It has been quite awhile since I last posted, but at the prompting of my daughter-in-law, Joanna, I am going to tell the story of my first turkey hunt. This is not the first turkey hunt that I have been acquainted with-I watched my husband shoot his turkey two years ago (I think) from my bedroom window, as he was set up across the field, and I watched the proceedings with my binoculars. :-)
Anyway, Saturday morning, I was awakened at 4:30, stumbled out of bed, and got into my "camo" clothing, and we set out. We had decided to go up onto the "ledges" , a place at the top of our hill, so we got into the truck and drove up through the back field to a spot where there is a small field that we have developed to encourage the deer to feed in. We got out of the truck, talking in our normal voices, checking gear, etc. We realized we had neglected to bring our decoy with us, but neither of us were inclined to go back and get it. So we started off, planning to go up over the ledge area to another small field at the top and set up and start calling.
We had not taken 20 steps away from the truck when we heard a tom gobble to our right, some distance away, but close enough that we knew we needed to get under cover-maybe we could call him in! We quickly crossed the small field and took cover on the other side of the stone wall that ran down the left side. There was a small pile of brush that we set our chairs behind so that we were pretty well hidden behind and yet had a clear view of the field.
Kevin began to call, and to our surprise, it was answered by not one but three or four toms, and all in the same general vicinity! He continued to call every three or four minutes, trying different versions, some low pitched and slow, and some high and fast. The toms would answer, but didn't seem inclined to move closer, which was OK with me at first, because I didn't think there was really enough light for me to get a good shot. After about 15 minutes of Kevin calling, and them answering without moving, Kevin tried a much more urgent and high pitched sound that seemed to get their attention, because their answering gobbles seemed nearer. I began to hear the sound of breaking branches and the deep humming sound that they make when displaying.
Kevin suggested that I get my gun into position with safety off, because they would see the movement and hear the click of the safety, so I did, and as I did, I realized I could see four blue/gray heads coming across the field. When he would call, they would put their heads together and gobble in unison. This was not a good situation, for the permit only allows me to shoot one. This behavior continued for a couple minutes, with them jostling each other and each trying to display.
They finally were close enough (about 25 yards) to start becoming suspicious, and began to circle,each trying to figure out what we were. This was what I needed to make a good shot. I singled out one and pulled the trigger. There was mass confusion as the other three turkey each took off in a different direction. Kevin asked me if I had hit one of them, because being seated behind me, he didn't have as good a view of the field. But there was one down in the field.
We had him tagged-weighing about 14 lbs, with an 8 inch "beard"-not a trophy by any means, but a nice, young, and tender wild turkey! Here are a few pictures of the "tom".