Turkey Hunting - A Break from Fishing
With Steelhead fishing less then impressive this year my stepson Steven and I decide to take a break and do some Turkey hunting yesterday.
While here in Meadows Valley the snow is still deep enough to cover a pick up in many locations we were able to get up next to a ridge close to town where we took of walking before daylight.
Now walking through snow thatat times will hold your weight and then your next step you break through and your standing in snow past your knees was making getting any where a challenge we were able to get to Southwest facing slope which actually had bare ground on it.
We set up under a tree and gave a few soft clucks on our faithful box call and got an immediate response from a gobbler.
This was going to be way too easy I thought to my self as I leaned back against a large yellow pine tree.
I took out my reed call and looked over to make sure that my stepson was ready for some action and gave a few more soft clucks, and bang this tom response with a thundering double gobble not more then sixty yard below us on a ridge.
Now I will not shoot at one of these great birds at anything over thirty yards and as long as they are coming in closer I like to let them work their way in.
I give a soft purr call which again is met with a double gobble this tom must really be lonely I thought to myself which is a good thing when working a large tom turkey.
It must have been thirty seconds and he sticks his head up in front of us not much over forty yards away now he goes into a full strut right there in front of us and you can hear the humming of his wings as he struts across this small ridge and soon disappears over the ridge.
Suddenly I hear a hen down below clucking and putting and know that this is going to change from a quick easy bird into one of those that probably will end up disappearing down the ridge.
I look over and my stepson Steven is sitting there shaking his head as he realizes what is about to happen.
We sit there for the next several minute as we hear this toms gobbles become fainter with every gobble and soon it is silent all together.
After sitting in the shade for over an hour now after working up such a sweat get into this spot I'm shaking so bad now I'm not sure I can hit the mountain let alone a turkey so we both decide to get up and get some blood circulating.
We have not been up for more then a minute and I look down the ridge and there is a tom with about four or five hens feeding there way right up the ridge.
Normally they would have seen us and been gone but they must have been so busy feed that they did not see us so we clamor back under a couple of large yellow pines and once were ready I take out the box call and cut lose with a gobble of my own this normally will shake things up if you have a tom with hens and true to this theory bang this tom cuts lose with a double gobble and runs right up the ridge.
Now he's is running so fast that we don't even have time to get the guns up before he is standing there not more then 15 feet from Steven goes into a full strut and gobbles again I can see Steven grinning from ear to ear as this tom dances there in front of him and he does not dare move for fear of spooking him off.
He finally struts back over so he can check on the hens down below and this give Steven the chance he was waiting for and he claims his prize a nice tom turkey with a 7" beard.
Not bad for the first hour and a half of a hunt.
While here in Meadows Valley the snow is still deep enough to cover a pick up in many locations we were able to get up next to a ridge close to town where we took of walking before daylight.
Now walking through snow thatat times will hold your weight and then your next step you break through and your standing in snow past your knees was making getting any where a challenge we were able to get to Southwest facing slope which actually had bare ground on it.
We set up under a tree and gave a few soft clucks on our faithful box call and got an immediate response from a gobbler.
This was going to be way too easy I thought to my self as I leaned back against a large yellow pine tree.
I took out my reed call and looked over to make sure that my stepson was ready for some action and gave a few more soft clucks, and bang this tom response with a thundering double gobble not more then sixty yard below us on a ridge.
Now I will not shoot at one of these great birds at anything over thirty yards and as long as they are coming in closer I like to let them work their way in.
I give a soft purr call which again is met with a double gobble this tom must really be lonely I thought to myself which is a good thing when working a large tom turkey.
It must have been thirty seconds and he sticks his head up in front of us not much over forty yards away now he goes into a full strut right there in front of us and you can hear the humming of his wings as he struts across this small ridge and soon disappears over the ridge.
Suddenly I hear a hen down below clucking and putting and know that this is going to change from a quick easy bird into one of those that probably will end up disappearing down the ridge.
I look over and my stepson Steven is sitting there shaking his head as he realizes what is about to happen.
We sit there for the next several minute as we hear this toms gobbles become fainter with every gobble and soon it is silent all together.
After sitting in the shade for over an hour now after working up such a sweat get into this spot I'm shaking so bad now I'm not sure I can hit the mountain let alone a turkey so we both decide to get up and get some blood circulating.
We have not been up for more then a minute and I look down the ridge and there is a tom with about four or five hens feeding there way right up the ridge.
Normally they would have seen us and been gone but they must have been so busy feed that they did not see us so we clamor back under a couple of large yellow pines and once were ready I take out the box call and cut lose with a gobble of my own this normally will shake things up if you have a tom with hens and true to this theory bang this tom cuts lose with a double gobble and runs right up the ridge.
Now he's is running so fast that we don't even have time to get the guns up before he is standing there not more then 15 feet from Steven goes into a full strut and gobbles again I can see Steven grinning from ear to ear as this tom dances there in front of him and he does not dare move for fear of spooking him off.
He finally struts back over so he can check on the hens down below and this give Steven the chance he was waiting for and he claims his prize a nice tom turkey with a 7" beard.
Not bad for the first hour and a half of a hunt.
