# turkey hunting surprise



## sneakygroundbuzzard (Nov 1, 2012)

well i have been out every weekend since the beginning of the month,and on my week day off.

havent had much success with the turkeys so far.

missed one big tom at 40 yds,found out my bow was shooting 2 ft low at 20 yds.

got that fixed now.

weather hasnt been very good for turkey hunting this spring.

cold thats what its been.when i say cold i mean we have been having frost on the ground.thats cold for even us this time of year.

turkeys havent been responding to calls worth a crap,decoys just spook them.

well the wife and i decided yesterday to call it quits early and go look at a differant spot on the same piece of public hunting ground.

when we got to the other parking area we ran into a teenager who was out with his bow looking to stick some carp.

we talked with him awhile and he asked what we were after. i told him we were chasing turkyes,or atleast trying to.

he said that he was going to do that on this same piece of property untill he heard rumors of a mountian lion living on the land.

i said i kind of doubted there was one around as i hunt this land ALOT and have never seen any sign of one.he reassured me that somone he knows had seen tracks from one.i still dismissed it.

well untill today that is.

i was out in the woods before sunup,right near where the toms are roosting.

finaly heard alot of gobbling,and they were even responding to my calling.go figure the weather was actually spring like weather too.

had a big tom come in,but not into bow range.

he stayed about 80 yds out in the timber just a strutting and a gobbling,spitting and a drumming.

put on a real good show.

i knew i shouldnt have put out a decoy,but i did. i think thats why he kept his distance,he was wanting the hen to come to him(tomorrow same spot but no decoy)

well after i sat for another hour and half after he had disappeared i decided to go try a differant spot.

i knew the farmer that has permission from the DNR to plant crop that gets left for the wildlife had been in there doing some tilling.

so i figured i would go sit by the plowed field and see if they come out there to feed and strut.

once i get to that field and i am walking the edge of it i notice a trail going from one side of it to the other side.

i look at the tracks to see what made the trail,expecting it to be deer and or yotes.

but no it wasnt yotes along with the deer tracks.

these were much larger and not canine so i knew it wasnt wolf either,especially since there were no claw marks in the tracks.

i tried to examine them the best i could,but i have never seen anything like these.

the tracks were in dried black dirt(loose soil since it had been tilled recently).

i followed the trail for about 200 yds as it worked its way from one side of the field to the other and never found a "great" print,but some decent enough ones to know this was a large cat.

and no it wasnt bobcat either,as i have seen there track before on another piece of land i hunt.

these tracks were much much larger,the size of my hand. i took a pic on my phone,but its not a great pic or a great track.

i compared it to a pic i found on line.

and i am convinced it is a mountain lion.

so i would like to know a few things from you experienced big cat hunters.

first of would be, do i need to worry about going in before sunup?

second would be, do cats den in holes in the ground or sleep in trees or what?

i ask this because right near where the trail ended there is a fairly large fairly fresh hole(and mound of dirt from the hole) right on the south slope of the hill that this field is on.

and on a side note.

i think i may have seen a pine marting chasing another one this morning to


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Found this info, SGB:

*Daybed Sites *


A cougar's daybed is used for rest, protection from the weather, and to raise young.
Cougars don't use dens like bears do. They may settle down for up to six weeks while the kittens are immobile, but afterward are almost always on the move, making daybeds as they go.
In rough terrain, daybeds are usually in a cave or a shallow nook on a cliff face or rock outcrop. In less mountainous areas, day beds are located in forested areas, thickets, or under large roots or fallen trees.

Daybeds are frequently near kill sites. No day bed preparation takes place.


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## catcapper (Feb 11, 2010)

If there is a lion in your hunt area the chances of you even see'in it are small. Lions and bears get a bad rap from tall tales dreamed up by those that don't really know the animal. Over the years I've had lions follow me (50-80 yards out) a ways down trails when I was on foot or horseback. A pilgrim usually would think the big furry was stalk'in them--- its just something lions do sometimes.

They can see ya just as well in the dark as they do in the daylight and 99.9% of the time they'll get the he!! away from the dangerous creature that walks upright.

Just think--- if your figure'in theres a big cat in the area when you head for your stand before daylight--- the adrenalin rust will be great every time you hear a stick snap or the wind blows up a bunch of leaves. It will just add to your adventure.LOL.

I wouldn't worry about a big kitty in the area. Besides--- if it wants a piece of ya--- 9 times outta 10, you wont even see it come'in.

Go get us a picture of a dead turkey. :archery01:

awprint:


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

And if we don't hear from you we'll consider you the .1% that it didn't get away from.


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## sneakygroundbuzzard (Nov 1, 2012)

catcapper, you aint a kidding about the extra adrednaline

went out his morning and as i was walking in before sunup

every noise i heard in the woods i would stop,turn on my light and scan for eyes in the direction of the noise lol


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