tigerw10

We all know too well how hard it is to fool a wild turkey. Just wanted to hear some of your close encounter stories. Last May my friend and I were hunting a field edge trying to work a gobbler into the field. Luck had it the hen appeared first, and right behind us. Dressed in my gillie suit I sat frozen as the hen walked literally over my leg and continued into the field........ I was so amazed she had no clue I was even there.

Hurricanespg

A couple of years ago a buddy and I were out in the hardwoods hunting. He was set up about 50 yards behind me calling to a couple of toms. They came right into me so quick Ibarely got my gun up; one of them stepped on my foot.....I ended up shooting him at 3 yards.

RIStrutStopper

Two years ago I was working a gobbler that hung up and would not get any closer to me. I worked him for about a half hour and he circled around to one of three adjoining fields. The fields had thick woods between them but were connected by farm roads. I decided to move on him. He was gobbling from the smaller field on the end, so I set up on the edge of the large field in the middle. I put out a hen and a jake deke towards the corner of the field, visible from the farm road. I expected that if he started to come in, he'd take the road, see the dekes, and give me a nice 20 yard shot. Well, he stood his ground gobbling for another half hour or so, not getting any closer. I mustered up some serious restraint and shut up. After 10 min or so of just scratching the leaves, I gave him a few soft clucks to which he thundered back, but still didn't get any closer. After some more leaf scratching, I let out another soft cluck and he thundered back, but he was a little closer. I played this game with him for what seemed like forever, but he was definitely getting closer. The problem was, he wasn't on the road. He was coming to my calls thru the woods. I kept up the leaf scratching with the occasional soft cluck, and I could hear him making his way thru the woods, but he was behind me. When I thought he was pretty close, I quit calling but didn't hear him for a few minutes and didn't know where he was at. I decided to give him another cluck just to make sure he was still there and GOBBBBLLEEEEE GOBBLLLEEEEEE! He had stepped out of the woods DIRECTLY behind me. That was a point blank gobble directly into my ear. I probably could have swung my arm around and grabbed him by the neck. the hair on the back of my neck was standing at attention. I froze in place and watched him thru my peripheral vision as he strutted, spitting and drumming into the field. When he was no more than 5 yards from me he turned towards the center of the field, and I tried to bring my gun up. He turned towards my dekes and I froze again. He startedrunning straight to the dekes, and I figured he was going to kick the snot out of my jake, so I'd nail him when I he got there. That bird must have caught me moving, he never did stop. He just ran straight passed the dekes into the woods. I never did get a shot, but that was the longest I ever worked a bird and my closest encounter with a longbeard and one I'll never forget.

Mottz

Got to my spot in the pitch of darkness and set out my decoys. Found the perfect tree with a little brush around it. As I was sitting there I'd hear faint noises. Then the turkeys started flying down across the field. Then a stick hit my head and instinctively I jumped a little and looked up to see a lone tom flying away from the tree I was sitting against.[:@]

mohunter82

How much closer can you get than a tom walking over you legs and gobbling in your ear when your about to fall asleep. I even let him go without firing a shot. (to small)

RockyMtnGobblers

The first yearI found my honey hole turkey area I located them at dusk, the next morning it took me longer than expected tohike up the mountain and I missed fly-down.
I was caught in mid step when I saw Hens,Toms and Jakes coming my way. They never saw me but a hen got within 5 or 6 steps from me. Needless to say I couldn't take a shot, butI got my gobbler the next morning!

bowmanaj

Spring of 2008 I had 2 longbeards coming into my box call about 20 minutes after coming down from the roost... When they get to about 50 yards and still coming fast, all hell broke lose.. The farmer down the road's hound dog came barreling through the woodsheaded straight for theturkeys and that was it........ I sat there like "what just happened..you have got to be kidding me"...

JW

Long time ago I was roosting birds a few days before season started. The first night I heard fly-ups. Okay I thought - I heard them but did not see them. The next night I moved a bit farther down the trail and I saw them fly-up. I also had a skunk that cam within 5 feet of where I sat. Got out of that okay.

So the last night before season I moved a bit closer only to have the whole dang bunch walk within 6 to 7 feet and fly-up in the tree I was resting against. Now I am busted. Fun thing was I watched this one Jake fly-up wobble on the branch and fall off! He did that three or four times. Dang dummy!

But I was caught - just how the heck do I get out of there now without spooking the roosted birds? I mean bark was falling on my head - I was hoping it was not poop!

Well I sat there till way dark oh thirty - 11:30PM to be exact upon when 2 deer walked by......so letting them get well off......I crawled out of there ever so slowly on my hands and knees.......they never made a peep!

Sad to say the next day though as I was early in my hunting career and could not finish the deal on two very nice longbeards - they where in range -and I should have taken the shot but passed! Still lament about that to this day. But that is how we learn.

JW

huntnma

Though I have never had one walk right over me, I have had them mere inches away a few times...my swamp bird on the second day I hunted him was a Palm Fronds width away, my first bird was the same way but unlike my swamp bird, my first bird didn't know I was there,lol....
Last season scouting I had a whole group of gobblers and jakes that hung out around me for the longest time, within 5-6 feet at times and I was in bluejeans and a camo shirt & hat, lol....I was throwing leaves on top of my legs to try to cover them up, they knew something wasn't right but they still hung out.
My 1st Seminole Ranch bird was gobbling and we were making our way to him along the treeline, the next thing we knew that bird gobbled and it was right there above us, it must of turned around on the limb and faced us that time, we stopped immediately , waited for another gobble to make sure he wasn't spooked and took a few steps backwards extra slow like and waited for daylight....
I'm sure I can think of a couple of more times if I tried......I have been blessed

Ken/WV

Went hunting with a buddy and hisyoung son this past year, and we hunted from a blind. As my buddy was calling a big tom finally appreared behind us. Somehow the tom saw the hen decoys infront of the blind and as he passed the blind his wings actually touched the side of the blind as he strutted past. The young boy took the shot at 7 yards and had his first turkey. It was incredible how well the blind worked.