My turkey season has been interrupted by a kitchen addition for most of the spring. I've only got to hunt 3 times. A newly acquired bow and the desire to try things a little different has made it interesting. I've always bow hunted turkeys in a popup blind, this year I wanted to try something I could set up easy and quietly. I chose a camo netting that was picked up at a garage sale a couple years ago.
The evening of the 12th I was out on the porch and saw a hen and a tom in the field across from my house. Glassing them for a while I was able to see them work into a cut in the tree line at the creek and knew where they would roost. Told my wife that I was going out in the morning and see if I could call him in.
4:30 came early, but I managed to get out of bed, get dressed and go for a brisk walk. Entering the creek bottom about 200 yards from where I'd seen them last night I worked my way to a cut in the trees and set up on the edge of the burn made 3 weeks ago. This gave a good open area for my dekes. As pink was showing in the east the owls were hooting, but no gobbles were heard near or far. That's odd as they will usually shock gobble, but nothing this morning. I gave a couple very soft yelps so the turks would know I was there then shut up. Not a sound was heard from the roost tree they were in, just dead quiet. Had they got spooked by something in the night and left? I gave a couple more very soft yelps and then shut up again. Just after good light down the two came, landing in the old corn field about 100 yards away. I picked up my scratch box and purred, then hit 4-5 soft yelps. The tom looked my way and stretched his neck out trying to see the hen that was talking. then he went back to feeding. After several minutes I tried the slate call, same thing very little interest.
This went on for 45 minutes, changing to a diaphragm call to see if he liked it. Same response, so I gave an excited series of cackles then yelped. That's what he wanted! He started walking my way. Came about 20 yards then stopped and looked (think he was opening a can of whoop ass). Then here he came walking right in to the dekes and walked a full circle around the Jake. When he stopped he was looking toward me. OH Hell he has seen me! was my first thought. Then he cocked his head a couple times and up came his foot and he kicked the jake deke right in the face, The deke jake spun and on the pivot and hit the real jake with it's head and the fight was on! This gave me the perfect cover to draw as my shoulders and head were above the camo net. One quick draw and shooting for his hip hoping to break his thigh bones (new this year after reading about it). Then all hell broke loose, flopping all over. He managed to get about 20 yards and fell silent.
