Few issues are extra deflating than lacking a turkey. Should you suppose profitable hunts are unforgettable, misses will etch themselves into the a part of your mind that handles long-term reminiscence. Months later, once you suppose you’ve gotten over it, you’ll get up from that nightmare, drenched in sweat and panting as you consider all of the issues you would have completed in a different way. If solely you hadn’t moved or sat subsequent to that sapling. Perhaps you must have yelped to cease that chook earlier than you shot. In the meantime, phantom gobbles ring in your head like a refrain of mocking kids. Even worse, you wasted TSS and heard the sound of $20 going up in flames—the sound of wing beats receding within the distance.
Killing a turkey appears easy in concept, however misses occur to even the perfect hunters. Typically, there’s little you are able to do to keep away from it. Different instances, you simply plain whiff. Even the MeatEater crew misses every so often (if that’s any comfort).
And since distress loves firm, we need to hear about your worst turkey blunders, too. Put up a remark along with your most painful turkey miss story, and also you’ll be entered for an opportunity to win a slew of killer prizes. Should you’re nonetheless reeling from a current miss, welcome to the membership, and revel in a few of the crew’s worst turkey misses.
Tony Peterson
About eight years in the past I received permission to turkey hunt a farm close to my home. I began glassing in March and ended up discovering a monster tom that had a gaggle of 11 hens just about locked up. He was the right candidate for a full strutter, so I put up a blind and made a plan to bowhunt that particular chook (which I by no means do).
The primary day I hunted him, I noticed the longbeard along with his girls and known as him away from them and straight into my unfold. After I drew on him, my mind registered a bizarre noise and a sense within the draw cycle, but it surely wasn’t sufficient to set off any warning bells. He was 10 yards in and out full strut once I centered my pin on him and launched.
My arrow minimize a triangle-shaped gap by his fan, so I scrambled to nock up and shoot once more. I put one other gap in his fan, practically on high of the primary one. I did not know what was unsuitable, however I knew sufficient to not shoot once more. So, I watched him chest-bump my decoy till he received bored and wandered again to his girlfriends. Later at dwelling I spotted that the draw cease on my high cam had sheared off once I drew the primary time, inflicting me to hit method excessive. I arrowed a comfort chook a number of days later, however I’ve by no means forgotten the one time I had a success record tom and missed him twice at a distance I may in all probability have killed him with a rock.
Adam Moore
This miss is so recent the empty shotshell continues to be smoking. I didn’t have a plan for opening morning of the 2026 Mississippi turkey season, so I made a decision to hunt a spot that’s produced prior to now. Proper at prime gobbling time, I heard a distant gobble. I knew he was roosted on the neighboring property the place I don’t have permission. His muffled gobble additionally advised me that I’d need to persuade him to wade by a privet thicket.
I minimize the gap (as a lot as I may) and waited for him to gobble once more. To get a greater pin on him, I owl hooted, and he instantly devoured. I knew it was a protracted shot to name him by that thicket and off the neighboring property, so I known as to him from the center of an outdated firebreak close to the property line. He minimize me off, and I rapidly dropped again, organising on an overgrown fence row.
About quarter-hour handed in silence, and I made a decision to name once more. Nothing. I knew he wasn’t going to return by that thicket, so I made a decision to close up, sit tight, and simply hear. I used to be already daydreaming about one other spot when that longbeard devoured behind me, inside gun vary.
I slowly minimize my eyes after which turned my head. I may see him strutting within the pasture behind me. Not solely had he come by that thicket, however he made a giant loop round me. Fortunately, I had sufficient cowl to get rotated (a bit of an excessive amount of cowl). He devoured once more, so shut that I may hear that rattle in his throat.
I settled my gun on my knee and picked a gap the place he’d need to stroll earlier than I may get a clear shot. It will be fast and shut. After three mushy yelps he got here out of his strut. I watched his head bob by the comb, rope of a beard swinging. My coronary heart was racing and my respiratory was so loud I assumed it could spook that chook. When he popped into my capturing lane, I settled the pink dot and squeezed. As a substitute of flopping, he made a 180 and bolted. I couldn’t imagine it. Not till I lowered my gun and noticed the privet saplings that have been bent and splintered not 6 inches from my barrel. No feathers, no blood, just a few damaged bushes and a bruised ego.
Janis Putelis
Simply final 12 months I missed a gobbler in Wisconsin. However this story is not concerning the miss, it is about how I missed the chance to kill his brother, who got here in full strut simply moments earlier.
I had a leg-burner of a morning hunt: I just about transected the five hundred acres I’ve entry to hunt a number of instances, chasing distant gobbles that stopped gobbling as soon as I reached the placement they need to be.
Round 11 am I headed down the primary ridge, tail tucked between my legs, making an attempt to determine whether or not to make myself a late breakfast or an early lunch. I finished on a bluff to ship out one final collection of loud clucks. To my shock, a gobble hammered again. A response like that at 11 am is what turkey schnitzel is fabricated from.
That gobble was nonetheless distant, so I dropped off the bottom of the ridge, zipped down 200 yards, and popped up on a bench that I assumed could be near the gobbler. I discovered a pleasant white pine that provided a little bit of shade and began a collection of yelps. He minimize me off on the second be aware. I scratched the leaves subsequent to me, and each gobblers hammered. I used to be shut sufficient to listen to two birds responding to my hen imitations.
Moments later I may hear turkey toes marching up the hill, crunching oak leaves. I flipped the security off. The birds have been on observe to pop up 20 yards in entrance of me. The very first thing I noticed was the lead chook’s fan. “Good,” I assumed.
I briefly noticed his head earlier than it disappeared behind a double-trunked oak. I needed to determine to both observe the primary chook as he moved behind the 2 trunks and shoot him on the opposite aspect or depart my gun barrel pointed the place he simply popped up, assuming the second chook would comply with the identical path. I made a decision to trace the primary chook when the second popped up and noticed my gun barrel transfer. He putted, and each birds flushed with no second thought. I rapidly pivoted again to the second chook and tried to shoot him on the wing. It was a waste of TSS. The lesson? Take the primary good shot alternative you get.
Clay Newcomb
For the reason that ninth grade, I’ve misplaced a few of the listening to in my proper ear, however my left ear nonetheless works nice. Since my proper ear is compromised, I can’t actually course a gobbler anymore. I discovered the laborious method the significance of listening to for the turkey hunter.
One spring morning, about 9 o’clock, I struck a gobbler within the nationwide forest mountains right here in Arkansas. I minimize on my mouth name, and he instantly cuts me off. I may hear effectively sufficient to know he was inside 150 yards, and he simply stored gobbling. He was on his method. I feel he’s coming from straight in entrance of me, so I sit down and level the gun straight in entrance. The subsequent time he gobbles, he’s inside 60 yards, however I can’t see him. I nonetheless suppose he’s coming proper down my gun barrel, so I sit nonetheless for an additional jiffy once I catch motion and see him developing straight from my left.
I used to be off. Unhealthy off. I coursed him unsuitable by nearly 90 levels, and he confirmed up at my 9 o’clock at 25 yards. He’s proper there, placing and strutting once I lastly see him. I’m method out of place, however I swing, shoot, and miss him. He goes to fly, however I put the bead proper on him. I imply, I used to be simply going to drop him with the second shot. I went to squeeze the set off, and nothing occurred. Apparently my gun was soiled and jammed. I had one shot, and I missed. So I discovered two laborious classes that day: One, I couldn’t belief my ears. Quantity two—clear your dadgum gun.
Brent Reaves
The week the primary episode of my podcast aired, I used to be turkey looking in Missouri. Clay Newcomb joined me in camp, and we have been filming a hunt for MeatEater.
I had a turkey gobbling his brains out on a ridge the place I’d known as many turkeys from over the previous twenty years. It was just like the refrain of a tune repeating, only a 12 months aside. The 12 months prior, I used to be sitting inside ten yards of the place Dave, my cameraman, and I now sat. We have been calling to a gobbler on the other finish of that very same ridge. That chook flew down, strutted, and devoured all the way in which inside vary, and I promptly crammed his jaws filled with shot.
This one was enjoying out simply because it had the 12 months earlier than and plenty of comparable hunts identical to that one.
He flew down proper on cue, went into full strut, and slowly however purposefully made his method straight to the place Dave and I have been hidden. The footage was unbelievable.
At 35 yards I couldn’t take it anymore and requested Dave if he had him on digicam. Upon affirmation, I pulled the set off. As a substitute of a flopping chook, I had an entire miss and an excellent worse followup shot. I all the time thought lacking a turkey was the worst factor that would occur. Lacking one for the world to see is method worse.
To enter the competition, merely put up a remark beneath this text along with your turkey-miss story earlier than April 6. Prizes embody a Case Knife and $500 First Lite reward card, a Moultrie Edge 3 path digicam, and The Wild + Entire Cookbook. Winners can be chosen at random. To learn the official guidelines of the competition, click on right here.
