[fedguy2007]

So yesterday, I was watching the Tactacam footage from my hunt Saturday morning and something caught my attention. I was of course focused in on the bird that I killed and your can hear a gobble after I call to him. What I noticed was that his neck or head never moved. After watching the footage from the beginning closely, I came to the realization that I had two birds come in to me. The strutter which is the first bird I saw and then the bird I eventually killed. I got crossed up when the strutter went behind some trees and the bird I killed popped out on the other side. After watching, I can clearly see the strutter never breaking strut the whole time I am focused in on the bird I killed. Long story short is that the strutter was not killed. What are your thoughts on him still being in that same area?

 

[longbeard2]

I would assume that he would still be there, or close by. When I killed a turkey in Alabama a couple of weeks ago, two gobblers came to me. I shot one, and the other one took off running when I went to get mine. I could have easily shot him, too. Nevertheless, I went after a different turkey the next morning, but I was close enough to hear the area where those two were the evening before. That next morning, there were two turkeys gobbling right where I killed the one the evening before. I could tell you at least 30 stories like that, and I could tell you a few stories where one seemed to have left and never returned. But more often than not, I don't think they go far, and they seem to settle down a little quicker than we might think.

 

[mossyman]

It’s hard to say. On one particular piece of property I hunt I had 4 gobblers showing up everyday-a group of 3 and one single. I passed on the single that first evening because the group of 3 were bigger but a hen pulled them away from me. I got on them 2 more times the next couple days but never got a shot.

I was finally able to shoot one out of the group of 3 a week after the season opened. The next day one gobbler showed up and I haven’t seen or heard from them since. I don’t know if they got spooked and moved on, shot by the neighbors, or just moved on to another area because of whatever reason. All I know is that they’ve disappeared.

 

[deerhunt1988]

Really good chance he will be around. I've killed a bird from a pair/group multiple times and went right back to the same area the next day and got on them again.

 

[dublelung]

I don't think most of them have the ability to know a shotgun blast is a threat. Turkeys hear trees fall all the time, it startles them for a bit then they go on about their day. I think they react the same way to a shotgun blast. I'll never forget several years ago my dad and I were hunting and called in 2 gobblers, I missed the lead one (other than clipping a tail feather while he was strutting) then gone back to the exact same tree the next morning and killed him after calling them both back in.

 

[fedguy2007]

We’ll find out in the morning

 

[msurussell]

Back when I shot nets over turkeys at MSU, I caught a longbeard, put wing tags on him and leg bands. He lost about a walmart bag full of feathers from thrashing around in the net and being handled. We released him and 3 days later he was with a totally different group of toms but I wound up catching him again from the exact same bait site.

 

[Missed mallards 1]

Depends. Best answer I have. I’ve seen them come back and stay in the area, and I’ve literally watched them move out of the area. I called up 2 gobblers with several hens 2 years ago and left 1 gobbler with the group. This group of birds had been roosting on a creek for a solid month. Only roost tree I’ve ever found in my life. That was their spot. That morning the remaining bird gobbled his head off all the way up the creek. He was gobbling with mine still flopping. I watched him walk the gravel road with the hens into another tract of property and resume his courtship. Me and the guy running the bulldozer. To our knowledge he’s still in that other tract. He could be killed easily as he’s the most patterned animal I’ve ever seen. But since I shot, me nor the guy on the bulldozer have seen/heard a bird where I killed mine. And it was good hunting until then.

but…..I’ve killed the next morning too on different occasions.