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Monday
May102010

What A Hunt....

DateMonday, May 10, 2010 at 01:05PM

Well, it's Monday morning and I'm in the office planning my fishing season.  That means my 2010 turkey season is over.  That is a good thing.  

My Field...

Saturday afternoon, I snuck out to the property I hunt each spring to do some last minute planning before my Sunday hunt.   I scoped out three or four ambush points where I might sneak around should the gobblers be on the move.  I knew their roosting trees and set up my first spot about a hundred yards to the south.  Each year, I like to take the time to also clear a few spots next to good-looking hiding spots.  I take the time to clear any dead brush around a big tree where I'll tuck in.  I also snipped

 My Hiding Spot....See the Chair? any low-hanging branches that might block my view.   I think a little planning before the hunt can make a world off difference.   My alarm chirped at 3:45 am and I hopped out of bed, showered and threw on a couple extra layers of camo.   The thermometer in the truck read 30 degrees and I drove in darkness to my hunting spot.  I passed through several pocket of cold, looming patches of fog.   I pulled up to my spot, quietly hopped out and clicked the driver's door shut.  I took a moment to look at the stars.  A couple of bedded down pheasants gently crowed as I watched a single satellite buzz by far overhead.  I walked through the pre-dawn darkness over the field, up a hill and into my turkey woods.  I set up a single hen decoy about 20 yards out front of my hiding spot and then settled in.  I leaned up in my turkey chair against the barbed-wire fence, laid out my calls, and fumbled new batteries into my earpieces.  They made just a tiny bit of noise, but in the silence of the turkey woods, I always wonder if roosting birds can hear my pre-hunt antics.

 

My Spread...
I sat quietly, all gear in good order and right at 5:20 am, a pack of coyotes came howling by.  Their morning calls woke every farm dog within a mile.  A few minutes later, gobbles in the old oak trees right in front of me.   Still in the darkness of dawn,  I yelped back gently.  Even so, I  probably called just a few too many times too early.   The turkey gobbled back and I actually thought it was out of the tree and down on the ground.   Just a few minutes before 6:00 am, three birds blew down out of two old oak trees right in front of me.  Gone....  How do those birds sit up there without us being able to see them?  It still amazes me.  Over the next 30 minutes  I heard a few distant gobbles, but nothing that sounded of much interest.   Just after 7:00 am I  decided to hop up for a quick moment to take a quick peek around.  I wanted to know if those birds had dropped into the lower field to get that first morning sun.  That's the toughest part of turkey hunting.  Being patient.  I snuck out of my hiding spot and peeked down the hill into the sun-covered field.   Nothing there.  I stood in the shadows and hit a generic yelp on my call.   A return gobble from a bird well off the property and way to the south.  I guessed about 400-500 yards away.  I quickly threw down a long yelp and got a quick gobble back.  I repeated twice and got two more gobbles.  I quit the calling for a bit as the old gobbler kept whailing.  Soon enough, I realized he was on the move and headed my direction.  

The Trail The Bird Walked To My Field...My heart pumped as I listened to the gobbler continuing to hammer away and keep making progress towards me.  I gave another setof slow yelps.  The gobbler again responded.   I don't know that I've ever hunted a turkey that gobbled as much as this guy.   He was hot!  It was downright awsome to listen to.... I kept an eye on the lower field expecting to see that bird pop out.  Never did happen.  In fact, it sounded like he was headed west of me.  I snuck back into my hiding spot and kept still.  It sounded like the bird was heading further west.  

  A Bird Behind Me!I twisted my head and looked down the barbed-wire fence line in the tilled field behind me.   Nothing.   More gobbles.   Finally, I saw his head pop out and he stood on the edge of the tilled field about a hundred yards away.  He and I spent the next 45 minutes talking back and forth.  Problem was, that darn bird hung up.  He would just not make a move my direction.   I stopped calling.  No movement.  He just paced back and forth and continued to gobble.  I thought about trying to make a move on him, but I had already been out of my spot once and decided patience was the best play.  I decided to hit a few quiet calls that I would muffle and point away from him, trying to get the old gobbler to think I was a hen headed another direction.  Sure enough, he made a slow move my direction.  I threw in a few purrs and realized he was closing ground rather quickly.  I put down my slate call and positioned my Browning between the strands of barbed-wire.  It would be an odd shot, my body twisted and bent.  I lost sight of the bird and he stopped gobbling.   I felt my neck tightening up as I sat, frozen in my goofy, contorted position.   I wondered if he had snuck back through the fence and might pop out right in front of me.  Crap.  I couldn't just swing my barrel. 

  My Sight Line...Suddenly, a head popped up right behind me.  I cringed to twist further around the tree and focused my barrel.  That bird slowly moved my direction.  I clucked my mouth call, he stopped and I gently squeezed the trigger.    By 9:00 am, I was back home cleaning a 21 pound gobbler.  I don't care that he's 4 pounds smaller than last year's bird. 

  My 2010 BirdI don't care that he's only got an 8 inch beard.   What matters is I spent six weeks laying out a plan to hunt my 2010 bird.  I picked the property, watched it religously (and the birds), planned my hiding spots, practiced my calling and eventually made good...  Now we fish.  Five days to opener and counting....

AuthorBill Sherck | Comment6 Comments |

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