On Friday evening my oldest brother Joshua, and I scouted a piece of our property where we have shot a few turkeys in seasons past. We saw two toms and some hens go into the pine and hardwood hills that are next to a swamp, which is where I also do some wood duck and squirrel hunting. We never saw them roost but had a feeling they were right in the middle next to the swamp. The plan was set for the next day.
The plan was altered a bit when I get a phone call at 5AM asking where I am at... apparently my alarm wasn't effective... so after a rush to get dressed I got out the door and picked my brother up to head to the field. Pretty short drive thankfully of about 5 minutes total driving, then about a 15 minute walk across the fields and to the woods.
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We walked around the lower point of the woods in the picture and came to the back side of the woods where we had a good vantage point to see all the fields where we imagined the turkeys would fly down into... cause you know turkeys are just so predictable. By this time we can see the sky getting brighter and hear the owls calling.
A few minutes before shooting time and we here a gobble to our left and behind us. Sounds like a Jake with that short out of breath gobble. We look in despair thinking we walked right past some roosted turkeys on the lowest point of the woods. Debating on if we screwed things up we hear some more gobbles in the direction of where we think they are roosted. After several minutes of them gobbling we realized that the jake we are hearing is actually at the house you see at the bottom left of the picture and is a pet bird, to our relief.
So our emotions are back up with anticipation that at in moment the turkeys will light into the field in front of us. About 10 minutes into shooting time I spot a hen across the fields by the deer stand making her way towards the wheat field. And only a few minutes later a Tom comes out chasing after her and strutting. Throughout the whole hunt that tom stays over by the wheat field strutting. The hen at some point disappears between the wheat field and the pond, oh but she plays an important part of the hunt right before sunrise.
So the toms by the roost spot, along with several hens, keep their noises up until the fly down where they really make a commotion in what we that was on the hardwood hill and that corner of the field left of where we are set up which we can't see.
Then silence of the turkeys, where are they? Are they coming? Have they gone to the front? Are they behind us? Will that one across the field come back and see the decoy?
Then wait what's that to the left running across the field from the pond.... incoming hen from right field at full sprint!
What to do? Oh no she is gonna bust us! She is gonna get in the decoys and realize they ain't real and scare the toms always.
Hmm she seems relaxed, I am not but she is, wait is she, no, oh she is coming in the ditch! She is gonna see us! Don't move, don't breath!
AH! She is walking towards Josh!
All this going on but yet I still the nerve to grab my phone and start video this conundrum we are facing. She walks right into the woods at 5 yards from Josh and just chills there pecking at leaves for over 5 minutes, and then what does she decide to do? But to come back out of the woods even closer!
At this point the sun is up and shining oh so brilliantly on our eyes and that we know she is gonna see us blink and tell the whole world we are here. And what's more from that corner that we can't see comes another hen scooting across the field heading towards that Tom by the wheat. Great now we know the other turkeys have to be in that corner and they will follow her or this one sitting barrel length away from Josh is going to alarm the woods.
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Josh is trying not to breath and I'm thinking she will surely see my chest pumping in and out, all while I am videoing again. To our surprise she calmly walks into the ditch and around the decoys and eats some more. Oh but wait she is heading for me, great now it's my turn to pet the hen. Please don't see me, please don't alarm the others..... whew continue down the ditch to the right.
She walks out of sight around the corner of the woods heading behind us.
We exchange glances and whisper sighs of relief and questions on where the other birds are. Did they go behind us and across the field to the next block of woods where we know other turkeys are? Should we consider trying to sneak through the woods to get after the other Tom by the wheat field? What's that noise? Must be that hen in the woods behind us.
GOBBLE! GOBBLE!
"That must be the Jake and Tom behind us" I whisper, "they might come around from the right."
I move myself to get comfortable holding my single shot .410 Sears, Roebuck gun ready for the birds to come that way. I make a few yelps on my mouth call while Josh calls one his slate.
GOBBLE!
They are closer
GOBBLE!
Wait! Is that a hen and Tom trotting across the field towards the pond! No come this way!
GOBBLE!
Hmm that's still beside us to the right. "Oh I see him! Josh there is two!"
I am not gonna write how many times the gobbled from the 20 yards of the corner to my decoy because it was about 10 times between running and strutting and running then strutting.
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They get to the 10 yard mark and I can't shoot because they are lined up together. "Shoot Josh says." But I can't.
Now they are at my Jake decoy I made, "good looking fellow I hope they separate so I can shoot and you not get attacked!"
And then they turned and I seized my moment with the small crack of the "kid's gun!"
Flop! And down.
Some soft calling from my mouth call to calm the other Tom down that jumped to the left 10 yards.
My brother moves his gun to the left, wait the turkey is back looking at mine. So he tries to swing it to the right but the small trees are blocking him so he moves all around and finally smokes the other Tom right next to mine.
That's it! We did it! The hunt is over while the rest of the turkeys fly off to the woods. The joyous words and hugs (we're family, social distancing doesn't count right now) quickly followed as we hopped the ditch to admire the birds while we both shake from excitement and the disbelief of what just happened.
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I haven't turkey hunted with my oldest brother since my first turkey I shot back in 2011, which me and my brothers got a triple that morning. So here I am shooting a mature bird with a single shot .410 at 10 yards with my oldest brother on a beautiful opening morning. My decoy showed its worth and received his first blood, what a great moment that we thought was not going to happen about 45 minutes earlier.
Now to take pictures, call friends and our other brother, Joel, and to pack up and head to my house to show the family, won't be long and I'll have my oldest boy out there with me. Turkey nuggets will be served Monday, and off Tuesday to try and get my best friend a turkey, my what a great spring this has been.
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The plan was altered a bit when I get a phone call at 5AM asking where I am at... apparently my alarm wasn't effective... so after a rush to get dressed I got out the door and picked my brother up to head to the field. Pretty short drive thankfully of about 5 minutes total driving, then about a 15 minute walk across the fields and to the woods.
View attachment AAB2C5E7-066D-4D6D-B7F7-8FE12A8CE8AA.jpeg
We walked around the lower point of the woods in the picture and came to the back side of the woods where we had a good vantage point to see all the fields where we imagined the turkeys would fly down into... cause you know turkeys are just so predictable. By this time we can see the sky getting brighter and hear the owls calling.
A few minutes before shooting time and we here a gobble to our left and behind us. Sounds like a Jake with that short out of breath gobble. We look in despair thinking we walked right past some roosted turkeys on the lowest point of the woods. Debating on if we screwed things up we hear some more gobbles in the direction of where we think they are roosted. After several minutes of them gobbling we realized that the jake we are hearing is actually at the house you see at the bottom left of the picture and is a pet bird, to our relief.
So our emotions are back up with anticipation that at in moment the turkeys will light into the field in front of us. About 10 minutes into shooting time I spot a hen across the fields by the deer stand making her way towards the wheat field. And only a few minutes later a Tom comes out chasing after her and strutting. Throughout the whole hunt that tom stays over by the wheat field strutting. The hen at some point disappears between the wheat field and the pond, oh but she plays an important part of the hunt right before sunrise.
So the toms by the roost spot, along with several hens, keep their noises up until the fly down where they really make a commotion in what we that was on the hardwood hill and that corner of the field left of where we are set up which we can't see.
Then silence of the turkeys, where are they? Are they coming? Have they gone to the front? Are they behind us? Will that one across the field come back and see the decoy?
Then wait what's that to the left running across the field from the pond.... incoming hen from right field at full sprint!
What to do? Oh no she is gonna bust us! She is gonna get in the decoys and realize they ain't real and scare the toms always.
Hmm she seems relaxed, I am not but she is, wait is she, no, oh she is coming in the ditch! She is gonna see us! Don't move, don't breath!
AH! She is walking towards Josh!
All this going on but yet I still the nerve to grab my phone and start video this conundrum we are facing. She walks right into the woods at 5 yards from Josh and just chills there pecking at leaves for over 5 minutes, and then what does she decide to do? But to come back out of the woods even closer!
At this point the sun is up and shining oh so brilliantly on our eyes and that we know she is gonna see us blink and tell the whole world we are here. And what's more from that corner that we can't see comes another hen scooting across the field heading towards that Tom by the wheat. Great now we know the other turkeys have to be in that corner and they will follow her or this one sitting barrel length away from Josh is going to alarm the woods.
View attachment D5748639-F9AF-4C8E-9755-0BB7CD82A7CB.png
View attachment F131A79F-A0F9-45CB-A02F-76AC3B9525A8.png
Josh is trying not to breath and I'm thinking she will surely see my chest pumping in and out, all while I am videoing again. To our surprise she calmly walks into the ditch and around the decoys and eats some more. Oh but wait she is heading for me, great now it's my turn to pet the hen. Please don't see me, please don't alarm the others..... whew continue down the ditch to the right.
She walks out of sight around the corner of the woods heading behind us.
We exchange glances and whisper sighs of relief and questions on where the other birds are. Did they go behind us and across the field to the next block of woods where we know other turkeys are? Should we consider trying to sneak through the woods to get after the other Tom by the wheat field? What's that noise? Must be that hen in the woods behind us.
GOBBLE! GOBBLE!
"That must be the Jake and Tom behind us" I whisper, "they might come around from the right."
I move myself to get comfortable holding my single shot .410 Sears, Roebuck gun ready for the birds to come that way. I make a few yelps on my mouth call while Josh calls one his slate.
GOBBLE!
They are closer
GOBBLE!
Wait! Is that a hen and Tom trotting across the field towards the pond! No come this way!
GOBBLE!
Hmm that's still beside us to the right. "Oh I see him! Josh there is two!"
I am not gonna write how many times the gobbled from the 20 yards of the corner to my decoy because it was about 10 times between running and strutting and running then strutting.
View attachment C7A8B211-5D33-4602-AC58-B896C616F693.png
They get to the 10 yard mark and I can't shoot because they are lined up together. "Shoot Josh says." But I can't.
Now they are at my Jake decoy I made, "good looking fellow I hope they separate so I can shoot and you not get attacked!"
And then they turned and I seized my moment with the small crack of the "kid's gun!"
Flop! And down.
Some soft calling from my mouth call to calm the other Tom down that jumped to the left 10 yards.
My brother moves his gun to the left, wait the turkey is back looking at mine. So he tries to swing it to the right but the small trees are blocking him so he moves all around and finally smokes the other Tom right next to mine.
That's it! We did it! The hunt is over while the rest of the turkeys fly off to the woods. The joyous words and hugs (we're family, social distancing doesn't count right now) quickly followed as we hopped the ditch to admire the birds while we both shake from excitement and the disbelief of what just happened.
View attachment 8297FA7B-E0EB-4571-AC1E-5E1198B35300.jpeg
I haven't turkey hunted with my oldest brother since my first turkey I shot back in 2011, which me and my brothers got a triple that morning. So here I am shooting a mature bird with a single shot .410 at 10 yards with my oldest brother on a beautiful opening morning. My decoy showed its worth and received his first blood, what a great moment that we thought was not going to happen about 45 minutes earlier.
Now to take pictures, call friends and our other brother, Joel, and to pack up and head to my house to show the family, won't be long and I'll have my oldest boy out there with me. Turkey nuggets will be served Monday, and off Tuesday to try and get my best friend a turkey, my what a great spring this has been.
View attachment 43CD242F-45C3-4643-B5B1-37197149E321.jpeg
View attachment 14B70D0C-1F07-426B-A33C-6961D3C296E3.jpeg
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