The cell phone vibrated on my desk. “Alex” blinking in the display. Odd call at this time in the work day. He is usually at class and he had already called the day prior with good news that his wrist was not broken. A Monday morning x-ray following the Friday Spring football game came up clean and that was great news.
Now a Tuesday call in the morning, this could not be good, funny how your mind will try to figure things out and put a little anxiety in your head in the seconds it takes to answer a phone.
Al said his usual “what up?” “Nothing just working” I said. “Oh” he said, “I just got out of class and they canceled my only class on Thursday. I am coming home and we can hunt together! I will be their Wednesday afternoon in time to scout and roost the birds.”
That was really great news. I had all 4 blinds placed, 6 cameras checked and had a few flocks patterned at least the best you can this season.
The blinds have been up and down a couple of times. I try and get them in place so they can get used to them. However, this year wet heavy record setting snow had me taking them down to avoid damage and resetting. It was a very late spring and the birds would strut in open patches of ground when possible. I had a cool photo of a Tom breeding a hen in the snow. So, the patterns were just pretty good guesses. If the snow finally left. I set up in the first spots that usually clear.
My season started Wednesday morning. I had been waiting patiently to get back hunting. A good spring hunt in mid-April is just what is needed to bridge the cabin fever from that last deer hunt in late December. Four and a half months of pent up hunting adrenaline.
I swallowed hard and said great cannot wait! It really wasn’t that hard to wait one more day to carry a gun into the field. Especially if I get to share it. I would even wait two days, maybe three we will not ask about what my answer would be if I had to wait four days, that would be uncivilized to answer or ask. It was worth the wait. Not going out at all would reduce the risk of seeing a Tom and taking him before Al got home. He looked forward to it. Hunting with someone and getting nothing is more fun than hunting alone and filling a tag.
Work went fast on Wednesday. I refused to look at my cameras. Stay focused and un-tempted.
I walked in the door and there he was two huge clothes baskets full of laundry. A gift to his mother. She is a special person.
The conversation quickly went to turkey hunting. Let’s go roost them. By the way did you see the huge Tom on the hill? 6:05 this morning directly in front of your blind.
Really? Cool. Glad I waited or you would not have a chance to hunt with me.
We decided to scout another piece of property the same property that I shot my buck in last fall. We had not seen the birds on camera lately and wanted to roost them to see where they were hiding out of camera range.
Task decided. I dressed in my camo and took my gun, after all it was my season and it was open. Al decided to come with in tennis shoes, shorts and “bulldog football” sweat shirt.
He did bring his brand-new Tom decoy with a fan to hide behind, so he says. Al picked it up on the way home as his addition to our collection of must have decoys.
We arrived at the small snowless field in the center of pine grove. Gave a few clucks, yelps and putts and even had some help from an angry crow and very loud owl. Even with all that it gave us no help in locating a tom heading to roost. We walked upon three hens and played with them a while moving them around and coaxing them on and off the ridge. Good practice, good patience, but no gobblers.
End of scouting. We were unable to locate a Tom. Decision set. Not there.
Decision confirmed. Heading to where the tom was on camera the morning before.
Stop thinking and start sleeping, 4:45 would come quickly and we had to sleep fast if we’re not going to oversleep and be late. Our photo recon says early appearances.
Sleeping fast and sleeping well never go together for me. This was no exception. I woke well before the alarm and was up and dressing when Alex would come and make sure I was getting up. He had a startled look on his face when he saw me standing there ready to go.
Ok let’s go. We scrambled to the preloaded truck and took the 4-minute drive to the parking spot. Yes 4 minutes. That is nice, it starts getting light at 5:30 and we wanted to get in our blind before light. We have hunted this spot before and been busted by roosting birds. With no leaves on the trees the birds an unobstructed view of the field.
We were experiencing an extremely tough spring record setting snow (15 inches) had hit less than a week ago. That being said it was followed by warm winds in the 40’s and 50’s and all but the very deepest of drift on the north slopes were gone.
The heavy wet snow had knocked down any of last year’s vegetation and made the ground quiet and soggy. The new growth of alfalfa was starting to get green underfoot and made little or no noise as we walked quickly and quietly to the set up.
This was a favorite spot that has produced success year after year. We were not the only hunters that used it and we let hunters that also hunt use our blind, chairs and decoys if needed.
We approached the blind site. Alex stopped in mid step and said. Who has the other tent just to the north of us? It’s not a tent it is round bale that got away from our farmer and rolled to the edge of the woods just feet away from dropping a couple of hundred feet down the valley.
He said “oh good, I was worried for a second.” His eyes are much better than mine and if he could not tell it was a big round bale I knew we were ok with our timing. The only reason I knew it was there was setting up two weeks prior. I set it up on a Thursday night not looking at the weather forecast.
I proudly perched myself in the recliner, feeling really good I was all done setting the blind and camera. All completed in plenty of time to let the birds get used to it. The proud feeling left as fast as it appeared when I heard the weather on the 10 o clock news. 12 to 20 inches of wet heavy snow was heading our way starting Saturday morning.
I was up at 6 am the next morning taking down the blind to avoid the damage a storm like that can do to a pop up blind. Good practice I guess and I needed it. I had a front row seat on the struggle bus unfolding the pop up blind the first time. I patted myself on the back NOT setting up the trail camera first. No on needed to see my awkwardness. We will keep them to myself thank you. The blind went down much easier that it went up. The practice helped. It took me less than half the time to reset the blind. It was 5 days later but still enough time for the birds to get familiar with it.
The blind was set at field edge next to a 12 inch poplar that I tied the blind too. The field was contour farmed. A large 150 acres plus of rolling hills surrounded by deep wooded valleys of hardwoods mostly leafless oaks and maples this early in the spring. The strip of field closest to the woods was alfalfa. Low cut and greening the made for a natural spot for the proud Toms to strut.
Behind the blind was a heavily wooded razor back rock point. Narrow and rocky stopping abruptly to a bluff that went straight down to a base where two valleys met and bordered this field on two sides. The low spot made it comfortable in Southeast and Southwest wind. West and North winds were quite another story. A natural opening with exceptional roosting areas on three sides.
We approached the blind, we had no lights just the murky light of a setting moon. No blind. At least no blind at first glance. The warm breezes that erased the snow had blown down the blind and collapsed it. Luckily it was tied off to the poplar. I confidently said “Al set up the decoys I will reset the blind.” It was set up quickly and quietly in less than 3 minutes.
We crawled in and I sat in my chair at 5:30. I could feel the little grin on my face. I got that blind up so fast and so quiet! Practice, practice, practice. Even if you did not intend to practice. It pays off. I took the smile off my face. The last time I sat so pleased with myself the weatherman rained on my parade.
We settled in, a beautiful morning 37 degrees and rising temps. Little to no wind and not a sound. No crows, No owls, No deer, Nothing. The sky was getting light, you could see the decoys clearly in the field just 15 yards away. We were facing north. The sky getting brighter to our right illuminating the tall bare trees on three sides of us. Alex sitting to my left on call only duty, no gun for him this trip, he was hear just to share. His season would be one week later.
We both pulled our phones to check the time. 5:35 not even an hour from being in the driveway and we were fully set up and ready. We could make out the tree tops around us and noticed 4 dark blobs less than 100 feet from us. They had to be birds.
We had to be exceptionally quiet now they were too close to even whisper loudly or accidently brush against the canvas and make that screechy game spooking noise that we all have fallen victim too.
We pointed at the blobs smiled and took a deep breath. I made eye contact with Al and gave him a sign “call?” he shook his head NO. I agreed we have not heard a single thing yet. Don’t be first this early. We waited and rested for less than a minute and we heard it like he was sitting on our shoulder. The gobble was loud and close. We looked at each other and got set. I pulled my gun to my knees and waited. A distant gobble answered. He rattled our silence again. He sounded like he was still in the tree. We could still see the 4 blobs on the branches but could not make out whether they were toms or hens. Another gobble followed. Another gobble answered a to the north a bit farther but plenty close to let us know we had options.
A few more minutes of silence and then the ruffle of feathers as a bird took flight. Anxiety, did we spook it somehow? Or was he just getting off the roost. Was it him or one of the hens? Spooked hens lead to spooked Toms. If she flew down the valley instead of to our field we were in for a battle.
Alex and I looked at each other without saying a thing we knew this was going to be very quick or very long. But very fun either way. The blob in the trees were starting to move but oddly quiet. From the corner of my eye I caught movement. I motion and whispered to Alex I see one. A tom! Less than 5 feet from the blind a big red head was walking out of the woods and straight at the Tom decoy Alex had set up. I slowly raised my gun. The bird was so close Alex couldn’t see it because of the angle of the window. I am sure he thought I was messing with him. How could I have my gun up already and he cannot even see the bird? The big dominant bird did not like being beaten to the field specially when there was a hen with. He moved at the decoy with a mission slow and steady, He finally was visible to Alex. The bird was moving away. An odd feeling, normally I would be anxious if a bird was moving away. Not this time, if I shot at him when he was just 5 to 7 feet away my pattern would be so small I would miss for sure. I had patterned our guns and the shotgun I was carrying had a nice tight grouping at 30 yards. At 7 feet, all I could hope for was maybe the wad holding the bb’s would knock it out or slow it down and offer me a second chance.
I already warned Alex I planned on having to shoot twice this year as my new gun was not fine-tuned yet. The Tom approached the decoy fanned and gave me a look at his back side. I was watching him down the ribbing of my barrel, he folded his fan and turned left. His last left turn. Alex whispered take him. The gun barked, the bird flopped. We looked at each other and smiled. Our phones said 5:45.
We said did that just happen? It reminded me of my first turkey hunt. A little longer but the same set up. Bird approached from behind straight to decoy boom, done, fun. That hunt got me hooked on turkey hunting.
Now what do we do for the rest of the season and rest of the day? We looked out the blind window and 3 of the 4 birds were still roosted. We were stuck until they flew down. We had another season and did not want to over educate the remaining game. The upcoming season we both had tags!
What followed was a wonderful show. Two deer graced us with their presence. Two Jakes appeared and gobble bashfully approached the decoys. Alex practiced calling to them. The hens in the trees were not impressed with the Jakes displays and stayed roosted. Behind the two Jakes just up the valley a Big Tom crested the hill fanned and gobbled. The jakes looked nervous. They just got caught showing off and now were surrounded by a big real Tom behind them and a big fake tom in front of the. Along with a big spurred dead tom a few feet past the fake. What a show. The big boy walked toward the jakes but stayed on the ridge of the hill and walked back toward the and let out a gobble. Seconds later the tree exploded with noisy wings flying over the Jakes to the Tom now a hundred yards away. Poor jakes worked so hard to get the ladies to come dance. One fan and one gobble from a mature tom and they were gone.
It was now approaching 7 am The coast was clear and we were able to gather our prize take a few photos, laugh and go home. One tag filled, one more memory that was much more than just a quick shot and gone.
Tagged out in season 1 in 2018…
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