Clintos1980
Member
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2024
- Messages
- 22
Hey all, I wanted to share a hunt story from a while back—my #3 turkey hunt ever. I’ll count down to #1 if there’s interest. Hope you enjoy it!
I grew up fishing and roaming the woods in Middle Tennessee but never hunted. With lockdowns in place during 2020, I decided to learn—starting with squirrels before working my way up to bigger game. Got 15 squirrels that season, btw…
In early 2021, I asked my cousin, a seasoned turkey hunter, to mentor me. Back then, Tennessee’s spring turkey limit was three toms and one could be a jake. I was sure we’d tag out in six weeks.
This is the point where all you long-time turkey hunters are probably laughing at me, and I probably deserve it
Reality check! We hunted six times—bumped hens the first trip, heard distant gobbles and had jakes in range on the third trip, but I lacked the confidence to shoot. Each hunt ended empty-handed.
After the last hunt together, I came home around 10:30am, still in gear. We have a deck on the back of our house overlooking some lower creek beds in the woods, and I thought “why not”. I hit my box call from the deck and immediately a tom gobbled back from the opposite hillside! I ran faster than I’ve ever ran back to my truck and grabbed my 20-gauge and some shells, hustled to the tree line, and sat against a tree while I watched that tom and two hens moved toward me. As they got closer, I slowly adjusted my aim when they would move behind bigger trees. At 20 yards, he poked his head out from behind a tree and I took my shot…and just like that…he was down.
I sent my cousin the pic of that turkey, and his response?…“That's awesome!”. I spent a few hours plucking and dressing that bird, learning as I went (and ruining my phone in the process). I have since lost/deleted that pic I sent to my cousin, but here is a little trinket I made from the spurs, beard, and shell casing.
All the best to you folks!
I grew up fishing and roaming the woods in Middle Tennessee but never hunted. With lockdowns in place during 2020, I decided to learn—starting with squirrels before working my way up to bigger game. Got 15 squirrels that season, btw…
In early 2021, I asked my cousin, a seasoned turkey hunter, to mentor me. Back then, Tennessee’s spring turkey limit was three toms and one could be a jake. I was sure we’d tag out in six weeks.
This is the point where all you long-time turkey hunters are probably laughing at me, and I probably deserve it
Reality check! We hunted six times—bumped hens the first trip, heard distant gobbles and had jakes in range on the third trip, but I lacked the confidence to shoot. Each hunt ended empty-handed.
After the last hunt together, I came home around 10:30am, still in gear. We have a deck on the back of our house overlooking some lower creek beds in the woods, and I thought “why not”. I hit my box call from the deck and immediately a tom gobbled back from the opposite hillside! I ran faster than I’ve ever ran back to my truck and grabbed my 20-gauge and some shells, hustled to the tree line, and sat against a tree while I watched that tom and two hens moved toward me. As they got closer, I slowly adjusted my aim when they would move behind bigger trees. At 20 yards, he poked his head out from behind a tree and I took my shot…and just like that…he was down.
I sent my cousin the pic of that turkey, and his response?…“That's awesome!”. I spent a few hours plucking and dressing that bird, learning as I went (and ruining my phone in the process). I have since lost/deleted that pic I sent to my cousin, but here is a little trinket I made from the spurs, beard, and shell casing.
All the best to you folks!
