Competing with Coyotes for Turkeys

Robert WellerHunting Stories & Adventures, Hunting Tips & Techniques, Spring Fling

Well, my friends, deer season is behind us. The snow is gone, and those toms will soon be gobbling away in the woods this spring. Your chance to put in for a 2025 turkey hunt has come and gone but, not to worry because there will be plenty of over-the-counter tags available for purchase and that late hunt can be a good one. Last year, I told the story I called “Double Trouble” in which my good friend Andy and I doubled on a couple of nice toms. Well would you believe me if I told you that lightning struck twice? 

It had been a couple years since Andy, and I had doubled on our turkeys, and I was eager to get back out there and try it again. We both had late season hunts that year and with our work schedules and busy lives we decided to go out behind his place where we had gotten our birds a few years before. So, one afternoon right after work, I took off and headed to Andy’s place to wait for him to get home from work. Andy arrived just shortly after I got there and was excited to tell me about a close encounter with a coyote that he had a day or two before. He changed his clothes, and we got all our gear around and started to walk out to the woods behind his place. As we walked down the lane, Andy was filling me in on the details of the exciting coyote encounter he had earlier that week. He told me how had gone out Turkey hunting one morning earlier that week and got more excitement than he bargained for. If you didn’t know already, the sound of a turkey call is like ringing a dinner bell to a coyote. Andy had set up on the edge of the woods near the lane that leads back from his house and began calling, but his efforts ended up putting him very close to a hungry coyote that morning rather than an old tom. 

As we approached the end of the lane and neared the opening on the edge of the field, we stopped, and Andy showed me just how close of an encounter he had with that coyote earlier in the week. As we stood there talking for a minute, we looked up and noticed movement on the edge of the woods on the other side of the field. We were on the edge of a little finger in the field where it jets into the wood line and were standing on the South side of the woods with about 100 yards of field between us and the next wood line to the North. We quickly realized the movement we saw on the East edge of the woods across from us was a flock of turkeys. We could clearly see a few fans moving back and forth so we knew we had a chance at a tom or maybe two if we played our cards right. We began sneaking across the field as quickly and quietly as we could, trying to get to the corner of the woods before the turkeys got there. We were extra careful not to spook the flock because we knew if we did, our hunt for the afternoon was over. After several minutes of literally crawling on hands and knees, we finally reached the corner of the woods, and I was able to slide up behind a log and get a clear line of sight to the field edge. The flock was unaware of our presence but, as I settled into my spot, Andy whispered something to me. I turned around and Andy was pointing across the field towards the Southeast. I looked out across the field and saw It. There was a coyote hunting our turkeys too and he was crouched down and crawling across the field. The race was on, and we knew we had to act fast if we were going to get a shot at a bird before the coyote got there. I whispered to Andy and asked him to try calling the turkeys to see if we could get a tom to come

within range before the coyote got too close. Andy agreed and started making a sequence of clucks and yelps. What do you know, it worked, and we had not one, but three toms head our way. Andy kept a watchful eye on the coyote that was on the move towards the toms that were rapidly closing in on our location. I carefully raised my 12 gauge to my shoulder and took aim as I waited for the toms to get in range. Just as the first tom crossed in front of me, I squeezed the trigger and as the shot rang out across the field, everything went crazy. The coyote took off like a shot and headed back the way he came from, and the other two toms turned and ran back towards the flock as my turkey lay there flopping around uncontrollably. What happened next, I could not have imagined. The two toms that had run off turned around and came running back towards their flailing friend. I turned and looked at Andy and said, “get ready to shoot!”. Now I was between Andy and the birds so Andy replied, “I can’t shoot with you there.” Just as the turkeys got within range, I rolled onto my side giving Andy a safe shot as I said “shoot, shoot!” Andy was able to safely move forward so his muzzle was well past me and positioned himself for a shot. The toms were so confused by all the commotion that they stood there long enough for Andy to be able to make a great shot and drop the closest bird. Just like the previous hunt only a few years prior, Andy and I were left there looking at each other, asking each other if that had just happened. We had probably beat that coyote to the punch by only mere seconds. We laughed and recapped the events of the past couple of minutes as we gathered up our things and went to retrieve our birds. Both birds were nice toms with 10-inch beards. We started the walk back to his house and joked that his mother (who had come to watch his kids while he was out hunting with me) was not going to believe we were back so soon, both of us with a bird slung over our shoulder. Sure enough, as she saw us walk out of the woods, she was in disbelief. She just laughed and said, “You boys haven’t even been gone for thirty minutes.” Andy and I just laughed and said “well, sometimes you just get lucky.” 

That was the last time Andy, and I hunted turkeys together. We both went on to turkey hunt on and off over the years but haven’t had much time to hunt together. I guess having families and raising children has taken away some of the time we used to have to spend together in the woods. This year, I’ll be hunting turkeys with my friend Gary Morgan with Wild Game Dynasty and I can’t wait to tell you about the adventures we have. I’ve always enjoyed turkey hunting because it is so interactive. There is always something to do and I have really enjoyed taking my son and another friend of mine out and calling for them. Although we were not successful in getting either of them a turkey the few times I have taken them out, it was always a great way to spend time together in the woods. If you’ve never turkey hunted before, you’re missing out. I recommend you ask some of your hunting buddies if they have ever been or if they might be interested in trying it. You might get lucky and get a bird or even two. But, if not, I’d be willing to bet that it will get your blood pumping, and you will at least enjoy the time you spend in the woods. 

Good luck this spring, happy hunting, and God bless.

Robert Weller
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