6 days in PA

[bamaranger]

I traveled to PA to hunt gobblers this spring, and had the wildest battle with weather I've yet to experience. I arrived just after the opening week end, and had to hold off an extra day, as storms had dropped so many trees on the access roads that one could not get back into the Game Lands.

On my first day in the woods, I heard birds, moved in, but did not get any responses, and then got rained out. Day 2, it had quit raining, and I heard a single gobble about mid morning. Then it rained some more, .........for two whole days. Day 3 (six days into my trip) the temperature dropped, and if I recall, it was 28 degress at daybreak. No gobbles, and I darn near froze. Day 3 it warmed up, and was a toasty 32 degrees. I heard a single gobble at mid morning, moved in, but nothing further developed. Day 4, about the nicest morning I had, I heard 3, maybe 4, about 2 hrs after sunrise, moved in on the pair closest , who gobbled once apiece, shut up and disappeared. The other two only gobbled once apiece and were far too distant to do anything with. I then had to return to Bama to meet other obligations. A week later I was back, and the temps soared and they set record highs onDay 5 and Day 6 .....91 and 92 degrees respectively. I heard not a peep. I again had to return to Bama....ending my spring hunting.

I returned to Bama with my tail between my legs, thoroughly whipped by the weather in Penns Woods this spring.

[sako2]

its raining and cold here in PA again. April and May were reversed this year. One day on my way to work I saw a gobbler strutting on the street in Centralia.

[eastbank]

a lot of my turkey hunting buddies ran into the same thing this year. our season here(pa) starts late, the turkeys were going nuts in april and in may were already slowing down. most that got turkeys ambushed then as calling did no good. eastbank.

[NoSecondBest]

My property is in NY, but it butts up to the Pa line. This year was a very strange year indeed. Our season opens after PA's does, so most years the action is already slowing down by opening day. This year I saw gobblers just about every day out. I heard very few birds gobbling anytime during the season, but many came in silent. There was a bit of a lull in the middle of the season and then the birds started getting active again. I was at my place on Tuesday of this week and had a nice gobbler come in two hours after daylight. In fact, I heard him come off he roost then and he walked right in. By choice I didn't shoot him. I could have shot several birds this season but just let them pass. I get a lot more enjoyment in calling than I do shooting anymore. I've probably shot well over fifty gobblers in my time and have yet to get a Spring bird that was good eating. I just watch and let them do their thing. May is the best month to be in the woods. I've seen coyotes, bobcats, bear, turkeys, and loads of deer. Don't be fooled by the lack of calling, lots of birds anymore come in silent. I think we killed most of the vocal ones and the ones left are the quieter ones. Good luck if you get back.

[bamaranger]

I don't know if I've ever had a spring gobbler that did not taste just fine. I don't doubt the comment, just not my experiece.

Spring gobblers are often killed in warm temps, and I could see a bird going bad easily. I make a point of getting mine home and cut up as quick as possible. Again, not accusing anybody, just saying.

[Blindstitch]

I drew a tag for the first week in Wisconsin in a zone I knew nothing about. I had arranged to stay with a friend for a few days and the week before the season opened I was told I couldn't stay there. Still don't know why.

I watched the weather and chose a single day to drive over early and leave that evening. The days before the weather was 30-50 degrees and rainy. I showed up with my wife in tow and 100 yards from the car this odd turkey walked out after I yelped. It didn't look like a hen but didn't have a beard so I didn't shoot. As I walked through the woods I ran into 4 hen not making a peep. It was 50 degrees when I started hunting that day. We walked 3 miles into the woods finding all the back fields had been flooded with 4-6 inches of water.

On the way back to the car I made a series of yelps and saw a jake. It didn't make a sound, turned and flew. I shot it out of the air and down it went. When it hit the ground it rolled and then ran off. By that time it was 84 degrees.

After lunch we hunted another property and bumped 2 hens and still no peep from any bird.

We went home. The next morning it didn't get warmer than 35 degrees.

I hunted last sunday and saw several hens but I set up and called for a while and nothing. Got back to the truck and there was a tom going nuts on the private property across he road. Not a gobble the whole time. I saw two jakes in another field and walked 1.5 miles around them. 70 yards away I called and they just kept walking. Ended up trying my luck at 50 yards and had a clean miss.

I still have a valid tag till tuesday evening.

[std7mag]

I live/hunt in central PA. Don't remember any 28 degree mornings...

Opening morning saw my neighbor and I out on game lands. Called a group of 4-5 gobblers in. I didn't have a shot, neighbor hit one twice, but bird still got away.
After opening day, just haven't heard any responses, at any of the spots we've tried.

I went up to Moshannon State Forest on my own the other Saturday. Had a flock run out in front of me. I actually ran over a hen, before I could get stopped. She got up, and ran off. I turned off, and cut them off.
Soft chirping got them in. 2 shots on a gobbler, 2 hits, bird took off.

Really hate not getting an animal that I hit, but after much searching, not much I could do

[JoeSixpack]

The bad weather from down south is coming up and sweeping the North East.

Im next door in Ohio and it feels like April.. actually we got less rain in April then this.. it's rained almost every day.

[bamaranger]

std7mag,

My cold morning was 8May. There was a solid frost, the flakes came off onto my pant legs and melted as I walked in before light, pants from knee down were soaked. I then was still for about 30-40 minutes as I listened for birds at dawn. When I moved out again, my pants legs had frozen into two cloth tubes!!!!! This was in the general area of Altoona, but at elevation on the ridge tops.

[eastbank]

i could have shot at two toms so far, but i limit my self to 35 yards as i don,t want to wound any. if you put shot into a turkey he will most likly run-fly off to die and i just don,t want to do that. we are going out this morning and try fill out tags, but if we don,t it still beats a morning watching TV. eastbank.

[std7mag]

Well, I was going to comment, that you were not to worry, it was still raining here..

But after some strong storms here about 3am, this morning it's sunny, with blue skies...

[bamaranger]

Eastbank,

I commend you for the discipline to hold off on a gobbler 'till he reaches 35 yds.
That is well and good, and will certainly result in a very dead tom if you center him cleanly with a load of shot from any decent combo.

The rage in the past few years has been to extract the maximum possible range from our firearms, be it rifles or shotguns, and kill our game farther out. Gobbler hunting has suffered the same trend, with new sights, loads, and chokes all intended to get us "10 more yds" and kill our tom further out than ever before. Which is probably resulting in more crippled gobblers than ever.

Heck, this thread alone has two instances!!!

I agree the crippling a gobbler is the worst outcome by far,and holding off on a low percentage shot is the correct move. But not all "rolled" gobblers run off to die. I've killed several over the years that have healed over pellets imbedded against the breast bone, or across the back, that somebody had shot in previous seasons. I even killed one that had a healed .22 lr bullet hole low in the breast bone!

Of course the survival rate of a crippled gobbler cannot be determined, and the best option is to take certain shots or not at all.

Good luck with your season up there, and I hope to be back next spring.

[Blindstitch]

A curiosity question I have is why can I shoot geese at ranges up to 50 yards with BB Steel Shot yet a turkey in the same range with #5 or 6 turkey loads don't seem to do the job. Aside from turkey and shooting clays I only shoot steelshot and most of it 1550 muzzle velocity.

I'm thinking of ditching the lead. Of course today is the last day of season in Wisconsin.

[Doyle]

I got a picture text from my old hunting buddy back in FL yesterday. He tagged a nice one in PA.

[Blindstitch]

Finished off he last day of season with big toms strutting on 3 different private properties around where I was on public hunting land. It was still a good day. Had a crane come into my setup.

[bamaranger]

Blindstich,

PM sent in reply to your question earlier re range and pellets

[GarandTd]

The weather is all over the place here.

[GarandTd]

It barely got out of the 50's this afternoon and temps are forecasted to be in the upper 80's next week. PA brings out the schizo in mother nature.

[bamaranger]

Bamawife and I cancelled a trout trip as it looked as if it was gonna be pretty wet on the days in question. When I lived up there, I always thought that the counties that bordered WV and MD were really tipsy in their weather. Dang pretty country though.

[GarandTd]

Thanks to a busy schedule and lousy weather during my free time, I haven't gotten much trout fishing in. Last year was great. I was slamming fish. This year, not so much.

I'm in Western PA close to the Ohio border. While the weather is always a little dodgey, this year has been quite a challenge.