Abby takes a break from college to chase a turkey with me...
It’s been a pretty good first week of the season here, but the birds have been tough to find and then get on to make something happen. I walked a lot of miles, and managed to kick up a few gobbles and make something happen, but had really been scouting to try and get Abby on a bird when she was able to make it home. Being a sophomore in college, and being involved in a lot of things at school keeps her busy, so her time to hunt is limited. I had located a pair of gobblers on a farm that I have exclusive hunting rights on, so I kept tabs on them for the majority of the first week, and they were as consistent as they come. Morning and afternoon they frequented a clover bottom with a varying numbers of hens on the daily.
Schedule was cleared and the plan was laid for a quick Friday morning hunt before she had to head back to college. Settled in well before daylight and then not a gobble to be heard in any direction. Patience would be the key here, and so we settled in and waited for them to show… except they never did. A lone hen would come by and feed through the bottom, but that was all the action for that day. Abby headed back to school to host some recruits and do a camp on Saturday. The gobblers would show back up in the clover bottom on Friday afternoon so I guess they just took the morning off that day.
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Checked on the gobblers Saturday and sure enough, they were back in there and Abby was able to make it work to get home for another quick hunt before church on Sunday morning. Not really paying much attention to the forecast for Sunday morning, we were going to start with the same plan as Friday, but before we headed out I checked the radar and rain was imminent. So, we had to make a little adjustment. Neither of us really like hunting from a blind, and would rather just pull up a tree, play some cowboys and Indians, be mobile and let the morning unfold. But, on this day, we decided to setup in a ground level box blind that is used for deer hunting just to avoid the elements.
As the first hints of light started through the clouds, the raindrops started hitting the roof and we were glad to be dry. The gobblers, despite the rain, let us know they were in the neighborhood this morning by gobbling some on the roost and giving us hope. After good flydown light and the gobblers going silent, I threw out some calls without answer, but I’m sure they heard them and clearly that’s why they decided to come. {Sarcasm}. Abby spotted the first gobbler as he made his way into the upper end of the pasture about 150 yards away. She’s been around the block and knows the drill, so I don’t have to really coach her any more. It’s no longer me taking Abby hunting, but us hunting together. As she was readying herself she said, there’s another gobbler! And finally, a small jake joins them as well.
From their entry point into the field, they really couldn’t see the jake and hen decoy 25 yards in front of us, but prior observation led me to believe they would head our direction and sure enough, as the rain picked up, they slowly picked, fed and lightly strutted our way. Their angle of approach was going to take them right by the blind at about 10 yards, so we both just stayed peeled to the back of the blind and squinted our eyes, hoping they would soon spot the decoys. Sure enough, as they crested a small rise to see down into the clover bottom, they spotted the decoys and all attention was diverted to them and allowed us to adjust and be ready to shoot.
My comment to Abby on both hunts was, I’m not worried about a double, so just make sure you get one! She was determined for us to double again, so I let her make the calls on the shot and the countdown. As most of you have probably experienced when they got to the decoy is was pure chaos as the two gobblers flopped, flapped, and flogged all around and would not be still for a comfortable shot. The jake was also running quite a bit of interference and we needed him to move out of the fray. Abby, as cool as a cucumber just kept tracking the birds and knowing she would always stay on the right bird and I would stay on the left no matter which gobbler went where. I would call loudly to try and get them to stop and raise their head, but it was usually just a quick gobbler and back to the chaos. Finally, the jake left and Abby asked if I was ready and I said yes. She starts counting and I had a slight brain-freeze, mostly making sure she would get her shot off first and my shot was a little delayed and I missed. But, they don’t call me “Follow Up Fred” (ok, no one really calls me that) for nothing and after realizing I needed to shuck a new shell in the 870 20 gauge, I made the second shot count. Abby, of course, folded hers up on the initial shot. Well done, kid!
My favorite hunts are the ones where Abby and I can get out together so this was a very special day for me! We had time to make a biscuit run and get to church with plenty of time to spare!
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People are frequently asking about Abby so a quick update on her… she’s still smoking turkeys, she’s in her sophomore year at Ferrum College and a 4.0 student majoring in elementary education with a minor in equine science, she gave up softball and has joined the equestrian team, competing against some schools you are probably familiar with like UVA, VT, JMU, and coming home with blue ribbons (1st place).
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