Free: Contests & Raffles.
So i forgot to finish my 2022 spring swing story. California was posted. My biggest problem with Shasta was Poison Oak. It kicks my butt.. The rest of my spring season was taking antibiotics to get it to stop festering! My wife has told me that trip is over so 2023 will have to try something different. IDK maybe closer to coast or further south i may have to run in CA. For now CA is over for me. Next stop was NE corner of WA. Took my father as he still likes to travel with me and camp. He gets around some but time is no mans friend. I set camp around dinner time first night. Pulled a chair out and had 3 Toms tell me where they were for flyup. Good night! Up before daylight on my first WA day. Was a 40 minute walk to get close to the bird i chose. Setup good. Tom wakes up the hillside.... after about 15 minutes of gobbling, i replied. Immediately i was lit up by a hen that was on the ground behind me! well, she was not happy i was there! Tom was on fire over our argument that lasted maybe 5 minutes. She walked by me so close she almost stepped on my boot! Tom got silent.. ok he was on the ground.. 45 minutes go by, silence.. 1 soft yelp and he responds, moved away from me! Time to reposition, end around in place, ridges in my favor. Down the ridge and up on top, he is working it toward me, occasional gobble. Setup good. 1 soft yelp... reply, he is close! heads! 3 hens and a Tom. OK no wonder he wasnt interested in my sweet talk.. Glad i didnt over call , he was hen'd up and they would have turned him away from me. putting on a show for his girls.... 30 yds... done deal! So i returned to camp, dad was reading a book, sitting outside, said he had a gobble just below camp so he was there watching. I intentionally camped in this spot for that reason in previous season but that comes later! i hang the first bird. Evening flyup next order of business, hear a nice gobble in distance, pin set on onx... here we go morning cant come fast enough! this was a familiar valley i have worked and knew exactly what this guy was up too.. down hill, catch the tote road, walked out to a bend that i have had encounters before, setup in dark, missed my setup location, daylight, gobbles further in.. he is on the ground, time to reset lets move!.. quarter mile in, OPS! heads down the tote in front of me just over a rise.. nope they didnt catch my motion! hands and knees now. turkey vest off... i am totally exposed on this road if i move forward over rise.. 85 yds to birds, wonder if there is a tom... BVVVVVV drum and spit spit.... ! yep, he is in that group. ok, i crawl to edge of road, up rise is knee high grass that should mask my movements.. i just need the 40 yards to top of rise where the grass is thickest on the one edge of tote road... here we go! slow, easy, dont press luck! was laughing at myself slow crawling like that! took around 15 minutes, thought to myself you are an old fart! every muscle was now on fire! getting close.. oh~ there is the fan! hes on my side of his harem, working his girls hard. ok i am good, cant go any closer or someone will pick me up... hes 40 yds... make sure no ladies in shot.. wait, he is in full strut, turn sideways... there ~ mouth cluck to stand him up... Yes.. girls in flight~~ 2nd down.Next morning kind of slept in with dad... thought maybe a setup near camp would get him a chance.. he cant go far these days... ok dressed warm, got your gun? Chair? lets go... couple hundred yards outside of view of camp, here .. decoy up.. setup, call sequence, GOBBLE,, hes close.. Dad! hear that, yes , right out of a textbook, run into decoy, anytime... boom! could not have scripted anything better for my 82 yo father! Well that was our time in WA last spring... If you have not been bitten by spring turkey fever, hope this story primes you for 23... Next week i will finish with my ID run that was end of spring season for me..
part 3 IDAHO - weather was not going to be on my side for this trip. heavy rains and wind predicted. worked and area near Lewiston/ Clarkston generally and yes was wet! Took my ebike over for the adventure and in the grease it was sporty to ride! Traveled back in logging roads stopping to scratch a call and gain replies. tough to hear with wind and rain.. toms were pretty hen'd up we did manage to pick up birds.. Funny thing, on 3 separate occasions thru my time there, i walked in on groups of Elk that had birds under feet! attempts to get in on the toms strutting were unsuccessful.. elk too spread out, wind swirling and poof! the elk were running .. each time, the darn turkeys would line up and chase the elk over hills and out of sight. i actually had a tom strut from one side of an elk , under legs and stay in strut exiting from the other side of the critter! i look back and wish i pulled my phone and recorded this as i have never heard of this before! i took a couple guys along and they hunted together closer than my ebike ranging.. had a pair of toms they were lined up on but screwed up the attempt to run a 1-2-3 shoot double and lost on both. wet and cool enough that i didnt see any rattlers this time but had my gaiters on full time! took my 20ga and had several toms hang out beyond 60yds that are now going to be a year older for me this coming spring!
