- I took this nice gobbler in the pouring rain on May 1 at 6:45 a.m.
Admittedly I’ve never been a dedicated turkey hunter. I would start to get interested about a week before the spring season, maybe practice with my mouth calls a day or two before, then head out and wonder why I wasn’t having much success. This year I decided to give it an honest effort, and it paid off.
Before I deliver the success story, I thought I’d mention that I really should have tagged out on opening day. I had plenty of gobblers going out of their minds on the roost, and the weather was perfect. Despite the birds flying down and working their way away from me, I was able to relocate and ultimately call in two nice longbeards to within 15 to 20 yards. As has been typical for me though, I had the gun laying across my lap and not in position to take a shot. The birds came in quiet, and I let my guard down. I chalked it up to another unfortunate event in the continuing saga of “Nick’s Adventures in Turkey Hunting.”
I talked with Mike at Weekend Warrior Outdoor Productions and we arranged to attempt to film a hunt on the first Friday of the season. I promised to go out and do some scouting ahead of time to make his time worthwhile. In the back of my mind I was thinking, “Maybe he should spend his time with someone who has actually had a little turkey hunting success?” I somehow drug myself out of bed on Wednesday and set up across a long field to see where the birds headed to once they flew down. Amazingly seven different gobblers flew down into the field in front of me, and eventually worked their way through the lower corner and onto the neighbor’s property. The best part of the show was a massive tom crashing into a group of jakes who were all strutting in front of him.
When Friday morning arrived, I was confident we’d at least see some birds. Mike pulled in as the rain was groing heavier and heavier. To keep the camera dry, we had no choice but to use a blind set-up. We got into position and formulated a shooting plan once we were settled in the blind. Deep down I doubted that we’d ever execute the plan given my luck with turkey hunting, but I played along and tried to appear serious.
The rain hammered away at the blind and there was little hope for a break. I was watching the radar on my Blackberry and it wasn’t looking good. Just as we considered haging it up, I caught movement in the top of the field near the woodline. Squinting through the raindrops I was able to see eight to 10 turkey feeding. I whispered to Mike, “Turkey on the ground.” He got his camera into position and we went over our plan another time just to be sure that we were on the same page. Like magic, the birds worked their way right toward us. I could see that this was the same group of gobblers as the other morning, minus the giant tom. Eventually one of the jakes was stopped at 15 yards directly in front of us, but we were waiting on the biggest bird to come into range. Finally Mike said “Take number two,” which I knew meant I was to shoot the second and largest gobbler to come into the clear.
I put my gun into postion and waited for Mike’s signal before pulling the trigger. Although it seemed like minutes, I know it was only a matter of seconds before Mike said, “Give it to him!” Without hesitation I squeezed the trigger and watched the bird go to the ground. We were pumped and executed numerous “near miss” high fives to prove it. I left the blind to claim my trophy and carried a smile with me the whole way. It was a rough morning to be sure, but it was well worth it.
Good scouting put us in position to be successful. If I didn’t know exactly where the birds were headed, we would have had no chance. We didn’t make a single call, and instead waited for the gobblers to pass our position. Obviously this proved to me the value of scouting if you want a serious shot at a gobbler. Although it wasn’t the biggest gobbler in the woods, he was the biggest in the group, and sported a six-inch beard. Hell, I’m still excited about it! And best of all, it’s a flawless video and can be used on the final DVD. I’m already looking forward to next spring.
