Spent Saturday in a Blind

[Beretta686]

I hate woods goat hunting and doing that had to be one of the most stupid things I have done.

Okay, wait, let's be positive about this. I ran to Georgia Saturday morning for the opener and it was hot, muggy, and miserable. We did not hear a bird. i like to cut-n-run and sitting longer than 45 min makes it a deer hunt (woods goat) to me. I like to say if he ain't talkin', I'm walkin'.  I know I have walked past more birds than I have killed. I use to sit in the tree for hours after the woods goats, but when you have killed so many it is not fun. Heck I went from rifle to bow, to hand gun hunting woods goats. I do enjoy that handgun hunting.

So after breakfast at Michelle's I decide to run to the river and check the birds there. Why not, I'm only 35 min from the gate. as I drove in I pulled the cards from the game camera's. When I put the first card in the viewer in the truck I went WOW and looked at my watch.

Here are the pictures I saw









Okay, there was my motivation to go back to the deer style of turkey hunting. I had a blind in the truck so I set it up, parked the truck a 1/2 mile away and got into the blind just before 11am.

I was using for the first time an Ameristep Tom Taker Blind I bought at Costco last year. Actually I bought 2 of them. I have a Double Bull (original, pre-Primos) at the house that I love, I'm just afraid to leave it out for fear of someone will steal it.

Anyway It rained, poured, hailed, wind blew like a hurricane, had hens all around me and heard 4 gobblers gobbling, but saw no gobblers. I sat in that blind until 7pm. What the heck, I lost my mind. When it  finally quit raining I walked back to the truck and called a Friend of mine and said if I ever did that again, just shoot me and put me out of my misery. He laughed so hard he almost wrecked his truck, he said fool, what were you thinking, I have hunted turkeys with you for 25 years and that is not your style of hunting.

The blind is small and hot. The netting works great because I had hens around me for 4 hours from 10ft to 30 yards and they had no clue I was there. Between the hen's and the weather you might say I was pot committed and when They had walked off and it quit raining, it was only another hour and a half until sunset, so I figured why not sit till then.

[870FaceLift]

Nice strutters. I hate sitting too.  More of a runner-and-gunner myself, so I feel your frustration.  Hang in there though, the forecast will get better and you'll bust ol three toes!

[Hognutz]

Nice picture. As the song goes, "Ain't that a kick in the head''. I will sit 'till the cows come home, if I know that there are birds in the area. I guess you just never know. Now it is a given that the birds are there. Good luck with them next time you hunt them. I think it will be your turn to laugh.. Good luck..Mike

[Neill_Prater]

Hunting in Alabama week before last, I spotted a gobbler on a powerline food plot, along with everyone else in the area, as this was close to a main road. Set up a blind midday where I had seen him. He comes out 125 yards away, and spends the whole afternoon there (yes, I tried calling, no response). Next day, I set up where he was the day before, and spent 3 hours watching him feed around in front of where I had my blind the day before.  Next day, he was already out there when I arrived, right where I had been the day before Next day, they burned the area, so he didn't show. Blind hunting is fine, if they show up where you want them, or are callable. If not, man it is frustrating! Neill

[HARDCORE]

Great pics and story and you're right...deer huntin turkeys ain't no fun.

Just curious, why did you park your truck so far away?

HC

[bowhunter84]

 

[Beretta686]

I parked the truck so far away because of the lay out of the property. It is a narrow long piece. It is only 1/4 mile wide and over a mile and a half deep. Probably 125 yards to the south is a 300 acre clear cut. The birds walk the edges and then walk through the scub oak and pines. That is on top where the photos were taken. To the north it drops into a creek bottom. It is kind of like a table top, then it drops down into a swamp bottom. I didn't want to park the truck on top becuase of the travel patterns of the turkeys. They might spook off the truck. I have hunted the property since 1989 and killed a ton of birds on it. There has been 3 killed and 2 misses on there this year. My youth hunter killed, I missed, I killed, my friend missed, and then he killed.

I planted 3 chuffa patches on it and that is the edge of one of the patches.

[WyoHunter]

I enjoy my sits in a tree stand while bowhunting deer but like you I'm a run an' gun turkey hunter. Bunch of nice gobblers! 

[BOFF]

Nice pics and birds. It's kinda hard not to sit in a blind after seeing the pics!!

Can't write that I blame you one bit.



God Bless,
David B.

[RutnNStrutn]

You probably ought not to come to Florida then Jeff. If you can't get on 'em first thing off the roost. You are very often reduced to the style of hunting you hate. I've killed many a bird that way though. Good luck man, you'lre a killer, you'll get 'em!!

[guesswho]

Looks like that hen in the second picture is toting a decent beard.

Where did you say you were going to lpick me up at?