Bird hunting

[Gerald]

Are there any other hunters that chase Turkey in the woods?

If you have never experienced the thrill of being in the springtime woods as the sky starts to lighten up and anticipate hearing the calm day explode with a gobble…… then you have not experienced one of the most challenging things to hunt.

The challenge of killing a Tom turkey….. is like no other type hunting. Many experience hunters often require several seasons hunting turkey before making a kill…. My self included.

The Louisiana turkey season opens on March 24 this year. Youth hunters are given the first opportunity to kill a Tom starting the weekend before the season opens to the general public.

Like other types of hunting….. scouting plays a big part in preparation for the season opening. To me, scouting is just as enjoyable as the hunt.

I scouted this past Saturday and again today on Public land (Wildlife Management land). Saturday, I went to a spot ~ 1.5 miles from where I parked my truck where I kill a Tom last year. I did not hear any gobbling or see any sign of turkeys being in the area.

Today I went to a totally different area. This time I got to the woods 30 minutes before the sky started to lighten up. Saturday, I was a little late and could have missed any very early gobbling.

When the woods started to come alive with “creature” noises, my excitement level rose. Would today be another “bust” like Saturday? The answer came at 6:45 AM, when a Tom gobbled ¼ mile away. From the sound of his “voice”, I knew this was an older bird. I held my position because in other years Toms have roosted in trees much closer to my location. After the Tom made a few more gobbles, another Tom sounded off with his gobble. It sounded like the second bird was 2 or 300 yards north of the first bird, but along the same flooded ditch. This Tom sounded like a younger bird.

By 7 AM no other birds had gobbled, so I moved closer to better determine their location. By 7:05 AM the first Tom had moved ~ 200 yards to the south. The second Tom had only gobbled 3 or 4 times and had been silent for 10 minutes. The second Tom may have moved a little to the north….. I was not sure.

About 7:15 AM I stopped by a big tree. Both Toms were on the ground and had stopped gobbling. IMO…. The main goal of turkey scouting is to locate where the Tom’s are roosting and where they go once on the ground. I held my position because I did not know where the Toms could be going.

Finally ~ 7:35 AM, the first Tom gobbled again. It sounded like he had moved a little farther away. He gobbled 2 more times in the next few minutes. The first Tom had not moved very much after he flew from the roost…….so he must be with hens.

As I stood by the tree, I wondered where had the second Tom gone and would the other Tom continue to head away from me? While trying to decide if I should leave this area and go check other spots….. I heard another gobble, but was not sure what direction it came from. I think it probably was the second Tom.


I waited a while longer without hearing another gobble, so I left this area. I went to a couple more areas, but did not hear any late morning gobbling.
Now I will have to decide what my opening morning plan will be.

Here is one “creature” that I saw and took a picture. On Saturday I found a really good Hog trail going through the woods……. Complete with a bathing spot.

[PBJ]

Great report! Good luck