NorthGaHunter
Senior Member
The season has been good but like many with it's ups and downs. I was fortunate to get a couple birds early in the season but that third one has been hard to come by. I was also fortunate to call in birds for both my cousin and his wife. I had some birds that seemed eager to ride home in my truck but lady luck was not having it and allowed them to live another day or season. I must admit that I have had a hard time shooting straight and manage to miss two birds this season. I wished I had a good excuse but it was nothing but poor shooting on my end.
I have been hunting a good bit the past couple weeks and those 3 AM alarms have been taking a toll on me and really making me feel my age. I have been covering a good bit of ground; sometimes hunting in three different counties in one day. I got a call from my cousin Thursday night, May 11th, asking me if minded some company today. Since the gobbling has been virtually non-existent for me the past couple weeks and the fact I was getting really tired of talking to myself, I said sure and we agreed to meet at 5 am.
The morning started high on top of a mountain waiting on daylight. This was a spot where if there was no wind, we could hear for miles. Like most mornings lately, the sunrise greeted me with silence with the exception of some owls I called up while trying to get a turkey to gobble.
After accepting the fact we were not going to hear anything where we were, I started working my way down the ridge stopping every now and then to call. I was really hoping a gobbler somewhere would hear me and believe I was a lonely, love sick hen looking for company......lol. The only thing we saw was some hog sign and a little bear sign.
As I made my way down to this gap, I had a decision to make. I could turn to my left and head down to a logging road and work my way back to my truck and head someplace else. Or I could work my way down the ridge a little further and see if I could find a gobbler that might want to go home with me. I had a small climb to make in order to proceed further down the ridge. Since I was tired and a little lazy, I started to head back to my truck but I knew from past hunts that there were some nice woods on the other side of the mountain that a gobbler may have moved into recently. I was so close to making that left turn and heading back to my truck but decided I to go ahead and work my way down the ridge so I would not look back later and wonder if something was there or not.
Once we made that small climb, I stopped to listen. With a minute I heard one gobble just down the ridge; not too far away. I was not crazy about the area we were in and did not have a lot of confidence in calling him to us. I decided we needed to move further down the ridge to an area I felt would be better to set up and call to the bird. Since the bird was not that far away, we dropped off the back side of the ridge to move further down the ridge to keep from spooking him. Once we were near where I wanted to setup, we ease back up to the ridge top. Luckily, he gobbled on his own so I was able to move a little closer before setting up to call.
Once setup, I made some soft calls to the bird. I called maybe 4 or 5 times which did not produce one gobble. Being late in the season and the fact we were pretty close, I decided to shut up. I figured he may just come in strutting. It was not long before I saw him about 80 yards away strutting and working his way toward us. He went behind some white pines and I lost sight of him for several minutes. I kept looking up and below where I last seen him. Sometimes a gobbler has a way of slipping by and showing up in the least desired spot. Eventually, I saw the top half of his tail fan as he strutted straight in front of me. There was enough of a depression that allowed the gobbler to move closer without me seeing him as he passed thru those white pines.
As he got closer, I started to get nervous since my previous two attempts to shoot my last bird of the season ended rather pathetically on my part. He was now within range but I had a small limb partially blocking his head. This is the same limb that I almost attempted to crawl to in order to move it out of my way. Hind sight can be a pain in the @ss! The bird was now about 25 yards away, with his neck stretched out looking for the hen he had heard minutes earlier.
Unfortunately, both a grape vine and that dang limb was in my way! Hoping the bird would move a few steps to my right, all I could do is wait and hope he did not realize he was about to have a bad day. After a few more steps, I took the shot and he went down and started flopping. I got up and took off toward him and was soon standing over my third bird for the season. Unfortunately, with all his flopping and my attempt to make sure he did not get away, his center tail feathers were pulled out.
After enjoying the moment and taking some pictures, we started the long walk back to the truck. This day started out with little expectations other than getting some exercise and burning a few calories climbing up and down mountains. It ended much differently than I anticipated. Each morning you wake up and start the day, you just never know what lies ahead of you whether it's hunting or any other aspect of your life.
I have been hunting a good bit the past couple weeks and those 3 AM alarms have been taking a toll on me and really making me feel my age. I have been covering a good bit of ground; sometimes hunting in three different counties in one day. I got a call from my cousin Thursday night, May 11th, asking me if minded some company today. Since the gobbling has been virtually non-existent for me the past couple weeks and the fact I was getting really tired of talking to myself, I said sure and we agreed to meet at 5 am.
The morning started high on top of a mountain waiting on daylight. This was a spot where if there was no wind, we could hear for miles. Like most mornings lately, the sunrise greeted me with silence with the exception of some owls I called up while trying to get a turkey to gobble.
After accepting the fact we were not going to hear anything where we were, I started working my way down the ridge stopping every now and then to call. I was really hoping a gobbler somewhere would hear me and believe I was a lonely, love sick hen looking for company......lol. The only thing we saw was some hog sign and a little bear sign.
As I made my way down to this gap, I had a decision to make. I could turn to my left and head down to a logging road and work my way back to my truck and head someplace else. Or I could work my way down the ridge a little further and see if I could find a gobbler that might want to go home with me. I had a small climb to make in order to proceed further down the ridge. Since I was tired and a little lazy, I started to head back to my truck but I knew from past hunts that there were some nice woods on the other side of the mountain that a gobbler may have moved into recently. I was so close to making that left turn and heading back to my truck but decided I to go ahead and work my way down the ridge so I would not look back later and wonder if something was there or not.
Once we made that small climb, I stopped to listen. With a minute I heard one gobble just down the ridge; not too far away. I was not crazy about the area we were in and did not have a lot of confidence in calling him to us. I decided we needed to move further down the ridge to an area I felt would be better to set up and call to the bird. Since the bird was not that far away, we dropped off the back side of the ridge to move further down the ridge to keep from spooking him. Once we were near where I wanted to setup, we ease back up to the ridge top. Luckily, he gobbled on his own so I was able to move a little closer before setting up to call.
Once setup, I made some soft calls to the bird. I called maybe 4 or 5 times which did not produce one gobble. Being late in the season and the fact we were pretty close, I decided to shut up. I figured he may just come in strutting. It was not long before I saw him about 80 yards away strutting and working his way toward us. He went behind some white pines and I lost sight of him for several minutes. I kept looking up and below where I last seen him. Sometimes a gobbler has a way of slipping by and showing up in the least desired spot. Eventually, I saw the top half of his tail fan as he strutted straight in front of me. There was enough of a depression that allowed the gobbler to move closer without me seeing him as he passed thru those white pines.
As he got closer, I started to get nervous since my previous two attempts to shoot my last bird of the season ended rather pathetically on my part. He was now within range but I had a small limb partially blocking his head. This is the same limb that I almost attempted to crawl to in order to move it out of my way. Hind sight can be a pain in the @ss! The bird was now about 25 yards away, with his neck stretched out looking for the hen he had heard minutes earlier.
Unfortunately, both a grape vine and that dang limb was in my way! Hoping the bird would move a few steps to my right, all I could do is wait and hope he did not realize he was about to have a bad day. After a few more steps, I took the shot and he went down and started flopping. I got up and took off toward him and was soon standing over my third bird for the season. Unfortunately, with all his flopping and my attempt to make sure he did not get away, his center tail feathers were pulled out.
After enjoying the moment and taking some pictures, we started the long walk back to the truck. This day started out with little expectations other than getting some exercise and burning a few calories climbing up and down mountains. It ended much differently than I anticipated. Each morning you wake up and start the day, you just never know what lies ahead of you whether it's hunting or any other aspect of your life.