bamaranger
New member
Since my AL narrative seems so popular, I thought I would write up my hunts spent in PA after the season closed here at home. I traveled to PA to spend Mothers Day with my 92 yr old Mom. Afterwards I hunted 6 mornings on public land. It's all from memory, I did could not get internet service (easily) at my Mom's place, so my accounts are not as timely as usual. Once again, I was somewhat surprised by the little hunting pressure I encountered. More than last year, when I saw not a soul, but still not bad. Lousy weather and hunting during the week likely contributed to the low turnout. When I arrived in PA on 9May the weather was awful and the forecast not much better. I seriously considered not hunting after Mothers Day and traveling back south to inlaws in TN to trout fish. Things cleared up enough that I bought the nonresident license and had at it......here's how it went.
-Hunt #1, 13May
With no time spent scouting I elected to fall back on prior experience and hunt a mountain close to Mom's with a nice level gated road that runs across the face of the ridge for a mile or so. Points and benches extend from the side of the ridge, forming hollows adjacent, and in seasons past, one could locate gobblers in and around those points. I arrive before dawn and find the gated access and corresponding parking empty, no one here. It's cool and overcast, but at least it's not raining. I walk about halfway in so as to be able to hear a goodly portion of the area. As so often seems to happen, I'd barely stopped when a bird began to gobble somewhere east down the mountain side. Jeez that sounds a long way off.
I wait, hoping one will sound off closer but the only tom vocal is the one in the distance. Oh well, off we go.
Two things become immediately apparent: 1)That bird is far closer than I thought. I am going to get to him and be able to call if he persists just a wee bit longer, and 2) I'm not in the rolling hills of AL anymore. It's steep and ROCKY. As soon as I leave the roadway, I'm into watermelon and suitcased sized rocks and walking in that mess is a challenge. It seems impossible to be stealthy, I'm too busy trying to keep my balance. Nonetheless, despite my clumsy approach, I get to within 200 yds of that bird.
Where I end up is at the head of a steep and narrow hollow that slices east down the side of the mountain. On the north side of this hollow I can just see a slight bowl shaped depression with a corresponding subtle bench. The gobbler is over in that bowl somewhere, and there is little between us but thin air. I'm reluctant to try and get closer, he's sure to seem me. Here at the head of the hollow there is some sort of flat, appearing man made. It might be a good place to call from, whether that gobbler will leave that bowl and climb up the slope here to me is up to him.
He's stlll on the roost, and I get set up and use the trusty slate to waft some soft tree calls to him. No response and he stays quiet for a long time. Not good....at least he heard me. When he gobbles again, I answer and again silence. OK.....when he gobbles next, I stay silent. On his next gobble, I'm silent again. On gobble #3 I answer, he stays silent........but a few minutes later I hear him sail down. Eventually he gobbles again, perhaps closer. I wait 'till he gobbles another time and answer and again he stays silent. When he gobbles next he's for sure closer, maybe 100 yds. I answer and then ditch the slate and get the gun up.
Oh yeah, the gun! The day before, on Mothers Day, my brother -in -law
comes over with my 'Sis for supper and later says to me "I've got a gun for you to use." I tell him I've brought a turkey gun, and a spare to boot, but he says "You'll want to hunt with this one'" He procures a case from his SUV and produces a vintage SXS shotgun. Not just any SXS, but a Hunter Arms "FULTON". Dang thing could be 100 years old, but locks up tight and is fairly light and slender. I tell him I'll hunt it a bit.
I balance the Fulton over my knee, covering the lip of the flat I've settled on, hopeful the gobbler will poke his head up to meet this new girl with the southern accent....but it's not to be. When he gobbles again he's back in the bowl and a few minutes later with his last gobble he's 100 yds further down the hollow and moving way. I pick up and cross over the bowl and find a good spot just beyond that is surprisingly level and rock free. I set up there and call periodically all morning, hoping that the gobbler will drift back here when done with whatever he is doing further east, but hear nothing.
Hunting is done by law at 12:00 noon and out of the woods by 1:00PM. I'm at the SUV by 12:45PM . My plan is to continue to hunt this bird all week.
-Hunt #1, 13May
With no time spent scouting I elected to fall back on prior experience and hunt a mountain close to Mom's with a nice level gated road that runs across the face of the ridge for a mile or so. Points and benches extend from the side of the ridge, forming hollows adjacent, and in seasons past, one could locate gobblers in and around those points. I arrive before dawn and find the gated access and corresponding parking empty, no one here. It's cool and overcast, but at least it's not raining. I walk about halfway in so as to be able to hear a goodly portion of the area. As so often seems to happen, I'd barely stopped when a bird began to gobble somewhere east down the mountain side. Jeez that sounds a long way off.
I wait, hoping one will sound off closer but the only tom vocal is the one in the distance. Oh well, off we go.
Two things become immediately apparent: 1)That bird is far closer than I thought. I am going to get to him and be able to call if he persists just a wee bit longer, and 2) I'm not in the rolling hills of AL anymore. It's steep and ROCKY. As soon as I leave the roadway, I'm into watermelon and suitcased sized rocks and walking in that mess is a challenge. It seems impossible to be stealthy, I'm too busy trying to keep my balance. Nonetheless, despite my clumsy approach, I get to within 200 yds of that bird.
Where I end up is at the head of a steep and narrow hollow that slices east down the side of the mountain. On the north side of this hollow I can just see a slight bowl shaped depression with a corresponding subtle bench. The gobbler is over in that bowl somewhere, and there is little between us but thin air. I'm reluctant to try and get closer, he's sure to seem me. Here at the head of the hollow there is some sort of flat, appearing man made. It might be a good place to call from, whether that gobbler will leave that bowl and climb up the slope here to me is up to him.
He's stlll on the roost, and I get set up and use the trusty slate to waft some soft tree calls to him. No response and he stays quiet for a long time. Not good....at least he heard me. When he gobbles again, I answer and again silence. OK.....when he gobbles next, I stay silent. On his next gobble, I'm silent again. On gobble #3 I answer, he stays silent........but a few minutes later I hear him sail down. Eventually he gobbles again, perhaps closer. I wait 'till he gobbles another time and answer and again he stays silent. When he gobbles next he's for sure closer, maybe 100 yds. I answer and then ditch the slate and get the gun up.
Oh yeah, the gun! The day before, on Mothers Day, my brother -in -law
comes over with my 'Sis for supper and later says to me "I've got a gun for you to use." I tell him I've brought a turkey gun, and a spare to boot, but he says "You'll want to hunt with this one'" He procures a case from his SUV and produces a vintage SXS shotgun. Not just any SXS, but a Hunter Arms "FULTON". Dang thing could be 100 years old, but locks up tight and is fairly light and slender. I tell him I'll hunt it a bit.
I balance the Fulton over my knee, covering the lip of the flat I've settled on, hopeful the gobbler will poke his head up to meet this new girl with the southern accent....but it's not to be. When he gobbles again he's back in the bowl and a few minutes later with his last gobble he's 100 yds further down the hollow and moving way. I pick up and cross over the bowl and find a good spot just beyond that is surprisingly level and rock free. I set up there and call periodically all morning, hoping that the gobbler will drift back here when done with whatever he is doing further east, but hear nothing.
Hunting is done by law at 12:00 noon and out of the woods by 1:00PM. I'm at the SUV by 12:45PM . My plan is to continue to hunt this bird all week.
Last edited: