Wow what a difference a year makes!! Last year was wet and rainy and this year (other than first few hours there) was dry. Last year we were there for 9 days and came home with one turkey! This year we were there for 2 1/2 days and came home with 4!!
We left last Friday at 8:00pm. We finally got to where we were staying for the week at 3:15pm Saturday afternoon!! We unloaded the truck and headed out scouting for birds. No sooner had we made a round or two trying to spot or howl up some birds that a sho'nuff thunderstorm blew up!! I'm talking rain, hail, and a tornado!! Luckily the tornado was east of us!! We watched the radar for 20 minutes or so, making sure it wasn't gonna leave us stranded on one of those "black roads"! After we decided we didn't just drive 18hrs straight to sit in the truck, we headed out. We decided to hit a spot that has produced a turkey the afternoon of our arrival for the last three years. As we were walking up a hill across this pasture, I spotted a turkeys head over a little rise in the field. We immediately dropped to our knees and grabbed a fan out of my vest. With Brennan behind me, we crawled to the only brush in the pasture. When we got there Brennan said he see's a "red head"!! After confirming it was a "red head" I ranged it and asked Brennan if he could make the shot. He asked the range and I asked again if he could make the shot!! He said yes, so I gave him the green light!! At the boom, I see three turkeys take to the air a set back down. At this point I'm heartbroken cause I thought he missed!! That feeling quickly leaves as Brennan jumps up and runs to his turkey that fell out of sight over the rise!! There was "lots" of celebrating after that!! It turned out to be a jake but he didn't care one bit. If you remember last year he passed up 4 jakes and went home empty handed!! Not this year!!
After pics and texts went out we went and tried to roost a bird with no luck. We had seen plenty of hens with no gobblers!! The next morning at daylight we still couldn't locate a gobbler. It was then scout mode!! It appears all our old spots had dried up. We burned a tank of gas but finally found an area or two that needed our attention. So basically Sunday was a bust and only produced two already tired hunters!!
Monday morning put us at a disagreement as to where to start. Seeing how I own the truck and have the only set of keys, Bren decided to go with me!! I would love to say all my hard scouting payed off but the story I'm gonna relate is pure freaking luck!!! We got to a spot I had slightly spooked a couple of gobblers the midday before and hit the coyote howler. Brennan said I jumped when the turkeys gobbled!!! I'm talking we had walked into a flock of birds!!!!! We sat at the first tree we could get to!! Unfortunately it was slightly down a hill and put us looking right above ground level, but we were afraid to move cause we could see the birds in the trees around us. We had two birds in front to the right, two dead in front, and one to our left!! I don't even want to guess how many we were hearing in a bottom behind us!! Well, I thought out of all this we might double up!! After daylight and hearing unknown gobbles and the dreaded hens we were just hoping to get one. We had two gobblers to our right at 70yds with I don't know how many hens. We watched one gobbler mate every hen out there. He stood in one spot and as he'ld get done with one hen, another would walk over and squat down in front of him and he'ld mate her!! (BTW Brennan said he never heard one squeal, just saying) Those hens were vocal and talked to me but wouldn't come any closer to Jolene!!! While all this is going on we have a bird in front of us gobbling his head off, but he's over a little rise and we can't see him!! I have a bird to my left spitting and drumming but I can't see him either. I tried the silent mode and the letting them know where we were mode. That didn"t work so I started cutting and yelping as loud and often as I could. I know this is going to sound crazy but it was like even though the gobblers had all roosted near each other they had their own seperate territory and wouldn't cross into each others!! Apparently we had set up in never never land!! Finally the bird to our left started slowly coming in. The whole time he wasn't more than 30 yards, but where we had sat I couldn't see him. He finally strutted into view. I tried to get Brennan to ease his gun around but he insisted that I take him!! So I did!!
Well seeing how many birds we had heard and nowhere to really set up, we decided to set a blind. After setting up and brushing it in, we decided a celebratory breakfast was in order. On the way to breakfast we came across a strutter with two hens in a WIHA field!! Brennan said "Daddy go down and turn around. I'm gonna take my gun, the fan, and this mouth call I've been somewhat practicing with!" After a brief discussion of a plan of attack he bailed out the moving truck!! I drove down a half mile or so and broke out the binocs! What I saw wasn't good. Apparently he or I had spooked the birds cause they were making a beeline for a little rise in the back of the field near the woodline. I guess Brennan had no clue, cause I saw him duckwalking along the edge of the field with the fan in front of him. After 5 minutes and maybe 60 yards I see the hen pop over the rise! I'm thinking this might work. The next scene is the gobbler running over the hill and going into full strut!!! Now I'm praying this works!! I'm moving the glasses from Bren to the turkey and finally I got them both in frame. Now I'm knowing this is gonna work!!! Just about the time I'm thinking kill him, I see the turkey running while in strut!! I see Brennan drop the fan and the gobbler stop and stick out his neck to gobble for the last time!! All I can see is feathers, shot scattering behind the bird, and then the bird flopping!! I had the gas pedal to the floor before I even heard the report of the shotgun!!! My son had just fanned and used a mouth call to kill a Rio gobbler all by himself!! My trip could've ended right there with him tagged out, but it was still early!!
After pics texts and breakfast, it was nap time!! Brennan decided to sit out the afternoon trip. He was gonna clean up a little and wash our clothes. He said we would be leaving the next day cause I was gonna kill a bird that afternoon. The boys a psychic!!!
After roasting in the blind for a few hours I finally hear a turkey at 7:50pm - it flew up to roost!!! Sunset is 8:47pm!! This bird flew up an hour early!! I saw it was a hen and was hoping a gobbler had been with her and was down in the bottom. A few purrs and clucks on the slate call produced a yelp from my left and behind me. As I'm watching this hen out the side window and hoping a gobbler is coming behind her; I hear spitting and drumming. I'm straining to see out the crack of the window when I notice it's getting louder!! Well, the brain finally registers that it's coming from out front!! Sure enough there's a stutter about 15 yards in front of the blind. I guess he was strutting looking for the new hen he heard or the other hen coming from my left. As I grabbed my gun, it hit me that our season was about to end!! It took a few yelps to break him out of strut, but he finally did!!
It was a trip to remember for sure. Heck this has been a season to remember!!! Here's a few other pics. My first birds had both spurs tips broke. My second bird had one great spur and the other tip was broke as well!! We ended up with one jake, 2 two year olds, and I'm calling my last one a three year old. I can't wait until next years trip!! Oh yeah, I know this is gonna sound weird but I have worn the same T-Shirt for every bird killed this year. It's an old blue Duck Head I've had since highschool!!!
This is after our breakfast!!
A few more.
