LoessHillsArcher
PMA Member
Had a 10yr old neighbor wanting to do some beaver trapping with me this winter but I just never got around to finding time to set any traps. So last week when I asked if John would be up for doing some turkey hunting instead he thought that sounded great!
His dad dropped him off at 5:30 this morning and we headed right to the blind. On the walk in we had gobblers all over in the timber infront of us. It was tough to tell how many there were but at one point I thought I counted up to 8, it was pretty cool to hear them all going on this nice calm morning. The turkey flew down, two of the toms strutted 200yds away for a few minutes but then went over a hill with their hens.
We had deer around the blind and John was in awe. He had never been that close to deer. He's ready to deer hunt now he said.
At 8am John and I were getting antsy and said enough with this waiting around... let's make a move! So we snuck over the hill to see if those two toms were still around... nothing
So we head back to the truck and just as we started going down the gravel road we almost hit a hen turkey in the middle of the road. I told John the mornings are fun to listen to the birds but honestly the best time to get one is from 9-11. It was about 8:30, the sun was finally up and was warming things up quickly. We knew the birds would start showing themselves soon. We spotted two toms and a hen in one of our fields but as we stopped the truck to watch them they got nervous and went in the timber. It was a good sign to see them out in the field though.
We continued on and just as we were about to pull into the drive way we decided to just finish going around the last little bit of the section. We drove a little ways down the road and jumped a tom, then two jakes, then saw a big tom out strutting along side the road. This got John fired up! He was ready to get one of those big turkeys now! We turned around and headed back for home. We quickly spotted 4 toms in a field and they were moving towards a terrace we thought we could get behind and put a move on them. We got out and were just about to the terrace to cut them off but they beat us there and saw us, busted.
We went back to the truck and headed for home again. A little ways down the road I spotted a strutter and hen a ways out. The bird was in a valley but we had to at least try stalking in on him. So John grabbed the gun and I grabbed the fan and off we went! We snuck to the top of a grassy hill and got a location on the bird. He had moved slightly but we watched him for 5 minutes and him and his hen appeared to be content on their location, so we dropped down behind the hill to go find another angle to sneak in on the tom.
We walk a little further, again sneak to the top of the hill and the birds were still there, but still a long ways away. We drop down again, get into the timber a little ways and begin to work our way to the birds through the cover of the timber. We get into a valley of the timber and are now out of the birds sight. We sneak up to the next hill top, which will have cut the distance between us and the bird in half... we peak over the ridge and see the tom and his hens (he now has 2 hens with him) still sunning themselves in the same spot.
We watch them from behind the security of the fan and wait for them to disappear over the hill top they were calling home. After a few minutes they finally disappear so I grabbed the gun from John and we took off running straight for the birds! Once we got to the base of the grassy hill the birds were camped out on I gave the gun back to John. I took the lead and crawled up the hill with the fan infront of my face. Once we got to the top I peaked over the ridge top and saw the the birds hadn't moved.
John was right on my heels, I waved the fan-on-a-stick and the tom's attitude instantly changed. He was not concerned about strutting for the ladies. He broke strut and was committed! John was laying on his belly and ready to shoot under the fan but with the lay of the land John wouldn't have been able to see the bird until it was about 5yds away! So I asked him if he could rise to his knees and shoot, he did, still looked too low to me. All this time the bird is 50yds away and closing... fast! I said get to one knee and try that, he did, still seemed to low. I then pretty much hug John to keep our silhouetted profile as minimal as possible and tell him we're going to have to stand up, so we do. The bird was now 20yds away and charging! John held it together like a pro and dropped the tom at ~13yds on a dead run! Talk about a shocked look on his face after that hunt! I don't think he had this type of fast paced hunting in mind when he said he wanted to go turkey hunting.
And back home showing his family his first bird. Congrats John! Next time we said we're both going to take guns along and get a double... or just shot the same bird twice he said.
His dad dropped him off at 5:30 this morning and we headed right to the blind. On the walk in we had gobblers all over in the timber infront of us. It was tough to tell how many there were but at one point I thought I counted up to 8, it was pretty cool to hear them all going on this nice calm morning. The turkey flew down, two of the toms strutted 200yds away for a few minutes but then went over a hill with their hens.
We had deer around the blind and John was in awe. He had never been that close to deer. He's ready to deer hunt now he said.
At 8am John and I were getting antsy and said enough with this waiting around... let's make a move! So we snuck over the hill to see if those two toms were still around... nothing
So we head back to the truck and just as we started going down the gravel road we almost hit a hen turkey in the middle of the road. I told John the mornings are fun to listen to the birds but honestly the best time to get one is from 9-11. It was about 8:30, the sun was finally up and was warming things up quickly. We knew the birds would start showing themselves soon. We spotted two toms and a hen in one of our fields but as we stopped the truck to watch them they got nervous and went in the timber. It was a good sign to see them out in the field though.
We continued on and just as we were about to pull into the drive way we decided to just finish going around the last little bit of the section. We drove a little ways down the road and jumped a tom, then two jakes, then saw a big tom out strutting along side the road. This got John fired up! He was ready to get one of those big turkeys now! We turned around and headed back for home. We quickly spotted 4 toms in a field and they were moving towards a terrace we thought we could get behind and put a move on them. We got out and were just about to the terrace to cut them off but they beat us there and saw us, busted.
We went back to the truck and headed for home again. A little ways down the road I spotted a strutter and hen a ways out. The bird was in a valley but we had to at least try stalking in on him. So John grabbed the gun and I grabbed the fan and off we went! We snuck to the top of a grassy hill and got a location on the bird. He had moved slightly but we watched him for 5 minutes and him and his hen appeared to be content on their location, so we dropped down behind the hill to go find another angle to sneak in on the tom.
We walk a little further, again sneak to the top of the hill and the birds were still there, but still a long ways away. We drop down again, get into the timber a little ways and begin to work our way to the birds through the cover of the timber. We get into a valley of the timber and are now out of the birds sight. We sneak up to the next hill top, which will have cut the distance between us and the bird in half... we peak over the ridge and see the tom and his hens (he now has 2 hens with him) still sunning themselves in the same spot.
We watch them from behind the security of the fan and wait for them to disappear over the hill top they were calling home. After a few minutes they finally disappear so I grabbed the gun from John and we took off running straight for the birds! Once we got to the base of the grassy hill the birds were camped out on I gave the gun back to John. I took the lead and crawled up the hill with the fan infront of my face. Once we got to the top I peaked over the ridge top and saw the the birds hadn't moved.
John was right on my heels, I waved the fan-on-a-stick and the tom's attitude instantly changed. He was not concerned about strutting for the ladies. He broke strut and was committed! John was laying on his belly and ready to shoot under the fan but with the lay of the land John wouldn't have been able to see the bird until it was about 5yds away! So I asked him if he could rise to his knees and shoot, he did, still looked too low to me. All this time the bird is 50yds away and closing... fast! I said get to one knee and try that, he did, still seemed to low. I then pretty much hug John to keep our silhouetted profile as minimal as possible and tell him we're going to have to stand up, so we do. The bird was now 20yds away and charging! John held it together like a pro and dropped the tom at ~13yds on a dead run! Talk about a shocked look on his face after that hunt! I don't think he had this type of fast paced hunting in mind when he said he wanted to go turkey hunting.
And back home showing his family his first bird. Congrats John! Next time we said we're both going to take guns along and get a double... or just shot the same bird twice he said.
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