Ok guys after dropping the ball on posting anything about my Ms trip I've decided try this. Just the ramblings about my hunts through the rest of the season.
April 14th
I have a week set aside for this trip and arrive to my hunting area early and its hot. I have 2 ½hrs until sunset. I really need to fix that AC! Not wanting to get into the woods too early for a roost attempt, actually its more of a confidence builder, I drive the road checking things out. Every time I've spent a morning in this roost area in recent years I've always heard at least one gobbler and as many as a dozen. I won't Be trying to pinpoint one just trying to get confirmation that nothing has changed logging or burning wise since last year. The Plan is to slow play the first morning and see how things pan out. Don't need to go running around spooking all the turkeys, a practice that seems to fall short with many of todays hunters. I'm going to try and use it to my advantage. There is only one access point along the boundary of this piece of public and as long as nobody walks in on me, in a day or 2 the run and gun mob should have the turkeys pushed into this area hovering near or across the border on private. Access is tough from the main public unit in the daylight let alone trying it in the dark. They chase the turkeys out of the easy stuff and they end up over in this area.
Stopping at a gate to place I've never ventured into before, I'm contemplating putting my camo on but the breeze feels good standing there in my shorts and tshirt. It's hard to hear but I hang out for a while. Its been about 15 minutes when bam, rolling in over the wind plain as day is a gobble. Got a feeling I'm going to get familiar with this area in the in the near future. I roll on out of there with anticipation building for the mornings hunt.
I pull into the designated plan A spot and throw on my camo. While doing this I'm delighted by another gobble. Its on private but a late afternoon gobble none the less. The area I'll be hunting is on the other side of the road. I get maybe halfway in and decide its far enough. Sometimes the turkeys are spread across these little finger ridges and sometimes they are nestled close to private. I Hang out and wait. Not much going but I don't think I'm close enough to hear them over the breeze. The sign I've been seeing on the way in tells me there are turkeys around. The sunset is I uneventful and I head for the truck replaying past experiences from this area in my head as I go. Anyhow, I have a possible new spot in my back pocket and high hopes for the morning.
April 15th
The alarm rolls me out of bed at 4:30. The forecast for today is hot with a breeze. I remember to "LOAD MY GUN", a practice that seemed to escape me in Mississippi my last time into the woods earlier this season. The nice longbeard at 35yds didn't seem to mind as he slowly faded away after the hammer fell with a resounding CLICK! It's a pretty easy walk and I have plenty of spare time to reach my listening destination. I smile a little as the whippoorwills, who I haven't heard since last season, call me into the woods.
I'm hunting a north, south running ridge that terminates into private land pastures. Halfway to the private the ridge splits to the east. The eastern split has 3 drainages dumping off it that drop down into the border on private before turning back south and dumping into private as well creating a box surrounded by ridges on 3 sides with private running across the bottom. The turkeys like to roost in the drainages and around the perimeter of this box. Generally they're close to private but certain mornings find them spread throughout. This split is my first listening point.
Its getting light now and I hear a distant gobble off to west on private. A few minutes pass in silence so I start to ease my way down the southern split. Down by the private I can faintly hear some crows sounding off. There is a good chance of gobbling down there but I don't want to rush in just yet. Past experience tells me there maybe a be a few turkeys between here and there. I can start to make out faint gobbles mixed in with the crows. Its fairly light out now, any nearby gobblers had a chance to sound off by now so my pace quickens. I reach a second smaller split in the ridge to the east and it appears most of the gobbling is coming from the tip of this second split just above and out into private. I'm a little surprised to see them so close private already as this is the first day the mob gets turned loose. I'm moving pretty good now for an older gentleman, I use the term gentleman loosely, making quick stops to audibly update myself on the situation before scurrying closer.
Closing the distance to about 200yds above the gobbling I slow down and start scanning for a set up all the while taking inventory of the gobbles around me. There's one on the boundary just down to my right. A number of gobbles coming from the tip of the point 150yds in front of me with more gobbles beyond that out on private. Jake yelps are scattered in the mix in front of me. Than I hear it. I heard that gobble before. Last year coming from the same place on the last day of the season. A deep rolling gobble. He's up on the first split just after it turns south and dumps into the valley. I went after him last year on that last day and spooked 2 hens trying too circle around and get above him. One hen let out a warning putt as she left and I never heard him again until now.
I have turkeys in front of me so time to tend to business at hand. After mulling things over I finally decide on a set up. I'm glad no one is there to see me when I'm sneaking around from tree to tree trying find the right one only to return to the original and sit down. Settling in I take notice of my old buddy still sounding off on the first split. Its getting close to flydown if some aren't already on the ground. With all the commotion going on in front of me, I figure its time to throw my hat into the ring. I wait for a break in the action, cluck a few times with a short cackle finish. I get a solid gobble in response. Time to wait a bit.
Feeling confidant most of the turkeys are on the ground I step up again. I wait for a gobble and cut it with some yelps. There's a lot of squawking and gobbling going on. I wait that for good gobble again and respond with some cutts immediately. I think he responded but its hard to tell. I think they're moving away from me down into the pasture. I yelp and cutt and a turkey yelps and cutts back at me. We go back and forth a couple times and gobbles erupted. My hats definitely in the ring but they continue to filter out to join the rest of the gobbles out on private and soon everything goes quiet.
My focus turns back to the first split. Is he still there? Guess were going to find out. Circling the ridge top to get around and above him will take some time so I drop down into the drainages and make way for the bend in the split ridge just above where I heard him last using the 3 drainages I described earlier for concealment.
About half way there I crest the ridge between the second and third drainages and should be directly across from him. I pull up a log for a sip of water, a snack, and a listen. Maybe 5 minutes in to my break 2 gobblers sound off on the edge of private just below where I just left. 10 seconds later my buddy sounds off in the same spot he was earlier with that deep booming gobble! I slide off the back side of the drainage and circle up to the split ridge just past the bend where it turns south about 150yds above him. I'm in prime position but is he still around. I haven't heard anything since the last gobble 45 minutes ago. I settle in for a spell.
Starting out soft my calling seems to have no effect. I'm pondering the situation. Should I move closer?. No, not without knowing where he's at. I'm close enough if he's around he can hear me. I step it up a little with some clucks and a quiet wing stretch cackle. I hear some gobbles off in the distance to my left. Not sure they gobbled at me. When I turn my head back to survey in front of me there's a hen standing at 25yds and she's giving me the once over real good. I keep looking behind her for movement but its thick where she's standing and nothing catches my eye. The hen settles down it seems and slowly moves forward while still giving me the evil eye. Soon she's pecking the ground and disappears behind an 8 inch tree and a sapling. I'm waiting for her to come out but she never does. I'm straining from side to side to get a glimpse of her from around the little clump of trees for about 10 minutes and I see a little puff of dust reflected in the sunlight light telling me she's still there. She must be scratching over there and I cant see or hear her over the breeze.
Time moves on and I give up looking for her. Besides they gobbled a few times back down where I started the morning. Maybe the party is breaking up and I should wander on back and check things out. But first one last effort. I throw out some yelps and some cutts and hang out for about 20 minutes. Nothing happens until I get up to move on. The hen I seen a half hour before jumps out from the little trees she disappeared behind and flew off the ridge top. She was still there the whole time at 25yds and I never knew it. She had to have been laying down but I didn't check for a nest. I just bailed out asap.
Circling back down to where the show started. I can hear a decent amount of gobbling. Its getting late in the morning, 10:30 or so and it's very possible there are some lonesome gobblers hanging out. I'm standing by my initial set up tree from early that morning. I haven't heard a gobble in a while so I pull out the crow call. Bam one hammers 150 just below me on the border and one answers him out in private. Plunk my butt down and give it a shot. No answer from either. Ive played this game before in this place where gobblers roam back and forth across the private gobbling and not paying any attention to calling coming from the public. I set tight and play the silent game hoping the same is happening on their end.
It's getting late now and I'm running out of time and real estate. I move down the ridge a little further to where I'm somewhat in between the 2 gobbling locations but at a 45 degree angle to each. The border sign is in front of me at 40yds, any gobbler that steps in side it is fair game. I've only moved about 100yds so I continue with the calling intensity from my previous location and step it up with a high pitched cackle/whitt. Its a call I use to imitate a startled jenny. Like she's been pecked in the rear by a boss hen or something. I followed it up with some standard whitts and settled in.
It didn't take long and I could hear something moving through the leaves over to my right. It was close but just over the crest of the ridge top. I swing my gun over and rest my arm on top of my spread right knee to gain as much of my weak side as I can without having to free arm the gun. I'm not sure How long this going take. 20yds away and just to the right of my gun the head of a gobbler appears. I'm behind and its going to take something special on my end to catch up. He's eyeing me up. He's not moving but the leave rustling continues, more are coming in from behind him. After starring holes through me for what seemed like an eternity he steps clear and to my relief he's got a stubby beard. No need to try and swing in front of him. The second appears hot on his tail followed by 2 more and all 4 jakes take a leisurely stroll past me within 5yds quietly clucking and purring as they went by. I keep my eye on them best I can while peering out from under the brim of my cap trying my best not to make eye contact. They slip on by and the rest of the short time I have left goes by uneventfully
To be continued.....
