Success Duplicated

Gobbler #2 of the 2016 Season

 

3/31/2016

      Yesterday morning I experienced one of the more exciting turkey hunts I've been blessed with in quite some time.  I parked before dawn at our cabin, on the northeastern corner of the property and headed south along the river.  Eventually hearing a few gobbles on the south portion of the property I snaked my way along roads, hardwood bottoms, and pine plantations until I could get close to the vocal gobbler.  Once I did he got quiet and me, being one of little patience, moved on.  

      My original purpose was to scout a gobbler for the upcoming 44th Wilcox Academy Turkey Hunt and my old friend Barnett Serio who would be my guest for the weekend.  I already knew where a few birds would most likely be for us on Saturday morning, but the more knowledge I have of prospects the better.  I decided to make one sweep toward our southwestern property line before I called it a morning.  

       At my turning around spot, on the far west side of our property, I yelped.  A turkey answered.  He was no more than 150 yards away, in a pine plantation bordering a wet hardwood drain that is blessed with a great deal of beautiful cypress.  A turkey in this location is always going to want to walk the edge of the water and I knew I would need to be close to it to kill him.  But having no intention of such I stopped short of the water.  

       Again I yelped and again he answered.  I rested against a large pine and waited and soon he did just as expected and was 60 yards in front of me on the edge of the wet hardwood drain.  Back and forth he strutted and drummed for at least 15 minutes.  Then he proceeded to move to my right and eventually walked out of sight.  I decided to crawl closer to the water and just see if maybe I could call him back in the direction he just left.  

       I pulled out a pot call and asked him if he would be interested and coming back for another look.  He immediately answered a loud and boisterous "maybe."  He walked back closer to me and in good view through the open pines but stopped at 60 yards.  For the next 45 minutes he went back and forth between two areas in the pines and at each stop he strutted, drummed, and gobbled incessantly, stopping only to peer in my direction for the hen he was told was there.  

        Eventually he broke the routine and walked in the opposite direction and again, out of sight.  I pulled out the call again and asked him please would he come back.  He reappeared and this time his movement was directly at me and sometime told me he had finally committed to coming.  

        He continued to walk towards me and at 35 yards began to work to my left towards the edge of the water.  Time and again he stopped and strutted but always behind a large pine that prevented a shot.  He got nearly to a nine o'clock position before an opening presented itself for a shot. 

        But wait, I was only scouting....right?  Well, when he committed and came my way I decided that my friend Barnett would get to hunt another turkey on Saturday.  I had too much fun invested in this bird and having finally talked him into range I was going to have to close the deal.  

        I did.  And it sure was fun.  

(By the way, my walk for the morning tallied 4.5 miles.)     

Turkey Time

I have a backlog of stories to tell and they are about to flow forth on regular basis.  Stay tuned....

Gobbler #1 from the 2016 Season

3/29/2016

      After missing the first 10 days of the season due to work, weather, and trip to Disney World, my 7 year old Andrew and I finally got into the woods to chase a turkey last Friday morning.  Though we heard nothing on the roost, we got a turkey to gobble soon after fly down time and called him in to within 40 yards.  It's Andrew's first season to be behind a gun in the turkey woods, wielding a 20 gauge that we have borrowed from a friend.  The gobbler circled us and Andrew had to move a little to get in position for a possible shot if he came closer.  He moved a little much and the bird slipped off and disappeared into the pines.

       Our next hunt on Saturday was uneventful (though we did make a good haul from the coon traps later in the morning.)  Monday morning he did not have to go to school and we found a turkey gobbling over a cypress swamp early.  This turkey soon got quiet and out of time and my work beckoning, we headed for the truck. Walking along as we headed for the truck, we heard a gobble 100 yards off the road.  We quickly set up, called, and had the turkey coming to us in mere minutes.  Andrew, just learning the ways of the turkey woods, moved a little too much when the turkey was within sight but not range.  He again vanished back into the piney woods.

      Tuesday morning I returned to the swamp without my little buddy who had to get to school on time.  I heard two turkeys gobble early in a hardwood drain and I moved into position.  I feared I had gotten too close as once I sat down they got silent.  It was early and certainly not the normal flying down time.  I soon saw one of the gobblers on the ground in front of me, 60 yards away.  I yelped twice softly and he headed my way.  At 6:30 I pulled the trigger as he stepped to within 30 yards.  My first gobbler of the season was in the books.

       The turkey had a good, thick beard and no trace of spur, something I have seen a few times in my turkey feet collecting days.

Nice beard but no trace of a spur