We didn't even go out this morning. It was a downpour when I got up at 3:30 so I went back to bed. It pretty much rained decent all morning. I wanted to get out for the last day but honestly, this season was so frustrating and I was so completely worn out from all the early mornings that it felt really good to just sleep in before the work week started again.
This was the toughest year that I can remember. I have been turkey hunting since I was 12. I'm now 28. This is only the second year that I have not tagged a bird in the spring since I started turkey hunting. My dad and I did have a couple close calls but we only got one tom that was borderline within range. I was guessing him to be right at 40 but I don't know for sure. He was behind some brush and I wasn't going to take a marginal shot.
As soon as they hit the ground, you may have gotten a handful off gobbles after that, but by 6:30 or 7, they wouldn't make a sound. We thought we had them figured out a few times and got to where they liked to exit from one field to another. We sat silent for most of the mornings this spring since they were so unresponsive, but once we got where we thought they were going, they would choose a different path for a few days. It just seemed like we were one step behind them every day. One morning, my dad and I sat about 150 yards apart on the same edge of one of the fields, and wouldn't you know that they passed directly in between the 2 of us, offering neither of us a shot. They had no interest in decoys of any kind since they had so many hens throughout the month.
I saw a saying once that said "It takes 3 days to pattern a turkey, but turkey change their patterns every 2 days." That was pretty much the story of our season. We resorted to hunting them like deer and mostly left the calls in our vest and tried to get on their travel routes.
I'm sad that it's over because it was fun chasing them, even though it got so frustrating. I did have some cool experiences with other animals and had some hens get real close. There is nothing like sitting against a tree in the calm of the morning and hearing a gobble thunder out in the darkness. All of that makes it worth the early mornings and the time spent. It will be nice to recharge for a few days but I'm going to want to get back at it by this weekend. I sure wish next years season started this coming Saturday.