How was everyone's Turkey season?

I've seen a few reports on here, seems like there has been some success. WV season went out this past Saturday. It was a pretty tuff year at least in the south eastern part of the State lot of guys that normally get birds didn't. I hunted at least 10 days and probably only had 5 birds really want to do anything. I got lucky enough to connect on opening morning and didn't fill the second tag till the last week. We had a ton of birds running around this past fall but where they went I haven't a clue. Weather played a big part I'm sure, there weren't many mornings that the wind wasn't blowing or it was out of the 30's. The cool weather made morrel season hang around alot longer then normal though so when there wasn't much turkey action there was always mushrooms to find. Best year ever on them with over 500. So how was everyone else's spring?

I thought it was a good season everywhere I went. I hunted Georgia, Kansas, Wisconsin, and here in Missouri. Got lucky and found callable birds and good weather everywhere I went out of state. Our turkey population in Northern Missouri is a fraction of our heyday years. It’s a huntable population but it’s very spotty. Our harvest was up this year but that’s just because every school kid, teacher, bus driver, etc. was hunting

4 for 6 so far still have a shot at 1 more until the end of the month bird are down a bit but if you work a bit they can be found. It seems they are hanging together longer and longer the last several years for some reason.

My season starts Wednesday and goes through next Tuesday. Got permission from my uncle to hunt a spot not far from the house where I've killed most of my birds in the past. Few years back killed my first bird by myself out there, hoping to get it done again this year. I've got a buddy with a couple tags for the same zone, so maybe we can team up or at least have one shooter and one caller. He lives a few miles away but since both our wives work in healthcare we've been keeping our distance. Was talking to some birds out there last week, there were at least a couple jakes and a tom out there.

Pretty bird snowy!

Mine went well. I had the 2nd season here in WI. Had heavy rain and wind the first whole day but hens moved. The 2nd day was the same until 9 AM then the hens moved around and the tom came out at noon and I was able harvest him. Sorry don't know how to down load the photos. Wow claycreech that is some journey to hunt turkeys. I bet you see some differences in habitats and surroundings.

Bryce

It’s my favorite. I’ve chased them in 14 states. I love hunting them in totally different habitats. This year it was South Georgia swamps and pines, SE Kansas flint hills, North Missouri farm country, and Northern Wisconsin big timber country. I killed 11 longbeards and called 10 in that others killed.

My daughter and I failed to fill our tags. But we had lots of bonding time.

No luck here yet. I'll be back out in the morning, hunting turkeys in standing water, thanks to all this rain.

Turkeys don’t like the rain much.

What a beautiful bird and a great picture

Congrats.Got 2 Tom's here.

This season i was able to call one in for a brother in law .20 lbs/6 inch beard He will be 63 later this year and it was his first turkey ever Last year I killed my first ever turkey at age 64. 24lbs/9inch beard So I had two real good years i a row

Great season for us. I harvested a nice Tom on the opener evening. My youngest son got one last Saturday morning. A lot of hours in the woods between the two birds. My brother and his three daughters all tagged out. Some of the most memorable days we never raised the gun. We all hunted hard. Just a wonderful time to be in the woods. Absolutely love hunting turkeys. I have my brother and kids to thank for introducing me to a great pastime.

Law Dog how big do your birds run? That looks like a heck of a bird on the tailgate. You guys have a limit of 6?

2 in Florida and one in WV. Didn't have the birds at home this year like I normally do. Just didn't seem like a normal year at all for the birds at my place. Then again, I didn't hit it as hard being in the middle of a house reno and tenants waiting on me to finish. Already planning next year. Might go back to S. Texas again if my buddy out there gives a good report.

My neighbor shot a nice Tom a few days back. I don't bother hunting them.

Theres plenty in Michigan that need to be reduced.

Dad and I tagged out sitting shoulder to shoulder at 830 on our opening morning. I'd say it was good.

Shot my biggest turkey this year at 25 lbs. Took an hour to bring him in it was a great hunt. If anyone can help with rotating the picture I would appreciate it. I could not get it to rotate even when i used the icons. Thanks

Hate to hear that about northern Missouri. I used to hunt Knox county with an old trapper friend from Ohio. Was always one of my favorite trips. Turkeys around every corner back then.

Nice bird!

It sucked like a vacuum

This was hands down the worst season I've had in 31 years of serious turkey hunting. After the first week, I never heard or saw a single gobbler on hundred of acres around home. I did kill a bird, my heaviest at 24.5 lbs, but that was on another property that I can't hunt all the time. My 11 year old was pretty bummed, not only did he go birdless for the first time, he barely got to go. I just didn't want to take him out there with no hope of hearing let alone seeing a bird. We got on one bird in youth season, and a group of jakes caught us off guard later. That was his entire season. I don't know where the birds went around here, but they're gone.

I got lucky and connected with this giant. 11.75 inch beard.

It seemed to be a very rough year here. Lots of people who normally kill birds didn’t fill tags. Fortunately I filled one of my tags on a Jake. Many hunters are telling me it’s the worst season they’ve seen.

Hope some don’t take this wrong, but turkey season has been the same every year since I started hunting turkeys. If you want to kill a turkey they are out there to kill. Some years it takes a little more effort than others, but we get it done. Every piece of property I hunt has turkeys, it’s just up to me to find one that wants to die and one WMA is 20K acres. I’ll scout and have multiple birds located prior to opening day and by the time the season rolls around I’ll know what tree and limb that bird will be on for the next mornings hunt.
If I could only hunt one animal/bird for the rest of my life, it would be the Wild Turkey. I make it a point before every season to make sure I don’t get skunked that year. I get my bird and then help others get on the board and then I’ll find one that gives others fits and go after it. I’m in the woods every single day of turkey season. I’ll even go in the evenings without a gun just to roost one for the following mornings hunt. In all honesty I could have killed 10+ birds in the evenings this year, just not my cup of tea. A turkey must play the game my way or he’ll get a pass. If he’s not strutting or gobbling he lives. I want that image of one coming in gobbling his head off or strutting in like he owns those woods before I’ll pull the trigger. A silent bird coming in to woo a hen doesn’t do it for me.
And to be honest, the main drive behind me trapping is the thought of saving turkeys.

Where were you in South GA? What county?
We’ve always been tempted to hit the Eastern half of Kansas, but if I’m traveling that far I’ll go a few more hours West and get me a Rio.

A year ago I likely would have agreed. But up here in the midwest, at least in my area, they were drastically different than the last 30 years. It probably wouldn't make sense to someone from a more southern climate, I'm not sure. But there's a timeline of events that the turkeys go through each winter/spring. As season comes in, they're still in small flocks, starting to break up but not entirely. By late season they're all separated except for a few groups of 4-5 you'll see sporadically. It's ALWAYS the same. Until this year. When season came in this year the birds were completely broken up out of the winter flocks, and many of the gobblers acted like it was Mid May (up here). That's not to say there wasn't birds to work, but they were extremely hard to find. I have thousands of acres around me that are usually loaded with turkeys in the spring. The last three weeks of season I never heard a single gobble. That includes getting up at daybreak and going to one of the highest points in the area, and just listening. So when you take a sudden lack of birds, and couple it with a year where they act a month ahead of schedule, it’s not always the same.

#5 in the last hour of a 3 day trip to the Black Hills had 2 come in so this year was 5 for 6.

Beautiful bird, Law Dog! 5 for 6 is great in anybody's book. Congrats!

Moosetrot

Is it six birds across the board or so many of each species and in different regions? how big your birds run up there size wise?

Had a pretty decent season despite birds being generally quiet. Hunted first 3 days in west Virginia with no luck, then killed a Jake here at home in pa the second thursday before work to complete my first pa triple trophy, then last night on my first evening hunt I filled my second tag on another Jake, and also my first ever with a bow

they didnt go anywhere they went silent. pretty much happened to the whole state. our numbers are not great but there are still birds.

Over all the birds seemed smaller in the places I hunt and less in the Black Hills this year. plenty of birds still just last year we seen a lot more out there where I hunt. Mostly Eastern and Merriam types where I hunt as I'm to cheap to pay for a Florida bird and never hunted Rio's yet but still plan to someday.

So 5 out of 6 total tags if I would of scored the first day I would of headed to WY for the other 2 days.

you probably would not have killed the limit of 2 here in ohio this year. they did not act right at all. i probably only heard 12-15 all season. most of those did not gobble much. now before season they gobbled good.

My season was pretty short this year. We are allowed 3 birds. One can only shoot one a day. Season starts April 15. On April 23 I was done. I hunted four days. I missed one on the second day I hunted. Lots of turkey here but almost all are on private land.
Ted

Most people I talked to had the same experience as you, birds were there but patterns were WAY off. Around my place though, they’re gone. I only know this because I worked from home this year, and my house overlooks hundreds of acres of farm ground. I checked these fields 20-30 times per day, every day. I can count the number of gobblers I saw on one hand, none since the first week of season. I even put a camera on our farm where I used to kill birds every year. Threw a bucket of cracked corn about once a week, and over a months time not one male bird. Two hens every day, but no gobblers all spring.

that sure sucks. hope they come back. i got a farm that had 4-5 on it before season and up til the first day. we never killed one but they sure shut down and never opened back up. got a primo public spot that the week before season had 23 different birds gobbling in a 2 mile span. first day we heard 5 and killed 3. after that was lucky to hear one in that 2 miles. they was there but not gobbling. we ended up killing 10 this year between 6 of us but man they wouldnt gobble hardly if at all. most were silent or ambush.

Got this one a month ago today. 22.9 lbs, 10.5 in. beard, 1.25 spurs.

Lots of nice birds heck they are all nice nothing like turkey hunting in the spring just love it.

Yea I got another one this year .

It was weird for sure. I’ve never seen them break up so early or abruptly as this year. Seems if you didn’t get on one in the first week, it was ambush or sit and wait for one.

I've killed quite a few birds between 22 and 26 pounds but this years was a Monster 29 lbs 10 oz , 12 inch beard and one spur 1 1/2 and the other was 1 5/8

Wow that's a heck of bird Hunttall. Congrats

Turkzilla there, WTG

Please tell me he’s at the taxidermist!?!?
That’s a stud for sure congrats! Anything with 1.5” or over gets recognized for eternity or when I die and the wife cleans house, lol.

How did nearby people react when your gun went off

Bruce I learned the hard way to blow through a wind bone before sucking on it when you go to use it that pocket dust is a killer if you inhale it.

Yep got to suck in instead of blow out. Had to learn that myself.

The double is 117 years old and probably had not been shot in 50 years but still works. The other two were shot earlier in the season and a coupe trail camera pics. I saw the bearded




hen several times this season.

It’s my favorite. I’ve chased them in 14 states. I love hunting them in totally different habitats. This year it was South Georgia swamps and pines, SE Kansas flint hills, North Missouri farm country, and Northern Wisconsin big timber country. I killed 11 longbeards and called 10 in that others killed.
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Where were you in South GA? What county?
We’ve always been tempted to hit the Eastern half of Kansas, but if I’m traveling that far I’ll go a few more hours West and get me a Rio.[/quote]

Echols County Georgia
Kansas turkey numbers are way down as a whole. They reduced the limit to one in the majority of the state.
I don’t care much about what subspecies I hunt anymore. If I have my choice it’s hunting Eastern turkey in big timber. Planning a New Mexico mountains merriams hunt for next spring. Not really interested in killing more merriams as I am wanting to hunt in those pretty mountains.

my nieces 8 year old daughter shot this nice tom a few days ago. Not only is it a nice bird with an 11" beard but she shot it after her dad missed it with his bow. That's one story that'll be told for years to come!

Makes you humble and so proud at the same time good
times you will never forget.

Love It!!! Congrat.

I was pretty happy with my season. Got this nice gobbler with my bow and got to share it with my daughter!

Nice!

Pa bird I got this spring. 10 in beard and killed with a Charles Daliey 20 gauge and TSS heavy 9 shot

No luck with Turkeys but I had a great morel season. I found a patch with about 21

He got bull headed after being spooked by other hunters in previous weeks. But he let me figure out where he was strutting. I wasn't very mobile this year after knee replacement so didn't get to hunt other states.

Typical year here. Only thing “atypical” was my new found appreciation for custom box calls. I’m normally a mouth and slate/glass guy. Left the “crutches” at home to do a little “old school boxing”. Next year...maybe wing bones. SS Custom Calls Kwila over Butternut and Spring Creek Calls Bloodwood over Cedar.

My boys and I were able to go 3 for 3 for the first time ever.
Not all at once but over about a 5 day period.
So it was good.