2012 Spring Turkey Hunting Daily Hunting Reports

[blackbeard]

Its time. Report to everybody on what is going on each day that you hunt. What are the turkeys doing. Are they gobbling good. Good Luck.

[hortontoter]

8466Guess I'll get this started. Got out yesterday with my dad and had a good time despite the very high winds. Had a turkey gobble on my way to my pop-up blind. I heard several gobbles in my vicinity. A little after seven o'clock I see a flock of 10-15 birds working their way to my dad. He was about 200 yards due north of my position. I thought the birds were a little far from him, but I knew he was going to take a shot as soon as a gobbler cleared the rest of the flock. Sure enough he took a shot and the birds scattered. I had a hunch that would be the outcome. But, at the age of 85 he is not letting many shot opportunities pass him by. He told me later he was hoping the birds would come my way when he shot. This was a good possibility but didn't work. We saw one other single gobbler at 10:15 but he didn't work towards either of our positions. We hunt turkey just as we do whitetails. We sat up in blinds at strategic locations and wait for birds to come in. I very seldom use a call and never a decoy. The photo above shows how I spent my morning yesterday. Hope to get out again later this week.

[hortontoter]

Out again this morning. A beautiful morning but no action. Heard one gobbler off in the distance at around nine o'clock. Seems the birds were not in our area today.

[blackbeard]

Monday, 04/23 report- Setup in a cut corn field/weed field with a high ridge above me and two disked fields on both sides of me across two creeks. There were 4-5 longbeards scattered across the ridge above me and several jakes mixed in. All gobbled good on the roost but they flew down to both fields that I can't hunt on either side of me (in two separate groups). They gobbled a little once they hit the fields. Came home at 9:00 and went back on my property and ran into a gobbler who gobbled twice at me but was heading the other way (courtesy gobbles, i.e. "Come on you hen I'm going this way"). So no shots opening morning but good gobbling.

Wednesday, 04/25 report- Setup on the high ridge above the field where I went the first morning. Had one longbeard about 70 yards from me roosted in a big tree hanging over the hill. He gobbled like a madman on the roost. Double gobbles, triple gobbles, he was HOT. There were also two other longbeards over the hill next to one field and one longbeard way back in the woods behind me. All gobbled good on the roost. Didn't hear any jakes. The big bird close to me flew down about 6:45 and never gobbled any after hitting the ground. I was waiting for him, trying not to call too much and give away my location, when at 6:55 a head popped up over the hill. I knew it was a tom but couldn't see a beard and he wasn't strutting. So I waited for him to look the other way and moved my gun to him and got on him right as he lifted his head high in the air. It was then that I saw a jake beard but I said what the heck, it was a long hike in here, so i blasted him at 30 yards. I didn't see any other birds with him but when I got up to go step on his head there were birds EVERYWHERE behind him. Uh oh. Most likely a longbeard or two and more jakes and that's why he wasn't strutting or gobbling. But it was a good hunt and a load of fun and I didn't leave empty handed. See photo below of my boy displaying my bird for me. He's got the picture thing down pat, just need to get him shooting them as well!

http://www.bowhuntingohio.com/forum/gallery/files/2/2/3/img_0011_579100_thumb.jpg (http://www.bowhuntingohio.com/forum/gallery/showimage.php?i=2233)

http://www.bowhuntingohio.com/forum/gallery/files/2/2/3/img_0010_612966_thumb.jpg (http://www.bowhuntingohio.com/forum/gallery/showimage.php?i=2234)

[Seeker Bp]

nice job Blackbeard!! Good pics.... Mondays wind kept things kinda noisy, didnt hear much, but seen some hens. Tues was much better...watched them come down out of the roost, very vocal until 7 am, then had a nice fat blue head come strutting in at 80 yards. Several hens and two jakes at 12 yards. The blue head slolwly worked into the brush never to be seen again......Had to work wens, so trying again this rainy morning...

[Mike F]

Great pics BB, congrats on the kill. The boy is growing like a weed. It won't be to many seasons and he'll be chasing you through the woods.

Good luck Seeker

[hortontoter]

Glad to see you got one BB. Nice photos.

[Big_Holla]

Way to go Blackbeard!! Love seeing how big your son is getting and seeing him take part in the photo sessions!!

[rednecklb69]

I dont know if its just my hunting spots or not but im hearing next to none gobbling and havent even seen any hens. Very strange

[blackbeard]

Friday, 04/27 report- Went to a different property and walked and called for 2 hours with my brother, never heard a single gobble on the roost or afterwards. Beautiful day and really puzzled with the no gobbling. We then walked back on my property and had a gobbler respond to us from 150 yards away. We got close to him and he gobbled two more times but he didn't come in. Hunting is really tough around here right now. My brother has been on vacation all week and hunting and has heard very few gobbles. Many people are saying the breeding is done, but I really don't buy that.

[hortontoter]

Hunted Friday 4/27 and had no action, but heard three different gobblers.

Hunted this morning and saw a good number of birds. Had three jakes and two longbeards working the 200 yard area between my dad and I. They never got close enough for either of us to get a shot. Saw 12-15 birds in a clover field abour 400 yards from me, at least six of them were strutters. Had one bird in range today a small hen at about 20 yards.

[blackbeard]

04/29/12 Sunday report- took Saturday off and glad I did, bad weather and hunters everywhere. Sunday slept in and went out at 9:30 hoping to catch a gobbler after his hens left him. Went to four different spots and walked and called and heard nothing. Tough hunting around here. Hopefully this week's warmup will boost the gobbling.

[hortontoter]

Hunted Monday, Tuesday and Thursday this week. Saw plenty of birds and the gobbling was tremendous every morning. After two weeks of watching movement I think I have them somewhat figured out. After Thursday mornings hunt I moved my pop-up to a new location. Hopefully this move will get me into shooting range.

[CityBoyzOutdoors]

hunted hard this weekend, gobblers firing off the roost, then as soon as they hit the ground they go silent for the rest of the day. Today the 7th no gobbles on the roost. We think the warm weather screwed it up, hunting is only gonna get harder from here on out

[blackbeard]

Saturday 05/05/12 report- had planned to go to a spot where turkeys are always gobbling but we got between 2-4" of rain on Friday night, had flash floods all around, and many roads were closed, so my brother and I hit another spot we could get to. Light rain all morning, heard no birds on the roost, busted one hen off the roost (she came back later and walked within 10 yds of us all ticked off), and finally heard a single gobble a ridge away at 8:30 or so. So off we went toward the gobbler and we never heard from him again. Gobbling still very poor around here.

Sunday 05/06/12 report- went by myself and heard a bird gobble two times on the roost. By the time I got to him he was in a field with 5 hens. Called and called to him but he wouldn't leave the hens. So I slowly worked my way down to the field edge by staying in the shadows and got to within 60-70 yds of him. There I sat from 9:00 until 11:30 watching him strut in the field with 5 hens, constantly chasing them and gobbling a little bit. I figured they would eventually leave him, and 4 of them did, then at 11:30 he followed the last hen into the woods so I hightailed it way up the hill to try and work him before 12, but I never heard from him again. Beautiful day though, sunny and hot. My brother killed a nice gobbler Sunday morning, 1" spurs and 11" beard. He said the bird never gobbled a single time! Not on the roost, not on the ground, not when he come in to be shot. None.

[mrbb]

OK, late joining in here

just got back from a weeks hunt up my cabin

had 8 guys up

had rain almost every day and heavy fogs

we killed only one bird a 9 inch beard 19.5 lb on thursday, and other wise
extremely slow week
few if any birds gobbling at all

I hunted 6 days didn't hear but one gobble the whole week
BUt I did manage to find several birds, all hens and jakes however!

had several of the jakes less than 20 yards but passed

lousy weather from cold temps at nite, 38-42 degrees to then up to 70 degrees a few days or stayed cold never breaking 50

crazy weather, heavy winds lots of rain and fog

lousy hunting weather!!

[hortontoter]

Hunted Monday, Tuesday and today this week. Saw birds every day, but no mature birds in range. Hunted from 10-3 today to try somthing different. Luck was on par with my season thus far.

[blackbeard]

Hunted hard the last weekend of the season with nothing to show for it. Definitely a turkey season to forget. Saturday my brother and i climbed Mt. Scioto County where we usually always find turkeys. We only make it up that hill a couple times per season because it involves a 1/2 mile walk through chest high grass, followed by a river crossing and waders, then a climb straight up a huge hill to get above where the turkeys roost. We got up there and never heard a single bird. Very disappointing.

Sunday we setup in a field corner in a neighboring property where we did hear a bird Saturday morning and.....the bird was gobbling. Gobbled good on roost, same down the hill to us, but wouldn't step into the field to join the decoys. He stood right on the edge in the brush (25-50 yds) and strutted back and forth for 30-45 intense minutes. We've killed several gobblers here but this old gobbler was having none of it.

End of season...I'm tired...too many 4:30 mornings....bring on bow season!