Best Turkey Hunt Stories

2013 Season
After harvesting a bird with my shotgun on a Monday while sneaking into a food plot around lunch time, I returned to the camp that Friday to make an attempt at an bow hunt. I set up on a small foodplot where I had seen a fair amount of droppings the previous weekend. I set out a Jake decoy about 15 yds from me and two hen decoys, one at 20 and the other at 30 yds. About 45 minutes into the hunt, I hear leaves crunching to my north. I look up to see a hen skirting the far edge of the food plot. She disappears from sight and ~10 minutes later I hear noise off to my right. I slowly turn my head only to see a full strut Tom about 10 yds into the woods outside of the food plot. He starts drumming (a noise which I had only read about and heard on videos). My heart is racing and my hand is on my bow. He sprints into the plot and starts pacing around the jake decoy. A minute or so goes by before he jumps up and starts meleeing this poor rubber decoy. It falls off its stake and the gobbler is on the ground facing away from me. In one motion I swung the bow up and was at full draw. A slight turn of his body and I let the grim reaper tipped arrow fly. The ol tom ran 10 yds before hitting the dirt. I think people two parishes over could have heard me whooping and hollering.

18 lbs; 3/4" spurs; 10" beard

2014 Season
After a few screw-ups on my part early in the season, my little sister came up with me to hunt. Wanting her to harvest a bird, we concentrated on areas that had good sign but less pressure so far in the season. We set up on a long clearing in the middle of the woods about 200 yds from some roost trees that are commonly used on our lease. Right at daybreak, a couple calls on my slate, and there is symphony of thundering gobbles. We talk back and forth for a few minutes then silence. 15-20 minutes later we hear gobbles again but this time they sound further away. I sneak up to my sister's position and ask her if she wants to wait it out here or sneak to where I think he is (a big plot about 600 yds from where we are.) She decides on the sneak, so we pack everything up and head back to truck to drop off any unnecessary weight. We hike down the road and up the trail to the edge of the plot. I cluck once and he responds. He's definitely in the plot but we cant see him which means he must be on the north end around one of the big dozer piles from when the plot was cleared. The only problem is that to see around that pile we have to sneak across an opening about 30 yds long. I belly crawl across and signal her to do the same(I regret not trying to video or take a picture of her doing this). We get to the edge of the dozer pile and I ease up to my feet to sneak a peak through the pile. I see two heads bobbing around so I get back down. I tell her to lean up against me and get her gun pointed into the opening. Once she is set up, I purr lightly on the call. A bird appears in the opening and its a jake. She whispers, "Is that him?" I say I don't think that was the bird gob..." Before I can finish my sentence the other bird pops out and now they are lined up one behind the other. I tell her to wait for the jake to move and without fail, he does and gives her a clean shot. She pulls the trigger and roll's the mature tom. I've never been more excited to watch someone else harvest an animal than that day.

18.5lbs; 7/8" Spurs; 9.25" Beard

A friend of mine asked me to go with him on his lease a few years back to try to call him up a bird. I had harvested one that morning so that afternoon we met up and went. He told me where he had heard the birds that morning and the direction they had went after fly down. It was in some very thick woods that normally you wouldnt expect them to be but i said lets give it a shot. We would set up and i would call periodically and move ever 20 or so minutes and then repeat the process. After doing this about 5-6 times we were in the process of moving again and one sounded off. HE WAS RIGHT THERE! But being it was so thick we couldnt see him nor him see us. We immediately flopped down and a moment later seen a jake about 50 yards away. My friend was about 5 yards to my right and i told him that wasnt the bird that gobbled, as i could hear another one drumming and then he popped out of the bushes. I kept whispering to my friend to shoot and he said he couldnt see him, and he was right down my gun barrel. He then started getting uneasy as he couldnt spot the hen that had made those sounds earlier and started to walk off. I told my friend he had to shoot or tat turkey was mine. BOOM! my buddy shot and the tom hit the ground. We ran up to it and about the time i approached it the bird jumped to his feet and i dove, MISS! He takes off running and im in hot pursuit. Not gaining much ground or losing either the turkey gets to a creek bank and hes hurt and cant fly. He runs behind two large beach trees and i come around the other side and pounce on him. As this bird is flopping around all i can think of his getting his legs under control. I then push his head against the base of the tree to kill him. As my buddy walks up laughing as he has picked up everything i had in my pockets and vest that had fallen out of on the chase. With a big grin he says i believe its time for a beer, im buying.

This isn't so much a great story but a lesson learned for me. Two years ago my dad and I were hunting together and had a longbeard getting close. I had the best shot at him so I blast away (about 35 yards). I roll him up, and me and dad start high-fiving. Next thing I know, that bastard comes to life and gets up and hauls arse away from us. Never did find him, gone forever. I've killed quite a few gobblers and have never had this happen before. Worst feeling ever. Lesson learned - when you shoot and knock one down, run your arse to that joker and stomp on his head till he quits kicking. The end.

Two years ago I couldn't get on one at daylight, but heard one way off in the distance. Made a big round to try to get closer, and finally around 9:00 I got settled in a grown up field with not many openings. I set up in a small opening in the pine saplings where I could see maybe 20 yards in front, but very thick everywhere else. It was a pretty unlikely place to kill a turkey, but I thought if he would come I should have a good chance. He was definitely coming and gobbling every time I'd call, until he got within around 50 yards when he shut up. I figured he'd come into the opening, being that the last time he gobbled he was directly across it from me.

Well, the next time he answered he was at about 8:00 position and very close. I knew I was in trouble and I wasn't about to move. When I could hear the leaves crunching, and spitting and drumming directly behind me, I thought he was about to get in my lap. I thought he'd surely hear my heart pounding in my chest, and I had to decide what to do. My only option was to roll left and hopefully get a quick shot. When I finally gathered myself enough to make this most likely impossible attempt to shoot him, I counted to three and rolled around the tree and rose to one knee, pretty much all in the same quick motion. The big tom, which was no more than 15 feet behind me, flew straight up and it was like a close quarters pheasant jump. I walked over to where he fell (about 10 steps from where I'd shot) and I heard some commotion above my head. There had been two mature gobblers and the other one had also flown up and lit during the chaos. It bailed out and I heard it fly through the saplings to gobble another day. Never did get him that year. This was definitely the most exciting hunt I've ever experienced.

It was intense for sure and it all happened so quickly once I saw him.

Awesome stories. Keep em coming.

too many to tell. I guess my first bird at the age of 10 in 1990. Had been chaising them bastards all the way up to lunch trying to kill my first when my brother who could drive said frick this, lets go to the other property to wax some bass. We changed in to shorts and t shirts and tennis shoes and off we went. I brought my shotgun with dove shot for snakes and my mouth call to practice. Upon entering the gate we had to drive thru a big field and wouldn't you know a whole damn flock was in one corner. they just calmly walked in to the bottom adjacent to the field. I hopped out, threw my mouth call in and loaded up 2 dove shot in my 20 guage and sprinted to where they went in the woods. I was behind a giant oak and yelped and one gobbled and walked straight to me within a minute. dropped the hammer 8.75" with 3/4" spurs. In a white t shirt and umbro shorts and tennis shoes!!

2nd would be 3 years ago I called in 3 long beards right off the the roost. 2 would avoid the 3rd at all cost, like wouldn't get within 10 yds of him. He strutted right to my decoy and I whiffed, twice. I couldn't close the deal on him after that but he would gobble his fool head off and go the other way the whole season. Finally the last wknd, I got on him and his buddies before daylight and they had a whole damn harem of hens. I hung with them from 530 that morning, following them and resetting up etc. He would give me courtesy gobbles to let me know where he was and 3 times he was at 75 yds. They finally made there way in to a big field at 1215 and I was on the other end 300 yds away. FINALLY the last damn hen left them and I called and he made a b line all the way too me. I shot him at 10 yds at 235.
10.75" 1-5/8" spurs. mounted him btw

Another one; first time I went turkey hunting I had a buddy come with me to call.. I had the land with the birds and never killed one so I told him if he would call me one in he could hunt it the rest the season.. After 200+ gobbles on the roost three long beards and 10 hens hit the ground the gobblers ran 150 yards and jumped on a full strut decoy and we doubled.. Been hooked ever since..