|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
Game:
Eastern Wild Turkey
My good friend, and Heartland Hunter pro-staffer, Matt and I headed north to my property the weekend before the opening day of turkey season. Our plan was to do a little fishing then top it off with some turkey hunting. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative for the fishing part. At 5am Matt and I woke up and began the process of getting gear together…..at 5 in the morning things take much longer than expected. We awoke to clear skies and bright stars…..not a cloud in sight and a very slight wind. The temp was in the low to mid 40's. Our plan was that I was going to hunt our cabin property and Matt was going to hunt a farm we call Bono’s…..it is an 80 acre tract that we lease. I dropped Matt off then made my journey over to our cabin. My plan was to climb in the condo blind and listen then go after the closest gobbler I heard. Well, I didn't even get half way to the condo and the first gobbler sounded off. He was real close so I took out after him. I snuck in the woods as far as I dared then set up the decoy. Unfortunately, once the gobblers went off roost they shut up…..I could never find them. I walked draw after draw looking for turkeys and mushrooms….I didn’t find either. At about 9am I headed back to the truck to strip off some clothes and try another piece of property that is about 1 mile away from the cabin…..a place we call Danny's. This place is mostly cow pasture with one draw of open hardwoods, that we call it the bowl, with cedars to the east and north. We have a 6ft x 6ft blind at the top of this bowl. I got over to Danny's at about 9:30am or so and crawled up in the blind. By this time the wind had picked up to a level that made it hard to hear, and the wind was blowing right in my face. After I got in the blind I pulled out the Tru-Tone slate on slate and went through a series of clucks and yelps…..nothing responded. I waited a few minutes later and did another series…..nothing. I figured that because of the wind the gobblers were held up in the cedars behind and were not going to come out. The wind became fierce and made it nearly impossible to hear anything. A half an hour or so had passed and to my left I saw a deer come out of the cedars. I grabbed the call and went through another series of calls to see if the deer could hear it……it could not but just seconds after I quit I heard a gobble. The wind was in my face and the gobble came from behind me so I knew it had to be relatively close to hear it. This property is relatively close to rail road tracks and shortly after I heard the first gobble a train went by and the bird sounded off at the train. I waited about 5 minutes and hit the call again, he responded. I waited a few more minutes and he sounded off again. After a few times of this I realized that the turkey was not getting any closer. At about 10:30 or so I looked to my left and saw 4 more deer come out of the cedars and get in the bowl. I grabbed the call, clucked a few times and he answered, but was still in the same spot. I put the call down and told myself that he knows where I am at. He will either show up or he will not. I continued to watch the deer as they made their way down to the bottom of the bowl. When they got to the bottom is was about 10:45 or so. I had not heard the bird the whole time. I couldn't take it any longer so I grabbed the call and clucked a few times. He immediately answered…….the gobble was extremely close…..I looked over my right shoulder and there he was full strut at 40yds, at least. I could not tell how long of beard he had…..all I cared about was that he was a legal bird. Now here was the problem….I am right handed and he came out to my right, and my gun was propped up in my blind on the left side. I had to get down below the walls of the blind to get into position…..it was a bit tricky. He had is head behind a tree so I was able to get the gun out the blind, but then he was sideways behind a tree. I made a few soft yelps with the call and he puffed up but did not turn. I waited a few more seconds hoping he would turn but didn't. I clucked a few more times and he turned facing me and it was a clear shot. I wasn't sure if my gun was good out to that yardage but I had nothing to lose. I couldn't wait any longer because he was starting to figure things out. I put the bead on the base of his neck and squeezed the trigger. Down he went, the shot was lethal. This was definitely a hunt I will never forget. I consider this my first turkey but actually it is my second. On my first bird all I had to do was pull the trigger…..my uncle did the rest. This bird I called in myself and I made a quality shot under pressure. I am hooked for life! Turkey Stats: Eastern
Wild Turkey NWTF Score: 66.00 |
 |
 |
