Kansas Sping Turkey

[krank]

Last day of season. Went out yesterday with the mindset of all I could do is an ambush. Just my luck the turkey never came through where they always come through.

[bigjohn]

Took a young man out this morning to try for his second bird. I've an ear infection and cannot hear out of my left ear and not a whole lot better with the right,

He showed up on time and we headed out where I had seen a couple of gobblers a couple times this week. We slipped across an open field to my "listening" area , I crow called, and a gobbler gobbled. I couldn't hear it so I told him to point the direction and off we went. We climbed a bluff to get above them and started towards the last response.

When we got where I thought the should be we started down the bluff looking for a place to cross the creek. At the creek I called softly only to be answered by a gobble out in the field. We waded the creek as as we approached the edge of the field I spied 2 gobblers headed our direction. I had the young man crawl to a tree and I started sweet talking one of the ol boys to us.

Well the got real spooking,started clucking, and that's when we saw a coyote coming across the field. It came to almost our location and milled around before entering the brush. Thinking it had spooked the turkey out of the field I moved forward only to see the gobblers still there. Again I started calling and here comes one of the Tom's. When in range the young man proceeds to miss the bird, not once but twice lol.

The hens that had been with the toms didn't run off but the other Tom took off at a fast walk away from us out of range. We never could get another Tom to gobble so we left. The young man was really embarrassed on having missed but it happens and was a great hunt anyway.

[Walleye Joe]

Well, that sucks! But it's all part of the experience. I'm sure the young fellow will never forget. I've missed or messed up many times and I'm sure it will happen again. Thanks for giving him the opportunity John. I only had the chance to hunt here in Missouri 3 or 4 times without success. Couldn't get any Toms to work. There's always next season.......

[bigjohn]

Thanks Joe.
It was encouraging to see a greater population of turkey this year. Use to be able to kill my two toms on this farm in the past but population got so low I'd just take one there then hunt somewhere else for the other. I do need to take some coon off this place this season.

[krank]

Apr 25, 2024 6:17:39 GMT -6 krank said:

The hardest hunting turkey hunter I know told me the numbers are down worse than he has ever seen. This guy hunts all season and takes his sons and grandchildren out one by one.

So this same guy goes out with a muzzle loading shotgun and calls two toms up to ten yards. He shoots and there is no recoil and gobblers leave. He realized he had been carrying this gun for two weeks and at some point the birdshot rolled out the barrel. He told me he was using cork wads and I said they break apart. I gave him a handful of hard card wads. He said he was happy because he fooled the turkey and bumped one with an over powder wad. He said populations were down in his area .

[bigjohn]

I'm sure we lost a few turkey nest in the bottoms with the flooding rains we've had. Still plenty of time for them to nest again though.

I had seen these toms without any hens before those rains but they had at least 5 hens with them Sunday, which makes me think those hens had nest flooded out.