No cigar but lovely hunt - in need of some advice

Hello guys,

I hunt public land, and I knew it would be crowded due to all the closures, so I scouted 6 potential sites, all with turkey spotted throughout the spring & confirmed with cameras.

Come morning hunt, 4 of my potential spots were taken. I settled to a secluded one, got settled in, and two guys come from one side just before sunrise, and kneeled down as to take a shot at my decoys. Didn`t have time to get my flashlight out , so I dove into a ditch behind me. Luckily they realized they were not moving , so not shots taken. We waved at each-other, and we continued the hunt as this spot had two roost each side of the plot.

Long story short, a tom came from behind me, saw the decoys (hen & jake) but never committed. By 9am packed and moved to the next spot. On my way to the car, I spooked 6 young jakes preparing to come to the field....such is life ;););)

In the bush, same setup, I yelp 3 times softly and start working (from my phone, behind the camo tarp) a hen shows up. Double check for beard, no go. She stays for a few minutes and then she leaves. I yelp again to see if there are others, and I get a distant gobble.
Stopped calling, and the gobbler makes its way towards me, gobbling every 5-10 mins.

50yds from me there is a pasture. The gobbler circled me , and stopped on the pasture (no hunting posted) and kept strutting. Did not make a single attempt to come check the hen. I called softly again thinking he will leave the area, but he circled a couple more times, and then he moved on.

Did I make a mistake calling when the guy was out in the field?
Should have I been quiet or simply rake the leaves as if the hen was feeding?
Should have I gone deeper in the woods or closer to the open field?

https://youtu.be/4QbxY6J_K30

Moved to the next spot, through a bush leading to a corn field. There were two flocks over there.I was able to slowly make my way to the edge without being seen but only the hens were feeding close enough for a shot, toms were further away.

I called to see if they'd come in the woods to check it out, but they continued their feeding path.
When the field was clear, I put the hen & jake at the edge, and I hid back in the bush.

30 mins to last legal hunt time, 2 toms, 4 jakes ans 3 hens come slowly my way (feeding pattern - feed, walk, watch).
I let a few soft yelps, and a small hen starts feeding my way. She came in 40-50 yrds, and turned around and left.
Yelped again, but they all moved away.

Should I use just a hen or just the jake or both are just fine. Not sure how to read the current situation....

Last year I tagged out in similar situation, same setup, same calls (soft, wait, shoot)

I've seen a lot more birds this year, but more jakes than hens, which is weird, so I don't know how to play my cards.

Any advice (on the above or in general) ?

Regardless, awesome day, seen turkeys, been out, was able to get close to the birds without being seen, heart pumping, gobble sounds.......priceless

Thanks & and happy and safe hunting out there!

Sounds like you are doing everything right, I would continue to do what you are doing because it sounds like it's just a matter of time before it all works out...
Best of luck

I don’t think you did anything wrong, just keep hunting and it will happen

I agree with the others you did nothing wrong. Thing is neither did the turkey so he got to walk away. In my mind you need to be there the day the Tom makes a mistake. In your case he did what he is supposed to do he strutted and gobbled in the open where hens can see him and they are supposed to go to him. They do make mistakes sometimes which is why we get a few each spring. I have been hunting them since the first season in the '90's and keep a log. On average it takes me 4 days to get a bird so that means on any given day my odds of success are only 25%.

I got a nice big Tom this morning and beleive me how it happened was not classic and I did not deserve it. It was just my morning not the turkey's.

I can't seem to figure out how to update the title of the post, but ....cigar..

Thanks for the pep talk guys! It takes a kick in the @$$ to move forward....and stop doubting each move. I'm still learning, and I appreciate the feedback received. This community rocks! So, I dedicate this to you all!

Today, slow day at work as it has been for the past month , and with Fratri's last night's post in the back of my head, I said I'd rather be in the field and fail, than be at home and wonder what it would be... so I decided to give it another try

Made it to the spot by 4pm, settled in, I decided my strategy will be - domination reaction , visual, and no calls, just a strutted tom & a hen

The flock appears withing 1h, they ignore my decoys 100% (or pretended to), the hens decide to leave, but the big guy decided to stay a little longer.

Feeding, stopping and watching, slowly making his way towards me ....I thought this is going to take a while and it could only go two ways.
He will come or he will bail....

I didn't even mount my go-pro, or the gun, which was leaning against a tree besides me.

In no time, the guy decides to make a run for the decoys. Just straight run towards my jake. Stopped 5 yards away, started strutting and hissing.....and that's all she wrote. Almost instant dispatch, no struggle or damage to the bird or feathers - it'll make a nice cape. 37yds shot, 3 1/2 Rem shell #4

2hrs hunt.....I suck at selfies so I won't post, but here's a pic of this lovely bird (21lb, 10" beard, 1"spurs)

Attachment 40094 Attachment 40095

Time for the 2nd tag I guess
Mike

Nice bird. Sometimes those Toms are stubborn. Every exchange between you and a bird that doesn't end with a Bang! will often get you wondering if you did something wrong. Sometimes you did everything you should have, ol’ Tom was just in that kind of mood. I bagged one yesterday, but I watched a couple Toms sneak by me with hens chasing them down. They wanted nothing to do with the hens. Finally a big boy came running into my decoys.. it was quite the charge. Running a jake and submissive hen in my spread, so that pissed him off. Footage is processing now, will post shortly.

Congrats on your success and keep doing what you’re doing. Be safe out there on public land.

It was the first day out........give it time and keep trying. Turkeys are fickle and do not always do what you want or what they did even the day before.

Keep at 'em - sounds like you have everything under control.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mikedinoro

I can't seem to figure out how to update the title of the post, but ....cigar..

Thanks for the pep talk guys! It takes a kick in the @$$ to move forward....and stop doubting each move. I'm still learning, and I appreciate the feedback received. This community rocks! So, I dedicate this to you all!

Today, slow day at work as it has been for the past month , and with Fratri's last night's post in the back of my head, I said I'd rather be in the field and fail, than be at home and wonder what it would be... so I decided to give it another try

Made it to the spot by 4pm, settled in, I decided my strategy will be - domination reaction , visual, and no calls, just a strutted tom & a hen

The flock appears withing 1h, they ignore my decoys 100% (or pretended to), the hens decide to leave, but the big guy decided to stay a little longer.

Feeding, stopping and watching, slowly making his way towards me ....I thought this is going to take a while and it could only go two ways.
He will come or he will bail....

I didn't even mount my go-pro, or the gun, which was leaning against a tree besides me.

In no time, the guy decides to make a run for the decoys. Just straight run towards my jake. Stopped 5 yards away, started strutting and hissing.....and that's all she wrote. Almost instant dispatch, no struggle or damage to the bird or feathers - it'll make a nice cape. 37yds shot, 3 1/2 Rem shell #4

2hrs hunt.....I suck at selfies so I won't post, but here's a pic of this lovely bird (21lb, 10" beard, 1"spurs)

Attachment 40094 Attachment 40095

Time for the 2nd tag I guess
Mike

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Quite an accomplishment to pull that off on crowded public land, way to go! Nice Tom!

Sent from my SM-A520W using Tapatalk

I am glad it all worked out.... Congrats

I could not be more thankful to all of you guys sharing your hard earned knowledge and experience on this forums.
Everything I learned and still learning about hunting (deer & turkey) is on this forums through your kind guidance, and a lot of boots on the ground. Anyone committed to hunting can find a trove of knowledge here
My success is your success too!
Thanks to all of you selflessly sharing your experience and knowledge