jkratz5
Well-Known Member
Saturday morning I made my way to IL for a turkey hunt and boy was it an exciting day. It started off a little shaky when we got to the timber a little late and the birds were all fired up and we weren't 100% sure what to do. We chose to setup in a nice strutting zone in an open pasture just 200yds. where the birds were on roost, we got the dekes out without being noticed and immediately had action with hens entering the field and making there way into the decoys. Between 6:00 and 8:00 we had 7 different lone hens make there way to check out or decoys and not a single one had a tom in tow. As for the toms they were really fired up. They gobbled non-stop all day, the longest delay between gobbles between was 5 minutes at the most and we hunted until 11:00.
With three toms fired up a ridge over from where we were we decided to make a move at 9:30. We swung around and crested the ridge where they were gobbling and hit the crow call, 3 thuderous gobbles not 100 yards away. Got setup up and after a few minutes gave some soft purrs, nothing. After a half hour or so we figured the birds had left, so I hit the crow call again. 3 thunderous gobbles again, 100 yds away but in a new location. At this time me and my brother decided to get aggressive with our calling with some loud purrs and fighting purr type calls and the birds went crazy. All three gobbled every time we touched the calls, and finally after letting them get fired up for about 10 straight minutes we both put the calls down. The three toms came in on a string and I ended up smokin a nice 24lb. tom, 1" spurs, 10" beard. It was a great hunt and the birds were just absolutely going crazy. I will post pics when I get them. They probably won't be the greatest since the camera was back in Iowa and the phone is all we had.
Kratz
With three toms fired up a ridge over from where we were we decided to make a move at 9:30. We swung around and crested the ridge where they were gobbling and hit the crow call, 3 thuderous gobbles not 100 yards away. Got setup up and after a few minutes gave some soft purrs, nothing. After a half hour or so we figured the birds had left, so I hit the crow call again. 3 thunderous gobbles again, 100 yds away but in a new location. At this time me and my brother decided to get aggressive with our calling with some loud purrs and fighting purr type calls and the birds went crazy. All three gobbled every time we touched the calls, and finally after letting them get fired up for about 10 straight minutes we both put the calls down. The three toms came in on a string and I ended up smokin a nice 24lb. tom, 1" spurs, 10" beard. It was a great hunt and the birds were just absolutely going crazy. I will post pics when I get them. They probably won't be the greatest since the camera was back in Iowa and the phone is all we had.
Kratz
