14 replies to this topic

[Mayhem in Carmichael]

OMG - we actually got pulled for our first ever Turkey hunt on Wednesday, April 4th! Anyone been to Spenceville Wildlife Area?http://www.dfg.ca.go...penceville.html Where's my guillotines???? "Want it dead? Lop its head off!"

[Frank]

Congratulations, Mayhem... That is exciting for sure. Turkey hunting is too tough for me, worse than those evil Chukar birds. So I just hunt coyotes. They're wayyyyyy easier. Well, if you remember the 2nd shot that is. Good Luck on your hunt, and remember the camera

[turkeyman85]

Never been but your chances of scoring a bird are high. My advise is to get there the day before to check in(if its anything like Sonoma,orMendecino) And listen for birds in the evening. If you dont hear any come back about 1 to 2 hours before sunrise and hike in to a nice listening post. Either a high place(if there is no wind) or and open field where sound can travel a long way. Good luck and I hope you score!!!

[Mayhem in Carmichael]

Is a blind an absolute necessity? All the hunting shows use them...

[ShooterJohn]

You don't need a blind but I would recommend you go to Spenceville and look around rather than just showing up on your appointed day. I've hunted there since the 70's though turkeys weren't around back then. It used to be a great spot but like any public lands it gets abused. Remember if you go up there now all hunting is closed but a nice drive around and some walking will help you locate birds. It's a pretty big area so check it out on Google Earth first and I would take a GPS to mark places that look promising.

[1shot_1kill]

I have never been turkey hunting and don't know much about them, but I know the area your talking about, and I have been out in the area within the last 2 months geocaching and I know where the some turkeys have roosting spot. Pm me if you want the coordinates hey its worth a shot right?

[ShooterJohn]

Seriously you need to get out there and look around. It's closed for hunting now but lots of people use the area for mountain biking, horseback riding and just hiking. I hope you aren't planning on just showing up the day of the hunt and expecting to get a bird. During the season that place gets hit hard. It was a great dove hunting area at one time but now dove season is crazy out there because of all the people. Today would be a great day to head up there and start looking.

[Mayhem in Carmichael]

Yeah - we were thinking about heading up there this afternoon

[Sct]

I got drawn for April 1st was there last week saw signs of birds but didnt see any actual birds is this weather messing things up?'

[Mayhem in Carmichael]

Probably - I think we're headed up this Sunday to check things out...

[turkeyman85]

weather would affect them but not much,if your seeing sign you should show up early in the morning when its dark and listen for birds gobbling,or in the late afternoon and use a locator call like ex: owl,peacock,coyote or crow call. And pay extra attention to the size of tracks and look for strut marks.

[Mayhem in Carmichael]

Well, I don't think we did too bad for our first turkey hunt. We decided to camp at Camp Far West north shore, so we didn't have to drive back and forth to Sacramento Tuesday to 'scout' and then Wednesday to hunt. Unfortunately, we didn't know that they lock their gates at 7 pm during the 'winter', so by the time we got up there, got camp set up, and were ready to check things out, we only had about an hour left to actually 'scout'. But, we did see them in two locations in the hour that we spent. It rained on us all night - luckily, we were a little prepared and most things put away that shouldn't be wet.So, Wed morning, we did our check-in with DFG, and then went back to our first location, hiked in and set up the blind, etc. Around 5:45 am, started calling, and they started gobblin'. We had 'em going for about an hour, but they stopped, and never came looking either. So, we packed everything up and hiked further in, looking for a new location to set-up. As we came over the top of a hill, there he was, a beautiful Tom - all puffed up. But, by the time hubby put his things down and got the arrow nocked, the tom was already taking off - and FAST! We couldn't even see where he went with all trees, LOL. Alright, moving on... came across a couple of hens, but didn't see any toms around. Later in the afternoon [after taking a break for lunch and short nap - LOL], we got one to gobble one more time, but couldn't tell where he was. While trying to locate him, hubby spotted a bird hunkered down in a fallen tree. So, he, again, nocked an arrow, and stalked around it only to discover it was a hen and off she flew. RATS!Ah well - when we checked out around 3 pm, the warden said only 4 birds had been reported as taken - out of 19 hunters that checked in for the day.Things I learned about Turkeys this trip: 1.) turkeys run really fast! 2.) the actual origination of their gobble, gobble can be deceiving, 3.) they can be nowhere or anywhere! Spring season score to date: Turkeys - 1, Us - 0.We're going to Sonoma this weekend. So, we'll take what we learned and hopefully be more successful. We can't get up there until around 7 pm, so we'll have to do the best we can Sat morn and use the rest of the day to scout for more success on Sunday.Here are some pics we took [public link to my fb album]: http://www.facebook....=1&l=dd529d8fad. Mostly out of boredom - lol.

[Kesepton]

this was a great read, thanks for posting up your report of how it went. Ive just started hunting and am dreaming of taking one with an airgun in the (hopefully) near future. If it were my first day, I would be throughly satisfied with that trip. Sounds like you took it it as it came and just had fun with it.Hope you get one!

[bowlfrogg]

Next time stay put!!! trust me, moving and packing up is a turkey killer. ive gotten more birds between 11:45-2pm then morning shots, its all paitence.. my bird on opeing day I called from 5:45am till 12:45 and at 12:45 he peaked the hill and at 1:15 I shot him!! so sit and wait. they will come to you... but great job!

[turkeyman85]

Wise words from bowfrog,the only time I would move is when you can tell he's moving away from you. And given the looks of the terrian I would have stayed put even if the bird was on the move. NOTHING WORSE THAN FEILD BIRDS! Its really hard to kill them in open areas like that. If you ever get to hunt thick timber with a good ground brush you'll find that its a bit easier. And I personally wouldnt use a strutter decoy on public land for two reasons: 1-saftey and 2-that most public land birds wont come in to them.But than again I never use them cause I feel that they hinder me to much in the field and have to many people stalk them.When I call I call lightly and not to much,mostly sticking to clucks and purrs. The reason for that is,I want the birds to hunt me and not the other way around. And they will get super close,last years bird was about 10 to 15 yards and I was using a shotgun.And how was sonoma?