Will he come back?

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JRA

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Hendersonville, TN
I had a thread this morning about a bird I missed. I'm still new to/learning turkey hunting. I'm still not sure about a lot of things. I missed a bird in a huge pasture early this morning. This bird frequents this field and a group of hens fly down into it almost every day. So here is the question...

What are the odds he and the hens comes back to that pasture? Will he return as frequently? Will he come back in the next week?

I just don't know a lot about turkey behavior. I'm pretty sure I missed clean...no feathers...no blood found.

Thanks in advance.
 
He learned something but will most likely be back in that field again. I called in 7 longbeards in one wooded ridge line and I'm sure a couple were the same bird more than once. They learn but they won't vanish after one mess up.
 
Haha...you guys are giving me a little relief...it seems silly but a miss sticks with you for a bit. Hope to get him or another bird this final week of hunting to get te taste out of my mouth!
 
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All he knows is that something loud scared the crap out of him. Where the hens are, he'll be.

A better question for you is: why did you miss?

Get that answered before you get on him again so you can bring him home next time. Good luck!
 
1) It's possible he's back in there right this minute. He'll certainly be back but might also be a little wary of that particular spot.
2) Many (and I mean MANY) misses occur because we simply don't keep our head down and cheek on the stock. If you can recall your shot this morning, was it possible your head wasn't down?

It can cause you to shoot high and would be even more pronounced if you were above the bird.
 
In regard to the miss...

1. It was a longer shot than I've ever taken on a bird.
2. He was walking and moving his head
3. I don't think I ever settled my sights on him good

Basically it was just a poor shot. I told myself when he flew down to be patient. I was on a tree line between two pastures. I could have passed up that shot and repositioned undetected. I just got "turkey fever" haha. At one point 4 strutted were seen in this spot. Hoping I get one more shot this week.
 
JRA said:
In regard to the miss...

1. It was a longer shot than I've ever taken on a bird.
2. He was walking and moving his head
3. I don't think I ever settled my sights on him good

Basically it was just a poor shot. I told myself when he flew down to be patient. I was on a tree line between two pastures. I could have passed up that shot and repositioned undetected. I just got "turkey fever" haha. At one point 4 strutted were seen in this spot. Hoping I get one more shot this week.
Click to expand...
turkey fever has been my enemy more than once. It's the reason I missed a longbeard before 8 am on opening morning this year. Gotta focus and take a good shot, unfortunately for people like me it takes a few misses to really learn, lol
 
Roost, I haven't been able to hunt it yet...but the people who own the property haven't seen any toms in a few days...there are less hens hanging around too. Two or three weeks ago you might see 5-10 hens...now only a couple. But I drove out yesterday during a lunch break and there were two hens...I'm probably gonna set up in the morning and see what happens. I haven't had any luck with calling out there...they are either in the pastures or they aren't...haven't been able to entice any birds to come into the open. It's weird too, I've never heard them gobble there. However, it is pretty close to a major highway so they might just be drowned out by the car noise.
 
Update:

He is back...or another tom. I pulled onto the property after lunch to see if he was out there. He was with one hen.

I went up the tree line and got within about 75 yards and got set up.

At one point he came to about 50-60 yards but there was brush and I was comfortable with that long of a shot after my miss last week. The hen slipped away leading him right with her into the woods. This has happened to me before this year. Whether then hen just didn't feel right or was ready to move on twice now they have drug a tom away and out of sight.

I waited and called a while but had to get back to work.

I'll check again later today. Hoping to get another crack or two at him. It is getting personal.
 
Man this one is under my skin...most of the time he slips just out of range...when I did get a shot I rushed and it was a little far for my comfort zone.
 

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