Turkey Hunt 2016

This year’s opening weekend of the 2016 spring turkey season was a little different.  A couple of the usual suspects were not able to attend.  Jason’s baby James was born just a few days earlier, so obviously he was staying home to enjoy that family time.  Our star turkey caller Robert had prior obligations with some of his friends to celebrate birthdays.  However, my dad Jack was able to join me and a first time guest Colby from work.  Just want to take a moment and say that even though we focus on hunting and fishing, that family is a priority to us. 

The Friday afternoon before opening morning my dad and I tried to located some birds and look for sign.  We covered a lot of ground and only got one bird to gobble and found very little sign.  During that process it rained twice on us.  To provide some protection from the rain we attached a tarp to the top rack of the RZR.  That turned out to be good move.

Since we only had one confirmed area with a gobbler, we knew where we were going to hunt in the morning.  We had planned on being in the woods 30 minutes prior to sun rise.  The weather had other plans.  It rained all night and was raining when we got up.  With all of the cloud cover it pushed daylight back about 30 minutes and we really didn’t want to get wet first thing in the morning.  At around 7:00 am the rain let up a bit and I decided to go.  It was still wet enough that dad decided to stay in.  When I got to the area, after a few crow calls, I heard a gobble up the hill.  I immediately started heading that direction.  I quickly realized how out of shape I am.  When I got close to the top of the hill I called at them with a slate call to see if they were interested.  Turned out they were very interested and distance between us was getting shorter.  Things were happening fast at this point.  I needed to find a spot to set up quickly.  I finished the trek to the top of the hill and set up.  I called again and I could tell they were well on their way.  I waited a couple more minutes and called again and they were only about 30 yards out, but just out of site because of the hill.  At about that same moment I spotted not one, but two turkey heads appear at about 25 yards coming towards me.  They were both gobblers with what appeared to be equal length beards.  By the time I identified them and compared them they were at about 15 yards and I took the one in front.  The turkey has a 10" beard.  It was one of the quickest and most exciting turkey hunts that I’ve ever been on.  Sometimes things just work out and come easy.  This was one of those rare times.

Story - (STAF) SPRING TURKEY SEASON 2014

 

 

If your wondering what STAF stands for, it is short for Save The Acorns Foundation.  It was that highly anticipated time of year again for the annual spring turkey camp.  As usual Jason, Robert and I put the opening date on our calendars, and adjusted our work schedules so we could arrive early enough to do a little scouting.  However, this year our trip would be a little shorter than usual due to our different family schedules and opening weekend being on Easter this year.  What that meant for us was we would arrive at camp the day before season, and only have time to hunt for about half a day before we would have to head home.

This year we were fortunate enough to have an honorary Save the Acorns Foundation member in camp with us.  It was none other than Hershel who is the father to Robert.  He lives over 5 hours away so this was a special treat for us.  As much as we like hunting, these hunting trips are more about the comradery, spending time with friends, and getting away from the stresses of city life.  Works like a reset button for sanity.

We arrived at camp Friday afternoon.  We split into two groups of two to do some scouting.  Robert and Hershel went together and Jason and I went together. 

Jason and I decided to circle the hill on foot to see if we could drum up any sign.  It was about a 2-3 mile hike.  About a quarter of the way through we hadn’t seen much sign, but decided to take a short rest and sound off some calls to see if we could get a response.  Nothing answered us, but after a few minutes a tom snuck in on us to see what the noise was about.  We were surprised to say the least.  Now we were excited.  After the bird left the area we continued on, and about half way around the hill we found a lot of sign.  About three quarters around the mountain the sign appeared to be not as fresh, and just as soon as I spoke those words we walked up on a hen.   This was probably our most productive scouting trip ever.  We were confident that we knew where we needed to be for opening morning.

Hershel and Robert used a different method of scouting.  They drove to different areas trying to locate birds by calling.  Robert may not agree, but he speaks turkey better than anyone I know.  When we meet back at camp they told us about all of the different birds they heard.  We all were excited with the amount of sign and number of birds we found and heard.

I don’t think any of us slept much.  I’m not sure if it was the excitement, the coyotes, or the whippoorwills.  Maybe a little bit of everything.

Opening morning arrives and Jason and I are in the woods before daylight to set up.  Jason lets out a hoot and the gobbling starts.  We set up as close as we dare get without risking getting busted.  The sun comes up and the birds gobble mostly unprovoked for an hour.  We could tell there was more than one.  We decided to split up and try to surround them because we didn’t think they were going to come to us.  Jason went down the hill just a few yards and started around the hill.  I slowly started moving toward the birds.  I made it about 40 yards and caught some movement.  It was a Tom and a Jake.  I hit my call quickly and they turned my direction.  As soon as the long beard was clear I took a shoot.  The bird rolled over and I took off running.  To my surprise the long beard took off running also.  I blasted two more times at it and continued to chase it.  Then I tripped and fell.  When I fell I heard something to my right.  It was another long beard.  It took to flight and flew directly over me.  Coincidently, Jason was directly below us and the bird was flying low straight to him.  Jason took aim, said "I hope he's legal". He buckled and Plinkoed through the trees and crashed about 30 yards from him. The woods rained hevi-shot and feathers for about 10 seconds.  Talk about an exciting chain of events.  After waiting all morning it all happened so fast.  Unfortunately, we were not able to find the bird I shot, and after a recap it might have been just a little out of range.  But that didn’t take away from the excitement and memory we will have for the rest of our lives.  We will always remember the day when Jason shot a long beard out of the sky.  I can’t wait until next year.  Who knows what will happen?  Whatever it is I bet it will be another unforgettable memory and that is what this is all about.