Turkey Success, whew

[Gobble Doc]

Thursday night:  Do a late last minute packing job for taking my son turkey hunting over to NE side of the state.  It's a long drive from Snohomish.  Of course we get to bed late.

Friday:  3:00 alarm goes off and by 3:30 we're in the car and driving.  Diet pepsi at the ready.  By mid morning we arrive our destination and begin scouting on our way to camp.  It's hot.  80-90 degrees it seems.  Where are the birds? We set up camp.  I drive to our last option that I know of for hunting, a piece of DNR.  We start hiking and there is turkey sign everywhere, feathers.  I figure we hit paydirt.  We build a blind for the next morning at the epicenter of turkey sign as my son is going to be using  a bow.

Saturday:  We get into position before light.  As we sit and the sun comes up the trees begin to come alive with birds.  We witness probably 20 birds fly down.  Problem is they fly the other direction.  We then proceed to sit and then walk all around for the next 3 hours looking for birds.  It's getting hot.  80-90 again and birds are no where to be found.  Head back, eat burgers.  By now I'm thinking that the title of my post is going to be "I'm a bad turkey hunter"

Sunday morning:  We get up even earlier and head back to same spot for fly down.  This time many fewer birds.  Grrr.  We go talk with a friend we met on private property and finally run into more birds.  Son tries a set up with the bow but no luck.  Then another group of birds appears and goes over an edge.  He walks up to the edge of the hill and takes a shot but misses.  It's a close shot at about 20 yards.  Then we try to locate the arrow, no luck.  Lost arrow.  Finally on way back to camp I decide to drive up another road.  We see turkeys.  He says "dad, I'm using my shotgun".  I say go for it.  He grabs the 20G and blams.  Bird down.  His first.  There is excitement and redemption.  Trip is already a success.

Monday:  Time to break camp and head back home.  We decide to hunt 3 hours.  The weather is now much cooler and there are a lot more birds.  We get busted by a couple groups.  Back to private property and this time birds are by a house.  I drop off the kid with his bow and he sets up behind a fence.  I flank around the house through a horse pasture and flush the birds toward him.  He lets an arrow go, miss.  Loads another arrow and takes a long shot and brushes the tail feathers, miss.  We decide to call it good and start the drive home.  I take a route which has one last shot for finding birds.  I look to the left at 60 mph and see a group of birds under a tree.  Let's pull over.  We walk back and I grab my gun.  We sneak up and I blam.  Bird down, only my second bird ever.  After cleaning the bird we hear some kee kees.  Hey, more birds.  Kid grabs his gun and gets his second bird.  Cool. 

[Dblstks]

Nice job    I am hoping to stick my first turkey with my bow in the spring.

[EDT]

Nice work there Doc.  Glad you both had fun and success!  Good eats.

[turkey choke]

Good work!  Sounds like a blast!  This spring was my first year Turkey Hunting...I love it but had no luck....Can't wait for spring time!

[turkeydancer]

Great job  !!!  Congrats to all !!!   

I had permission for 4 private properties around Colville and Kettle Falls ... not a bird on any of them like there are normally per my landowners and what I soon found out.  Had access across a small piece of private property to 440 acres of "landlocked" DNR land we like to call the cliff.  Although we have harvested several birds there in the past, no birds again in the 95 degree heat.  So I went to some state land where I always see birds.  Again no luck.  So the next morning I figured it's time to hunt the Wildlife Refuge again - 20 mph winds with several gusts to 45 mph - figure between the winds and the previous hot days the birds will be down closer to the river --- not !  I even tried kee kees, hen assembly calls, and gobbles from time to time.  Not even one response on the DNR, State, or Refuge.   

It's okay though as I've got 600+ acres to hunt Monday and Tuesday in North Lincoln County.  And I saw two groups of birds on the way up Friday morning, and the landowner told me there are 3 toms with 10" beards coming in each night to his house ... I'm definitely excited about getting there. 
Monday morning comes and I'm out really earlier and go to where my son and I had doubled two years ago.  I setup and it doesn't take long before I hear them starting their routine and coming my direction. Twenty within 30 yards, but no toms ... so I pass.  I hear and see another group of a dozen coming up the other side of the canyon ... I hustle down the one side and up the other. They pass within 20 yards, but again no toms ... so I pass. So back to the truck and up the road to the first ravine up the road from my landowners house.  I eat a piece of chicken and head up the hill figuring the toms must be up on top of this hill where I've seen them before. I'm just above the canyon brushline not 50 yards from my truck when a hawk flies over and the brush below me erupts with excited hens and poults.  I sit and observe at least another dozen, but no darn toms yet again ... so I pass.  I can't resist playing with them over the next 20+ minutes with numerous kee kees, stopping every time they come up the hill and then start again when they would go down the hill.  Back to it ... at the top, I work every bush and tree for about 800 yards, weaving here and there.  I finally head down another ravine and run into another group of hens and poults within 30 yards ... no toms yet again ... so I pass. 
Well I head back up to where the 2nd group had walked by that morning, figuring the toms will come down that way to the owners house as he said they do every night by 5 pm.  I climb the hill about 2/3 up and set up by where the group came thru in the morning.  I'm there about 1/2 hour when I see 3 huge toms about 500 yards away, but back towards the house the way I came up the big canyon.  Wrong place and not a hope of getting back in the game.
 
Well the next morning I went up to where I had spotted the toms from, and when the group came thru without a tom, I took my revenge on the loud mouth lead hen.
 

[JKEEN33]

Nice job! Just got back from muzzle loader hunting for dear. Saw a lot of turkey around. I could have taken one each day, but I never seem to get around to hunting them in the fall. I was really kicking myself after spotting a white turkey and me with no tag! I keep hearing how that is the white whale of turkey hunting.

[Gobble Doc]

Turkey Dancer, Nice job holding out for the big tom.  It is always nice to get out anytime.

JKeen, white turkey?  I've never seen the white turkey unless it is at the fair.  Is the white turkey a rare wild exception or do you think it came from some domestic "contamination"? 

[JKEEN33]

Turkey Dancer, Nice job holding out for the big tom.  It is always nice to get out anytime.

JKeen, white turkey?  I've never seen the white turkey unless it is at the fair.  Is the white turkey a rare wild exception or do you think it came from some domestic "contamination"?

yes, rare genetic thing. Not sure what exactly, but it is pretty rare to have a white wild turkey. They are not pure white like the domestic, but have a lot of white in the body versus all the brown. Was pretty cool to see.

[Gobble Doc]

Do you know if it was a Rio or ?  I hope to see one sometime. 

[buglebuster]

I have seen a few pure white turkeys mixed in with wild turkeys. Same size but always figured it was a throwback of a domestic gene 

[JKEEN33]

Merriam. Saw this up near Curlew while running around with Campmeat. Several ran across the road in front of us.

[BOWHUNTER45]

I have seen a few pure white turkeys mixed in with wild turkeys. Same size but always figured it was a throwback of a domestic gene 

NO ... there is a few color phases running around