Well, I've finally got around to posting my 2012 Turkey Hunting story.
It started off the day before opening day with a little bit of scouting. I went to a few spots where I found turkeys last year. I found some sign (scat and tracks) and heard one gobbler sounding off in one area. In another area, I found two toms strutting and gobbling all morning and I filmed them for a bit. I left that spot and searched the rest of the day in other areas with no luck. It was really windy and I don’t think the birds wanted to respond. However, I did have no problem finding turkey hunters. TONS of them! I figured the morning hunt was about all I had going for me. I was hoping to get it done right off the bat. That evening, I met up with Prime Time (Tyson Drevniak) and Flick N Stick so we could set up a game plan for the morning. They were to go into an area where Flick N Stick’s brother had killed a nice tom in the youth season while I tried to again self-film myself in the area I had filmed the two toms earlier in the day.
As I worked into the area the next day, it was much calmer, I let out a few owl hoots just after daylight and got a response from back in the timber. I walked towards where I had heard the gobbling and found a small opening with fresh turkey sign in it. Suspecting they had been in this opening just the day prior, I decided to setup here and set out my decoys; jake nearest the gobbling with the hen in between the jake and I. I began calling with a loud box call to make sure the birds could hear me. I also worked in a diaphragm, and two pot and peg style calls as well to make it sound like a small flock of hens. The toms responded occasionally and it sounded as if they were getting closer… and closer… and CLOSER. I filmed periodically; typically when I had them fired up and gobbling good. Soon I heard them spitting and drumming and knew they were real close! Then, I saw movement as three hens fed left to right across a gap in the trees on the edge of the opening at 45 yards.
Just as I had planned the two toms came strutting across the gap as well. But when they saw my decoys they decided they needed a closer look. The toms strutted up to my jake decoy just 15 yards in front of me. I tried not to shake as I panned and zoomed in with the camera. I was waiting for one of them to slam that jake with some spurs. Finally, after 20 seconds or so (feels like an eternity when you are just waiting) the bigger bird knocks my decoy to the ground and stands over him! I decide that it’s time I lay the smack down. I reach down rather quickly to pull up my shotgun which is plainly laid across my legs. As I raised the gun up, my left elbow hit the tripod pan arm and the camera fell lens down right in front of me! I was too busy aiming and squeezing the trigger to realize what had happened until I had a bird on the ground.
It turned out I didn’t get squat for kill shot footage, but got some dandy close ups of some fir needles with a shotgun blast in the background! I had a great time on this hunt though.
The bird nearly had 1 inch long spurs and 9 inch beard or so. Take a look!
