This year with the inability to travel freely and hunt as a NR among other states I thought what better way to extend my turkey season then offer to take out new hunters (practicing social distancing of course). At the moment I am what was suppose to be a short work gig in BC but has turned into a somewhat extended stay because of the border closing I found myself hunting in BC. Got on the local hunt form up here and found a dude wanting to hunt. So I told him to meet me in my hunting area the night before the season and we'd try to drum him up a bird.
Day before the opener we scouted some public land, ran into a black bear that we unfortunately ran out of daylight to put a move on, and resided in making sure the birds on the private patch I had permission to take him hunting on had birds roosted where I thought. A simple drive through the property (the road cuts it in half) we new where all the birds were at. Overly excited we went back to camp and awaited the next morning. Before any light could be made on the horizon we were set up in the field the following morning near the birds. As the morning grew lighter the Toms and Hens were making a ruckus. Soon they began pitching out of their trees and even a few pitched all the way into our decoy spread. The hunt was on. Before long a tom was spit drumming 3 yrds behind us and eventually would walk out and around us to about 15yds away. But buddy didn't shoot.... WhY? Because this big old bird was missing two feathers I assume from fighting and he wanted one of the other 3 toms that had a full fan. Unfortunately none of them came into range and the whole gaggle of birds made there way across the field and well out of range. Thinking what the heck I went for a reap... didnt work and the birds pushed down into the timber.
From scouting I new the lower field was a good place to do sets at so we moved down there and set up shop. On the way we saw some birds and went to make a move to sneak up. This is a field atop a hill so figured we could loop around. At one point I was in range of a tom and about 10 yds of 4 jakes, but my red dot was all fogged and covered in rain because I don't use caps for whatever reason. The birds moved on and we hunkered down. Now I had my dog and wanted to give her a break from the truck so I left buddy set up with a box call and went for a trip to let my dog run a little. When I got back buddy had birds all around him between 100 and 200 yds. I sat back to watch. While watching I saw another set of birds in another field and figured I'd give them a crack. I'm over the other way when I here his gun crack. Now mind you, new hunter, full choke, told him to keep it under 30yds. I walk up and am like where is the bird! He said it flew away! I ask where it was, he shows me... 49yds. I ask where did you aim... he says the head.... I had told him to aim for the waddle. So I chalk it up as a miss and tell him not to worry the birds will be back in an hour. He felt bad he passed on a nice legal bird early, admitted to a little buck fever....and realized the bird was still coming in and that he should have waited. Tough lesson. An hour later on the button a tom and 3 jakes come rolling into our field. But they never broke the 100yd mark. The rest of a day was a dead and I'm sure by this point we've really messed with some birds and thrown them off their game.
So the next morning we get up and set up between the roost and the bottom field with no decoy. Lets just let the birds do their thing. Problem was they weren't going to do their thing as they were flat gone. So we packed up and I took him to my super secret spot. We get there more than a mile from where I even wanted to get we strike up a shock gobble. So we start to persue. As we get close to this bird we strike up another, and another, and another. There are birds everywhere. Problem is they are all on the top and we are on the bottom. I called one down last year but they arent budging at the moment. So we set up where I killed my bird last year and we have toms answering everywhere... but no one was moving. I tell him we need to get past the thicket, plus I was curious what made it so much better than where we were. He elects to stay put and I decide I'm going. About 300-400yds up the hill from us was a tom answering us but just wouldnt come. So I head straight for him. He holds his position until I'm about 200 yds out but then begins to work away. When I get through the thick and to the open space above I see a bird grazing up the hill. I call....gobble but this is a different bird. Gobble there is my bird and he's pushed way off. I move a little higher, call, gobble, the second bird or new bird is closing distance fast. I move a little higher, call, gobble, the bird is coming. I get cover, I get still, I get quite, I wait. I call... gobble the birds is close. I call gobble, the bird is closer. Then here he is as he pops his head above the hill at 20 yds. He's looking for me, closer, closer, he see's me. Putt, Putt, BAM! 10 steps away and he took a dirt nap.
I bring him down the hill and buddy and I go back to the truck to process. I show him all the ways to process a turkey and the whole time a bird is gobbling and gobbling. We get done and buddy is ready to go home. Pump the brakes. After a day and a half you are calling it? Lets go chase that bird at least. He obliges. Knowing the terrain we get above the trees and parrallel with this bird from a long ways out. We get to where he is just on the other side of a hill and about 100 yds away. Yelp yelp.... Gobble...Yelp Yelp....Gobble. I shut up and think he's going to come. We wait.... for about 15min.... yelp yelp..... YELP YELP.... gobble. He's 400 yds now. We start the slow move and never catch up.
I have to say it was fun taking buddy out. I left a lot of details out but for a day and a half he was in my back pocket in prime turkey country. He got to work birds off the roost in the morning. Taught him how to locate birds on the roost at night. Taught him what I could about tendencies. Showed him how to locate birds during the day. He learned how to sit in a good spot and call every 20 min and the results of a missed opportunity. In all he had a very successful trip minus the harvest.... which to recap he passed on a tom, passed on several jakes.... and shot too early on a tom. So it was there but that is how hunting goes. He thanked me and I think I made a new turkey hunter.
