Kansas Turkey Adventures

[kansasdad]

"who cooks for you?....who cooks for you allllll???

The barred owl call is the one that I will use to try and elicit a gobble before flydown or after flyup if I'm scouting for the next day.






First full moon (and a "super moon") of 2018

 

[kansasdad]

Kansas weather saying........if you don't care for the weather, just wait 15 minutes. High temp of 58 today, 69 predicted for Valentines Day, and then on the weekend freezing rain with sleet.

This weather coupled with increasing daylight helped me get my first gobbles of 2018 this morning. Most of "my" suburban turkeys were found around the feeder station shortly after flydown. Another group of four toms and a mature hen were heading out from the lake roost heading towards the horse pasture for breakfast. As I pulled up to where the two lagging toms were strutting, the closest one thrust his head downward and forward in the unmistakable posture of a gobble. I turned Golic and Wingo off from the radio, rolled down the windows, and said in a bit of a sing song voice...." how's it going this morning boys?" and was rewarded with a double gobble from both toms.

Daylight coming back, birds gobbling, spring is just around the corner.....unless you wait 15 minutes.

 

[F250]

We had too much fun last spring in NE Kansas. This year we are hunting western Nebraska for the first 3 days of their season, driving back to NE Kansas on 4/17, and hunting the first 3 days of that season. Can't wait !!!!

 

[kansasdad]

I remind all who will be chasing gobbles in Kansas that you can save a bit of coin by purchasing the "combo" permit/tag before the end of the month.

Oftentimes the first sight of a far off bird is that flash of red from a fired up gobblers brilliant red neck.



The iridescence of turkey feathers that come from first and last light pictures CANNOT be captured on film or memory cards, even though I try.



Warming trends and increasing daylight seem to be getting "my" suburban flocks a little more hot and bothered. The large groups of toms/jakes went from feed bag to full chase mode and back to eating this evening as I drove through the neighborhood to get my turkey fix. Living in the suburbs, and working in a dental office everyday of the week, I need a bit of nature to replenish the soul. Those birds did that for me tonight.

 

[kansasdad]

Highs were in the 50's today.........and I'm talking about the wind speed and not just the temperature.

 

[kansasdad]

The hen was looking a little chilled this morning, but the boys look like they are already thinking about making new turkeys.

This is my new background image on my computer.

 

[1_pointer]

Very much dig the picture.

 

[Aaron KS197]

Thank you for sharing. I always enjoy reading your post. Looking forward to spring turkey hunting.

 

[DRS]

The dude on the left looks to be sporting some nice hooks.

 

[kansasdad]

Heading to work a few minutes early paid off again this morning. I found the flock leaving the roost area and heading towards a pasture for breakfast.






Stretching and preening




Showing off




One month for archery season for me. And my youngest said she was looking forward to getting her first turkey this year. It's gonna be great!

 

[kansasdad]

Six jakes were playing "ring around a rosie" chasing each other around a pecan tree. The one with the limp got picked on the most.

 

[kansasdad]

Time to start clothing prep for the creepy crawlies. Permethrin treated outerwear has kept me close to tick free over the last two years.


Pecan grove was magical the other night.









If she hadn't moved as I drove by, I would have missed the hen with some pretty sweet camo hiding her.

 

[F250]

Your photos are really fueling the fire !! Looking forward to the opener !!

 

[CampRipleyLF]

Cool pictures, can't wait to get out here in Minnesota and Wisconsin!

 

[kansasdad]

Deadline to save $7.50 on the "combo" permit/tag is 4/1/18. This goes for res and non-res.

 

[kansasdad]

Caught them moving towards roost tonight.

A flash of a red head is all you need to find them sometime.




Drought city





Got him to gobble to my calling

 

[kansasdad]

I wonder if realtor John Greenstreet is listing wildlife viewing as a perk of ownership.



He is a pretty bird for sure.




Tonight I went out to my public wildlife as the archery season opens tomorrow. Flocks of birds were seen in nearly every field I have ever seen birds in in the past. Ten jakes were in the soybean field that we took three birds out of last spring.




I hope that I will be able to jet out of the office first thing Monday afternoon and lay in wait as the birds trade back and forth. Gonna get my public land ninja on and one of those cedar clumps in the far side of this field is gonna be hiding this kansasdad, waiting in ambush!!

 

[kansasdad]

For those of you planning on hunting turkeys this spring, remember that there is online mapping of the WIHA of Kansas.

linky link:

http://ksdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=a6467b7c4f714053ab63003607674413

The hard copy is normally found everywhere licenses are to be found......except my wallyworld didn't have any on the counter last night.

 

[1_pointer]

Was looking at that link this past weekend thinking of some pheasant ideas with a chance to scout for a '19 deer hunt...

 

[kansasdad]

I took Friday off, planning on spending as much time as I needed to bring home a tom. The forecast for the day called for a very warm day (it was 70 degrees driving in the dark) with steady winds of 20, gusting to 35.....just what an archer wants to hear

My mantra of "nobody, nobody, nobody" as I was driving to the parking lot on the public wildlife area was met with success as it was empty when I pulled in at O'dark thirty.

I did not hear nearly as many gobbles this opening weekend as last years opener. I had tucked back into a corner of the field so that the howling warm south winds barely moved the decoys. Jake-like gobbles came off the trees upwind. On further reflection, there could have been lots of birds gobbling on the roost, but if they weren't close or upwind, they could have gobbled all day and I would not be able to hear them.

I was tucked into a cedar tree, hoping that the birds would approach the decoys and I was happy that it worked out as planned. Three jakes came in to say hello to the hen. My semi-strut jake decoy was quite off putting to these young turkeys.

I have had an internal discussion this winter about using my crossbow in turkey hunting. My fall turkey success was partially a crossbow harvest first. I didn't trust that the bolt had done a lethal job, so I finished the wobbling turkey with my shotgun. Does this count as a "first" or not. And really, why does this even matter to me?

The debate in my head this winter was whether I would shoot a jake, or would I hold out for a tom? This is archery opening weekend, and there is still a full month and a half of spring season to harvest two bearded birds. And now here 7 yards in front of me are three jakes, milling around my decoy. The biggest bird was clear of his two buddies. Some unseen force pulled my head down on the stock, centered the cross hairs (20,30,40 and 50 yards) on the central crosshair (20 yards) and squeezed. Airmailing the bolt over the intended target (7 yards is less than 20 yards kansadad!!! DUH YOU KNUCKLEHEAD) the jakes milled around and then started to slowly walk away.

In for a penny, in for a pound, I pulled another bolt off the quiver, and recocked the crossbow. The jakes were slowly walking to my left, and appropriately skittish. Mentally calculating the distance, I calmed my breathing and focused on the going away spine shot offered by the jake on the left of the group. As the crosshairs were right where wanted, I might have forgot I was shooting a crossbow with a squeezing trigger control required, and may have instead reverted to my standard crush the shotgun trigger. Arrow away, I heard the impact, and saw the jake react as if impacted, but I knew that my aim was not true. All three birds ran off, with a chagrined kansasdad sitting there "asking what did I just do? "

One lone wing feather with a cut mark fluttering across the cut soybean field and my ears told me that something was hit. The way that all three of those birds ran off and the angle of the shot attempt makes me think that all that was hit was the wing (solo feather?). I marked where the birds ran across the field and entered the woods, and noted the direction that they were fleeing. I could see into the woods and follow them until they ran down into the dry watercourse. I hustled over hoping against reality that I would look down and see a dead turkey, but nothing. Increasing circular search pattern from the last spot I saw them go, I never turned up any turkeys, dead or otherwise.

After an intensive search, I returned to my hidey hole on the edge of the field. Five jakes approached from the east, perhaps unnerved by the half strut jake decoy shuddering and moving herky jerky in the wind, they slowed down their approach and finally stalled out about 35 yards out. After a quick discussion, it seemed they decided that staying away from these weird newcomers to their field, they moved to the far edge of the field.



Dark clouds with a lowering ceiling and rumbling thunder rolled in, spitting rain, and then heavy rain, and then finally dropping stinging hail which chased two toms off the field that had been headed my way.

This scene provided the comic relief to my keystone cops attempt at getting my first turkey with a crossbow. With apologies to Sesame Street......
"Some of these things are not like the other"