Finally broke the 2yr dry spell on spring turkeys, thursday was the turkey season opener here in Washington, my huntin partner and I got to the farm at just before 9am, the owner was in his barn working on his tractor, said he'd just seen 3 toms down the creek earlier, my partner Jack being the gentleman he is, told me to go work them and I obliged, a man does what a man must do, you know!!
So he went one way and I headed the other with the plan of being back for lunch at 1pm. I walked across the field and over the hill to the timber above the creek, about 300yds of open pasture, about 50yds before I got to the top of the hill and the timber, a gobbler sounded off, then double gobbled and I hadn't even made a call yet!!
He sounded about half way down the other side of the hill, so I hurried over the hill thru the fence and set up at the first good doug fir with a nice flat spot next too it. Dug out my box call and put a mouth call in my cheek.
Made a couple yelps on the mouth call first, no answer, waited 5 minutes and repeated, nothing. Waited another 5 min and tried the box call, nothing again.
So I shut up for a while...about 10 min later another gobble, he sounds closer, then a couple min later another that sounds further away, several min later he's closer again, finally figured he must be on his strut zone and just going back and forth. So the next time he sounded off farther away, I snuck a little closer, and I could see a 5-wire barbed fence ahead that I didn't know was between us. Just then I see a turkey, then another and another, a tom in full strut thru the brush about 70yds away!!
Problem is, if I can see them, they can see me, so I wait until at least he's turned around with his fan blocking his view and slowly kneel down. I can see them, but he's not only too far away, but it's way too thick for a shot even if he was closer.
So I just watch for a bit, and notice little shooting lanes that would present a shot if they happened to get a little closer.....
or if I could get a little closer, so I low crawled right up to the fence and got into position for a shot against another tree. I had a great show for several minutes including a boss hen that came up to within 10-15yds of me checking me out making that popping sound they do when they're nervous, she approached the fence 3 times like that before she left for good.
Meanwhile, the gobbler has moved out of sight, but I could hear him and his buddies, there were at least 3 gobblers, maybe 4 because they'd answer each other. My adrenaline hasn't been flowing this much for a long time, and never for this long! Then I catch movement about 60º to my right, I turn my head ever so slowly to finally focus on a big turkey about 40yds away with his butt towards me, but I can't see its head, then I catch a glimpse of red as I slowly turn my barrel in his direction, fortunately I had set up slightly on the right side of the tree so I had could turn in that direction just enough to get on him, just as I was getting lined up on him another tom walked into view at about 30yds!! And he's looking for that hen he heard earlier...that would be ME!!!
As he walks angling towards my right I can see his beard swinging, then he turns toward me and he's looking right at me, at least it felt like it, but I'm still swinging the shotgun ever so slowly in his direction now as he walks slowly in my direction, as soon as he's in my sights I pull the trigger because I figured he'd notice me any second now..... but it was too late for him, at about 25yds the 1½oz load of Heavyweight 7s from my H&R Topper Deluxe Classic knocks him down like he'd been hit with a sledge hammer, he flapped a few times and kicked a little and that was it, he died the quickest of any turkey I've ever taken. He was stone still by the time I got over the fence to him. He has a 9¼" beard, the biggest I've taken so far, and the typical short ¾" spurs they have here. It was 10:20, notched my turkey tag and headed to the barn.
Jack didn't show up at the barn until 12:30 and he had a story too. He had a bird coming in, it answered first at what he figured was about 300yds away, then again at 100yds, meanwhile, a herd of the owners cows also heard the call and had gathered around him to see what the turkey calls were all about!! Some got so close he feared being trampled if they spooked, that went on for 20 min or so while the turkey continued getting closer, close enough Jack could hear it spittin and drummin, then the cattle spooked and went thundering off thru the brush and he never heard the tom again.
What a day!!
Tim
