It has been a while since my last post. A lot of things have been happening. But I will catch you up on the most recent.
This hunting season started off great! I have never hunted turkeys and have been watching a flock of turkeys near my house. I decided to give it a try and bought a call, a couple decoys, and some shotgun shells. I am looking forward to a new Thadventure to share.
Before opening morning I spent time practicing with my call. I thought I sounded like a turkey, and my dog Boone thought so too. It drove him crazy and he would come running to me trying to figure out how I made those sounds. He may have just thought that I was crazy and was coming to check on me…
Opening morning… I planned to get out of the house well before sunrise and I had a spot picked out where I could hide. It wasn’t much, but the turkeys were always walking near the area and I thought it would give me the best chance. I thought the birds roosted in the trees nearby and would hopefully fly down in the morning and come running to see the new decoys. That was close to what happened. Immediately after I set up the decoys, the turkeys started to gobble and they were on the other side of the field. It was exciting to hear the birds talking in the morning as I laid in the brush thinking to myself, “what are you doing? What are you going to do if you get a tom to come close? How long are you going to be laying here? I wish someone was with me.” As the birds flew out of their roosts, I saw one tom and a group of hens. They all started to walk towards the side of the field, but closer towards me. The tom must have heard me sweet talking him and saw the decoys. Then he immediately stared strutting and walking directly towards me. At one point he was just over 100 yards, then he was at 60 yards, then he got to 50 yards and I was thinking to myself, “He is getting close, this is going to happen…” Knowing that he needed to come a little closer I got my shotgun ready. As he made a few more steps, I squeezed the trigger and he collapsed on the ground. This is when I wish I had someone with me to hoot and hollar with, or to give the “we got it done” fist bump. First thing I did was make sure the tom was dead and I texted Mary, my wife, to let her know what just happened. Then I started to text everyone who I thought would share the excitement.
Some say turkeys are dumb, everyone says they have great eyesight. My first experience turkey hunting made me think that they were not the smartest, and how did they not see me laying on the ground. My next outings would prove that they are not that easy to harvest.
After being successful on my first ever turkey hunt I invited a friend to go with me. We had similar experiences this time out again, but we did not get a turkey. We had hens and jakes within 5 yards, but the tom we were after would not come closer than 70 yards. We spend part of the morning watching the birds up close and at a distance as they walked into the trees for the rest of the morning. Excited to try again for the big tom we saw, we went out later in the week. This time his 10 year old son came with us armed with a turkey tag and hopes of getting a chance at his first tom. Again the birds walked around the field and then decided to come and check out the decoys. The tom again would not come closer than 60 yards. Excited and determined we would go out again the next week. Same thing happened, but this time the birds acted like we weren’t there. We were determined and hopeful to get an opportunity for my friends son.
The following weekend I made plans to head to Cottonwood, Idaho to hunt turkeys with another friend. We drove out to the hunting area and spotted a group of toms near the road where we could hunt. Anticipating the next morning, we set up a plan that didn’t work. However, the evening was different. We knew where the turkeys were going to roost and we knew where they were. We set up between them expecting the turkeys to come by us on their way to the roost. It was a great plan until a tom snuck up behind us and started strutting and fighting with our decoy. Once we realized there was a fight going on, my buddy steadily and slowly pointed his shotgun at the tom. Once he had a safe shot, he hammered the bird and it began to flop around on the ground. Not bad for a couple guys who are beginner turkey hunters.
Earlier this week I heard there were turkeys nearby. I contacted the farmers and I recieved permission to hunt. I scouted for a couple days before hunting. I heard there were a lot of birds, but I only saw a tom and a few hens feeding in an open field. The morning I went out hunting was mainly to recon and find out the habits of the birds. I got out well before sunrise and set up my decoys. I didn’t hear any turkeys gobbling or yelping. Then out of nowhere the tom and a few hens magically appeared in the middle of a field. I let out a couple yelps to invite them over. My invitation appeared to be ignored. As I laid in the grass along the side of the field watching the birds feed, I noticed they were getting a little closer. Now they are just over 200 yards away. As the morning went on, they kept getting a little closer. When they finally got within 150 yards they seemed more interested in the decoys. The tom started struting and moving in my direction. The hens led the charge toward the decoy, but the tom was close behind. As he got closer, I ranged him at 60 yards and I knew he needed to get closer. I let him walk a little closer as I settled the sights of my shotgun at his neck and squeezed the trigger. As the shot went off, he rolled to the ground and got back up. With his head up inviting another shot, I promptly delivered another shot. He crumbled with the last shot and I now have harvested 2 toms in my first year of turkey hunting.
I know I am fortunate to harvest 2 toms in my first year of turkey hunting, but grateful to have the opportunity to chase these birds. I have not eaten wild turkey, but I will provide an update. In the spring I was looking for hunting and fishing opportunities until salmon season. I think I just found my new favorite spring Thadventure!
