No right or wrong answer here, just opinions. I have a spot that has a boss Tom with 5-8 hens. There is a fine 2 year old that tries his best to get some action, but the " bully" keeps running him off. My question is, do you shoot the 2 year old if you get an opportunity?, or do you wait for the boss? I have made this my #1 hit list bird. So when I get a day to hunt by myself, I will try this bird. Just killin time till I can hunt here. Good luck and god bless. Z
I would shoot which ever gives me an opportunity. But it is also better for your turkey population to leave the boss alone and let him do his thing.
I would kill either one just depending one which one came in first
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Nothing wrong with shooting the 2 year old unless you are willing to match witts with the boss gobbler! Also, how starved are you for fresh wild turkey? :funnyturkey:
Go kill some turkeys and save the last tag for him.
Good-looking and Platinum level member of the Elitist club
Depending on the number of tags, if i had 2 tags whichever one gave me the opportunity would take a ride home...
bang bang - dinners
First clean 35 yard or less shot, BANG!
I would shoot whichever one gives me a chance. Bird in the hand beats 2 in the bushes!!!
If I had other places to hunt, I would not take both birds off the one area.
Have a good one and May God bless y'all!
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1st Gobbler that gave you the opportunity for a kill shot. Old wiley gobblers have been fooling turkey hunters for awhile now. :OGturkeyhead:
I know you said opinions, so here I go, lol. It sounds like to me, if I am guessing right, which one that you are really interested in killing is the old boss. Everyone is different but there has been times that I dedicated more time to "one certain bird" more than others. I guess it depends on how much time you got left, tags etc... Me thinks you would be more tickled with the old man more than the other. Happy hunting and good luck.
You shouldn't shoot the two year old. You sorta answered your own question, shoot the one on your hit list. That's the one you really want, the bully.
If you have two tags kill them both...kill order doesn't matter.
First opportunity
Guess you gotta ask yourself how BADLY is he #1 ?? How prioritized is he ??
I've let longbeards walk in hopes of the next one I called in was a fatter or longer beard yet. I've also been after a particular bird and whacked another one who showed his noggin first. But, I very rarely get hung up on killing one particular bird. I'm more of a "case-by-case basis" kinda guy. If I did have a bird that I felt I really just HAD to hang a tag on......... I'd have tunnel vision til he was dead or the season was over.
The only question is.... Do you want to kill the sheep or do you want to kill the wolf?
For me I'm taking the first one that gives me a shot. With that said, if you are the only person that has access to the property and if you have the time, I could see spending a few hunts trying to kill the bully. If others have access to the property or the neighboring properties have people hunting them, I'm taking the first one that gives me a shot.
If you've yet to punch a tag for the season take the first bird you get a chance at. If the boss ends up being the lucky one then you got the rest of the season to chase him.
While I've gotten plenty of enjoyment out of winning the battle against the boss bird, usually it requires resorting to unorthodox tactics and often calling in mostly silent birds or no calling at all. No shame in shooting that "easy" 2 year old who puts on a show. That's what we're there for.
Vendetta birds are great but there's a bittersweetness to it once they're gone. That's why I don't mind getting whooped most days. Means he'll be back in there cutting loose the next time I get a chance at him. A worthy opponent and yet familiar like a friend.
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If it's private land where you have a little control over the situation I would try to kill the big bird right at the end of the season.
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IMO you're not going to get a crack at the BOSS until ALL those hens start setting on nests and TOTALLY leave him OUT IN THE COLD or by chance drag him by your location. He has his harem, and he won't leave them for your calling. He may gobble at your calls but he's not going to leave them. The only way you can kill him with hens is get in front of the hens and hope the hens bring him into shotgun range. You may be able to get the satellite bird to break and come, IF he is in the mood. IMO check back with these 2 from time to time but get on a bird that wants to play and hunt them. A lot more fun hunting birds that want to play then a Hope and a Prayer. :z-twocents:
Public land, and I am not a "2 year old snob", lol. I will try to double with the wife opening day. After that it will be the mood I am in. Hit list is a little strong. He is the one bird I want to "get a date with", but I will whack his offspring. Target or wish list is a better option. Z
Coach, you need to be more optimistic , lol. I have seen him run off the 2 year old more than once. I think his ego can give me an edge. I will try a breeding hen and Jake to see if he can resist. I want a little work, no fun if he sticks his head in the gun barrel. Z
A Rogers Parks Tom Slate ( if that's what it is called ??) might get the better of him. Challenge him about midday. Might come slipping in quiet but in all the same
I'd let the boss finish his business with the ladies and then go after him full throttle.
Most times I will shoot if one comes in gobbling. Unless he's a Jake.
Quote from: zelmo1 on April 20, 2024, 01:09:56 PMCoach, you need to be more optimistic , lol. I have seen him run off the 2 year old more than once. I think his ego can give me an edge. I will try a breeding hen and Jake to see if he can resist. I want a little work, no fun if he sticks his head in the gun barrel. Z
"No right or wrong answer here." I'm a realist. I said you may be able to pull the satellite bird but he has to be in the right mood. The Boss will stick with those hens until those hens desert him, then you will have a chance. I love the idea of the jake and laydown hen but don't be surprised if the hens see the setup and take him the other way for themselves. Jealousy could be his downfall though. Work hard but don't let it consume you. Good Luck and keep us posted!
I'd go for the boss first. At least that's my plan for Monday's opener. I saw a huge tom on a pipeline. I also saw three smaller longboards at another spot. They would probably be easier, but this big boy with the two hens in tow is weighing on my mind. Gotta try him first. If I can't get him the first few days, I'll move on to other opportunities. One bird limit here tho.
Simply put, for me, it is all about "the hunt" and not "the gobbler". Whichever gobbler wants to carry on a conversation with me and then comes strutting and gobbling to have a face-to-face meeting is the one I am going to shoot. Having said that, I have hunted gobblers longs enough to know that the most likely of the two to do that is going to be the two-year-old.
Carrying this concept a bit further, in this "neck of the woods" on the public land I hunt, the likelihood of an old boss gobbler meeting my standards of the hunt type outlined above is near zero. They just don't die around here by coming to a call gobbling, strutting, and putting on "the show"...which is the ONLY reason I hunt spring gobblers to begin with. That's not to say that I have never had an older bird do that, it is just such a rare occurrence that I am shocked when I walk up to a gobbler I have shot and find the type of spurs that indicate it was a gobbler older than two or three.
The only exception I have found to this generality is hunting on restricted properties with minimal hunting pressure where gobblers can grow old without being subjected to hunting and calling tactics over and over again that eventually make them realize that sometimes the turkey calling they hear in the distance is not coming from another real turkey. From my experience, once they have reached that point, it is very unlikely they are going to play the game in the manner that I personally pursue them for.
In summary, I am quite content to let those older "boss gobblers" stay in the woods to perpetuate their species...
If its a mature gobbler and I get him in range, it goes bang.
I have never aged or scored a gobbler before I shot and I don't intend on starting now. If he gets my heart pumping and knees shaking on his way in, he is taking a ride home with me (if I can manage to not screw it up LOL).
When I chased that copper colored bird 2 seasons ago I chose not to shoot at anything else, never did get him but saw a lot of nice birds that year that may have been because I did not shoot. I sure would to have liked to have gotten him, especially since I have not seen him since but I do not regret not shooting anything else either.
It's all about the hunt for me, so if I really wanted to hunt more or longer I'd wait, but if that 2 year old trips your trigger, so to speak, I'd take the first clean ethical shot I was offered. I want the hunt to be a good memory, not just a dead turkey....
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I would shoot whichever one gave me the opportunity. Nothing wrong with a 2 year old!! I've had some very exciting hunts through my career on 2 year old that gobble there head off!!