First Turkey

[Amsdad]

My First Turkey



Well, I quit hunting for turkeys 15 years ago, I just never had any luck with them. But I got all fired up reading about everyone's luck and decided to give it another go. I have a buddy I work with who is always telling me they run into turkeys in the fall while deer hunting in the Klickitat, so I grabbed all my old turkey gear and headed for there on Friday afternoon.

Got in too late to do much besides set up camp and look around a bit. Crack of dawn, I'm out and about on the trails, doing some calling with no replys. Back into camp to have some breakfast and thought I'd run up to the headquarters and look around. Got a map off the board there and realized the area was larger than I thought, so I decided to do a bit of looking around. Headed off down the first road and I see a Tom and a hen traveling up a side road within 5 minutes. I wait a spell, grab my goodies out of the truck and off down the road I go in the direction they were traveling. Set up my decoy, let it get quiet, and did some calling. Nothing. I called a bit every now and again, but no takers. Waited there an hour and a half just to be sure, then its back in the truck and more scouting.

An hour later, I'm looking for a place to turn around, thinking the best plan is to go back to the area where I saw the birds. I come around a corner on a hillside and 40 yds in front of me is a Tom in full strut with a hen in the road. I let the truck ease over to the side and watch. Its one in the afternoon and this turkey is completely focused on the hen. I think the hen sees the truck and starts for the bush with the gobbler right behind her. I have my box call on the seat so I stick it out the window and fire off a couple of yelps. The tom lets out a crazy gobble, spins around and charges towards the truck. Then not seeing another hen, he refocuses and heads back after the hen. The minute they are off the road, I'm out of the truck grab my shotgun from the back, put a shell in and just before I leave the road, I hit the box call again. Get a great gobble in response, but its moving away down the hill. So I move down the hillside about 20 yards looking for a place to setup, hit the call again, get another gobble but its a hell of a lot closer than before. I find the closest tree, get set, get two more shells into the shotgun and hit the box again. This time the gobble sounds like it coming right at me, so I put the box down and get ready. 3 seconds later the tom comes out of some bushes maybe 20 yards down from me and coming up fast. I put a load of 4's into his head and got my first turkey. The whole episode was maybe 5 minutes and man, my Adrenalin was pumping. That was just too much fun.

My stupid camera timer wouldn't work so I had to wait till I got back home for a pic, so the birds a bit beat up from being iced but not a bad first bird. 8 3/4 inch beard.

[shoot-em-dead]

Awsome story and great bird. I hope your hooked for life and have many more birds to bring home.

[washingtonmuley]

Congrats!!

[tlbradford]

Great story and congrats on a beautiful bird.  The first of many.   

[rasbo]

right on ..cant wait to call one in some day

[turkeydancer]

Great job ... just the first of many I'm sure ....

[winston2789]

awesome job amsdad! looks like going back out paid off

[Wacenturion]

Congratulations on your first bird....nice gobbler!  Thanks for sharing.

[ratherhunt]

Great story, nice bird. I am still trying to get my first Turkey so you got me pumped up. Congratulations

[dawei]

Congratulations on a great first bird. If I understand your narrative correctly you shot the turkey in the Klickitat Wildlife Area? Just off Soda Springs Road I'm guessing?

[Amsdad]

Dawei,
Yes that is the general area. A good point that not all the good birds are on private land. The birds seem to be very active, maybe its the weather. I failed to mention in my original post that I also ran into a flock of hens in the camping area when I went back to retrieve my tent after harvesting my tom. That is more eyes on birds while hunting in a single day than in my entire turkey hunting career to this point. Saturday was a good day.

[testar77]

Congrats, that's awesome!!!!!!!!!!

[bowhunterforever]

Nice bird, congrats!

[snipekillr]

NICE

[fishunt247]

Nice job. Sounds like you were into them. I'm going to have to throw it out there that actually seeing (like visually) that many birds down there isn't normal. They don't seem to visit fields and such as much as birds up north, I'm not sure why. To see a gobbler strutting in the road and call him in, sounds like everything worked out. Congrats. So you're back to turkey hunting I take it?