March 31, 2009
I headed down for my annual trip to Tennessee with GN... he once again put us on the birds.
When I told him I really wanted to try one with the bow he was all for it and the first morning found us setup in a blind in a spot that's been really good to us in the past. Long story short the farm dogs (puppies) were VERY interested in what we were doing back in the woods before daylight and they tromped around in there and basically boogered the morning hunt for us. Oh... and the weather was warm but rainy with a breeze kicking up occasionally. Yuck!
GN, who always has a plan took off for "Plan B". We got to another farm and immediately got into birds. We accidentally walked into 1 gobbler but got setup and in quick fashion 2 more came around the bend. GN could have easily dusted a gobbler there but all I had was a 30 yard head shot and I didn't try that! GN let them walk off and we were finally able to get set backup where we wanted and were hoping the birds would show back up.
It wasn't long and GN looked to the top edge of the field and spotted a big strutter headed our way! He was coming right down the lane and I was filming and getting my bow ready. When the gobbler got to the jake decoy at 15 yards I let the arrow fly. I hit him good and the gobbler flipped and flapped but actually got his feet under him and ran down through the woods/thicket. Long story short after several hours of looking we finally found him. What an emotional roller coaster that was!!! My first bowkill spring gobbler!!! Thanks to GN not only for putting the bird in my lap but convincing me to carry the bow for opening day! What a great day!!!
The next day it was cloudy again and a really strong wind. Plus, the temp had dropped about 25 degrees from the day before! We headed back to the same setup and really buried in because of the weather and were hoping they would be using the same field. We had a trio of jakes that hung around and made laps in the field for 4 hours. They kept watching the upper corner of the field and so did we! Finally, as if the jakes knew what was going on they headed out of the field and 30 minutes later a hen yelped near the corner and then the parade showed up. 3 strutters and 8 hens basically followed the same route as my bowkill and came right down to us. The hens got right in with one of the decoys and got a little nervous and she did a soft alarm putt. At that the group turned and started back the way they came. GN said "We better do it!". A 1-2-3-Boom ensued and 2 more beautiful gobblers were down!!! Holy moly... can it get any better!?!?!
The temps had dropped down into the mid 30's for Monday morning but it was clear and still. We sat atop a ridge and waited for roost gobbles and we were going to move to them. No gobbles ever came! After giving it plenty of time we headed to another spot and GN pulled out the crow call. Good things usually happen when GN pulls out his crow call! Sure enough, after getting into a serious crow fight and having crows dive-bomb us in the woods I somehow heard a turkey gobble at the ruckus. We headed that direction and sure enough GN pulls another gobble from him. We slip in and setup and immediately have hens and jakes yelping but the gobbler doesn't say another word. We call together and on and off for several minutes and the turkey has gone totally quiet. You know what that means! Sure enough, I let out a "walking yelp" and he gobbles at 50 yards. Camera on, gun up, and he walks into view shining in the sun. What a beautiful sight! The sun was behind us and his colors were magnificant! Again, GN could have killed the gobbler but let him slip around the ridge so I could get a shot. He hung up a bit in the edge of the pines but I knew he was in range. A few more soft calls closed the deal and I made the 40 yard shot!
I've been on some incredible hunts but those 3 days are right in the top. Thanks just isn't enough to say to GN for the great trip. He could have easily killed every turkey that I did and passed on them to let me get shots. The hunting was great, the fellowship was great, and the weather was terrible but GN does it again!!
April 11. 2009
Okay...
Amy has become a very accomplished turkey over the years. She can hold her own with most. This spring I made it a point to try and locate at least a pair of gobblers for us to try and double on opening day. {Yeah... I know!} Anyway, I did just that and yesterday afternoon we watched the 2 gobblers go to roost with 2 jakes and 4 hens. The popup blind was setup in the dark last night and we were back in it this morning on the edge of the field with a hen decoy {why do we even bother to carry them???} and the strutter BADONKADONK.
Well before daylight a bird was yelping in the trees behind us. Perfect... the game is on. The gobblers only sounded off 1 time before flying down and all was going according to plan. Soon the hens and jakes came out in the field 70 yards out and then the gobblers popped out. I woke Amy up {I can't catch all the grief!!} and told her to get ready. They didn't seem interested in the dekes at all so I made a yelp and got their attention. The hens and jakes headed off away from us but the 2 longbeards couldn't stand the strutter and they just started slowly working our way. It was perfect... they were taking their time and just walking along and actually feeding a bit. I had the camera running and Amy and I were discussing the plan again and how to pull off the 1-2-Boom. We've doubled in the past a time or two but this was going to be a planned and beautifully choreographed double!
When the birds got to about 30 yards and still walking along slowly we got guns in position. {This is going to work!!!} All of a sudden the 2 gobblers broke in a mad run to the decoy and took a couple quick shots and gobbled a time or two. No problem we thought, they would settle down and allow us the countdown. Well... they never settled down!!
Have any of you ever seen a pair of 2 year old gobblers on crack or meth or something? Amy and I have. These crazy turkeys would NOT stand still and were literally running circles around the decoy and each other and gobbling and just acting NUTS!. I have never seen them act this crazy. We never even got the "One" out!!!
All of a sudden the pair broke for the woods and I said "We better do something!". In hindsight {odd to use the word hindsight since I was obviously thinking with my "hind" end!} I should have just had Amy try to shoot one and I could have tried for the other if it was possible. It all happened faster than my brain can think. Anyway... Amy says "Just kill one if you can!". I swung on the back gobbler as the other one was getting in the edge of the woods and dumped him. The other gobbler gobbled at the shot but actually kept running and gobbling back through the woods. Amy took a tough shot and came up empty.
She was happy that we got something but I was/am PO'ed that it worked out like it did. Everything went according to the script... except somebody forgot to tell the turkeys to STAND still!!!
We hit another spot later in the morning with no success and Amy had to pull out to get to another committment. Amy was happy for me... I think... I figure she'll speak to me in a couple days...
Hope everyone had a great opener!
April 15, 2009
Me and good buddy "Uncle Ted" got after a couple birds this morning and had a great mountainside chase until he pulled the trigger at 8:55. The gobbler was basically in sight of us all but just a few minutes when we were able to make moves on him and finally got close enough to close the deal. Our birds are really henned-up and this guy was no exception... another longbeard, 2 jakes, and about a dozen hens with him. Fun stuff!!!
April 20, 2009
Kentucky??? {I know, it doesn't rhyme, but Peacemaker said poems don't have to!!!}
I just returned from a 2 day trip to KY with GN. He's still there guiding for another friend so when he gets back we'll get the whole story up but we had another incredible trip...
I've hunted KY a total of 4 days {about 10 hours total} in my life and killed 4 longbeards and watched 3 others die. {If I would have stayed longer I would have seen another yesterday!}
The first day was gorgeous and the turkeys were gobbling good but we got screwed by a neighbor on a 4 wheeler that drove right through the roosted turkeys!! No worries... we let things settle down and the turkey ended up coming in and GN whacks him. Next spot GN struck a couple birds with a crow call and 30 minutes later one walks in and I kill him.
Yesterday we hunted in a deluge of rain but still managed to get on a bird and GN let me whack him.
GN has some of the better pics but here's a couple quick ones of my birds. It was raining so hard yesterday we didn't even take pictures of the one I killed there. I waited until I got home!
I'll get the whole story up soon!!!!
First bird...
Second bird...
April 23, 2009
All season long we have not heard or seen any gobblers on the farm at the house so imagine my suprise when I pulled down the driveway Wednesday afternoon and there was a big gobbler in the field! I went on and mowed the grass and played with Abby and the puppy outside and then we headed in for supper. We finished eating about roosting time so I took my little roosting buddy out and told Amy "Let's just see if by the grace of God this turkey will gobble." Abby and I hadn't even started walking out of the yard good and he gobbles on his own! Abby and I get into stealth mode and close the distance to try and pin him down a bit better. Abby said she knew where he was and where we needed to go to kill him and she was about right!
The next morning Amy and I slipped in well before daylight and setup. Long story short he gobbled incredibly well despite having about 4-5 hens with him (I didn't see those in the field the evening before) and flew down to join the girls. He actually chased one of the hens about 70 yards away from us and then another turkey gobbled down the hollow! The gobbler we were after hauled frieght straight down there to settle their differences and then proceeded to setup a strut zone on the far ridge. I told Amy our best move was to slip over there and just steal ground as he worked back and forth and maybe get close enough. We made a big circle to get around him and from the time we left to get there he had moved off to another ridge.
Amy then says "We need to kill this turkey... he may never gobble in here again! I'll stay right here and keep him gobbling and you slip in to the near edge of his strut zone and kill him!" I obviously tried to talk her into doing the slipping and shooting but she didn't feel comfortable pulling it off so I headed off to make the long loop to get around on his ridgeline. I came back around under Amy and then up the opposite ridge just a ways and Amy was keeping him occupied and gobbling. I slipped and sneaked as far as I dared and then Amy called and he was heading back our way. I dropped down and setup realy quick and in just a moment I saw his fan coming over the ridge line. At 30 yards I pulled the trigger on the gobbler that Amy and Abby really killed!
A very special hunt for me and the 2nd gobbler that Amy has called in for me. It was the definition of a tag-teamed gobbler!!! Thank you honey!!! I love you!!!
April 24, 2009
I headed out this morning to one of my favorite places for just a quick hunt/scouting trip and when it got light I was rather disappointed at the lack of gobbling. I could only hear 1 bird way off on another far ridgeline/mountain.
I just pulled up a tree and was enjoying the morning and hoping to maybe be there if something did gobble. I said I was leaving at 7:30 to get to work. I called pretty hard a couple times and the distant turkey gobbled but that's not too unusual. Before long a hen yelps down the hollow below me so I proceeded to chat it up with her for a while and the turkey continues to gobble but eventually fades out of hearing.
I'm concentrating on the hen and basically forget about the gobbler. She starts heading my way and we are just talking back and forth. She finally comes into view about 30 yards away and no boys with her so I'm content to watch and observe and enjoy the show. She feeds around and then right on by me. When she gets out of sight I yelp hard again and the distant turkey gobbles back but it sounds like he's on the next ridgeline and closer.
Basically, over the next 10 minutes I call to check him and he just keeps getting closer and his gobbles are fading in and out as he goes over hill and down hollows. I think to myself there is no way this turkey will make it over here. This goes on for a little while and before long he's on the opposite ridge and coming down the face of it. He gobbles some more and I can't believe this is happening. He gobbled again and is obviously in the hollow below me and the next gobble is really muffled and he's certainly on the face of the hill below me. I turn to check and make sure the hen is gone and when I turn back I catch a glimpse of movement 100 yards away and I think there is no way that is the gobbler. A soft yelp and answer from that spot confirms that it is and then he pops into view on a dead run.
I get the gun situated and then look down the sights... Oh NO... my front sight has been knocked off my gun sometime during the morning! I try to basically remember how high it sat over the vent rib and hope for the best. I would normally milk a hunt like this and see just how close he would get but I wanted some wiggle room with my pattern so at 30 yards I yelped at him to stop him and put a dramatic end to his cross country excursion for the excited hen.
Wow... I don't ever remember calling a bird this far... even out west. When I got in I decided to check my maps and if my original guess on where he was roosted is accurate then by the way a crow flies he came 2,900 feet!! This is in mountainous country so the ups and downs are way over that!!!
What a great morning and a great bird... I'm done and figure I better be working to get Amy on one!!!!!
April 25, 2009
Our good friend Barry, for the past 4 years, has hosted a Wheelin’ Sportsman hunt here in Bedford County. This year there was going to be 12 hunters coming and Amy and I asked Barry if we could attend and help out.
The 3:30 am wake up call Saturday morning was pretty brutal especially after a hard week of hunting but at the end of the day it would all be worth it, and little did I know how easy we had it. After talking to some of the other folks they had done 2:00 am wake ups!
We met at the Bedford Moose Lodge at 4:30 and all the hunters paired up with the guides and Barry took pity on Amy and I and said he would take us. Barry then informed Amy and I that the farm we were originally going to hunt had been poached/hunted all week and that we were going with Plan B. Barry even said the guys that were hunting/poaching the other farm were aware that they were going to host a hunter for this hunt today. Unbelievable that someone can stoop that low. Plan B was to hunt the “Rock and Turkey” farm and then Barry said “I hadn’t planned on hunting in there again so I’m going to make it a little interesting and take my crossbow!” Incredible!
We got to the farm and Barry instructed Amy and I what we needed to do and he headed off up the mountain in “The Machine” with us following. Soon we reached the blind and started setting up. Barry guided us the whole way and got us setup and situated before light and we settled in and started chatting about past hunts, where the turkeys were, what the turkeys usually do, where they roost, etc. As it started getting light Amy and I realized just what a beautiful place this was. We were on a small bench on the mountain that was an open grassy pasture with scattered trees, a lot of which were full bloom dogwoods. It was indeed a special place and the hunt was already a success.
As the light was growing we all listened intently for gobbling but none came at first. We were all surprised as Barry knew there were gobblers in the area. Before long though a gobble rang out from a place Barry said they typically roosted. They gobbled some and then a hen cranked up below them. Barry pulled out his homemade tube call and laid out some sweet hen talk and they answered several times and started heading our way. Before long the gobblers must have met up with the mouthy hen and all went quiet.
Just a bit later Barry heard a gobble a good ways up the mountain and he called to them. Not really answering the calling but getting close as Barry explained to Amy and I where the birds were and what they were probably going to do. As the gobbling got closer Barry said “We should see them in just a minute.” Sure enough, a minute later, Amy spots a hen moving our way through the woods. Then another hen. Then a fan, and another fan, and another fan, and another fan, and then another. 5 strutters!!! As they worked down the mountain our way Barry said he thought they were jakes but one of them had an almost full fan. We had a great encounter as the 5 gobblers marched right down to the decoys and gobbled, strutted and drummed for us within 15 yards. It was a great sight and I was getting beautiful video! That group of birds finally walked off and we sat and talked about the excitement of having them in there that close and getting to see the show and how that was worth the price of admission. Barry made the comment he sure wished that one of the other hunters were there so they could whack one of the jakes. What a great morning!
It wasn’t long after the jakes and 2 hens headed off that we were just looking, waiting, and watching and soaking in the beauty of this place when a black shiny object caught our eye way up in the woods above us. We caught glimpses as they made their way down through the woods and then confirmed what we were hoping for… 2 lonely longbeards! Barry again gave them some sweet calling on the tube call. As the 2 gobblers approached the field Barry was nervous because he had 2 gobblers shy away from his gobbler decoy “The Creature” on opening morning in this same spot. The birds had definitely spotted the decoys and make their way cautiously in our direction and occasionally feeding and looking. When they got directly above the decoy their demeanor changed along with their head coloration and the show was going to get good! Side by side they came and eventually blew into full strut and approached the decoy at 15 yards. Barry had his crossbow on them and was patiently waiting for the right shot. He whispers to me “I’m going to shoot the one on the left.” And I shifted the camera to that bird. Then Barry says “That’s too good a shot to pass up!” and shortly after the arrow disappeared into the gobblers sweet spot!!! The bird immediately took flight and flew right in front of us but you could tell he was in a bad way and was getting lower to the ground and disappeared just over the rise in the field. The other gobbler was still in full strut at the decoy!
I had told Barry earlier in the morning that if he shot one I would give chase but I didn’t want to spook the other gobbler too bad and felt that his bird was down. Barry finally says to me “Go get him!!” I hopped out of the blind and headed towards where we last saw the turkey. As I crested the hill I spotted the form a gobbler lying on the edge of the green field and a fist pump confirmed for Barry that the gobbler was indeed dead! It was a turkey hunting high for me to see that bird and I proudly carried that gobbler back to Barry in the blind and there were smiles, congrats, and some tears all around!
I told Barry when I brought the turkey back that I’ve been in on a lot of turkey hunts and turkey kills but this one right here was one of the best ever for me.
It’s a big cliché but everyone always talks about how these hunts are for the disabled but the people that really get the blessing are the volunteers… and that’s certainly true in this case as well. It was an honor, a privilege, and a blessing for Amy and I to spend the morning with Barry. He is a true inspiration to us and so many other people. Oh… and he’s one heck of a shot and a turkey hunter!!
Barry… Thank you for “guiding” Amy and I on this hunt and allowing us to be a part of it!!
Guys… At the end of the day Barry was still excited, yet disappointed that he was the only one that had killed a bird. In that moment, Barry was still worried about the other hunters! I’ll let Barry tell about the rest of the event and hunters and you guys can ask him about “Squeakers the Mouse”.
April 27, 2009
My brother Robbie shot me a text last night saying he had put 2 birds to bed. For one reason or another we hadn't hunted yet this spring so it was our first morning out.
We slipped in fairly close to where he watched 1 bird go to roost and when he gobbled we thought we were in good shape. Then another bird gobbled even closer and we spotted him in the tree about 70 yards out. Well... as so often happens a hen yelped right with them and they flew down just over the face of the ridge and started courting her. They would answer me occasionally and we could keep tabs on them pretty decent.
It was time for a move and we had some cover and terrain that allowed us to move in a little better. The next setup had them gobbling better but not working much closer. I slipped up to Robbie and we decided for him to make another move to try and steal another 10 yards. He was able to make the sneaky-sneak and get setup behind a log. I kept calling and kept them interested and they finally slipped close enough for a shot. Robbie threaded the needle and made a great shot at about 45 yards as one of the birds acted like he knew something was up.
What a great morning... we were both prety pumped!!!The season started off slow with a lot of henned-up birds but we've been rolling the last several days.
Here's a couple pics...
April 28, 2009
Many of you are aware of what Gary Norman has done for the wild turkey here in VA and his work with other states is also well documented. Gary has worked for the turkey and turkey hunters for a very long time.
I've known Gary for several years and had chatted with him right before the season and invited him down for a hunt. We set a tentative date and marked our calendars. All was good and Gary had the timing about right. After a slower than normal first week it has really picked up and the birds have become more vocal and responsive.
We headed out Tuesday afternoon and with the help of my brother Robbie we put a bird to roost in a pretty good location. This morning we slipped in to about 90-100 yards and setup with me behind Gary about 10 yards. As it started getting light a couple other birds were sounding off in the distance but "our" gobbler was quiet. Finally he throws out about a half gobble and the game is on. He gobbles just a few more times and when I thought the time was right I gave him a couple soft tree yelps which he readily answered. After that first call his gobbling intensity picked up and it was going according to plan. I decided that I wanted to be on the ground before the gobbler so when it was light enough I did a fly down sequence and he answered that as well. Okay... I'm done until he hits the ground.
A few minutes later and I hear him leave the tree. Another yelp gets a gobble and he's fairly close. Some soft purring and scratching in the leaves convince him to come on over and in just a minute he shows himself in full strut down in the woods. He works his way up the ridgeline and heads out into a small, open woods road as Gary tracks him with his gun. When the gobbler stops and pulls his head out just a touch Gary lets it roll and the bird goes down!
Congratulations to Gary on a nice gobbler and thanks to Robbie for helping us roost him last night. It was great to be in a position to give Gary a little reward for the hard work he's done for us!
May 7, 2009
GN and I headed off last weekend to make a western swing and see if we could find a turkey or two. We caught some great breaks with the weather and despite hunting in a lot of boot tracts on public land we managed to get on some birds.
We had some incredible hunts in 2 different states and 2 different types of terrain. Once we figured out somewhat of a pattern in each area we really got on them. One day we had 3 double opportunities and didn't pull off any of them for one reason or another. My shooting being the main one!!
In between turkey hunting we found some goodies...
Here are a couple of the special trophies, including my best spurred bird ever and GN's double bearded gobbler...
We also stopped to examine a road kill prairie chicken up close as I had never seen one. We snapped a pic and put him back on the side of the road...
We saw this nasty guy on the first day. A prairie rattler... yikes...
I also had a very un-nerving encounter with a GIANT bobcat that was stalking a gobbler that I was just about to shoot until he caught on that he was the main course on 2 predators dinner plate. I then realized that "Bob" might come after me since he boogered the gobbler and I stood up and ran him off. Later GN and I found a huge pile of fresh gobbler feathers in the same area.
Here are pictures of the birds we took over the 3 days of hunting. It has to rank up there as the best turkey hunting trip I've ever had... obviously... A BIG thank you to a friend who headed us in the right direction!!! {There are no duplicate pics of turkeys other than the one with the 5 on the fence}
