Worst Turkey Hunting Story you got!

[reflexl]

I had just killed a nice bird with a very special gun and a very special call. I was elated. I had just taken some pics of the bird. I was walking back to gather my turkey seat and pack . The leaves were very deep. I hung my foot on a root that was concealed by the leaves. I fell head/face first into a tree. I guess I used my arm to try to catch myself. I really don't remember anything but my head hitting the tree.
      It probably took 15 to 20 minutes to get up. The pain in my arm was incredible. I could barely move it. I wasn't sure if it was broken or not. I realized my face was swollen badly. I could barely open my left eye. I crawled to a small cedar tree and used it to pull myself up. I was still addled. The pain was border line unbearable. I surveyed my surroundings and that is when my eyes found the bird. I felt my swollen mouth starting to form a smile. All of the sudden the pain didn't matter. The fact that I wasn't sure I could get back to the Rodeo didn't matter. I had outsmarted one of the smartest creatures in nature. I had fooled his eyes and used his own instincts against him.
    Was it worth it? Yep!

[TrackeySauresRex]

Some real DooZies here on this thread. I have nothing for everyone except, I'm glad your all ok.
B-Safe all
Johnny

[g8rvet]

Working a field bird way bag in the day of bag phones and beepers.  Bird is kinda hung up, but not leaving, so I am feeling pretty good.  My beeper goes off.  I check it and it is the owner of the land on the property I am hunting.  Crud.  No way out except to booger the bird.  The guy has horses and cattle and never bothers me unless it is a real emergency.  I figure I need to leave. I call aggressively and the bird responds.  It takes him F-O-R-E-V-E-R to come into the edge of my comfortable range (literally 40 yards).  I am flustered, need to leave, feeling guilty and so I take the shot.  Miss.  Clean.  He gone.  I hoof it out to the truck to call him. 

"Hey Wesley, what's up?  Horse or cow?". 

"Hey Larry, neither.  I just wanted to see if you killed a bird today".  LMAO. 

I did not tell him the story.  Super nice guy and did not want to make him feel bad.  I saw many birds die on that property including my nephew's first Tom and my son's first Tom.   But that day hurt until I killed one later that year (not there). 

[Cut N Run]

One of the farms I have access to hunt is a small 88 acre horse farm with more woods than pasture. It sits between two big blocks of woods, so it's kind of like the narrow point of an hourglass. I help mend fences, cut trees, firewood, and keep up the trails there in exchange for rights to hunt that property. I work there more than I hunt. About 10 years ago, I found a pair of big hardwood trees side by side that blew down together in a tropical storm.   Those trees are only a few feet apart, parallel to one another.  They make a perfect natural blind by having space enough to sit between both trunks and using the root ball as a backrest, almost like an easy chair.  I added a few dead limbs with leaves on the uphill side to give more cover from the ridge.  One of the horse trails passes less than 10 yards behind the roots, so it is easy access to get in and out from.  Turkeys also walk those trails and can come in silently, then almost blow your cap off with a gobble from real close behind that deadfall blind.

For whatever reason, that place is not great to hunt until the leaves grow out good.  Turkeys don't use the area much until most of the hens have gone to nest.  By the 3rd and last week of the season, it can be a GREAT place to hunt!  The big mature gobblers pass through that area often enough and can sometimes be called in close.  Of the 7 gobblers I've killed there, only one has been father than 30 yards. Only one of those birds has been under 20 pounds (by 2 ounces) and 3 have weighed over 22 pounds.

Last year, experience had me hold off hunting there until the 3rd week of the season.   The evening before I planned to hunt, I went to the pasture gate on the ridge to listen for roosted gobblers, so I'd know which side of the farm to start on. That way I could fall back to one of the 3 brush blinds I have on that farm according to whichever way the gobbles come from.  The deadfall blind has proven itself so often, that it's usually where I'd rather go, though I let the turkeys tell me.  A loud, throaty gobble at the edge of the pines and hardwoods below the pasture at dusk close to the deadfall guaranteed where I'd be starting the next morning.  I was really excited for the morning's hunt and had trouble drifting off to sleep because the memorable hunts I'd had there kept replaying in my mind's eye. Next morning, an hour before daybreak, I stealthily eased down the trail in the dark and got set up silently, waiting for first light and the gobbles to come.  Just as daylight started breaking, the whippoorwill's song gave way to the songbird's tweets and loudmouthed wren's whistles.  A barred owl cut loose in the creek bottom and crows cawed from above the ridge.  The second time the owl hooted, that gobbler fired up from exactly where he'd spent the night. Cool.  Things were looking good and I really liked my chances. I'd coaxed a roosted gobbler from that same general area about 8 years before and shot him at 11 yards. He'd walked behind me on the trail, but I was able to call him back my direction.  He walked past me at 7 feet (!) before he got where I could draw down on him.  It was a very intense and memorable hunt.

A little tree talk from me, then a flydown cackle, and some leaf scratching ought to draw that longbeard up my way, where I might get a crack at him.  I could see colors starting to fill in the open pasture from the sun creeping up, though the woods were still fairly dark.  Patience kills more turkeys, so I held off and let him sound off a bit more before I tried to tempt him with any calling. I liked my chances of getting to tangle with another grown gobbler from that spot.   Then, the gobbler got quiet....maybe he was getting ready to fly down?  Suddenly, behind me, I heard the sound of a four wheeler coming along the ridge trail, with the headlights bobbing through the dusk woods as it rolled closer, with two voices talking as they rode (TWO minutes before flydown?!?!?!? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING??).  They turned down the path towards me and I realized that the pair of them had found my blind and intended to hunt there (without permission). Now illuminated in their headlights, I stood up with my arms extended and my palms up, silently questioning what the actual hell they were doing.  Over the sound of the idling four wheeler, the son loudly announces to his father "Somebody's already there!".  I took off my cap and threw it down and started storming toward them. I work and sweat my butt off for rights to hunt there and I wanted to find out who these fools were. They quickly put the four wheeler in gear and gunned it, hurrying off back across the ridge and onto the neighbor's property.  Next thing, I heard the gobbler (now several hundred yards away on property I can't hunt) gobble from the ground towards the creek bottom.  I also heard the four wheeler heading that same direction...and then nothing but silence from that gobbler.

It turns the young man (14 or 15 years old) and his father (old enough to know better) were nearby neighbors who had gotten permission to hunt deer only for 3 days from the farm owner over Christmas break, when I was out of town.  Yet somehow, they must have figured that gave them long term rights to hunt wherever and whenever they wanted.  They wouldn't be in anyone's way if they also tried hunting turkeys too, right?.  I think a swift kick to the crotch might have hurt me less. 

Sidenote; I hunted that same farm the following morning, but the gobbler was roosted even farther away, across the creek bottom and I heard him get shot by the farmer's grandson before 8:00 a.m. that morning.  Dang. *heavy sigh*  Just thinking about and retelling it hurts my spirit, even 10 months later.

Jim

[Sir-diealot]

If you want to get less literal my worst was not being able to hunt for 17 years because of my last car accident. Tried, did not work well though. Still thank God he let me back into the woods.

[jimmyg97]

My first year turkey hunting. A buddy of my uncles took me out. We had called a few different spots and it was around 11 am and we finally struck up a gobble and we start making our way towards him. We get to this little hump of dirt and crouch behind it and now there are gobbles. He tells me "slip up and you ought to be able to see one". I lift up and see 3 big blue and red heads about 10-12 feet away and I miss twice. I watched these big ol toms run/fly off and I was heartbroken.

[silvestris]

My cousin came to hunt with me many years ago.  While I usually stayed with Kenny Morgan, Cuz and I got a motel room at the then Holiday Inn in St. Francisville.  On the drive to Jackson to hunt that morning, we were greeted by a black horse on a black road and I inadvertently  hit the horse.  The horse was badly broke down and with the guidance of my neurosurgeon cousin I placed the barrel of my shotgun next to the horses' brain stem and took him out of his misery.  I can't remember if we had any hunting success later that day, but that horse cost me about ten days of hunting while my truck was getting repaired.  I was proud of that 3/4 ton truck; had it been a 1/2 ton or a smaller vehicle that horse could have come through the windshield and into our laps.

[donjuan]

Probably paying for a fall turkey hunt in Crawford Nebraska only to find out the turkeys don't spend the fall on that ranch

[springtime_overland]

I got a high ankle sprain in the middle of my road trip last spring. Took 4 hours to get back to the truck on one leg and toting a long beard.. Had to limp around the rest of the season, but killed 3 more birds in 3 states on that trip, so looking back, it wasn't too bad..

[aclawrence]

Last year I got up early and left for some public about an hour away. Unfortunately 2-3 minutes down the road my truck started acting up and I had to turn around and go home. I waited all year for the opener and then missed it!  That was a depressing morning but I just chalked it up to one of those that maybe the Lord was protecting me from something. 


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[Cowboy]

Several years ago, my Dad and I were in Missouri. Been hunting all week, not having much luck dealing with quiet birds and lots of hunting pressure. We were hunting public land. Mid morning, we were driving down a back road and spotted a gobbler in full strut in a field that was bordered by public. This gobbler was all alone. Drove on past the gobbler, turned around and drove back past him 150 to 200 yards maybe more to a spot well on the public. Slipped off in the woods and hit a call. He cut us off before we could finished the call. We were not super close but didn't wanted to be near the private field. We probably were 150 yards or so into the woods from the truck as well. This gobbler was hot and coming fast. The only problem with that was he was walking down the edge of the road right of way! Gobbling every step. About that time we heard a vehicle coming. We were thinking DANG IT! It's going to spook the gobbler that's in plain view of the gravel road that was circling around and above us. Wish that was all that happened. All of a sudden, the Jeep stomped its brakes and BOOM!! He shot the gobbler out the Jeep window! Like I said,  we were 150 or so off the edge, we jumped up and started to find out what just took place. We stepped out to see the Jeep sitting there running, door hanging open and no driver to be seen. About that time, here he comes running out of the woods and reaches into the Jeep and grabs his shotgun. He looks up just as he turns around to head back into the woods with the gun. He stops, freezes, and has the deer in the headlights look, the one saying  OH $#@! I've been caught red-handed! He stared at us for for a couple seconds, gun at port arms, then sprints off into the woods and BOOM, shoots the crippled gobbler again! By now we are thinking this Dude is nuts! We decided this might turn out bad. Rather than confronting this lunatic, we made our way back to my truck and left out. Looking back, should have got a least a license plate number on the Jeep and reported it. However, the guys behavior was unbelievable and we had heard crazy stories from friends of ours that lived over there about all kinds of things with poachers and crimes in the area.  Kind of had us spooked. I was just a teenager at the time. Nowadays, it would be a different outcome. My worst and probably Dad's worst hunt ever. Over 30 years ago now.

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[deerhunt1988]

My story takes place circa ~2018. For years prior, we turkey hunters really had it made. I'd always heard about the "good ol days", and never dreamed I was actually getting to experience them. Public land had always been crowded in certain regions of the US, but others you rarely saw a turkey hunter. Plenty of gobbling turkey to go around for everyone in a lot places. But then, social media and YouTube turkey hunting started to take hold. At first we were a little naive to the impact. Fast forward a couple springs and many of us realized what was about to happen to turkey hunting across the nation. You can read posts on this very forum predicting the mess we are now in. These visionaries were basically labeled "haters, jealous, etc. ". I went back and read posts a couple months ago and Holy crap. We were dead on predicting the future of turkey hunting, especially in regards to public land and non residents. Loss of opportunities everywhere. Public lands crowded beyond belief. Application numbers at all time highs. While a few sit back and laugh while making a good living out of the exploition of public lands. What's even sadder is the cult-like followings and imitators they have that just further exaggerate the problems. We've saw 20 years of change In turkey hunting in just 3 years. Just think what it could be like in another decade.

Now that's a SCARY turkey hunting story!

[silvestris]

You got that one right, Nathan.  PEOPLE.

[GobbleNut]

Over almost sixty years of doing this, I have had a lot of less-than-enjoyable incidents occur.  Thinking about it, though, here is the one that I would say was at the top of the list.

I was looking into a trip with my son (age 30-ish and an accomplished turkey hunter) several years ago to get him his first Osceola.  I got a recommendation about a particular fellow and contacted him, with the stipulation that we just wanted access to a property with birds and that no other help was needed or wanted.  We communicated several times with me emphasizing these requirements each time,...no guiding, we do our own hunting and calling, no blind hunting, access to a property only.  He assured me on each conversation that this would be the case.  He would get us on a good property and we would be able to go from there. 

Fast forward,...we complete the needed monetary transactions, plane flights, reservations, etc. and head to our destination.  First afternoon there, our "guide" takes us out to the property agreed upon and introduces us to the property owner.  The guide takes my son and I go with the owner to different locations on the property.  First thing that happens is the owner wants me to sit in a tent blind with him and wait for turkeys to come (looking back, I'm pretty sure the site was baited)!  ...Starting to have second thoughts and my "dander" starting to rise.  I tell the owner that I will not hunt out of a tent blind and that any turkeys that show up will not be shot,...but we can sit there as long as he wants...

The "guide" takes my son to another blind site,...pretty sure also baited...and says he will do all the calling.  Short version, gobblers come (probably due to bait) and my son and another buddy kill a bird each.  Their hunt is done.

Next morning, we go to another location where the guide says birds roost nearby.  We set up along a ditch bank in a location that the guide says the turkeys will come.  At daylight, gobblers are heard way off in the distance and I want to head to them and set up, but guide says no, they will come this way when they fly down.  I question this logic, but bite my tongue.

As daylight comes on, the guide suddenly starts calling.  After about an hour, two gobblers come walking down the ditch bank and I dispatch one of them.  As we retrieve the gobbler, I notice that there are corn kernels scattered along the ditch!  It is obvious the "guide" and the owner have been baiting these turkeys and we were doing nothing but shooting birds over bait!

At this point, I am livid,... but what is done is done.  I am sitting there thinking that all of the parameters established prior to the hunt have been ignored and, quite frankly, feel like telling the guide to give us our money back.  Again, I bite my tongue. 

In the end, the trip cost me a few thousand dollars, shot turkeys over baited sites, never uttered a call, and the guy completely ignored every part of the agreement we had made for the hunt.  I should have turned the guy into the authorities, but we were two thousand miles from home, and I didn't want to deal with the complications involved.  I just wanted to get back home and forget about the entire experience.  As others have said, just thinking about that trip just pisses me off again!

Conclusions:  1) Trip sucked  2) Lesson learned   

[arkrem870]

I had left the campsite and driven my dirt bike/enduro to a spot where I'd called up a pair of gobblers week or two prior. I walked way in (like 4 miles). I struck the remaining gobbler and he came in perfect. I walked out of the wma and ended up at my motorcycle and a warden is there. He checks me etc and said he'd follow me to the check station so I could check it in. I said ok. I drive 10 miles to check station and do the drill. On way back to camp I needed to get off the highway onto a gravel road. I was running around 55 and put my signal on plenty early and also did some hand signals. The logging truck behind me was literally 6-8 feet from my back tire. And not slowing down for me to turn. I hit the gravel road into a turn doing about 45mph and absolutely wiped out. Tore my pants nearly off. Bleeding. My gun stock almost snapped (it was in a soft case across my back). My vest ripped and the gobbler went flying out of it.  I had a piece of gravel under my skin on my knee