Saturday morning I got up early and went to an area I've been hunting since turkey season opened. Not remembering it was a Saturday, I didn't think of anyone else being in this area. It was on public hunting land, but I hadn't seen many people in the area. I also waited until 10am to get out there to let any early morning hunters clear out and head for the local breakfast buffet.
I walked nearly a mile down an old abandoned road, and out into an overgrown field at the very end of it. If this field was brush hogged or mowed, it would be turkey strutting paradise. There is a small creek that borders it on the south and west, and the same creek flows into a nearby lake on the south west corner of the same field. As it was, however, much too grown up to be of much use. Where I was headed was to the south west corner near the lake. There I knew the woods would be clear of underbrush because the lake was low, and I also "knew" it was far enough back there wouldn't be any other hunters. To the east of the area are several wooded ridges that flow down to the water.
I found a good spot, and rather than setting out decoys decided just to call. The trees were just close enough together I didn't think decoys would be necessary. After letting the woods settle down, I made a few yelps on a mouth call. After 10 minutes, I made a few more yelps. I immediately got a response the second time. And it wasn't very far away, maybe about 50 yards to my east. I stayed quiet, because obviously the turkey knew where my "hen" was and was heading my way.
This is when the fun started. First I heard some loud crashing through the woods. Then I heard some coughing. Then just like they were beside me, I hear "I think the turkey is just ahead of us!" Yea, seriously...
Safety first, so without moving I said "Hunter in front of you, hunter directly in front of you." and then got up from my tree. I go up and introduce myself to the guys, who look like they just stepped out a Bass Pro catalog. Everything they had on was brand new, new shotguns, new turkey vests, new boots. Seemed like nice guys though, they were down from Oklahoma City. They had both gone to OU, although several years before me. Before leaving, they kindly asked me which way their truck was and where a good restaurant in town was.
My mid afternoon hunt being over, I went back to the house for a few hours. That evening, I went out to a green field where I have seen some birds feeding before going to roost. I set out a full decoy spread, and backed into the tree line about 5 feet. I called infrequently, mostly just making some clucks and purrs on my Flextone Tramp Stamp slate call. I watched another hunter walk right out from where my truck was and take off through the middle of the green field I was sitting in. He walked directly across from me and stopped in the tree line. He must have seen my decoys, because he sat there and called to them for an hour. Yes, an hour. I sat there and watched him through my binoculars. He was calling pretty decent, so I shut up and let him do all the calling for me.
I was surprised that he didn't think it was weird that the turkeys weren't moving at all. When it was time to leave I walked out to my spread, waved at him, and headed back to the truck.
Got to love weekend warriors.
No comments:
Post a Comment