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We did get some gobbles in the big winds on Saturday morning. It was tough to tell where they were coming from. Tough to pinpoint for sure to even make a move to them.

Yesterday morning the birds were blasting off pretty well. But on land we couldn't hunt. We didn't see any turkeys anywhere. Not even on the fields. It was pretty typical for what usually happens to me on the first season. Some guys love that first season but I like the 3rd week the best.

I wish you lived closer because there are three spots that I think might be good to set up on opening morning but I can't decide which would be the best one. How far will a turkey travel to a call?

That's a big question and I wish I had a good answer for you other than this one.

They're all different. The bird Jack and I got last year came across about 60 acres to us, including a road and two weedy ditches. That's not very typical that they'll cross that much "stuff". Often times when they need to cross all that, they hang up on one of the obsticals and will stop, gobble his fool head off at you and strut til he gets bored.

Turkey hunting is backwards from nature. Normally, the gobblers are calling to the hens, and the hens go to him. Not the way we try to make it, as we sit and call to get him to come to us.

Some won't even give you a second thought. Those are usually the birds that are "hen'd up". He has his herem and doesn't need to come to you, but is letting you know where he is and you're welcome to the party.

Some will come to you until they're distracted by a hen that was in between you and he, often times unseen. This happes A LOT! But sit tight for a bit if you have that happen. Because sometimes a jake, a group of jakes, or a few toms that just have been beat around by boss tom's or jakes, will sneak to you, withough making a peep. THOSE are dead birds IMO. If you have that happen, they'll usually come right to you, but without making a sound. You'll get them!

Some will literally come RUNNING to you on a string. You'll think it can't be this easy (and it isnt ). But that's what happened last year from me and jack. That sucker REALLY wanted to kiss us goodmorning.

The best possible set up I can get (IMO) is to find where they roost, find where they eat in the morning, and get in between them. Call, if you get a gobble or two, smile, sit quite, and wait. If you hear hens answer you, stop calling. They'll come find you, and guess what follows them? If your tick off the hens by being too agressive and/or loud, they'll pull that tom around you or in different direction all together.

Drive around after work and look for birds eating. They'll typically be pretty close to there in the morning at flydow. Or, get up really early and see if you can get one or two to gobble at you a few days before your season starts. You can do the same thing just before dark, sometimes called "putting them to bed".

Good info! Thanks!

I was just thinking, your boy is going to hunt with you right? You guys could sit together, or nearly so facing oposite directions and cover 180 degrees each. That way, you'll know if you have a bird coming in silent. It happens to me every year. There's not much you can do if you don't see him.

Or you'll move to another area a few hundred yards away and hear one gobbling where you were. it will happen. All you can do is laugh then.

I'd like to hear the story too!

We need a campfire for that story.

I'm in!

I all most made speed beef out of one of those wily turkeys here yesterday. The stupid bird got up off the road in front of me and flew right down the middle of the road at about 4 1/2 foot high. It was interesting at first, but after following this bird for a good 200 yards and waiting for him to get the [bleep] out of my way, I'd just about had enough. He finally ran out of gas and veered off the road and landed in of all places, a pasture. There's one big gelding in that pasture, and it failed to see the humor of that big ugly bird invading it's turf, so proceeded to chase it half way across the field. 'Guess it just wasn't a good morning to be a turkey.......

A gal I worked with, husband had one come through the windshield of his truck. Looked like a 20 pound bowling ball hit the hood than through the windshield. Did about $4K in damage. I've had a couple of close calls.

Power raked the yard this morning in a half hour. What a mess when you finish up. Took me a good 3 hours to manually rake and bag all the dead grass.

Bill, Pete, my ex FIL for those of you who don't know him, hit two in two weeks with his catering van. Man was he ticked after the second one! Both broke the windshield.

just made a drive from MN to home, saw LOTS of turkeys in the lakes area around lake park/DL was surprised at how many i saw. also saw lots of pheasants along the way. there were about 20 strutting toms in rapid city when I drove through. glad to be home, it was a tough weekend.

I hit one back in 2000 with our Chevy Lumina. It was standing along US 10 and jumped up just as I got along side of. It hit the "A" pillar on the passenger side. Scared the crap out of my wife. Didn't do any damage to the car. The turkey on the other hand didn't fair to well.

bout 5 years ago I was up on CTY "W" in Sawyer county heading for Winter. Saw a turkey high in a tree off to my left. Darn thing came out of the tree and crossed right in front of me about windshield high. I just barely missed it.

I've seen a few pheasants around too Ryan. More than in the past few years. The winter of 2010/2011 I had dozens at a time in my back yard.

We saw a few at the golf course where my sisters wedding was in st cloud a few weekends back too.

I got a broken windshield from hitting a crow one time on Interstate. It didn't even hit the car. It hopped off a road kill and hit the antenna which slapped the windshield and broke it.

I still remember looking in the rearview for the bird and after a few seconds it came crumpling back down to earth. It must have really got catapulted.

PM sent

I bet.

Back in the 1990's I was ,along with other duties,fleet manager for Allis. We lost a lot of windshields to pheasants in the mid-west. Sometimes two to three a week.

Stan in SC

I need some Northern Dave type advice on parenting.....

I have a pair of 2 year old little boys.......recently they started sticking their little hands in their diapers to make sure they have not lost anything....assumption on my part, and honestly I can understand cuz sometimes I need a little adjustment myself.

However they are also bringing their own little fellow out the top of the diapers......and walking around the house letting everyone know "wee wee out....wee wee out"

At first I did think this was kind of funny, but cleaning carpets is getting a bit old. So I need some sort of a garage type fix for this, I have thought about those Chinese finger trick things placed somewhere other than a finger, but that idea was met with a stern NO from my wife....

If nobody has any good solutions I will be having a carpet cleaning party at my house in the near future, you are all invited...

Sorry man.... it's funny as hell. Let em do it. They're proud of that thing. My boy used to drop treau no matter where we were. Back when I was married, we had a camper at a campground in Hayward. We had some friends over and we were sitting around the campfire in early evening and here he comes, naked as a jay bird.

Didn't have a care in the world but that pecker.

They'll get over it man. Don't worry.