Starting off with a bang!

[aclawrence]

My season has started off with a bang.  Well actually I went out the morning of the 5th to listen for birds for the youth hunt.  I'm really trying to get my son his first turkey and the youth hunt has turned into my favorite hunt of the year every year now.  I found one bird right beside the highway where I parked at the gate.  I had intended to drive about 2 miles through the gate to a spot I've had success before.  Since the gate was closed I parked, got out, and hooted.  I had my bicycle with me so when the bird gobbled I rode back down to the paved road and stopped.  I heard walking in the leaves and the bird gobbled 50 yards away from me.  I made a note of him and quickly got out of there.  I ended up probably doing 6 miles on my bicycle and never heard another bird.  To really rub salt in the wound, when I got back to the car the gate was open lol.  I made a plan for the bird I found and my son and I were back that night sleeping in my camper shell.  I think we had a great plan on that bird but he never gobbled the next morning.  He was in a fairly small area and he must have vanished during the day before because he was nowhere to be found on our hunt.  We put in a hard hunt and never struck up a bird.  We were hanging out at the gate (our second location) eating lunch and playing battleship and a bird started gobbling at 3:00.  We have to quit at 1:00 so we just had to sit and listen to him do his thing.  It's the second time our hunt has been over and we've had a bird fire up during battleship and lunch.  They only give us one day for the youth and we have to quit at 1:00.  I wish we could hunt all day.  I could have probably called in these birds.  Anyway at least he got to hear one.  I told my son on our next hunt were just going to get out of the truck at daylight and start a game of battleship!

My season started on the 8th so I got to the gate at 11:30 the night before and slept in my camper shell.  We had storms and rain forecasted starting around 4 a.m. and I didn't want to drive in that.  I figured I'd be there early and ready whenever the rain let up.  I got out around 6:00 and made a break for it.  I'm using my bike again and pedaled in about 1 mile.  By 6:30 it's starting to rain again so I ride back to the truck.  I stay in the truck until about 8:45 and get out to try it again.  I make the 1 mile bike pedal for the third time now.  This time I ride a little further and turn to the right.  Right when I stop my bike I think I hear something.  I owl hoot and definitely hear a gobble.  My trip is now a success and I am so happy.  I know this is a good situation.  The rain has stopped, and the bird is gobbling on his on at 9:15.  I study the land and decide to make a loop around him and sit up above him.  The bird is down in a little stream bottom.  When I circle I realize that all the pines on the top have been select cut this summer.  I sneak out to the top of the hill above the bird and do some yelping.  He responds but he's not answering all my calls.  I walk around and yelp for 2 or 3 minutes and then sneak back to a tree I had picked out about 40 yards back.  I give him the silent treatment and he gobbles a handful of times but never comes my way.  Eventually I think I hear him gobble to my left so I realize he has moved around the point of the ridge top I was on.  I sit a little longer hoping maybe he's circling me and going to come in but I finally decide that is not his plan.  It's been about 45 minutes since I first sat down. I get up and move down into the bottom he was in and start to follow the direction I'm assuming he went.  The bird gobbles up ahead of me maybe 100-150 yards and my hope is up again.  He has moved from a little small hollow he started in into a big creek bottom.  It's actually the same creek bottom I killed my first public land turkey in and makes this whole hunt pretty special to me.  Anyway I sneak into that bottom and yelp at him.  He answers but still not excitedly.  I sit down against a big white oak tree and wait.  I decide he's probably going to keep working down the bottom and I get up and am about to try to make a big fast loop to get in front of him and see if he'll wonder past me.  I guess I decided to give him one more yelp, this time on my trumpet call, and he gobbled right away.  He hadn't  drifted any further, he was still there maybe 100 yards away.  I start to pour it on him with the trumpet and now he's really answering me a lot.  I spot another white oak tree 20 yards down the hill and move down to it and set up again.  The next time the bird gobbles I can tell he's closer and coming my way.  It's been a few minutes and I know he's got to be getting closer.  I give him one soft yelp on my mouth call and he gobbles right across the creek maybe 70 yards away. He climbs up onto a loggin road that runs parallel with the creek and I finally see him.  He's full strut and drumming.  He walks down the road and gets to a spot where he can see my hillside.  He's looking pretty hard.  He finally commits and walks back down into the woods coming towards me.  He walking into an open lane and I pull the trigger.  The bird goes down and I'm overwhelmed with joy and appreciation for the experience I just had.  There were a few special factors.  One, the location,  I've been back to that creek bottom at least once every year and to finally hear a bird and kill a nice bird like that in that creek bottom was really special.   Two, I was carrying my old 12ga 870 that I killed all my first turkeys with.  I't more of a beater gun and I carried it since it was raining.  I haven't shot a turkey with it in a long time.  Third, also because of the rain I carried my original turkey vest.  It was also there for all my first turkey kills and it was neat to kill another turkey while wearing it.  Fourth, It was the first bird that I really called in with my trumpet.  When I really started yelping and cutting on that trumpet it turned that bird around.  And lastly, I bought a mountain bike last summer and I wanted to use it for turkey hunting. I rode about 4 miles on it on this hunt and without it I'm not sure if I would have had the energy to go back in to the spot again.  This was a perfect yelp him up turkey hunt that had some maneuvering, yelping, gobbling, strutting, drumming and a 40 yard shot.  Thanks for reading. 

[aclawrence]

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[JeffC]

Congrats on a great hunt! Great read along with great pictures, looking forward to pictures and story of your son's hunt!!

[birdman67]

Great story AC! Congrats again

[dzsmith]

Great story. We all love those kinds of hunts. I'm looking to have one this year. Though I did kill one yesterday. It was through desperate effort, verses playing the game .

[aclawrence]

I agree, there's nothing like yelping one up.  It seems like those kinds of hunts have been fewer and farther between for me.  At least on public land the last few years.  I was so excited for this hunt.  I hope you find one who wants to play the game!

[Tclipse01]

Reading these before the Monday WV opener is not good for my mental health Five more days...

Congrats on a great hunt.

[3seasons]

Congrats on a fine bird and a great story.

[Happy]

Congrats!

Good-looking and Platinum level member of the Elitist club

[Tom007]

Fannnnntastic! Nice job!

[randy6471]

Congrats! Great hunt and great story & pics! Thanks for sharing!

[turkey harvester]

Great story. Love it when a plan comes together.

[aclawrence]

I got to go out for my second hunt last week. Someone was at the first gate so I went to plan b. It was super windy but I eventually ended up hearing two birds down in a creek bottom. I was just about to get set up when someone shot across the creek where one of the birds was. I sat for a little while but never heard the other bird again. I had heard someone hooting over that way so I guess they came in from the opposite side. Oh well. I had to miss this whole weekend and it looked like a bunch of birds were killed. I'll try again another morning soon.


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[fmf]

thats great, congrats!