I’m no turkey hunter, but even I know getting this close to one is a rarity.
According to American Forests, wild turkeys are found in every US state except for Alaska (has to be pretty funny seeing these guys near Hawaii’s beaches and volcanoes), which shows just how adept they are at surviving in all sorts of landscapes.
They are classified as opportunistic foragers and feed on everything from leaves and grass to frogs and snails, though they won’t pass on a snake when the moment is right.
They live around 3-5 years in the wild, assuming they can avoid predation by hunters, bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, and birds of prey, and average around 17 pounds for males and 9.4 pounds for females.
In general, these birds are pretty shy and skittish, notoriously hard to call in when hunting, and will get out of dodge if they hear or see anything out of place.
Which makes this video even more impressive.
Taken in my home state of Pennsylvania, a hunter named Jacob L was scouting for turkey before the season opened last spring when exactly the bird he was looking for decided to do a little scouting of his own.
It saw him behind a tree from a little bit off and walked directly up to him and just stared, making a few noises while all puffed up to try and protect his territory. One the plus side you get a chance to see how long his spurs are but on the downside you’re probably going to feel a bit bad about pulling the trigger on this seemingly friendly tom.
Just when you think you understand how an animal behaves, they surprise you.
@jacobl07 Reply to @carson54806 Here is the close turkey encounter with original sound! #turkeyhunting #turkey #hunting #outdoors #turkeyseason #deerhunting #mossyoak #deer #gobblegobble #nwtf #gobbler #spring #hunt #whatgetsyououtdoors #winchester #iamsportsman #whitetaildeer #longbeard #cantstoptheflop #nebraska #nomad #hunttherock #realtree #whitetails #archery #dreamscometrue #foryoupage #leupold #bigdeer #fyp ♬ original sound – Jacob L
