Week 1 of PA season is in the books. Had birds inside 100 yards each day but they ended up not buying what I was selling. Until Saturday.
I was hunting with Austin, a young man whose parents live across the road. He now lives in NC but is back home staying with his them while working remotely. He's in his mid 20's now but I called in the first bird he killed when he was a junior so it's always cool to hunt with him. And he was leaving Sunday to go back to North Carolina so I wanted to get in a hunt with him before he leaves. Just an all around nice young man. So nice that I hauled my retired butt out of bed on a Saturday to hunt in 25 degree temps. Anyhow I agree to pick him up at 5:00 AM and so we could get in close to a particular roosted bird in the dark. Well I am sitting in his driveway from 5:00-5:10 texting him and got nothing. Figuring he was still asleep, I texted him to let me know when he wakes up and we'll get together somehow since I was only hunting about 5 minutes away.
Well I got set up in time. Bird gobbled about 6 times on the limb, pitched down, gobbled once and walked off. Tried to get on him but never saw or heard him again.
Eventually I get a text from Austin saying he will meet me at my truck at 7:00 and we head for another spot. Had no sooner sat down and got a bird to gobble within 80 yards to our west just below the bench we were set up on. But just like all the other birds I messed with last week, he walked off to the north gobbling every minute or so. Never laid eyes on him. We pull back and try to get in front of him but lost contact with him. While still trying to strike this bird, I hear another bird gobble way off to the north on the opposite ridge from us. Maybe 500 yards but straight across the valley. So just as the bird we were chasing seemed to disappear, this second bird would not shut up. But not only is he on the opposite ridge, there is a creek and paved road in the valley so I didn't put much hope in him. But after about 10 minutes of this it's clear he's interested and he's hot. He's dropped into the valley, crossed the creek, crossed the road and is now coming up my side. But I am between Austin and the bird and doing the calling. Not good for Austin. So I get up, go find Austin, go back to where I was and sat him down. Then I walk away from the Austin and the gobbler working the same glass pot call that got him this far. 3 minutes later i hear Austin's gun go off. The same gun he borrowed when he shot his first youth turkey.
So although I am not regretting putting him on a bird that I probably would have killed, I am wondering whether he shot a toad that I could have posted to help the team. After we go through the high fives, the first thing I do is roll over the bird and see a pair of 1-1/8 inch spurs. But that matched with a 8.5 beard and 17 pounds isn't what we need.
And we did it in a snow flurry. In May in southwest PA. The azaleas and apple trees on my property are blooming. Go figure. And the guy who overslept punched the tag. Go figure.
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