At daylight I will be at an all to familiar spot waiting for the show to begin. (Thunder Ridge) is a little spot back in a cove that my uncle and I discovered a couplle years ago. Public land (I got private land too, so this is not a holier than thou thread) and call shy birds. This little spot was aptly named by Doug because on a good morning it sounds like a thunder storm from the many gobbles. We get at least one more year there as the economy stopped the subdivision from b eing completed. We thought last year would be it, but alas one more year on thunder ridge. Daylight came and we were already up against a couple big oaks. He gobbled and gobbled and everytime a hen flew down and went to his tree (80 yards) I knew we were in trouble. He finally flew down and came strutting at 65 yards. That got me really going, my first strutter of the year. After 30 min or so of the walk away then come back and hundreds of gobbles he finally commited. He was on his way strutting the whole way. At 48 yards he saw the dekes, dropped strut and walked off. We chased him until noonish, but each time we would cirle, he would cut the distance and then here comes the hens to carry him away. If they were breeding he would be dead at midday, but they would not sit for him so he just followed them. we left him for another day and moved on...We did not hear the funny gobble. We went to a good spot to catch crappie and eat lunch. We were near an area where we killed birds 3 years ago but have not even seen one since. My uncle hit a call just for the heck of it...we were met by a double gobble very close and before we could decide how to move on him he was at the bank looking at us. We trolled out to the middle and went 200 yards down the bank and got out. We called for about 15 minutes and nothing...finally a distant gobble and from then on each time he gobbled he was half the distance. I saw him first and he was doing the whole try to strut but let down and try to run. He got to 35 yards and saw the dekes and kind of acted nervouse...I pulled the trigger and watched him attempt to fly , I did not even shuck another shell because my uncle was there for back up (I did not know he could not see the bird)and the bird would be dead. The bird actually ran stright at me to about 10 yards. He finnaly got turned and at 20 yards my uncle cut a sweetgum in half. I could not figure out what happened as we made sure there was no damage. Finally as I went to get the dekes I saw a good size sapling about 15 feet from me that I almostr wiped out. I guess I never saw it and was focused on lining my sights up. The bird was on a string and if we were on our lease I would have given him the chance to run up to the decoys but I did not want to risk him running off either. We caught some more fish and called it a day when the sun went down. Monday I went to our lease near work and as we rounded a corner near the horse pasture there he was strutting on top of the cedar fence at 65 yards. He would not come to any call and followed the 2 hens off. We later called a group of 5 longbeards and alot of hens only to have a few coyotes bust up the situation right as the birds we getting in range. We tried to shoot the yotes but both of us were scared we would injure a turkey. All in all a really good opening weekend. Hope this rain moves out and I can get back at then tomorrow. Thanks for listening. GA bowhunter. I live near Atlanta Douglas and Paulding county areas.
You lucky thing.... What always amazes me is the first morning every year and it is like I never left.....I don't know how to describe it....it's like "I'm really here and I never really left" I guess thats why they say Turkey hunters are afflicted.... SB
Thanks VA and I really hope this is the year for your first bird. Are you chasing them with a bow or gun...I bowhunt for deer 99% but I have never got the urge to shoot a turkey with anything other than a shotgun. SB no one could say it any better. Standing there waiting on dawn feels like I went to sleep at the end of last year and now I am waking up...hope that makes sense. The spot is far from a guaranteed thing but we have so many memories from Thunder Ridge. We have a bird that has been shaking us for 3 years and he was atleast 2 when he started toying with us. He has a funny gobble, almost that of a Jake but very deep. He has been in range several times and for some reason or other he lived. He has also watched many buddies die. I called him into 25 yards last year with 2 Jakes in tow...he put on a show and I watched him run off after my buddy Cory smoked one of the jakes. The Tom did not come into cory's view so I told him to smoke a Jake...his first bird. He was going through some things so we got him a permit and took him to the ridge. We joked that he would be blind folded. He later asked why I never picked my gun up when I knew the funny gobble was coming. I wanted more than anything for that to be his first bird, but alas the Jake was one of the best trophies I have pulled out of the woods in my 29 years on this planet. Cory is a good dude and a good friend I met through work, but that day on the ridge I think he learned what hunting is about to our family...and that is good times, friends and family over who gets to pull the trigger every time. My uncle just called as I was writing this to wrap up a meeting time and before he hung up he said you shoot first and then hung up. No doubt the birds will decide that but our only argument all day will be that very topic. Thanks for listening to my ramblings guys and gals...good luck and good hunting.
I have only ever hunted them with a bow. In fact I have only ever gotten 1 shot at a turkey with my bow. First hunt of fall deer season in 2006 I bowhunted from the ground in the middle of a laydown tree. I had about 8-10 turkey come up the ridge slowly. About 20 minutes after first spotting them they finally came within range. I put the turkey at 20 yards. They were actually about 27 yards and I missed low. I kept having to duck up and down, hiding behind the laydown as I drew then came up slowly. I had to redraw several times as I could not for the life of me figure out what those nervous birds were doing! That kind of threw off my range perception because I could not focus and get my bearings as the pace picked up with the birds. I missed right under the chest of one as I released an arrow. Bummer....but I will be back this spring.
Going to bed, 3:30 comes early. Good luck to anyone going out...hopefully I will have a story involving me/my uncle standing behind a bird early in the AM. Thanks for the chat. Brett, you are as determined as anyone...it will happen, and if not the chase is always fun.
Good luck to you. I am sooooooo ready for April 6, every morning I hear gobbles all around the ranch.
I really messed up my edit. I deleted half my post but the story is at the top...it starts at daylight. Hope everyone had a good weekend.
Rain is moving out, hopefully we can get back at em tomorrow evening and head to Thunder Ridge Saturday. You guys have any luck yet?
I have only got to hunt opening day. I got pinned down by some hens and then got busted trying to move out. Never got on a gobbler though. I'm going after work tomorrow and then again on Saturday....rain OR shine
