THA4
A Few Steps Ahead Of You
I will start this off with a forewarning: this might get lengthy. In typical Thomas Allen Fashion, there is an in depth story attached to this gobbler. I can say how this opportunity came about was one I never expected, but nonetheless this is testament to the quality people that we hunters are comprised of.
If you will remember back to my Kansas archery trip, we managed to take home three birds all on video. I had my chances but blew two silver-platter opportunities. My buddy, Tommy took two great birds and we managed to capture the entire event on film, which we have since enjoyed time and time again. Well, if check out the final video of that series, titled “Tommy Tags Out”, the following morning we had another hunter move in and set up a blind not 30 yards from ours.
To be completely honest, I was a little irritated and made mention of that in my morning interview. After I got home, I edited up all our footage and began uploading the finished product to my You Tube account. After I finally uploaded the final video of our hunt, which included my reaction to that hunter moving in on me I received a very surprising email.
You could imagine my surprise to find out that the very guy who set up his blind next to ours contacted me. Come to find out, he wasn’t hunting just trying to get a little film put together for an upcoming client. Point of fact, we traded a couple “heated” emails, but at the end, Josh offered his service, (Josh is an outfitter in the area) if I decided to return to Kansas to put any bad blood behind us. Since I am not a grudge holder, I called him up a couple weeks ago and we set this up.
With that part of this story in place, the plot thickens… I really wanted to fill this final Kansas tag with my new Mathews eZ7, especially since I blew two great opportunities the first trip. After getting the bow all set up and shooting quarters at 30 yards, I was confident that getting the job done would be cake if only we could get a gob in front of us.
I know this is a bit of a tangent, but I am chronic about planning ahead. In fact, I write a detailed list and check it two to three times before I pull out of the driveway. There is no worse feeling than getting out to the field and not having what you need. So, I plan to avoid that feeling! I did just that, checked my list twice and hit the road to north central Kansas.
After pulling into the driveway and saying ‘hi’ to Josh and his uncle Scott, I began unpacking my gear. Suddenly my heart started pounding in my throat, as I couldn’t find my turkey vest… Then I remembered. I was about to leave when I realized my binos were still on the dash of my truck. I pulled the car back up next to it, grabbed my vest from the seat next to me with plans to put my Nikons in the vest. I opened the passenger side of my pickup and saw my binos on the opposite side of the truck. I set my vest down in the passenger seat and closed the door (not sure why). I went to the other side, grabbed them, hopped back into the car and left… I’m an idiot…
My vest contained all my locater calls, turk calls, range finders, TP (I go NO WHERE without TP), and of course my primary and back up releases… I was dead in the water.
With no other options, Josh reminded me that my Kansas tag was fillable with any weapon. While I really wanted to shoot one with my bow, he had a shotgun available for me to borrow and it was that or nothing… The thunder stick would have to suffice.
To the Hunt
Late season birds are far from easy; in fact there might not be a more difficult bird to put down. They typically don’t respond well to calling, decoys usually are not as effective, but getting in front of where they want to be is about the best you can do. We hunted hard during the first day, but couldn’t get a bird to work any closer than 100 yards. Finally, for our evening hunt, I secured permission on an adjacent piece of property where we had seen 5 gobblers the night before.
I have been gone from home a lot the past two months between work and turkey hunting and I had decided that the following day, Saturday, May 28th was going to be my final day. I needed to be on the road by noon, but I still had confidence we could find something.
We set the blind up early in a location near a machine shed (with permission) that was next to a formally used cattle feed lot. The turkeys would stop by there in the morning as they made their daily route, and we were going to slam one as they passed through. Well, once again, they had other ideas and didn’t even give this spot a second look. I was kinda frustrated, but I knew they were headed to an area we could perhaps maneuver into position to cut them off. I’m not above bushwhacking one, especially on my last day.
We crested the first hill and saw a couple turkeys retreating over the next small hump and I knew if we hurried, we might get our shot. I shouldered the shotgun, told Josh to keep the camera rolling and that the second I saw a beard I was shooting. Just as I crossed the top of the following hill, a red head poked up and began running off. I shot once and missed, but my follow up shot at a little over 35 yards put him down for good.
We all would rather have come in gobbling and strutting, but occasionally you need to get out and create the results. I am dang proud to bring home this dandy after a great season, in which I have been extremely blessed. I was able to get on the road about 10 AM with a filled tag, a good video, and a few new friends that came out of an unlikely situation. While the hunt is about a dead turk, the experience is about the good nature of good people and the real reason behind why we chase these silly birds every spring. The elusive gob is just a bonus!
Video Coming Soon!!
Bird Stats,
20 lbs.
10-inch beard
1-¼ inch spurs
North Central Kansas was a real treat! Just beautiful scenery and brushy draws and low bottoms that are turk pregnant! One of my favorite places to chase 'em!
If you are ever in the market for a Kansas spring turkey or fall upland and waterfowl hunt, give Josh Young a shout; between him and his uncle Scott, they will do everything possible to make sure you have a great time! www.young-outdoors.com
http://whitetail.outdoorsfirst.com/watch.asp?id=4042
If you will remember back to my Kansas archery trip, we managed to take home three birds all on video. I had my chances but blew two silver-platter opportunities. My buddy, Tommy took two great birds and we managed to capture the entire event on film, which we have since enjoyed time and time again. Well, if check out the final video of that series, titled “Tommy Tags Out”, the following morning we had another hunter move in and set up a blind not 30 yards from ours.
To be completely honest, I was a little irritated and made mention of that in my morning interview. After I got home, I edited up all our footage and began uploading the finished product to my You Tube account. After I finally uploaded the final video of our hunt, which included my reaction to that hunter moving in on me I received a very surprising email.
You could imagine my surprise to find out that the very guy who set up his blind next to ours contacted me. Come to find out, he wasn’t hunting just trying to get a little film put together for an upcoming client. Point of fact, we traded a couple “heated” emails, but at the end, Josh offered his service, (Josh is an outfitter in the area) if I decided to return to Kansas to put any bad blood behind us. Since I am not a grudge holder, I called him up a couple weeks ago and we set this up.
With that part of this story in place, the plot thickens… I really wanted to fill this final Kansas tag with my new Mathews eZ7, especially since I blew two great opportunities the first trip. After getting the bow all set up and shooting quarters at 30 yards, I was confident that getting the job done would be cake if only we could get a gob in front of us.
I know this is a bit of a tangent, but I am chronic about planning ahead. In fact, I write a detailed list and check it two to three times before I pull out of the driveway. There is no worse feeling than getting out to the field and not having what you need. So, I plan to avoid that feeling! I did just that, checked my list twice and hit the road to north central Kansas.
After pulling into the driveway and saying ‘hi’ to Josh and his uncle Scott, I began unpacking my gear. Suddenly my heart started pounding in my throat, as I couldn’t find my turkey vest… Then I remembered. I was about to leave when I realized my binos were still on the dash of my truck. I pulled the car back up next to it, grabbed my vest from the seat next to me with plans to put my Nikons in the vest. I opened the passenger side of my pickup and saw my binos on the opposite side of the truck. I set my vest down in the passenger seat and closed the door (not sure why). I went to the other side, grabbed them, hopped back into the car and left… I’m an idiot…
My vest contained all my locater calls, turk calls, range finders, TP (I go NO WHERE without TP), and of course my primary and back up releases… I was dead in the water.
With no other options, Josh reminded me that my Kansas tag was fillable with any weapon. While I really wanted to shoot one with my bow, he had a shotgun available for me to borrow and it was that or nothing… The thunder stick would have to suffice.
To the Hunt
Late season birds are far from easy; in fact there might not be a more difficult bird to put down. They typically don’t respond well to calling, decoys usually are not as effective, but getting in front of where they want to be is about the best you can do. We hunted hard during the first day, but couldn’t get a bird to work any closer than 100 yards. Finally, for our evening hunt, I secured permission on an adjacent piece of property where we had seen 5 gobblers the night before.
I have been gone from home a lot the past two months between work and turkey hunting and I had decided that the following day, Saturday, May 28th was going to be my final day. I needed to be on the road by noon, but I still had confidence we could find something.
We set the blind up early in a location near a machine shed (with permission) that was next to a formally used cattle feed lot. The turkeys would stop by there in the morning as they made their daily route, and we were going to slam one as they passed through. Well, once again, they had other ideas and didn’t even give this spot a second look. I was kinda frustrated, but I knew they were headed to an area we could perhaps maneuver into position to cut them off. I’m not above bushwhacking one, especially on my last day.
We crested the first hill and saw a couple turkeys retreating over the next small hump and I knew if we hurried, we might get our shot. I shouldered the shotgun, told Josh to keep the camera rolling and that the second I saw a beard I was shooting. Just as I crossed the top of the following hill, a red head poked up and began running off. I shot once and missed, but my follow up shot at a little over 35 yards put him down for good.
We all would rather have come in gobbling and strutting, but occasionally you need to get out and create the results. I am dang proud to bring home this dandy after a great season, in which I have been extremely blessed. I was able to get on the road about 10 AM with a filled tag, a good video, and a few new friends that came out of an unlikely situation. While the hunt is about a dead turk, the experience is about the good nature of good people and the real reason behind why we chase these silly birds every spring. The elusive gob is just a bonus!
Video Coming Soon!!
Bird Stats,
20 lbs.
10-inch beard
1-¼ inch spurs
North Central Kansas was a real treat! Just beautiful scenery and brushy draws and low bottoms that are turk pregnant! One of my favorite places to chase 'em!
If you are ever in the market for a Kansas spring turkey or fall upland and waterfowl hunt, give Josh Young a shout; between him and his uncle Scott, they will do everything possible to make sure you have a great time! www.young-outdoors.com
http://whitetail.outdoorsfirst.com/watch.asp?id=4042
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