05-05-13
Fiddleheads and Wild Turkeys
Today I had the pleasure of listening to the world wake up with our youngest son Shawn. We got to the blind at approx 0415. The turkeys started to gobble at 0430. Unfortunately the ones that gobbled the most were across the main road. The fog rolled in heavy after daylight. At 0630 we called it.
After a quick trip home to change into run and gun clothes we were back in woods. Our second location was some conservation land a couple towns north of our home I'd seen an fair amount of turkey sign while hunting deer there last fall.
Our turkey travels brought us to the flood plains of a local river. While deer hunting there last fall I noticed a flat along the river with ostrich ferns. We went for a look see and were not disappointed. A black fly net served as our bag to hold our fresh cut fiddleheads.
We continued our travels up the rivers edge. New and old turkeys scratchings were not hard to identify. We spooked a couple single hens on our walk. While strolling and calling up the river in tinder dry woods we were surprised by a booming gobble. After a quick set up he never answered another call.
11AM found us along a beautiful green field. I knew we needed to get to the opposite end of the field for the best calling location and vantage point. As we stepped from the woods into the field I told Shawn this move could be suicide.
Half way across the field as we crested a little rise there, 100 yards in front of us, was a displaying tom. He didn't seem bothered by our presence. As soon as his tail fan hid his head we ducked down and moved to the field edge.
I read an article by Mark Kyser in an recent outdoor publication about plains gobblers and how they closed the distance to toms by holding the decoy in front of them. It was pretty comical when I crawled back into the field holding the hen decoy high and planted her on a small knoll. Peeking up from my knees I could see the tip of his tail fan above the lush green grass. I crawled back to Shawn and we hunkered down.
For the next half an hour we watched as the displaying turkey slowly made his way to the decoy. Little did we know until they closed the distance that this was a gaggle of jakes accompanied by one hen. In what seemed like an eternity they slowly approached our position.
Shawn was a trooper holding that Encore across his knee. Finally I watched him settle into the scope and heard the report of the 12 gauge. I saw his turkey go down. In my haste to put foot to head at least five more turkeys took flight.
A 15 pound jake. Shawn's first wild turkey.
Last fall Shawn shot a buck on his first hunt with me in eleven years. Today was the first time he has ever hunted wild turkeys.
I want one of those rabbits feet.
