I have a Tom coming down the trail when an ATV interrupts my hunt and the Tom flies right up over my blind …
For an afternoon hunt , I spot a big Tom way back on a farm I have permission on . I stop at the house to check in > I confirm permission again for this year > they say no problem but I have to park at the barn and hike in .8 km ( approx. ½ mile ) to the back of the property ( freshly planted so no driving ) > Now .8 km ( approx. ½ mile ) doesn’t sound far but when you are packing a blind and gear , it seems a lot longer !
The Tom takes off as I hike to the back , but three Jakes show up within 5 mins of set up … Unfortunately , to ease the load , I had left my Pentax K100D Digital camera back at the truck , so no good pictures .
I have multiple sightings Toms / Jakes / a hen and a raccoon > the hen circles me many times , and finally walks off towards two mature Toms that were strutting in the next field … I watched multiple Toms strut and breed hens till the night is over but all on the next field over which is on another farm .
I pack up , walk back to the truck and drive to the next farm over , to confirm I still have permission there > Farmer says no problem and “ Bonus “ the field has not been worked so I can drive right to the back to set up !
So I drive back and fill the ” Elevated Blind “ with some of my gear for the morning ,. The birds have moved off the field to their roosting area > Next 1.5 hour drive home to get some sleep > It’s gonna be another 3:30am morning start if I want to make it back to that location before next moorings first light ..
My lovely wife made me enough food and beverage to fill my cooler because I was planning on staying the whole day now that I found a decent flock with many mature Tom’s !
April 27th > 5:00 am I arrive and drive right to the ” Elevated Blind “ and load it with food and gear including my good camera !
As on many previous hunts , I get to watch the sunrise look like fire thru the trees !
Wicked wind makes it difficult to hear but on the other hand it carries my light hen calls to the roost area … I hear lots of gobbling on the roost , but nothing comes into the field that I am hunting .
First bird sighting is about 7:00am and wouldn’t you know , they come out way over to where I was set up last night ! …. Whatever , I continue to call off and on ( about every 15 mins ) .
Now I can see nothing in either field > So I take a bathroom break and a sandwich break > My wife packed me some Corn Chips and Salsa so I dug into them > Just when I finished the last one and was licking my fingers clean , I glance North and take that short deep gulp breath that comes when you see a big buck or nice Tom coming !
It’s after 8:00am and I quickly get organized > My food away / camo mask and gloves back on / camera ready / gun ready …
This lone Tom is slow strutting/gobbling hoping the hen that I am pretending to be will come to him ! It seems like hours as he inches closer .
Then , more gobbles and I slowly turn my head to see other birds enter the field …
Well to make a long story short , I spend the next ½ hour juggling camera / call / and gun ( BTW I’m shooting an old broken down Cooey Single Shot 12 gauge that I repaired and painted after it was going to be thrown out when my father in law passed away in February ) …. I’m sure he would have approved !
The Tom is in at 80 yards / the 50 yards when I take the last picture as he turns away from me so I can move to the gun … keep the gun on him.
Eventually he struts in to 28 yards > I tap my lunch bag with my foot ( it has my box call on top of it ) , the call squeaks one cluck and when he stretches his head to gobble , I drop the hammer and the Cooey barks a 2 ¾ Mag Round of # 6 shot . BBD Baby !
He flaps a bit and next thing I know two other Toms run in to put the boots to him ! , I snap a couple pictures of them and then wave/yell to spook them away !
What a fun season ! > Much quicker than previous years ! > We were in the right place at the right time > Weather was awesome ( only one rain morning ) > And lucky for me I finished early it the nice weather because as I type the sky has opened up and it is pouring out !
Of course that will knock out my rural internet connection and sure enough stalls my picture download !
Anyway > Good Luck to all that are chasing turkeys ! … Hunt Safe , Have Fun and take lots of pictures to share your hunt adventures with the other forum members !
