Got my keister whooped good this weekend. Went to my turkey lease in Barbour Co that is normally jam up. Heard one bird one time in another zip code on Thursday morning and that was it. I did some prospecting the rest of the morning and then broke for lunch. I normally don’t break for lunch at all but I had one of my kids with me and he will waste away if he doesn’t eat a full meal every 3-4 hours. We go back that afternoon and I hunted a block we had not hit yet. About 4 pm I’m sitting doing some every now and again blind calling and I look up and there stands a turkey in the road. I put my binocs on it and it’s a longbeard, and he’s about 90 yards. I decide to woo him with my masterful calling so I yelp at him and his head snaps up and he takes off running like I had shot at him. That was pretty much it for the day.

Friday, I put my son on the bird from the evening before and told him not to call to it, just let it walk down the road. I went across the road to the lake that always has birds roosted around it. After sitting there for an hour and not hearing a thing gobble or fly down, I joined Hunter across the road. I slipped in through the pines and set up close to the cotton field about 200 yards from my son. About 9 am a coyote came in but was too far for a shot and shortly after that I heard a turkey cluck in the cotton field. A few minutes later some squealing bird flew over and one shock gobbled about 40-50 yards from me. He was in the cotton field and I couldn’t see him because the fence line is covered in vines and briars. I guess he eventually meandered off because I never heard him again. Friday afternoon was a bust with no sightings.

Saturday my other son joined us and the three of us hunted all day long without hearing a single gobble or putting eyes on a turkey. It was a complete and miserable shutout.

Sunday, I put both boys on a field that I have killed piles of turkeys out of in the past. I eased off in the swamp to see if I could get a swamp turkey fired up. Sure enough I hear a gobble and I close the distance. He only gobbled two times but I was able to into his area and somewhat pinpoint him. I slipped in quietly and set up where the swamp met some thinned pines. An hour or so went by and he never made another peep so I was pretty sure I bumped him. I heard another turkey gobbling further down the swamp and I started cutting to him. Much to my surprise the second bird started gobbling pretty strong and was getting closer. I actually thought to myself If I hadn’t bumped that first bird he wouldn’t be able to stand the one I was working coming into his territory and would probably have already come in. Then I hear the unmistakable sound of drumming to my left. I shift back over slowly to face him and then scratched in the leaves and he turned a gobble loose. I did a little yelp and then scratched again and shouldered my gun and snapped the safety off. Ten seconds later he was walking down the hill to me. I had to stop at the edge of the swamp initially and could not walk out into those pines or I would have been busted for sure. For that reason I was still in the edge of the swamp and there was a pretty sporty pile of weeds and underbrush the turkey would have had to walk through to get in there with me. For that reason I decided to shoot him in the pines and had to do it before he got too close to the underbrush or I couldn’t shoot over the top of it. So at 45-50 yards I let it eat and immediately the bird fell over and started flopping. I stood up and collected my box call and when I looked up the turkey limping away at 80 yards away with a wing dragging. I pulled up and sent another shot his way and actually knocked him down again and the sucker got up again and kept going! I watched him cross a creek, and struggle up a dirt bank and was gone. Man that made me sick, that’s two times in two years that has occurred…. (last year was a 25 yard shot with a #5 Longbeard). Tough couple of days of hunting, but I did get a little action and had my chance.

Dang. That's never happened to me. But then again I never thought I would miss a turkey and I did a couple years ago. I am sure my day will come though

I know that feeling all too well. I always jump up and sprint to the bird after the shot and pick up my calls and crap after I've put a boot on his neck. You'll get another chance soon!

Dr. B

They'll humble you sometimes, and a miss sure doesn't help. Stick with it and you'll catch up with them.

Dang that sucks, my first few days were very uneventful other than opening morning I had one close enough to hear his wings dragging the ground and then he followed the hens away and that was it for the weekend

Dang.....that sounds just like my saturday hunt on the national forest....call up a public land bird just to gimp him up bad and never findeem..thats me. Sucks...but imbjust that much more determined now.

Sorry to hear that man..

More discouragement for this rookie turkey hunter.

I wouldn't say that " turkeys are stupid ", may-be us that hunt them???

damn dude, that does suck ... hopefully things'll get better in the coming weeks ... hang tough (i know y'all will!)