A morning swimming with gobblers!
10-14-2005, 12:09 PM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Cortland NY USA
Posts: 129
A morning swimming with gobblers!
A morning swimming with gobblers!
What an unbelievable morning hunting turkeys in the fall. What is more amazing is that I could have used camo scuba gear instead of gortex for the hunt!
I made a trip back up to Watertown, NY (name of the town just happens to fit here!) to hunt with my good friend Ralph Lowry, as I have in many past fall & spring seasons. Ralph had a spot with a large mixed flock, and a flock of gobblers that were sharing a common roost area. The place had been left alone for a week, and the odds were good, we could get on to the flock early morning. Ralph was tagged out, and I had taken a jenny the week before. I had one tag left, and chances were good on getting onto a longbeard.
The forecast called for wet weather, but we got plenty more than what was expected as we arrived 45 minutes before sunrise. It was raining with little letup, as we made the walk to the roost area. We set up along a logging road that we figured was 80 to 100 yards from the roost trees. As we waited in the dark, the rain began to intensify, and we were both getting wet, despite having gortex rain gear. Good news was it was a bit warmer, around 52 degrees, and it would have been insufferable, had it been 10 degrees colder which is common in October. Those 45 minutes seemed like hours as the woods remained a dull gray even as daylight emerged. As I sat there, I thought we might not even be able to hear the birds talk if they did at all, or hear any fly downs. Ralph confirmed thinking the same thing later on. We would be surprised soon enough.
Just as the woods became noticeably lighter, we had turkeys clucking and kee-keeing no more than 30 yards from us. In short order we had birds roosted on three sides of our location. Ralph and I answered back using mouth calls with kee-kees, clucking and yelping. The woods exploded with turkey talk. We even had birds gobbling with long blown out gobbles to garbled jake gobbles.
Just minutes after 7AM two hens flew down and landed 40-50 yards from us, followed by adult gobblers landing out in front past the logging road. Mamma hen was cranking out yelps non stop, and we had birds all around us, and talking up a storm. All the while, the rain never let up. Ralph and I spotted two gobblers coming up the logging road while the others were heading to the brood hen. The larger of the two gobblers was lit up like a light bulb. His brilliant white head made it easy to keep track of in the gray overcast woods. While the two gobblers were in range, I held off on the shot as I had only one tag left, and Ralph was tagged out. There was a possibility that I might have to let them walk, unless the separated. Luck would have it, they did. I did have one remaining problem. It was raining so hard that my holosight was blurry. once the two separated I had sight picture of a dark, blob, with a smaller white blob above it. Since I shoot with both eyes open (even with traditional optics), I could clear fore & background, and get a green light, all systems go. I centered just below the gobblers white head, and dropped the gobbler at 25 yards.
All the other birds ran off, and as we went to retrieve the downed gobbler, the other gobbler that was with him, started clucking. We sat back down, and within ten minutes called him into range. We could have easily filled another tag if we had one. The gobbler also came back in yelping as if it were a mamma hen, then mixed it up with more familiar gobbler yelps, and clucks, even gobbled a few times for us.
Ralph and I were both soaked, and the rain let up, just about the time we made it to the restraunt for breakfast. the gobbler weighed in at 17lbs, and sported a 7-1/' beard with 1/2" spurs, a solid 1-1/2 old gobbler. This hunt was as exciting as any spring hunt I have ever been on. There was so much going on, that the excessive rain became unnoticeable as the hunt unfolded. It always a treat to tag a gobbler in the fall, and this is one of many successful trips hunting up in the north country with Ralph.
What an unbelievable morning hunting turkeys in the fall. What is more amazing is that I could have used camo scuba gear instead of gortex for the hunt!
I made a trip back up to Watertown, NY (name of the town just happens to fit here!) to hunt with my good friend Ralph Lowry, as I have in many past fall & spring seasons. Ralph had a spot with a large mixed flock, and a flock of gobblers that were sharing a common roost area. The place had been left alone for a week, and the odds were good, we could get on to the flock early morning. Ralph was tagged out, and I had taken a jenny the week before. I had one tag left, and chances were good on getting onto a longbeard.
The forecast called for wet weather, but we got plenty more than what was expected as we arrived 45 minutes before sunrise. It was raining with little letup, as we made the walk to the roost area. We set up along a logging road that we figured was 80 to 100 yards from the roost trees. As we waited in the dark, the rain began to intensify, and we were both getting wet, despite having gortex rain gear. Good news was it was a bit warmer, around 52 degrees, and it would have been insufferable, had it been 10 degrees colder which is common in October. Those 45 minutes seemed like hours as the woods remained a dull gray even as daylight emerged. As I sat there, I thought we might not even be able to hear the birds talk if they did at all, or hear any fly downs. Ralph confirmed thinking the same thing later on. We would be surprised soon enough.
Just as the woods became noticeably lighter, we had turkeys clucking and kee-keeing no more than 30 yards from us. In short order we had birds roosted on three sides of our location. Ralph and I answered back using mouth calls with kee-kees, clucking and yelping. The woods exploded with turkey talk. We even had birds gobbling with long blown out gobbles to garbled jake gobbles.
Just minutes after 7AM two hens flew down and landed 40-50 yards from us, followed by adult gobblers landing out in front past the logging road. Mamma hen was cranking out yelps non stop, and we had birds all around us, and talking up a storm. All the while, the rain never let up. Ralph and I spotted two gobblers coming up the logging road while the others were heading to the brood hen. The larger of the two gobblers was lit up like a light bulb. His brilliant white head made it easy to keep track of in the gray overcast woods. While the two gobblers were in range, I held off on the shot as I had only one tag left, and Ralph was tagged out. There was a possibility that I might have to let them walk, unless the separated. Luck would have it, they did. I did have one remaining problem. It was raining so hard that my holosight was blurry. once the two separated I had sight picture of a dark, blob, with a smaller white blob above it. Since I shoot with both eyes open (even with traditional optics), I could clear fore & background, and get a green light, all systems go. I centered just below the gobblers white head, and dropped the gobbler at 25 yards.
All the other birds ran off, and as we went to retrieve the downed gobbler, the other gobbler that was with him, started clucking. We sat back down, and within ten minutes called him into range. We could have easily filled another tag if we had one. The gobbler also came back in yelping as if it were a mamma hen, then mixed it up with more familiar gobbler yelps, and clucks, even gobbled a few times for us.
Ralph and I were both soaked, and the rain let up, just about the time we made it to the restraunt for breakfast. the gobbler weighed in at 17lbs, and sported a 7-1/' beard with 1/2" spurs, a solid 1-1/2 old gobbler. This hunt was as exciting as any spring hunt I have ever been on. There was so much going on, that the excessive rain became unnoticeable as the hunt unfolded. It always a treat to tag a gobbler in the fall, and this is one of many successful trips hunting up in the north country with Ralph.
