Free: Contests & Raffles.
80 year old brother drove up from Utah for his 26th year of turkey hunting up here. Hunted hard yesterday and got this old boy late afternoon. I got one one right off in the morning, but he held off for a bigger one
Nice bird! All turkeys or other Game is sustenance for our souls and family. Congratulations!!I arrived in Davenport 13 miles north, at the Reinbold lease about 5:30 pm on Saturday the 13th . As I was making camp? 2 Toms were dancing below camp. This became 6 Toms, buy 6:15. The sky was beautiful, no rain, few clouds, just enough to be amazing. I could smell the spring flowers and the pine trees pollen. That evening I counted 14 gobbling up and down the canyon. On Sunday morning I awoke to the most beautiful spring sunrise . I step out of the trailer and see 6 Tom’s and a few hens. The next few hours was quite a show ! Toms strutting where they never are. A Tom strutted within 15 yards of my parked quad. I saw him and five others spread out across the spring wheat field.Overall Toms strutted up and down the canyon. Very few hens were observed. A few weeks ago hundreds were still down at the river. Boy oh boy was opening day different ! High winds , was the main problem. Atleast no rain! But it was 25 degrees colder or more. I called between wind gusts and big rigs on hwy 25 . I heard nothing. I was on a different property we have across the highway. We usually take a monster limb hanger every year off that pistol shaped property. There is a huge section of land to the NE that never gets hunted. We abutt a small property that others can hunt. So we try to eat our way in, so to speak. Hunting the outside and leaving the jelly inside for last! I always while setting up always make a few Improvements to the blind . Open air ground blinds is how I prefer to hunt turkeys. just enough cover to any movement calling . I like the extra challenge. First a Jake came in. He was standing tall. Afraid to puff up. Trying to look at everything. I had 2 Dave smith decoys out. A sentry hen and a feeding hen. Boy was that Jake nervous. About 2 minutes later a 2 year old Tom came in. He acted like he was trying to steal the babies. I almost killed this bird. His beard was kind of jutted out, skinny. I decided to pass. Let him grow up for another year. As I was watching him? Another bird gobbled. One of very few I heard on opening day. I called to that bird. He answered. Oddly the 2 year old ran away. He didn’t see anything, because of a dense tree. I caught him on camera running. Not my mistake. After a half hour , or 45 minutes? I picked up the call . Yawp yawp yawp yawp ! He cut me off !!! 15 yards away and slightly behind me . Mac Daddy! I never saw him. Maybe he saw a little movement?? An hour later I called another bird in . He was periscope up , pure red head , looking scared to dare. I saw all of 6 inches of his head above the curve of the earth. He looked things over and promptly left. I wasn’t going to shoot a Jake or young Tom. I need a beard to look at. It has cost me a few serious paint brushes and hawser ropes.Opening day ? They won. Live to hunt another day and cause no harm if you can.I kill just about everything that walks or crawls for a living. I don’t need death for the hunt. I like all of the enjoyment of everything in my opening day adventure. I want to just kill I can go out to the coop and start slaughter. Or go to one of my pest accounts and continue killing into my sleep. Turkey hunting is about spring sunshine, birds gobbling, blue birds on a fence . Sometimes staying up late at night eating appetizers and drinking good bourbon with the farmer while talking habitats!!!We have land that others can join. Thanks, Scott
