Gobblapalooza 2013

[awbowman]

Man how did I miss this!  I think we have some great stories coming.

[Whip]

Julian and I both wanted to hunt blindless, at least to start with.  Nick suggested that I might like to try Joey's spot.  Who was I to argue?    

The birds on this place are different than any I have ever seen.  They have major roosting spots where they congregate nightly.  I'm talking upwards of 100 or more birds all within an acre or so of roosting trees.  Water is the key ingredient it seems.  After morning fly down the birds disperse to the various points of the compass, and then return to the same place to repeat the process daily.

As I walked across the pasture in the dark I could clearly see black silhouettes filling the tree tops across the road.  The talking and gobbling was already starting as the sky behind them lightened in the east.

It is hard to describe the sounds that come from that many birds all in one place.  The gobbles run together so much it is impossible to distinguish one from another, as if it is just one continuous sound.  

The hens start in with yelps and purrs and kee kee runs.  These girls are not timid with their language.  Rather than the normal sleepy eyed tree calls I am used to, the valleys echo with loud, raucous screams and demands for attention.  Like a bunch of schoolgirls gathered in a crowded room, they were literally shouting on top of each other trying to be heard.

I quickly set up my decoys, donned a Bush In A Bag suit, and tucked myself in tightly beneath Joey's favorite tree.

[SheltonCreeker]

Yes yes I was a quitter. But 1 one bird was plenty for the taxidermist. I'll tell more about that after a bit. I want to start off by saying thanks to all the guys in camp. Joe, Jeff, Julian and Mike. Hunting trips like this are only a portion of hunting. The people you experience it with are what make it extra special. So thank each and everyone of you guys for your making this a trip I won't ever forget.

I also want to add to what Mike said about the Klintworth family. Nick Mary John and Ryan are good down to earth people. I enjoyed my time on there ranch and appreciate the hard work that family does in not only trying to get you a bird but to make your stay comfortable and convienant.

I'm gonna let this roll out a little before I share all that happened in my blind. But as the other guys know my hunting was pretty short lived hahaha... This is gonna be great.

[wapiti792]

Like Whip said...Dave and I had our GPS tell us we are at our destination right when a giant gobbler was strutting on side of the road. I knew then it was most certainly "our" destination.

   

I couldn't contain myself...I owl hooted a couple of times to make 'em gobble just to be sure I wasn't having visual hallucinations. They were strutting everywhere.
   

[SheltonCreeker]

No camera tricks there either. Thats a nightly show on this ranch. The funny thing was Nick said alot of birds had "moved out". I can't imagine more birds but from what he said they have more that come back there during the fall!

[wapiti792]

That first evening we all got situated and shared some stories. Hunting with quality folks is a good thang    

It's like a bad joke: so a railroad conductor, an animal doc, a banker, an IT guy and a healthcare provider all walk in a bar...I mean a lodge.

We didn't starve to death either: I made a turkey and sausage gumbo, Dave made a deer roast and Whip threw down on some type of potato and egg brunch dish...it was awesome! Hey Joe Buck...I know you missed the turkey huntin' but I hear this is what you REALLY missed!
 

I managed to get some protien for my little gumbo dish but had to share it with another critter. More about that story in a bit...
 

[wapiti792]

So, there are several options to hunt here. Julian and Whip hit the brushy draws sans blind, each hunting their own way. I have to hand it to both of them. They hunted hard! I too had brought my ghilli and gave it a try on one morning, but I got busted like a champ by every bird in eyesight of my very green ghilli in the very brown undergrowth of the pines. Lesson learned. I got a new plan for next time!
   
*This here's turkey country that looks like elk country!

I really wanted to film some and was glad I didn't ask Joe to run the camera for me     Methinks I would have gotten stuck running the camera for 'ol Whip! I got some great footage and hope I can extract it from my camera in time for this thread...let's just say money shot    

I'll never forget the sounds of all the birds that first morning. Thundering gobbles again and again and again at first. So much so that the chorus was almost continuous. I turned on my camera in the predawn soon after Nick dropped me off. I just needed to record those sounds! It was awesome!

Next came the call from all the hens. Louder, louder, louder...building up the giant sound before flydown.

[T-Bowhunter]

[joebuck]

So what i am gathering is ......
1.Whip can run the camera and hammer a longbeard at same time?!!  multi tasking
2. Whip aint scared to shoot?
3. Whip has perfected the Yankee Breakfast Skillet Jambalaya
4. all of the above

Mike those pictures hurt!!!!

what was total team shot count?  dont lie, i'll call Nick

[wapiti792]

Hmmm I ain't authorized to disclose team stats...lets just say I had to slip out the blind and get an arra or two myself. I set my all-time record...7 shots total, 2 sits. Plus extras to finish off a bird and one heavy stick when I was outa arras. Ain't bad considering there were 20 shot opportunities and I chose to pass some birds out of cause they beat me down like a rented mule  

[awbowman]

My quiver would be empty if I saw that many birds.      

[SheltonCreeker]

I shot 4 times. First was a clean miss. Second put the bird down. 2 more finishing off what I started. I'm not sure how those work out in the ratios but fun all the same.

[kbetts]

I've been looking for a turkey travel destination.  Between last years thread and this one........that place looks unbelievable.  I mean so many opportunities for harassment from both the turkeys and your huntin buddies.

[SheltonCreeker]

So we arrive at camp just as the GPS says "You have arrived at your destination" there is a gobbler strutting across the pasture to our right. Me and Mike were excited to say the least.  We pull up the drive way and it seems every direction you look there are turkeys.  It was sensory overload.  It wasn't long before Joe Jeff and Julian pulled up. After some quick introductions. We decided to go for a drive down the road and have Joe give us a little tour of the area him and Julian hunted last year.

We didn't make it far from the ranch when we ran into Nick and went back to the house to make a plan for the following morning. With all the turkeys around I had to keep telling myself this isn't going to be easy! We made it back to camp hatched out a plan and had some great stew made by Joe. I had a hard time getting to sleep thinking about the upcoming hunt but it wasn't long and I heard Joe's alarm.... a gobbling turkey. How appropriate.

[wapiti792]

That alarm set the tone every day Dave!!! I knew we were a coffee and a snack away when I heard that bird on Joe's alarm sound off.

My first morning found me in a blind underneath a juniper overlooking the cattle pasture below. As mentioned above the song got louder and louder until flydown. Once the birds hit the ground there wasn't a whole heck of gobbling where I was. I could see a group of birds out to my right, and as I covered as much as I could with my video camera the first group filed past just out of range of my bow but in range of my little Canon camera. The spectacle of that first group was awesome, but nothing to what was coming next...

As I listened to the hens assemble on the ground it dawned on me that I was hunting somewhere special. Dawned on me hell...it hit me like a hook from Joe Frasier! The threads from the last few years did nothing to prepare me for this! Joe Buck...you tried I know you did, but there is nothing that can be written that will be believed. You gotta be there!!!

 

[Whip]

Remember the rule - shots fired after the first arrrow in a bird don't count toward the total      Even with those taken off the slate, it's fair to say that it's a good thing broadhead sharpening skills were up to snuff.

I watched wave after wave of birds pitch out of the trees across the road.  I really started to wonder if they were all going to just head the other way.  It seemed like forever and not one had yet crossed the road in my direction.  But as the sun crested the horizon, the parade began.  First a couple of strutters walked out to the middle of the pasture in front of me, soon to be followed by hen after hen, and more toms trying to horn in on the morning action.


 

The first main group was probably 20-25 birds.  They headed straight up the center of the pasture to the south.  Another large group about the same size followed suit, but all completely ignored my decoys.  With all the turkey talk going on I didn't even try to call.

As the second wave disappeared to my right one big tom and four hens filed into the pasture.  Eventually three of the hens headed on over to the decoys in front of me and checked them out.  The fourth hen did the same a few minutes later, the big boy followed her right on in. Perfect!

She took a couple of pecks at one of the decoys, then went to my left, but still close.  The tom went sideways to the DSD jake and cirlced it with an evil eye.  I put the hen out of my mind and concentrated on the longbeard seven yards away.  It was the chance I had dreamed of for the past year.  

I had no sooner begun my draw when a sharp series of putts broke out from my left.  Both turkeys broke and ran, and in a flash the door slammed on this chance.  As he walked away he let out one more thunderous gobble.  I can't say for sure, but am almost positive if what he said was translatted I wouldn't be able to post it here.

A short time later another tom entered the field by himself.  With no other turkeys in sight, at least from my position, he headed directly my way.  This was looking even better, but as he closed to within 15 yards he suddenly dropped strut and putted his way back out to the center of the pasture.  I don't think I had moved, but the rising sun had me spotlighted like an actor on the stage, and something obviously caught his attention.

The morning show lasted for about 2 1/2 hours, and then every bird seemed to have headed for the hills to lounge away the day.

[wapiti792]

So the first group went through, 10 hens and 1 large Rio in tow. I did not call, I did not decoy. I did what Nick said. Sit there, watch the show and make the most of your chance when it comes. That I did!

Around 0615 another group of hens started toward me. Instead of skirting the blind they made a beeline right to me. When the two Rios figured out they were being left by the girls, they broke containment and hustled out in front. The preceded to strut all the way to the red zone.

I did a little filming through the mesh...enough to realize this was about to get serious in a big dang hurry. I moved my camera over to the open window, repositioned myself to shoot around my camera, then began to settle myself down as the first big Rio popped and hissed like a steam engine winding up an incline...

[Whip]

As the morning wore on I wasn't feeling very well.  A very quesy stomach and headache had me wondering if I was coming down with the flu or something.  An afternoon nap and some Tylenol had me feeling mostly better by the time for the afternoon hunt rolled around, but I thought it might be best to stick fairly close to the ranch and chose to sit in one of the blinds for the evening turkey commute rush hour back to the roost.

No longbeards came close to my blind that afternoon, but that doesn't mean I wasn't well entertained.

 

 

[wapiti792]

So, here's the rub. I managed to get my heart under control, keep filming and began to put tension on the string. The bird walked into my shooting lane through the window and it was apparant he was not going to stop! I have killed walking deer before and even managed to put an arrow in a cow elk that was moving, but shooting a big puffed up gobbler moving right to left was tough!

I remember finding a spot at the base of his wing as he quartered away and dropping the string...the shot looked PERFECT. I even got it on film! As he ran away with both wings up and staggering, I thought to myself "that bird's a goner!" My video camera said 0629.

Funny thing, no sooner than I got my feces coagulated after the shot ANOTHER longbeard filed past. With 2 tags in my pocket I wasnt going to look a gift bird in the beak...

[SheltonCreeker]

It was cold that first morning. I heard talk of temps in the 20's. So I put on just about every layer I had with me and Nick took me to my blind. Even with the amount of birds I was seeing I was still wondering in the back of my mind.... Turkey hunting without a decoy>?????< Don't call>????< How is this suppose to work?  I got in my blind and got settled in. I heard all of the sounds coming from the roost area.  As it has been posted already you almost have to hear it to believe. So day light breaks and I am set up towards the direction I believe the birds to cmoe from. I only have an idea because thats what Nick and the other guys said normally happens.  Its not long after day light I see some hens file in front of my blind. They come in about 40 yards and start to feed. I soon had the thought why would I need a decoy when I have the real thing standing in front of me.

I soon start to hear gobbles behind me. Coming thru the cattle lot. I didn't know which way they may come. I tried peering out the back of the blind but couldn't see due to the brush used to help hide the blind.

It didn't take long for these gobbles to materialize into Gobblers! I saw the birds heading out to the east of my blind. 3 total was what I saw when I snuck a peep out thru a little slit in the blind wall. Words can't describe the beauty of these 3 toms doing there morning ritual with the frost on the ground and the morning rays of light shinning thru their fans in full strutt.

I would sneak a peak every so often and started to notice the hens had started to duck the cattle fence and continue on out into the pasture. Which took them away from my blind.  It wasn't long when all the morning seemed to fade to silence and the lone sounds of Nicks John Deere doing its daily "chores" was all I heard in the distance.