the other blind right next to us was two young girls. I tell mom and boys “sorry but I gotta go”. I stand up, start to unzip the blind...and then I hear it. Gobble gobble. The New York boy says “look, two hens just came in the field!” So I sit back down. The hens worked their way across the field and I filmed them all the while beads of sweat roll down my forehead. Then out steps the Tom in full strut. Beautiful. He’s slowly making his way across the field. But I am rapidly reaching the point of decision. There are two clear choices: I can step outside the blind and ruin this hunt for every one involved. Or...I can sit there and pee my pants. So I took one for the team and I peed my pants. Actually a couple times. Maybe even 3 times. I prayed the ammonia smell wouldn’t be too strong as mom was less than a foot away from me. The nice part was it was very cold that morning so it did warm me up. All for naught. Tom stayed with the hens and veered into the woods. Got some great footage though and we eventually filmed one of moms boys knocking down a big strutter that evening...after I changed my pants. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've had a few memorable encounters, maybe not so funny. I had one encounter on opening morning a few years ago that was a bit strange. It snowed/sleeted right at daylight and left a wet snow blanket on everything. My decoy had a thin layer of snow on it. The birds came off the roost a bit later than normal, but a Tom bee-lined in to me as soon as they hit the ground. It came in from behind so close that I could've touched it, spitting and drumming the whole time. No chance to draw my bow. As soon as he cleared me and the tree I was next to, he saw the decoy. I assume it was the layer of snow on it, but he immediately started putt'ing and spooked. Weird that the decoy spooked him so much. I drew when he spooked and started to run away, and cut at him hard. He stopped at 30 yards for a second and I sent the arrow through him. I've never had another Tom spook like that when it saw the decoy. I was working another Tom one morning, a bit up into the morning since my daylight set up didn't work out. This Tom was on the side of a draw and was responding really well to my calls. I was up the draw from him on the same side and got as close as I dared and then set up to wait for him to come. Not 5 minutes after setting up, a coyote comes cruising by me, apparently attracted to all of the calling. He came in on my hard right side, so impossible to swing the bow that way for a shot. Probably couldn't have drawn without him seeing me anyway. I just figured I'd wait for him to wander off and then resume calling to the Tom. About that time the Tom gobbled again. The coyote immediately headed down the draw towards him. A minute after going out of sight the coyote started barking and doing some short howls, which made the Tom shock gobble every single time. I think the coyote was making him shock gobble to try to track him, but perhaps he was simply stupid? I don't know if the coyote got the Tom, but he sure did ruin that hunt. I had one other hunt that was more spooky than funny. I was having trouble locating a bird, but about an hour after daylight I finally got a Tom to start responding. It was quite a ways away from me. I worked my way towards it and when still quite a ways away I could see through the timber some movement here and there...a bunch of hens with him. I knew it'd be tough to call him in, but decided to set up and try, maybe the hens would get worked up and come in. I set up and start calling pretty aggressively. The Tom answers here and there, but they aren't budging. After a few more minutes I notice that the woods have gone deathly silent around me...no movement, no sounds of birds chirping...nothing. All the hair raises on the back of my neck and down my arms. I'm not sure what is wrong at first, but know something isn't right. I then realize it is the silence of when a predator is close by, and it isn't me that's causing it. I slowly looked around and never saw anything, but my senses told me I should get up and leave. I had the shotgun instead of my bow, so that made me feel a little better. I got up and worked my way out of there while watching closely. Never did see anything. When I reached the logging road I had walked in on, I noticed that there were cougar tracks over my tracks from walking in that morning. Apparently I had been calling in the wrong kind of Tom.
OK guys I have one word being a older woman that can't just unzip and fly....DEPENDS..HAHAHA Hey hunting hours and then standing up to climb down a ladder..gravity sometimes wins..lol
Ok back on track. I call using my natural voice and have found over the years my ability to mimic hens is rather good. I end up calling in more hens than Toms and they usually come in literally hopping mad. One such hunt I plopped my chair blind down for a quick late morning hunt on the edge of a ridge above the start of 6 springs below me. I got into it with a lone hen and she came in hammering. Well I decided to just have some fun and matched her note for note. She circled the blind 3 times and would start walking off and I'd call her back. Well I'd set up next to a maple with a down fall in front of me. She hopped up on the log in front and started just a yelling at me. Seeing I was just out for fun at this point, I yelled back thinking it would probably spook her. Nope, she actually got hopping mad and let loose hopping up and down on that log with each burst! OMG I had tears streaming down my face and had to cover my mouth to not laugh out loud. She was so close I could have snatched her up by the neck. I don't know where she thought the other hen was calling from. After a bit she finally gave up looking for that fight and walked away clucking and putting as she went. I sometimes wonder if a Tom wasn't close by thinking I'm not getting into that! Lol
My most interesting moment happened just a few weeks ago. Sitting in the blind and could hear some birds coming. Ended up seeing 5 jakes walking up the road putting and making all kinds of noise I usually don't hear them make. Then I noticed some movement about 25 - 30 yards away from them. Put up the binos and there was a yote. Funny thing was he was moving away from the jakes. Those jakes chased him up and over the hill completely off the property! I knew turkeys do some weird things once in a while but never seen them chase off a yote before. He didn't want nothin to do with them jakes at all!
Well I wasn't hunting, but this a.m. I was walking my daughters dogs( I'm grand pup sitting) and saw a flock in the oat field next door. It was snowing so I put a bright red and white knit cap and my blue jean jacket on, wearing black sweats. We got to the end of the hedge row and stepped out in the open where the girls go. The 6 turkey saw us 500 yrds away and next thing I know they all look like those "funky" turkey decoys and they are staring at us. Then 3 broke into full strutt and started gobbling their heads off. About then it occurred to me. I must of looked like one big turkey from that far away LOL
I roosted a gobbler one evening. He was down below a fork in a dirt road. I got him to gobble a couple of times to "pinpoint" his location. I then left confident on how I would sneak in and set up and kill him in the AM. I walked in in the dark without a light and got comfortable up next to a large tree. When it started to lighten up, I made a soft hen yelp. Immediately he gobbled back. Too bad he was directly above my head! I don't know if he moved after I left or if I had misjudged the location. Needless to say he flew off away never to be seen or heard again.
OMG I did that at camp. In fact I had cleared a very silent path to the tree I wanted to sit against. I got in and as it got light I yelped. He let loose and I nearly wet myself! He was directly above me. How do I know? Well on his next gobble he took his morning dump on my head and pitched down the hill...LOL talk about a crappy hunt! P.S. Thanks I almost forgot about that one..make me laugh
At least I didn't get crapped on I guess. Still hurts thinking about that turkey laughing at me flying away.
