Post by corncob on Apr 18, 2005 23:42:33 GMT -5
Turkey hunting is in full swing here in Iowa. My buddy Dick (87 years young) got his second turkey ever. He's only been hunting them for 3 years. It was the last day of our first season and the weather was perfect.
Shortly after six we heard our first and only gobbler in the timber we were in. That bad boy was a loooong ways away (350 - 400 yards south of us). Ordinarily I'd move closer, but Dick is not to agile so we stayed put. After a few calls and more gobbling from Tom, I could tell he was coming our way. Dick kept telling me that bird was coming from the north. At about 100 yards he gobbled again and Dick still thought he was north of us. Within seconds the bird was within 20 yards of us. We saw each other for about one second before he flew back to the point of origin. We were busted by 6:20 with no hope of any more birds in that particular piece. It was too early to quit, so we pulled up stakes and headed across the road for what I thought could only be a wing and a prayer.
We killed about an hour getting to the next spot. It wasn't far, but Dick needs to take it slow and we coffee'd a bit. I could hear gobbling(Dick could not) as
we moved in. We set up on a fence line at the top of a hill in a pasture. We could see a long ways (Dick likes to be able to see alot). Dick leaned against a fence post next to a scrub cedar tree. I stuck some decoys out about 30 yards. There was a ravine to our left and right and green pasture straight ahead that went all down hill. I set one of those three ring pop-up blinds in front of us and then we just sat there for about 10 minutes. On the hill left of us, the cattle started to spook. Sure enough, there was a fanned out bird. He did not respond to us and ended up going away. I made a few more calls with a couple of different calls. We got some response way north of us. It was more than one bird. Eventually, I saw three toms moving up the hill toward the spot we saw the first one (Dick did not see them). Soon after I whispered to Dick that they were behind a tree and that they were headed for our decoys. Dick saw them just as they cleared the tree and were lost to our sight in the bottom of the ravine. "Dick - get the gun up and point it toward the decoys. Don't worry about hitting the decoys, but do miss that cow that is about 75 yards out" All three of those Toms came right to the decoys. I had my hand up to block the ejected case from hitting me in the face when Dick shot. One of the Toms separated from the other two and I knew it was coming - BANG. All three birds went up about 10 feet and landed about 15 yards in different directions from where they started. I didn't think Dick could have missed, but stood up so as to see down in the ravine. That bird was looking pretty healthy, so I reached down, took the gun from Dick and put ol'Tom down for a dirt nap - 21 pounds, 10.5 " beard and 1" spurs.
We went from riches to rags and back to riches in 2 hours and 15 minutes. We saw 5 toms and not one hen. Without a doubt, that was the best turkey hunting day I've ever experienced.
Third season starts Wednesday - and I hope to go get that bird that busted us. I hope your hunting is going well.
Best regards from the cob pile- Corncob
Shortly after six we heard our first and only gobbler in the timber we were in. That bad boy was a loooong ways away (350 - 400 yards south of us). Ordinarily I'd move closer, but Dick is not to agile so we stayed put. After a few calls and more gobbling from Tom, I could tell he was coming our way. Dick kept telling me that bird was coming from the north. At about 100 yards he gobbled again and Dick still thought he was north of us. Within seconds the bird was within 20 yards of us. We saw each other for about one second before he flew back to the point of origin. We were busted by 6:20 with no hope of any more birds in that particular piece. It was too early to quit, so we pulled up stakes and headed across the road for what I thought could only be a wing and a prayer.
We killed about an hour getting to the next spot. It wasn't far, but Dick needs to take it slow and we coffee'd a bit. I could hear gobbling(Dick could not) as
we moved in. We set up on a fence line at the top of a hill in a pasture. We could see a long ways (Dick likes to be able to see alot). Dick leaned against a fence post next to a scrub cedar tree. I stuck some decoys out about 30 yards. There was a ravine to our left and right and green pasture straight ahead that went all down hill. I set one of those three ring pop-up blinds in front of us and then we just sat there for about 10 minutes. On the hill left of us, the cattle started to spook. Sure enough, there was a fanned out bird. He did not respond to us and ended up going away. I made a few more calls with a couple of different calls. We got some response way north of us. It was more than one bird. Eventually, I saw three toms moving up the hill toward the spot we saw the first one (Dick did not see them). Soon after I whispered to Dick that they were behind a tree and that they were headed for our decoys. Dick saw them just as they cleared the tree and were lost to our sight in the bottom of the ravine. "Dick - get the gun up and point it toward the decoys. Don't worry about hitting the decoys, but do miss that cow that is about 75 yards out" All three of those Toms came right to the decoys. I had my hand up to block the ejected case from hitting me in the face when Dick shot. One of the Toms separated from the other two and I knew it was coming - BANG. All three birds went up about 10 feet and landed about 15 yards in different directions from where they started. I didn't think Dick could have missed, but stood up so as to see down in the ravine. That bird was looking pretty healthy, so I reached down, took the gun from Dick and put ol'Tom down for a dirt nap - 21 pounds, 10.5 " beard and 1" spurs.
We went from riches to rags and back to riches in 2 hours and 15 minutes. We saw 5 toms and not one hen. Without a doubt, that was the best turkey hunting day I've ever experienced.
Third season starts Wednesday - and I hope to go get that bird that busted us. I hope your hunting is going well.
Best regards from the cob pile- Corncob
