Nate's (Taunto's) not even close to live daily log

[TauntoHawk]

Well this will be more of a recap than a live play by play and since I'm not a good writer I'll use lots of pictures to tell my tales

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[TauntoHawk]

Let's start from the beginning...

When I was 13 I got appendicitis 5 days before turkey season..... Wait that's too far back


Skip this entire post if you want to see dead turkeys or hear about good hunts. You will not find either in my first 3 days of hunting in 2022 sometimes you have to find the pain first to really enjoy how truely special the good days are.

(04/20/22) location: Maryland public
My wife worked a 12hr on the 19th so I wasn't able to leave for the hunting until 10:45pm so I got to MD about 2am and pulled into the gate I wanted to hunt and slept in the back of the truck. My favorite spot didn't pan out I heard 1 bird across a river and he never gobbled on the ground, I found minimal sign and started to wonder if the prior years drastic pressure increase had taken it's toll on the area. When I came out there was a car crammed in so close I could barely get my truck out but I never heard or saw the other hunter while out.

Multiple back up spots all had vehicles and I never got into anything. Weather was a bit odd while the high was 58 a freak snow storm a few days prior still had snow sitting on the tops of the ridges and in the shade.

(04/20/22) evening scout
I went to where I had heard my only gobble that morning to roost a long tall narrow ridge I was also familiar with, got up on top and listened until dark. My first few hoots went unanswered but my "one more for the road" elicited a gobble 400yds out the ridge. I moved close and again pulled a few gobbles and really nailed down where I thought he was roosted.

(04/21/22) again I slept at the gate for my morning hunt, it keeps my mobile without having to waste time driving back and forth to basecamps and I sure don't get beat to my spot.

I was in early and tight to where I thought the bird was, if I have one gift in the turkey woods it's stealth which coincidentally how I got my nickname Taunto from a hunting buddy in high school.

His first gobble shook my chest, there was a tree in-between us to block our view of each other but I could lean out and see him on the limb, 71.6yds. the steepness of the ridge and lack of leaf cover had him skylighted to the morning sky. He was gobbling good and appeared to be alone, I was set up 35yds from the most logical landing zone as the rest of the ridge top was covered in a cluster of giant deadfalls and large patches of multiflora rose.
It was then the dreaded sound you hate to hear on public land, a truck coming down the gravel road, the sound of him pulling in next to yours, the slam of a truck door. The main access path from where we were park runs at the base of the ridge and would be exposed to the gobblers view hence why I circled around and above 45min prior. It wasn't more than a few minutes before I heard a sick crow, tone delf owl, and some type of Peruvian duck call (best guess) coming down the access road. The gobbler folded up the limb strutting, nervously bobbing his head and then pitched off that high ridge and sailed about 950yds across the river to the area I hunted the day prior.

No other birds were heard but about an hour later in what appeared to be the hollow he landed in a bird started gobbling. From experience I know it's about an hour to hike out, drive 30min around to where I can access the other side and hike 1mi back in. I started the process and as luck would have it their vehicle  on the other side was just packing up his vest and leaving for work. I hustled back and around to get to the bottom he was in and just as I slid into position I could hear drumming from around a small point. I just made my first series of soft calls and leaf scratching which didn't return a gobble but the drumming continued until the familiar sound of a box call coming down the open ridge top, within 2 minutes I heard running in the leaves and then wing beats as the bird once again got out of dodge as the unsuspecting hunter continued to punish the woods with the melody of the spring season. I backed out wondering where he could have been parked that I didn't see when I entered the woods to find him parked right behind me and yet again I had been followed into the woods.

I can never really escape work so I pulled the plug a bit early and got to town to work about 7hrs on a laptop in a chic filet.

(04/22/22) day 3 was a Friday and I was determined to get away from people, I drove way inside the biggest area I could find slept at a gate yet again and hiked 1.5mi out a ridge to listen into 2 separate drainage systems. At dawn I caught 2 faint gobbles that I was unable to distinguish location on. By 630 I looked over my shoulder to see 2 guys and approached them. Turns out they had a much much shorter walk having access off private on the other side of me, we wished each other good luck and went separate ways. After relocating to the other bottom my first calls made were met with the frantic squawking of an inexperienced caller. At this point my good nature is worn and I go straight that direction to find 3 teenagers. I asked if they came from the same direction (yes) did you see my truck (yes) did you not think I would be hunting in here (we didn't know where you'd be), don't you think that's a good reason to try a different gate, for safety reasons (oh) if we heard a bird gobble would you not go after it (well of course we would) don't you think the guy that was here first and doesn't know hes sharing a spot with someone would as well potentially getting ourselves in a situation of facing each other (oh) I'm gonna leave now and you can have the spot but for the future you will be more successful and have a more enjoyable time afield even in a worse spot by going where others aren't (confused, ashamed faces) I'm just trying to be helpful I've had shot come my way twice (that holy crap I never thought of that look on their faces). I start back to the truck to find a 4th of their buddies sitting 80yds from my truck with 3 decoys on the main access road. At this point I'm just shaking my head, heck I walked further to take a dump that morning. I barely can get out of the spot with how they parked me in only to drive down the road and find the next 7 yes 7 pull offs empty. I headed home as I had some meetings that afternoon.

I can always take solace in a good view, coffee made outdoors, and a finely crafted turkey call

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[Mountainburd]

I'm not on your team, but that's one of the best write ups I've read on here, with or without a bird.  I can't imagine your frustration when you were under that roosted bird and he sailed across the valley. Western Maryland from what I understand gets a lot of pressure.

[JeffC]

Great write up TH, feel your pain. Live on eastern shore, too many people not many birds on public, I drive to Jersey.

[crow]

Nice pics and write up

[TauntoHawk]

(4/30/22): Location Pennsylvania Opener

I made the trip to our family land up state with my wife and father. It was a crisp 30 degrees to start the day. Daylight began to break, an owl hooted in the distance, tweety birds began to chirp, followed by the song birds but still the target species had yet to announce their presence. It was now around fly down time without a gobble and a murder of crows started an absolute ruckus still no gobbles. We probed around the property for about 1.5hrs to no avail and any scratching sign was clearly several days old. We decided to try our luck on nearby gamelands. Naturally it was opening day and we had quite a late jump on the competition so the first 7 pull off and parking spots I went past were taken but by 815 we found an empty spot and it was one I had actually been in before. It's pretty ugly by the road with an uncleaned clear cut on one side and an old grown up cut on the right that rumor has it was so thick a tick got stuck crawling through. I knew that about 0.5mi walk behind all that there was a nice timbered saddle and creek bottom so we headed in. As soon as we rounded the bend at the back of the cut I let out the first call and to our surprise got an immediate response from the creek bottom. We hustled ahead as I devised the perfect plan to approach and get on his level. We made it about 4 centimeters into the woods before I busted 2 hens that were on the bank and they blew out with such a clatter flying directly over the gobblers location, that pretty much ended that set up. We probed around but obviously he was a no show.

(05/01/22) NY Opener

Since Pa still doesn't have Sunday hunting in the books we planned to hit NY for their opener. I had a piece of public about an hour away that Ive deer hunted some over the past 2 years and I've seen turkeys almost each time out so I figured it was about time to try it in the spring. My wife wanted to go with even though she didn't have NY tags. We hit it early and made a pretty decent walk in before light. It was still pretty dark out when the first gobble rang in the distance, by the time we were closing on it's location three were winding up pretty good. They were unfortunately roosted just across a narrow private field where the public ran right to the edge of the field. We set up off the corner allowing a good birth between myself and the line as I didn't want birds to hang up out in the field if I called too close to the edge. It was a decent sized flock sounding like 3 or so gobblers, multiple Jakes and plenty of hen competition. Like early season birds often do they ate up any little tree talk I floated out until they hit the ground and shut up likely more focused displaying for the ladies. I explained to my wife that when one or more of those birds gets bored or feels ignored he's going to start gobbling again and that's when we will start calling again. We sat and chatted and pretty soon a bird started gobbling sporadically, I started to work him a bit and a Jake broke off came into the woods passing by at 25yds, next a hen began to reply and soon she too had joined us in the woods. once they worked behind us I laid into he gobbler with a bit more urgency and he instantly heated up, soon each gobble was 20yds closer and my pulse quickened with each rattle. The first moment I saw him in the field he wasn't walking but trotting in our direction, that trot turned into a sprint and he was on us in a moment. I was a bit stunned and not completely ready as he hopped a ditch and was at 30yds weaving through the trees in what felt like seconds I clucked twice expecting the bird to halt his advance offering a shot but it seemed to send him into a panic and he began adding zigs and zags. I rushed my process and tried to just get the gun on him in the next opening in the trees and as I touched off he side stepped better than Barry Sanders and I'm pretty sure I shot at absolutely nothing. He took to the wing and pitched over the hill unscathed while I shook my head in disbelief and a smidge of embarrassment for the complete wiff in front of the wife.  As I stood up the situation became more clear as I could now see another hunter out in the field on the private that I had never heard a call come from and my guess is that as the bird broke for my calling he had made an aggressive move on the far side of the field and got caught moving buggering the birds sending him in that frantic run for the safety of the woods.

We hunted around the rest of the morning but never heard another turkey although we heard 2 other shots from other private parcels. I also found a pretty good deadhead.

PS. I promise the next update post will actually feature a picture of a turkey although I will warn it might not be alive

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[TauntoHawk]

I'm not on your team, but that's one of the best write ups I've read on here, with or without a bird.  I can't imagine your frustration when you were under that roosted bird and he sailed across the valley. Western Maryland from what I understand gets a lot of pressure.

Thanks, I will have some hunts that don't end in misery up soon. The level of pressure adds on these hunts a few layers to the strategy and work required, it always serves me well as a tune up for the rest of my season. If I can dig a bird out on one of these I'm not likely to come across harder hunts the rest of the season. I will say the last two seasons the increase in people has risen to the point I will not go back next season. I don't mind tough hunts and competition but I spent miles in the past finding places away from people that are now filling up faster than turkeys can hatch. I will look for a new state that I can hunt before my NorthEast corner gets going in May.

I always struggle with the thought process that people must have when they see another vehicle and think, I'll go in here anyways and play tug a war with a stranger that will surely maximize my enjoyment and success afield today.

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[TauntoHawk]

After those openers family and work commitments kept me out of the woods the next 10 days of the season. I finally was able to line up 7 days to hunt and work remote and my Father was able to line up is schedule and come along. 

Day 1 PA: action all day, worked the same flock into range 3 times and just never got the shot on the strutter I was looking for, the final set up ended in one of the birds spooking a bit so I left them for another day, spent the second half the morning on a quirky bird on a different hill top. Days like this are my favorite, I got the entire chess match, multiple moves, birds went from screaming to seemingly vanishing and back gobbling, strutting, drumming, wing dragging honestly the first set up could have easily ended the morning had I taken the open shot in what was ammo effective range but not "I won the battle, close distance" I just wasn't ready to end the hunt at that moment. The second time I got him closer but a few deer had a different idea and got between us. Third and final move my cover was too thick and I got pointed at the Jake's while the toms flanked and got that something inst right inside 25. They deserved to win and while I replayed every decision I wouldn't have changed anything other than my 3rd set up I would have called and backed up to a more open location.   

Day 2 PA: My dad joined me for round two with the flock of birds but the previous days bump had them roosted a good ways off the property. They moved closer after fly down readily answering calls but not coming directly in going silent an hour after fly down and we moved around a bit continuing to probe with calls. At 730 a lone bird sounded off from our original starting point, no more set ups were necessary a few calls on a box and he was on his way and a different kind of txt book turkey hunt unfolded the flash hunt where first gobble to flop is mere minutes. It was a gorgeous sight watching the tips of his fan appear over a rise as he weaved his way through the open timber. This bird had very white wings and was not either of the toms I had seen the previous day. I tried to locate the odd ball bird from the morning before but I only got 1 gobble and didn't want to step on him if he wasn't in the mood to play.

That night after dinner I stepped out on deck and gave an owl hoot which was immediately answered for the hill i had messed with the quiet bird the last two days. After a few more hoots all of which were answered I had a real good pin on where I thought the bird was roosted. I told my dad if he gobbles like that at night he's going to wake up in the mood to gobble.

Day 3 PA: I had to get up early because while the bird was only 650yds straight line from the house I had to go way out around and dive down and up a ravine to get above him. I thought he was roosted 50yds inside the timber off the corner of two fields and my plan was to get just inside the woods and face him. As i inched closer to the woods line I picked a back up spot at a double tree on a stone wall in case it was too thick to quietly get in the woods. As I got to the edge of the woods I heard the unmistakable sound of drumming overhead less than 30yds, oops too close he was on the edge and not back in the woods. I reversed my path in the shadows and slid down at the base of my back up tree about 50yds from where I thought he was based on the drumming. Within 10min he started gobbling hard and the drumming seemed to fill the air continuously. As it edged closer to fly down time I could hear him moving in the leaves of the tree and although I could not see him I could clearly picture him strutting on the limb. My first few tree calls were met with enthusiastic gobbles followed by deafening drumming, a single bubble cluck was replied with 3 quick gobbles... the trap was set I just need to be ready for him whichever direction he pitches in case he lands close. They always seem to do the unexpected and instead of choosing the field on the left or field on the right he dropped with a thud to the ground in  the timber and immediately resumed drumming. I didn't have to wait but 30 seconds before I saw the shadow of his black body and glow of his white head sliding through the brush to the right, he dipped behind a giant boulder, I ready my gun on the far side in an opening once waiting for him to clear it, I could hear his wings dragging in the leaves but he wasn't emerging out the other side of the rock. I focused harder on the spot but at the time I didn't factor the hard break in the hill there or the brush that he inevitably directed down and around, he had advanced 20yds further than anticipated to the right when I caught sight of him he was in the wide open already standing on the edge of the field at 32yds feverishly looking for the hen. He slid into display one last time before stretching his head up to search the surroundings giving me just the time I needed to get my barrel those last few inches to the right. 

My dad managed to get on the flock of birds also from the last two mornings but to his own admission he got impatient and got busted sending them flying over my head as I was carrying my bird down from the opposing hill.

1. Father with his bird, he hadn't shot one at our place in the state in 5 years
2. My bird with the rock I lost track of him behind
3. Artsy picture I sent my wife
4. My bird displayed on the same stump as I've displayed a single bird every year for the last 5 years
5. Scott Witter wanted a picture of the first bird with a box he sent me this spring
6. The wings on my dad's bird


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[JeffC]

Congrats to you and your dad, great read and great pictures!

[TauntoHawk]

Well I lost the motivation and time for long detailed potentially fictional stories

From Pa my father and I went to an undisclosed state in the northeast and we tagged 4 birds in 3 days and while we waited for our truck alternator to get fixed helped a friend's father tag a bird. Absolutely perfect week

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[GobbleNut]

   Great way to end the season!

[crow]

Nice job, good ending

[Happy]

Nice write-up and congrats on a good year

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