Weds day April 15th first day Wisconsin turkey season.

Shotgun Benelli super M1 90 shells super x supreme 3 inch 1oz3/4 5s 1300fps ultra full turkey choke.

Call home made wing bone only one I ever use. Killed a lot of birds with it.

Camo home made Gillie suit one looks like a bush in it.

Woke up at 4am headed out at 5 to a spot on public land 3 miles away. Had a bird sound off there the day before.

10 degrees above ground 80 percent snow cover with 4 inches of the white stuff.

Had to dress like it was January. Hand and foot warmers layers of fleece stocking hat ect.

Hit the spot at 515 no one around legal shooting time 651am. Only had a 250 foot walk to a perfect little clearing. Set up single hen decoy at 545am.

At about 550 I called a couple of times nothing
called a few more times nothing. Grabbed the decoy headed to the next spot.

On the forth stop had one sound off two hundred yards away. Would have to pull him across a road unto a 10 acre spot.

Just as I was working him the aunts dog of the property owner decided he didn't like the looks of that new bush in the yard. (ME) and stood there barking at me. Turkey would gobble at me and the dog but was slowly working away.

Went home for breakfast/lunch took nap and headed out to my 100 acre timber land. Walked around calling then about 4pm heard a gobble due to hills and valleys had a hard time with a direction.


Figured it out and set up on him at the junction of 3 logging roads. Worked him for a hour or so had him come in twice and show him self. At about 70 yards but couldn't get him to close.

Finely he just walked away.

Thursday 13 above hit the public land spot again nothing moved down the road a mile heard one gobble. Grabbed my stuff and set up as close as I could get about 300 yards.


Worked him for about 40 minutes but he just wandered off. Most likely he was with some hens.

I then hit a few places on the way home for breakfast.

After breakfast hit a few more places noticed the truck needed gas headed into town for fuel.

After fueling up I drove around a large area of public ground looking for a hot bird stopping every half a mile and calling.

Saw one hen lots of tracks but couldn't get a tom to response.

I then started hitting places I could hunt at 5 to 10am now 35 above. Pulled into 80 acre spot the I had been to twice already.

I walked 150 yards yelped a couple of times.

Had a tom gobble like right of top of me.

Drove for cover got tangle up in the black berry bushes.

Got straighten out clucked and yep a couple of times two 3yoa toms stepped out about 50 yards away.

They moved towards me one gobbling strutting the other one head up looking.

Wished I had set up a decoy, left it in the truck.

At about 45 yard both turned to leave. I yelped again the one strutted and the other poked his head up again.

I told my self now or never. I fired at the one with its head up. Bang flop.

I jumped up ran over to him stepped on his neck he wasn't going any place.

Time from stopping the truck to gobble 5 minutes, time from the gobble to shot 3 minutes

23lbs 9 inch beard 1 inch spurs.

Great bird.

Lucky the dog did not decide to Mark that new bush.

I thought turkeys only gobbled and went the other way from my calling.

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I thought turkeys only gobbled and went the other way from my calling

My season started today, so before I got in the car to drive to work at 5:30 this morning I let out a loud owl hoot...a tom gobbled just over the hill behind the house. Then I went to work. Hopefully he'll be back in the area this afternoon when I get home and I can get him to come in.

Nice hunt! Missouri has opened for us adults but I have not tried yet.

I've never killed a wild turkey in all the places I have lived. Seems weird! Spring is so busy on the farm here it's hard to go hunting... Sad, I know!

Hunted turkeys in Huron County, MI on April 20 and 21. Because of the cold windy weather, hunted out of a ground blind with a Jake decoy. At about 5:00 PM, two Longbeards and a lone hen appeared out of the woods about 500 yards to my west. Over the course of the next hour they slowly approached and then started gobbling. When I happened to glance to the south of my blind, two different Longbeards with a hen approached my decoy, displaying all the way. All six birds were headed straight for my decoy and it looks like a rumble was about to start. When the birds to my west reached 30 yards I stuck my 12 Gauge Benelli Nova out of my shooting window, which spooked the hen to my south. I fired at the biggest gobbler to my west and rolled him. When he struggled to get up, I rolled him a second time. He was unable to fly and slowly waddled off into a briar thicket. Shortly thereafter my buddy Ray and his daughter helped with the search and Ray found him about 75 yards from where I last spotted him. He had a 10” beard, 1” spurs and weighed 21 lbs.

Well I came home from work Wednesday and took the time to cook and have supper with the family. After that the sun was still up aways and I walked up to the woods. I took my 870 .410 with the Browning tungsten #9 turkey loads. They patterned well and I was itching to try them out as they are supposed to be a viable 40 yard turkey load. As I got to the edge of the woods a Tom gobbled on his own accord 3-400 yards off to the SE. I gave him a few cutting yelps and he answered so I went into the woods and sat down alongside a stump. Called a few more times and switched to a slate. After a few minutes I called with the slate a few times and he was 100 yards when he gobbled just over the fence line. He strutted back and forth til he found an opening in the brush and came up towards me. He came along the edge of a shallow draw and I finally spotted him at 20 yards over the edge to my right. He got nervous and disappeared allowing me to get the little gun up in his direction. I gave a few yelps with the diaphragm call and he showed his head at 25 yards and I shot immediately. He disappeared and I jumped up to check out things and he was down. Ran up and stood on his head while until the flops were done and I had him. I sent my wife and 3 kids a picture of the bird less than 25 minutes after leaving the house, it was a very enjoyable if short hunt! The little 410 worked great at 25 yards and there were at least a dozen hits in the head/neck with no hits anywhere else as he was over the crown of the hill. The bird was a 23lb 2 year old with an 8.5” and 3” double beard.

It was over so fast I bought an extra tag for 5th season as I have an urge to try it again. I have an old single shot 20 ga to try next with those tungsten loads.

Great story Matt sometimes it happens that fast.

That new TSS shot is suppose to be something else.

Matt Salm;

I love 2 year old birds! How things have changed in my life time. A bow had to have a at lest 40 pound draw to be legal for deer and the 410 was not legal for turkey. I was in college before all that changed.

Not all states allow 410, but they are changing. Our regs just limit shot size and do not specify minimum gauge. The tungsten loads in 20 ga (#9’s) have a higher pellet count than any 12 ga 4 thru 6 size and kill/penetrate as well as #5 lead. With tungsten a 20 gauge equals or surpasses any 12 ga load. Expensive, but you don’t need many for turkeys. It was fun and I’ll do it again for sure.

I am sorry your name autocorrected to S-A-L-E-M.

I went back and changed it. I have always loved and lived off Number 5 lead. I am to old school to change. Last year because I grabbed the wrong box, I used 7.5 highbrass to kill a big tom at 43 yards on the range finder with one of the new A5 Browning and factory full choke. I only shot him once.

So, 3 1/2 inch 5 are not necessary. Ky never had a minimum shot size. The old rule I grew up under was at least 20 Bore no larger than 10 Bore and shotzie no bigger than No. 2.

My first case out of law school was a guy who was citied for hunting turkey with a 12gague. The officer thought it was smaller than a 20 gauge because 12 is a smaller number. That was fun.

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The officer thought it was smaller than a 20 gauge because 12 is a smaller number. That was fun.

I had a guide tell me the 32 special was more powerful then a 30-06 because 32 is a bigger number.

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My first case out of law school was a guy who was citied for hunting turkey with a 12gague. The officer thought it was smaller than a 20 gauge because 12 is a smaller number. That was fun.

Damn, I wish that my first case 37 years ago had been something like that!