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NW Wisconsin Turkey

Northwoods Labs

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 28, 2015
Messages
1,022
Location
Danbury, Wisconsin
Well my "I suck at turkey hunting" streak is finally over.

In Wisconsin, we have multiple one week seasons: A,B,C,D, etc. I usually always put in for the first week, season A. I always liked to get the first season because, besides turkey hunting, there just ain't a whole lot going on around here for hunting/fishing seasons in April. This year I got season B, which in the end, I think ended up helping me out. I spent the whole first season scouting new spots. We have a bunch of public land where I live and the turkeys can be found in pockets throughout, but definitely not evenly distributed. I ended up hearing a bunch of gobbles in a new spot I've never hunted, and hiking through the area in the afternoon found a bunch of sign. I figured this is where I would start opening morning.

I basically have the whole season to hunt, since I am working from home and can make my own hours, more or less. My hunting spot is also about a 10 minute drive from my house. I joked with my dad that, since I have unlimited time, I will probably get one right off the bat.

The morning started off quiet, heard one shock gobble far off due to a loon. I moved further in the woods and heard one gobble, made some calls, but he seemed to just be holding position. I decided to close the distance, made a few more calls, and he gobbled and was close. A hen came running by and a minute or so later the tom comes down a snowmobile trail. I make 3 soft yelps and he stops, gobbling, strutting, drumming, etc about 50 yards off, which is too far for me. He moves closer, but also into scrub oak and young aspen and I have no shot. He is at about 40 yards now and I just need him to take a few steps out of the brush to give me a chance. Once in a while he would move so a tree was between us and I would make a soft call with my box call (I suck at diaphragms), and he would respond, but only move laterally and not move out of the brush. This continued for about 40 minutes and I am surprised he didn't think the gig is up (honestly thought about ambushing him at one point haha but stayed patient). Eventually, he stepped out of the brush and onto the snowmobile trail and that was that -turkey in the freezer. It was pretty exciting getting to observe his behavior for that amount of time. I definitely think he was confused as to why he couldn't see a hen. A decoy might've helped me out, but I've also had times where I think the decoys scared the turkeys, so I opted not to take it this time. It was a fun hunt, but now I've got a ton of free time, might check and see if the suckers are running.
Turkey in Burnett County Forest (5).JPGTurkey in Burnett County Forest (3).JPG
 
Congrats. I decided one turkey hunt isn't enough for me this year so I grabbed an E tag in Wisconsin and will be headed up in your general direction to check it out. Can't wait.
 
Well my "I suck at turkey hunting" streak is finally over.

In Wisconsin, we have multiple one week seasons: A,B,C,D, etc. I usually always put in for the first week, season A. I always liked to get the first season because, besides turkey hunting, there just ain't a whole lot going on around here for hunting/fishing seasons in April. This year I got season B, which in the end, I think ended up helping me out. I spent the whole first season scouting new spots. We have a bunch of public land where I live and the turkeys can be found in pockets throughout, but definitely not evenly distributed. I ended up hearing a bunch of gobbles in a new spot I've never hunted, and hiking through the area in the afternoon found a bunch of sign. I figured this is where I would start opening morning.

I basically have the whole season to hunt, since I am working from home and can make my own hours, more or less. My hunting spot is also about a 10 minute drive from my house. I joked with my dad that, since I have unlimited time, I will probably get one right off the bat.

The morning started off quiet, heard one shock gobble far off due to a loon. I moved further in the woods and heard one gobble, made some calls, but he seemed to just be holding position. I decided to close the distance, made a few more calls, and he gobbled and was close. A hen came running by and a minute or so later the tom comes down a snowmobile trail. I make 3 soft yelps and he stops, gobbling, strutting, drumming, etc about 50 yards off, which is too far for me. He moves closer, but also into scrub oak and young aspen and I have no shot. He is at about 40 yards now and I just need him to take a few steps out of the brush to give me a chance. Once in a while he would move so a tree was between us and I would make a soft call with my box call (I suck at diaphragms), and he would respond, but only move laterally and not move out of the brush. This continued for about 40 minutes and I am surprised he didn't think the gig is up (honestly thought about ambushing him at one point haha but stayed patient). Eventually, he stepped out of the brush and onto the snowmobile trail and that was that -turkey in the freezer. It was pretty exciting getting to observe his behavior for that amount of time. I definitely think he was confused as to why he couldn't see a hen. A decoy might've helped me out, but I've also had times where I think the decoys scared the turkeys, so I opted not to take it this time. It was a fun hunt, but now I've got a ton of free time, might check and see if the suckers are running.
View attachment 137522View attachment 137524
Nice one! I'm planning on coming out on May 20th for a few days. Any idea where a guy could truck camp in zone 1 considering all of the camp grounds are closed?
 
I admire your restraint on not taking a shot you have deemed to be on or over the edge of what is good for you. Congratulations on "not sucking"!

The second photo of your bird really shows off the fan well.
 
Nice one! I'm planning on coming out on May 20th for a few days. Any idea where a guy could truck camp in zone 1 considering all of the camp grounds are closed?

I can't help you out with specifics on that part of the state, never hunted down there. I guess my word of advice would be to look up and see if there are any county forests in those counties. In the county forest, usually you just need a free permit and the rules about camping are pretty lenient (at least in the counties I frequent). A lot of the state parks and forests are closed in the southern part of the state, so my focus would be on county forests.

You can find some county forest info here: https://www.douglascountywi.org/220/Wisconsins-County-Forests
 
I'll be trying to bag a turkey during the D season in Burnett County. I have struggled mightily to kill turkey in that area, despite a healthy population.
 
Nice. I hunt not far from ya- I hunted first season- was nice weather for the most part. Even had some snow for the first few days which was awesome to figure out where the birds where
 
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