bamaranger
New member
In years past, the running description of my spring gobbler seems well received and tolerated by the moderators. So as before, here goes.
I believe I am well scouted this year, having seen and heard many gobblers before season. A mast crop failure in our area has driven the birds into fields, clearings and cutover and green plots to feed, and flocks were easily located just after deer season feeding in the open. I heard my first gobble on 16March, likely due to the fact that I simply did not get up early enough on previous days to hear one. The early pattern was gobble at dawn for 15-20 minutes from the roost and then silence. I did not hear a mid morning gobble at any time while scouting, and I was afield a good bit beginning late Feb.
-1April, opening day
Up extra early to beat the crowd, as the opener is on a Sat., I'm away from the house before 4:30AM. It stormed the night before, but the day breaks clear and cool with light wind. I've elected to "field hunt" on the Mud Club, the birds are wet and should move to the open, and their coming to green plots and fields anyhow to feed. I'm settled in a pop-up blind shortly after 5:00AM. In the gray of early dawn, a gobbler sounds off in the hollow below me, likely not 200 yds away. He's the first to sound off, well, at least the first I can hear.He gobbles consistently in the brightening gray, but it's far to early to call to him. I begin to hear other gobbles in the distance and after an impatient wait, I tree call lightly on my old slate. He thunders back, immediately and I am once again amazed at how far a gobbler can hear what seems to be the slightest sound. He gobbles a few more times on his own, and I hit a fly down cackle, hard and loud. He double gobbles. After some time I hear wings as he flies down, and his gobble on the ground is muted initially. But its clear he's on his way, gobbling steadily as he ascends the steep side of the hollow, on his way up. I answer sparingly, no use overdoing it, and in 10 minutes he's here. So close, I can hear the wet feathers shake on his breast at every gobble, a mere 30-50 ft away, but ..... I cannot see him.
As fate would have it, just downhill of the field I'm set up on, running parallel the field is a slight skidder path from old logging activity. I'm set up on what was an old loading deck, and to create a level spot on the hillside, the loggers pushed up dozer piles here and there on the edges. This gobbler struts back and forth on the skidder trail, obscured by a convenient dozer pile. I go silent, hoping he'll appear, the field is covered with sign, but he seems to drift away slightly, and I call again to bring him back and again the dozer pile covers him. This goes on for an hour. I'm in the middle of another silent treatment, when I hear what is clearly another hunter calling to this bird off to my left, maybe 100 yds away. Of course the gobbler answers him, so I call as well, louder than what I might normally, so that this Johnny Come Lately well realize there is another hunter here. That does not deter the fella, and he continues to call, with me dueling back and the gobbler going nuts. This persists for say 30 minutes or more.
Suddenly I see the unmistakable shape of a human form with a ball cap and a face mask creeping down the skidder path the gobbler is parading on. I lay on the call again, and the form melts into the brush, but this guy is close to the gobbler, say 60 yds or so. I'm peeved, my name is not on that turkey, but this is a small acreage club/lease, with only a dozen or so members, and sportsmanship and courtesy is expected. I've never had anybody cut in on a hunt in a decade of membership. Surely this guy can hear me, I've called WAY MORE than I ever would in the little duel we've had. On top of that, the pop-up blind looks like a camo colored tumor on the field. If I can see him, the blind should look enormous. My emotions get the better of me, I come out of the blind, the gobbler spooks and I hot foot it over to where I saw the hat, no more than 75 yds away. The guy has vanished, likely back down the side of the steep hollow. I begin to question what I think I saw.....nah, that was a guy calling and trying to stalk that turkey. (three days later, I get a text from a new member, apologizing for possibly "messing me up" on the first morning.)
I'm still doing mental gymnastics when a second turkey gobbles off to the east, in the opposite direction. I hot foot it back to the blind, call back, and he answers, though not convincingly. But 30 minutes later a mature gobbler skirts the end of the field, say 55 yds away, but does not close into range. Alabama has decreed "NO DECOYS" the first 10 days of the season, the shy tom, likely subordinate to the bird I was working, was not going to enter the field w/o seeing a hen. I stay 'till 1:00PM, hear gobbles and shots in the distance on the lease, but I have no more action.
What an opener.....and it doesn't get any better next time.
I believe I am well scouted this year, having seen and heard many gobblers before season. A mast crop failure in our area has driven the birds into fields, clearings and cutover and green plots to feed, and flocks were easily located just after deer season feeding in the open. I heard my first gobble on 16March, likely due to the fact that I simply did not get up early enough on previous days to hear one. The early pattern was gobble at dawn for 15-20 minutes from the roost and then silence. I did not hear a mid morning gobble at any time while scouting, and I was afield a good bit beginning late Feb.
-1April, opening day
Up extra early to beat the crowd, as the opener is on a Sat., I'm away from the house before 4:30AM. It stormed the night before, but the day breaks clear and cool with light wind. I've elected to "field hunt" on the Mud Club, the birds are wet and should move to the open, and their coming to green plots and fields anyhow to feed. I'm settled in a pop-up blind shortly after 5:00AM. In the gray of early dawn, a gobbler sounds off in the hollow below me, likely not 200 yds away. He's the first to sound off, well, at least the first I can hear.He gobbles consistently in the brightening gray, but it's far to early to call to him. I begin to hear other gobbles in the distance and after an impatient wait, I tree call lightly on my old slate. He thunders back, immediately and I am once again amazed at how far a gobbler can hear what seems to be the slightest sound. He gobbles a few more times on his own, and I hit a fly down cackle, hard and loud. He double gobbles. After some time I hear wings as he flies down, and his gobble on the ground is muted initially. But its clear he's on his way, gobbling steadily as he ascends the steep side of the hollow, on his way up. I answer sparingly, no use overdoing it, and in 10 minutes he's here. So close, I can hear the wet feathers shake on his breast at every gobble, a mere 30-50 ft away, but ..... I cannot see him.
As fate would have it, just downhill of the field I'm set up on, running parallel the field is a slight skidder path from old logging activity. I'm set up on what was an old loading deck, and to create a level spot on the hillside, the loggers pushed up dozer piles here and there on the edges. This gobbler struts back and forth on the skidder trail, obscured by a convenient dozer pile. I go silent, hoping he'll appear, the field is covered with sign, but he seems to drift away slightly, and I call again to bring him back and again the dozer pile covers him. This goes on for an hour. I'm in the middle of another silent treatment, when I hear what is clearly another hunter calling to this bird off to my left, maybe 100 yds away. Of course the gobbler answers him, so I call as well, louder than what I might normally, so that this Johnny Come Lately well realize there is another hunter here. That does not deter the fella, and he continues to call, with me dueling back and the gobbler going nuts. This persists for say 30 minutes or more.
Suddenly I see the unmistakable shape of a human form with a ball cap and a face mask creeping down the skidder path the gobbler is parading on. I lay on the call again, and the form melts into the brush, but this guy is close to the gobbler, say 60 yds or so. I'm peeved, my name is not on that turkey, but this is a small acreage club/lease, with only a dozen or so members, and sportsmanship and courtesy is expected. I've never had anybody cut in on a hunt in a decade of membership. Surely this guy can hear me, I've called WAY MORE than I ever would in the little duel we've had. On top of that, the pop-up blind looks like a camo colored tumor on the field. If I can see him, the blind should look enormous. My emotions get the better of me, I come out of the blind, the gobbler spooks and I hot foot it over to where I saw the hat, no more than 75 yds away. The guy has vanished, likely back down the side of the steep hollow. I begin to question what I think I saw.....nah, that was a guy calling and trying to stalk that turkey. (three days later, I get a text from a new member, apologizing for possibly "messing me up" on the first morning.)
I'm still doing mental gymnastics when a second turkey gobbles off to the east, in the opposite direction. I hot foot it back to the blind, call back, and he answers, though not convincingly. But 30 minutes later a mature gobbler skirts the end of the field, say 55 yds away, but does not close into range. Alabama has decreed "NO DECOYS" the first 10 days of the season, the shy tom, likely subordinate to the bird I was working, was not going to enter the field w/o seeing a hen. I stay 'till 1:00PM, hear gobbles and shots in the distance on the lease, but I have no more action.
What an opener.....and it doesn't get any better next time.