Here we go boys. Thanks for posting these.
This has not been the best season for me. The birds really didn't cooperate very well. Sort of.
I've known about a small flock of turkeys on a farm for quite a while but have never been able to get them to respond to my calls, come in for a shot, you know how it goes. Tried a lot of blinds and different setups. On this farm, it never worked for me. Until now.
I found 2 hens BEDDED in dense shelterbelt on the afternoon of this past Thursday. They were not in the trees, they were snuggled into the grass, staying out of the wind. I nearly stepped on them and that's how I discovered them. The two took off running through the trees on a cow trail. Hey, at least I knew there were turkeys here.
Next mornings winds were forecast for 30 MPH. For those of you not familiar with S.D., that is pretty much the norm here. Ya get used to it.
Anyway, the alarm went off at 4:00 am and I got up and much to my surprise, there was very little wind. I had pre-determined my approach the night before and knew that if I went too close to the woods, I would risk busting the birds out of there and my hunt would end before it started. Been there. Done dat.
I drove about 1/2 mile away from the woods in the darkness of pre-dawn, with every step thankful that I had not believed the weatherman this date because those guys screw a bunch of stuff up. I set up my Double Bull T-2 blind about 120 yards from the woods where I suspected the birds were roosted and where an fenceline intersected the cow pasture. Upon my arrival I got all set up. It wasn't pretty with no flashlight, but it was quiet and I was confident. I had 2 hen decoys and a jake about 15 yards off the front of my blind. I crept back to the blind and settled in for the best hunting experience of my life. C'mon daylight.
There were no crow calls and no early morning gobbles that most of us are accustomed to and when 6:15 am rolled around, I began to worry. Maybe I am in the wrong spot. Wrong county? Maybe it's too early yet or perhaps all the hens have been bred and the flocks have broken up? Maybe those two hens were a fluke. I waited. And worried. I watched as 6 whitetails walked out of the end of the woodlot and crossed the gravel road into thick bedding area. They were clueless to my presence. I thought to myself "that's a first!!" I waited.
At 6:35 I saw a hen leave the woods and enter the cow pasture. She was alone. I tried to melt my black sweatshirt into the fabric of my blind. The T2 has a huge window in front. If you use a short bow and hunt by yourself, try one. You won't be disappointed. I was still and very nervous. All of a sudden a gobbler runs out into the cow pasture from outa nowhere and starts dancing circles all around the hen. He probably did 5 laps around her, in front of her, behind her. She just stood there. When he was done with his showing off, she tried to walk ahead but he stopped her by getting in front of her again. She jumped up, over him or around him, I couldn't see for sure, but here comes 11 more hens and a large tom bringing up the rear. They spend lots of time walking around putting around. THe toms showing their stuff. STRUT. The hens blowing them off.
I am worried that they are going to leave the field without seeing my decoy setup. I call to them. The wind picks up. What the????!!! THey do their little dance for about 5 minutes. I call again and the lone hen that first came into the field spots the decoys. She runs over to the set up and almost jumps in my blind. Literally she was maybe 10 inches from the fabric. Very cool. Kind of.
The other birds follow suit. Single file all the way to the setup. All the birds mingling amongst the imposters, the sniper sitting quietly in the darkness of my space age shelter. Waiting for the right moment. My grip tightens on the bow.
The toms are going bzerk on the jake decoy. Pecking it. knocked it down then stepped on it and just looked at it. One tom to my right and one to my left. Hens and dead decoys in the middle. THe greatest show on earth!!!!!
THe larger tom got nervous and attempted to push the lone hen further out and away from the rest of the birds. Away from the blind. Away from me. My grip nearly crushed the mesquite riser on my 85# Texas Comanche, my heart pounded and I didn't know whether to cry tears of joy or tears of sorrow, but that moment that we all know so well when something truly magnificent is about to happen came upon me.
When the gobbler was almost too far the right of me and my arrow crowding the fabric of the Double Bull, I took a deep breath and watched as the gobbler made a full circle, as if saluting his foe, accepting that the gig was almost up
Topic: got my gobbler/someone to post pics (Read 1261 times)
