The Freedom of the Hills

[Bagg-it Tag-it]

I started hunting a piece of public ground a couple of years ago and have increasingly gotten to know it better. It is cut up and has lots of private inholdings and dozens of parking pull offs so it is hard to get to know it all. One inaccessible section has no EZ vehicle access and looks like only water access via boat...but after searching really hard I figured out a way to get up on top of a ridge system from my truck.

I explored the ground last fall in deer season and it has classic rolling ridge tops at the top with lots of turkey foot ravines and draws that fall off the top. There is a swamp at the bottom on one side....private ground on two sides of this section and a good size river off one side of the ridge top. It's covered in mature hardwoods.

Private ground has better hunting in my area but I only have a couple of spots I have permission on and so I've embraced exploring public land. The hunting isn't as good but it makes bagging a wily tom all the sweeter.

From the parking spot it takes a good 45 minutes of hiking up the mountain to get to that primo flat top ridge system. The weather finally cooperated yesterday and I got there two hours early and headed up the hill. It was cold with a stiff breeze and I stood and leaned against a tree at the top and waited in anticipation for the first gobbles and sunrise. They never came. I sat until 7:15 in case they started gobbling late because of the cold. They never did. The leaves were wet from two prior days of rain and so I crept around the several hundred acre top and at all the draws and ravines I would cast my call down into the hollows perfectly directing my calls for any turkeys in that specific draw. I didn't want to call loudly and inadvertantly call something up I didn't mean too. This took several hours of creeping and calling. I heard and saw no turkeys at all. I saw a bunch of old scratching up there but no birds.

It's easy to get discouraged and second guess your every decision when you are in such a dry spell. Knowing that the day was getting away from me....I thought of a couple of other good areas I should drive too and the truck was nearly a mile away. In half-hearted desperation I called into another holler. Nothing just like every other calling sequence. I stood around for a few minutes thinking of my next move. I thought of the several other places I could go try to strike up a bird. Yes. I needed to leave and go try something else. I turned 180 degrees and lifted my foot to stomp off towards the truck when there was a thunderous gobble in front of me. Oh man! I through myself down at the base of the nearest tree and got my gun on my knee. I was sitting in shade and everything in the direction of the gobble was bathed in late morning sunlight. I could feel drumming in my body almost as much as hearing it. I strained to see movement or anything. Suddenly my eye caught movement at the top of a rolling ridge 80 or 90 yards out. He stepped up top and periscoped his head straight up and it shown with red fire catching the full effect of the sun. My heart was beating out of my chest as he put his head down and marched down the slight rise. When he went behind a tree at 75 yards and I shifted my gun and got ready. Oh no, he was moving off to the left and about to do downhill and away from me. I reached down with my opposite hand from him and raked the leaves. He did an about face and turned into my direction and kept coming. In moments he was mine. He didn't even flop. I sat there shaking and in wonderment in how my morning had went from total desperation to glorious heights in less than 90 seconds.

I went and sat by my prize and just stared at him dumbfounded. The warm sunshine felt amazing after the cold morning. Nothing can beat the freedom of tromping around on big property and taking a bird that lives day to day with every predator known to Man after him. It was deeply satisfying.

[tal]

 Total desperation to glorious heights in 90 seconds. I've seen that in reverse in less than half a second.
Congrats on a fine bird well earned.

[Bagg-it Tag-it]

Total desperation to glorious heights in 90 seconds. I've seen that in reverse in less than half a second.
Congrats on a fine bird well earned.

haha. Me too that is why it was ALL the sweeter.

[joey46]

Nice story.  Congrats!

[WV Flopper]

Good job sticking it out.

[Chief Razor]

Way to go, congrats!

[Bridger]

Congrats on a nice bird. And you tell a great story.

[Kylongspur88]

Way to go! Sounds like similar terrain that I hunt. Hill gobblers can be tough

[Brian Fahs]

Nice read.
Congrats

[JeffC]

Congrats on a fine Tom. Great write up. Thanks for sharing.

[Mountainburd]

Fantastic story. Well done.

[mountainhunter1]

He's a dandy and I love those hardwoods in the background.

[ddturkeyhunter]

Congrats, whats turkey hunting is all about.

[Yoteduster]

Congrats on a well earned gobbler

[tomstopper]

Awesome. Congratulations

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