Hunting Wife
Well-known member
So far this spring, every time we’ve planned to try turkey hunting there’s been a blizzard. I’m currently sitting at home because the office still has no power almost a week after the last blizzard. Having no access to most of my work files is all the excuse I needed today to run out and harass gobblers.
Scene 1: Went in mostly blind, but could hear one in the tree from the first place I stopped to listen, so I wandered out in the dark and set up. As it got lighter, more started gobbling beyond the one I was set up on. Uh oh. He responded to me right up until he hit the ground. Then he left in search of the flock of real turkeys down on the creek. Eventually they all ended up across the creek, so I left those ones alone for another morning. Strike one.
Scene 2: Driving to look over another location where I saw turkeys yesterday while out visiting sage grouse leks. Lo and behold, there’s one gobbler and three hens sitting in a little saddle above the road. Sneakable, but I’ll have to come at them with the sun in my face. 15 minutes of fast hiking later, I come up perfect but looking into the sun it takes just a moment too long to find the gobbler. Miss. Strike 2.
Scene 3: Starting to make my way towards home, and what do I spy in the road but two gobblers duking it out and a big flock of hens milling about watching the action. They scatter, running all over the place. I keep driving, park, and walk to a spot I can glass and see what they do. Let it be known, I’m no turkey calling purist. I love spotting and stalking just about anything, and this was looking like I had a chance. They headed down towards the creek bottom, and the bank was just tall/wide enough that I could probably sneak along it to intercept them. Maybe. Hopefully.
I hustled down the creek bottom, pretty sure the spooky cows, and then spooky deer were going to bust all the turkeys right out of there. I peeked a couple times, and could still see a fan out in the sagebrush flat so I kept going. Eventually, I figured I had to be past them but there was such a sheer drop off to the bank that I didn’t have any play. I had to keep going to a place I could ascend the bank and by the time I found such a place, I was sure I was too far past the flock. But if they wanted to cross the creek, I was now on the most obvious path to do that so there had to be a chance they’d come down it. Right?
I heard a gobble way off to my left. As I feared, I was way past them. I snuck up to the edge of the lip, feeling confident I was going to see that big gobbler fan way out to my left in the sage and much too far away with no way to close the distance. Except instead, I saw a turkey walking on the exact trail I am standing on, about 20 yards out and partially screened by sage. It stopped, and stared. It was backlit and facing me, so I wasn’t positive what I had until it turned and I could see a beard. It putted once, and I didn’t wait. Finally, score one for me.
Hunting Husband will be jealous he missed it, but I now feel sufficiently satisfied to sit through an afternoon of webinars.
Scene 1: Went in mostly blind, but could hear one in the tree from the first place I stopped to listen, so I wandered out in the dark and set up. As it got lighter, more started gobbling beyond the one I was set up on. Uh oh. He responded to me right up until he hit the ground. Then he left in search of the flock of real turkeys down on the creek. Eventually they all ended up across the creek, so I left those ones alone for another morning. Strike one.
Scene 2: Driving to look over another location where I saw turkeys yesterday while out visiting sage grouse leks. Lo and behold, there’s one gobbler and three hens sitting in a little saddle above the road. Sneakable, but I’ll have to come at them with the sun in my face. 15 minutes of fast hiking later, I come up perfect but looking into the sun it takes just a moment too long to find the gobbler. Miss. Strike 2.
Scene 3: Starting to make my way towards home, and what do I spy in the road but two gobblers duking it out and a big flock of hens milling about watching the action. They scatter, running all over the place. I keep driving, park, and walk to a spot I can glass and see what they do. Let it be known, I’m no turkey calling purist. I love spotting and stalking just about anything, and this was looking like I had a chance. They headed down towards the creek bottom, and the bank was just tall/wide enough that I could probably sneak along it to intercept them. Maybe. Hopefully.
I hustled down the creek bottom, pretty sure the spooky cows, and then spooky deer were going to bust all the turkeys right out of there. I peeked a couple times, and could still see a fan out in the sagebrush flat so I kept going. Eventually, I figured I had to be past them but there was such a sheer drop off to the bank that I didn’t have any play. I had to keep going to a place I could ascend the bank and by the time I found such a place, I was sure I was too far past the flock. But if they wanted to cross the creek, I was now on the most obvious path to do that so there had to be a chance they’d come down it. Right?
I heard a gobble way off to my left. As I feared, I was way past them. I snuck up to the edge of the lip, feeling confident I was going to see that big gobbler fan way out to my left in the sage and much too far away with no way to close the distance. Except instead, I saw a turkey walking on the exact trail I am standing on, about 20 yards out and partially screened by sage. It stopped, and stared. It was backlit and facing me, so I wasn’t positive what I had until it turned and I could see a beard. It putted once, and I didn’t wait. Finally, score one for me.
Hunting Husband will be jealous he missed it, but I now feel sufficiently satisfied to sit through an afternoon of webinars.
