Thanks woodchucker. I guess I better at least tell you about the hunt, and hopefully I can get a couple pictures up at some point today. I'm not very good with this kind of stuff. Anyway....
I decided to start the day in the end of a hedgerow that juts out into an old pasture. There's an old fallen tree there, with a mound of dirt behind it that breaks my outline, and a smaller downed tree about four feet in front of it. Each year before season, I brush the sides and front in a little to help hide me better. On an average year, when we have more birds than we seem to this year, I'll have birds roosting on both sides of me before they fly down and come out into the fields.
As it started to lighten up, a bird cut loose in the woods across the field to my left. When it lightened up enough out in the field, I gave him one loud cackle and shut up. I didn't count them, but he must have gobbled 30 times before he flew down. When I could tell that he was on the ground, I gave him a few yelps, and it was on. a short time later, his muffled gobbles told me that he was in a dip on the other side of the field and headed my way. I called again and he gobbled, closer this time. We had a stand of small thick spruce trees between us at this point, and I could tell he was getting close to them. Gobble, gobble, gobble. It's crazy how many things can happen between this point, and loosing an arrow, but you can't help getting excited. About the time I was expecting him to come around the end of the spruces along an old fence line, and into the part of the field I was in, a hen started yelping non stop to his left, and moving towards him. They got together behind the trees and he shut up. The hen kept answering me, but they started moving along the back side of the trees parallel to, and away from me. Either way, I knew they'd come out into the field, but the way they were headed, would bring them out a couple hundred yards away from me and over a slight rise, instead of the 60 yards, and in sight of my decoy, if they'd come out where he was headed to start with. I couldn't see them when they came out in the field, but the hen and I were still talking back and forth at this point, and then the tom gobbled again. I poured on the calling, and the hen gave it right back, but no more gobbles. I turned a little to face the direction of the birds, and in a few minutes, I could see the gobbler strutting through the branches of the trees in the hedgerow, about a hundred yards off. They'd crossed to my side of the field. A couple minutes later, I could see the hen coming towards me, walking fast. Oh boy! she came to within 20 yards of me, then turned into the hedgerow where I was hiding. I thought she was crossing into the other field, but as soon as she got into the hedgerow with me, she turned and started through the thick stuff right toward me. She came to within less than ten yards, turned, and went around the mound of dirt I mentioned, and walked back into the field and around me. At this point, I could have almost kicked her. I was watching her out of the corner of my eye, praying that she wouldn't spot me, when it dawned on me that I could hear the tom drumming back where she'd just come from. When I turned my eyes back in that direction, there he is, IN THE HEDGEROW, where the hen was just standing. I was expecting him to stay in the field, and come right along the edge to me, but he must have thought she was crossing into the other field too, and was following her. Now I've got what I realise is a nice bird, ten yards in front of me, but no shot, and I can hear the hen directly behind me walking in the dry leaves and purring. If I bat an eyebrow, I'm busted. The tom was putting on quite a show for being in cover as thick as it was, and then turned back out toward the field where I'd have a shot, IF this played out right. Once he'd taken the few steps that brought him into the open again, he walked about 15 yards into the field where he could see my decoy, and the hen that I could still hear behind me, but sounded a little further away. He started to strut again and walked up to my decoy. Meanwhile Im hoping the hen keeps going. The farther away she gets, the less chance of her seeing me draw, and she's behind me, so I can't see her, but she's moving away from me, so I'm hoping when I do, that she's facing away from me. I just want to say at this point, that if I could bottle the way I feel right now, I could probably put every drug dealer in the country out of business lol. After the gobbler had shown off for the "hen" for a few minutes, he turned his head and looked toward the spruces. That's when I drew. I got lucky. He didn't see me, and no alarm put from the hen behind me. I let the arrow fly, and made what looked like a good hit. The gobbler jumped at the hit, and started to hurry across the field, and I reached for the other arrow I always keep next to me just in case, but it wasn't needed. By the time I had it ready, he was down. I gave him some time to make sure it was over, then walked out to look at my bird. Like I said above, he had a 9" beard, and sharp 1" spurs. I haven't weighed a turkey in years, and I won't guess at his weight, but he was a load to carry back to the house.
As exciting as the hunt was, and as happy as I am to have taken that bird, I have mixed emotions over it. Our turkey numbers are down a LOT this year from what they usually are, and I can't help feeling a little guilty over killing one.
Bob
Topic: New York Turkey Hunting Thread.... (Read 1838 times)
