Quiet Turkey season

[Gerald]

This Turkey season has been a quiet one for me. I scouted 5 times, starting at daylight each time and hunted opening lottery day at Clear Creek and never heard a gobble. I did see turkey several times along the roads and saw a fair amount of signs that turkey were in the areas I checked.

After hunting 12+ hours on opening day, my years of turkey hunting enthusiasm were starting to dwindle. With CC closed for me until Apr. 1, I decided to make a trip to Sherburne. After reading that people hunting there were not hearing much gobbling, I opted to wait until Wednesday [the last day] to go.

The winds were calm but the temperature was cold……~ 35 F that morning. Just as it was getting light, I heard the first faint gobble of my season a good ways off. As I got ready to walk, he gobbled again. This time I got a better idea of his location and he was not that far away. I knew these woods well and knew about where the Tom was and headed that direction. To the north of his location it was fairly open so I opted to set up to his northeast. There was some fairly thick brush between me and the turkey which allowed me to set up unseen about 150 yards away in a nice clearing next to a large oak tree.

By the time I got ready to make my first call, the Tom had gobbled 6 or 8 times. When I made the first yelps, he gobbled back. OK…….he knew where I was so the waiting game started. In the next 10 minutes he gobbled several more times while staying in the same spot. Because I was walking during his first several gobbles I was not sure if he was still in a tree or was on the ground.

I made one more short series of calls and he gobbled back from the same spot. Then several minutes later the gobble came more from the south of me and maybe a little closer. I think he just had flown down from the roost. Another gobble confirmed that he was indeed closer so I turned a little to the left to have the gun ready.
While frozen in position waiting to see what he would do, I heard some noise coming from my right. I very slowly turned to look and saw 3 deer running toward the south, 30 yards away. I think it was 2 does and a yearling. The last deer stopped for a second to look back. I then turned back towards the right and here come a 4 pt. buck chasing the does. This is March 27…..and the buck is in rut!!!!!!!!!!

Back to the gobbling Tom. Where the deer were headed would take them 50 yards [or less] from where the Tom last gobbled. What would the Tom do after the deer ran past him???? I got the answer a couple minutes later when he gobbled again back near where he started gobbling at daylight. By then I figured I needed to remind him that a “love” hen was still calling to him. He gobbled back. This time he had moved to the north some. Another gobble told me that he was still headed north staying 150+ yards away.

I sat waiting, wondering……..could he be with hens? Would he keep moving north? If so, should I make a move to try to get in front of where I thought they might be headed? The next gobble told me what I needed to do. Stay put…….he had come closer.

As I waited……..I was excited as if this was my first ever Tom, when in fact I have kill several in this general area. This is why I love to hunt turkey. The rush, knowing one wrong movement could mean the Tom might win this encounter. Then a couple minutes later, I catch a glimpse of his red head coming through the “Yellow” flowers about 50 yards away. I had already picked out several trees to estimate when he would be in range. I would make a 40 yards shot if he stopped coming in but I really like shooting under 35 yards. I passed on taking the shot at the first opening because he was steadily come closer. He stopped about 30 yards out……but no shot. He stood there for what seemed like 5 minutes [really just 30+ seconds] before he took a couple more steps and stopped again to look for the hen.

There was a small branch from a fallen limb partially blocking his neck but not enough to prevent a good shot……BOOM. Flop, Flop, bird down.

The Tom was a Jake that weighted 14 lbs. and had a 4” beard, killed at 7:30 AM. My Tom was the 9 bird killed at Sherburne this season. Two of the kills were mature birds and 7 were Jakes.

I hope I never get tired of Turkey hunting.