what a day

[charlie cleveland]

today i got up at 4.30 and was in the woods by5.15 i walked with a big back pack my 3 turkey decoys and my parker 10 ga ph hammerless...boy was i bushed after going aways got to where i wanted to set up my decoys and blind..by 5.45 it was getting light fast i had put my 3 decoys out 2 hens and 1 jake..i then loaded the old with 2 no 4 shot got into the blind and gave a low feed call here come a hen that flew off the roost right to my decoys..she did not like the decoys she went away clucking..she fed across the big field and crossed a ditch she was gone this was at 6.00....things settled down for a while then at 7.00 i saw several turkeys come off the roost they fed away from me and the field.in about 30 minutes i seen fly across a little creek into the field none of my calls were good they just fed away ....fially i got my field glasses out and could see they were all big jakes finally they turned to my blind 3 of them showed interest in the decoys.. one of the gobblers was legal had a 6 inch beard ias he neared my decoys he fuzzed up he came a few more steps i raised the old 10 up and squezzed the trigger the gobbler never flopped or moved deadest turkey i ever shot...in all i seen 7 gobblers 3 hens and was home by 9.15 a good hunt for me..this was the secound day i have been hunting this year..got 2 more turkey 2 go...charlie

[Jerry Harlow]

Congratulations Charlie! What shell did you kill him with?

What about the 20 that was crying to go?

[Phillip Carr]

Congratulations Charlie !!!!!

[Bob Dombeck]

Well done. Congratulations.

[Reggie Bishop]

Great! Good luck with the other two.

[Gerald McPherson]

That's great Charlie. May I have directions to that spot? I've hunted hard this season and about wore myself out and not pulled the trigger. It's been strange here never heard as much hen noise and so little gobbling. Hope you continue to do well. Gerald

[charlie cleveland]

thanks fellows for the comments..i killed that turkey with a factory remington express load no 4 1 5/8 ounce load...i decided against the 20 ga beause i figured i mite need the extra range...should have stuck to the 20 ga plan since it was a close shot....my hunting spot is south of nome alaska and north of mexico..hacannot go hunting today but maybe tommorrow....charlie

[Dean Romig]

Hey... That's the location of my favorite woodcock cover...:shock:





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[Russ Jackson]

Congrats Charlie sounds like a Great Hunt !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shawn Wayment]

Nice work Charlie

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Charlie: It is good to see you out and about and enjoying yourself turkey hunting and scoring a nice gobbler.I was out in 20 degree weather with lite snow and freezing rain and no luck. When I got home I asked my wife if my ass seemed smaller and see said why and I said because I just froze it off. Thomas:rotf:

[wayne goerres]

Sad news fellers but you can't get their from here (or there). Good job Charlie.

[charlie cleveland]

well yester day was the closeing day of turkey season this year..i got up late to start with it was done daylight before i got going.anyway i gathered up my hunting stuff and got going...i got my decoys out 2 hens and 1 jake the wind was blowing in gusts of 20 to 40 miles an hour the wind would blow the decoys one way then the wind would change blowing the other way...i got into my blind i told myself i was wasteing my time but i was wrong..the first turkey i seen was a big gobbler in full strut my calls could not lure him with in range for a shot..i think he must have had hens with him i watched him 45 minutes doing his thing...he then disappered..the nect turkey i seen had slipped up on me he was at 100 yards just feeding..i gave my best calls he started toward me but hung up at 80 yards he was very warying of the decoys i watched him for 2 hours then he left..next was a pair of gobblers at 250 yards they had 1 hen with them but they even looked so much my way i watched them over 4 hours finally when they fed out of my sight i got out of the blind and went home...if that one gobbler had come 20 yards closer i guess i would have tried the old 10 ga out...any was the windest day i have ever hunted and seen more mature gobblers than i ever seen in one day..so all ended well....charlie

[Mills Morrison]

That is more luck than I have had, Charlie. Sounds like an exciting hunt

[wayne goerres]

Maybe the wind is the secret. It is supposed to be windy here Thursday. Of course it is also supposed to be storming also.

[Jerry Harlow]

When it is raining or windy they always go to the fields, since one of the two most important senses, hearing, is greatly affected and vision is also affected by moving trees and leaves.

If a turkey could smell as well as a deer, none would ever be killed if it was added to their exceptional vision and hearing. Windy or wet is to be used to the hunter's advantage to move around and to them if you know where they are.

[tom tutwiler]

I've found decoys to be hit and miss. Later in the season I think Gobblers just get tired of fighting and I switch to a hen decoy only. Never had a gobbler shy away from a hen decoy, but have had them turn around and run from a strutting decoy or even a jake decoy late in the season. I think for them its like the 12 round of a 12 round fight. They are tired, wore out, hungry and just want to eat some food and take a nap.

[Jerry Harlow]

I never use anything except a hen decoy. I don't trust any of the hunters around me. And then I still don't fell 100% safe.

I believe decoys are a 50% proposition, and often lock up out of range a turkey who spots them, and might otherwise come in and try to find the source of the calling. The other 50% of the time they draw them like a magnet.

[charlie cleveland]

i agree with your thinking jerry...my dad once set up a jake decoy and when the gobbler seen it he went into a full run the other way....charlie

[Bob Dombeck]

I am the opposite as far as using Jake/Tom decoys. I killed my Tom in MN this year using a full strut Tom decoy. I had two Toms come in together right to the decoy and my WI bird came in to a half strut Jake decoy. Both times I also had a hen decoy out as well. I very seldom use just a hen without either the Jake or Tom decoy.
I absolutely have had birds also turn and go the other way when they see my dekes but I've had more positive responses than negative. That's what I love about the sport, you never know what the individual bird wants on any given day.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Very Nice

[Mike Franzen]

Good job Charlie. I would like to come back for another try.