Getting our vests on and loading all our blinds,guns,decoys,chairs,camera gear and backpacks on our backs we headed out. The two Jims one way and Brennan and I in another. It was a short walk for us of maybe 200 yards and we opened up our blind and began setting everything up. It was about 4:30 and the official hunting hours began at 5:31. We located ourselves about 50 yards inside the edge of a large pasture in newly thinned ponderosa pine timber. We had watched several toms on our scouting trips fly down from their roosts and walk the cat trail thru the timber which should have placed them within 25 to 30 yards from where we set up. At about 5:30 the hills behind us began to awaken, beginning first with a few hen yelps and then with the gobblers sounding off along the entire ridgeline behind us. In both directions east and west of us for about a half a mile the toms were gobbling and the hens were yelping. This went on for about 15 minutes and then they started flying down.
Like the flying monkeys scene from The Wizard of Oz, the turkeys flew down. The adrenaline was pumping as if we were hooked up to an IV. They were landing mostly in the meadows and the toms immediately began to strut their stuff. Gobbling and strutting and trying to impress the hens. Then four toms flew down and landed about 100 yards down from us and began walking the cat trail towards us. Strutting and gobbling as they moved closer. It didnt take them long to get along side of where we were set. Brennan was loaded and ready, I had the video camera rolling. As they got within range and with Brennan ready to shoot, the toms walked in front of a dense section of timber and brush. The early morning light that we had on the clear days scouting was not to be had on this dark wet day in the timber today. The toms that we had scouted just days before walked by the blind about 25 yards away and with only fleeting glimpes of the them as they walked past the openings of some of the trees. Whenever they would stop to gobble or strut, the brush or trees behind them made them disappear in the darkness and offered no visible shot. With no clear shot Brennan reluctantly passed on squeezing the trigger, a difficult decision but the right one. I know some hunters would have shot anyway with the hope of hitting one, it isn't easy to pass on such a situation but its down to basics, Be Sure of Your Target. Even after reviewing the footage on the video it was clear he had made the right decision. No clear shot. Another lesson learned when hunting in turkeys in the timber, make sure its the right spot in sunny or overcast days as well and take into consideration the shooting lanes that are available at these changing conditions.
The turkeys remained in the fields strutting most of the morning and no amount of calling would detour them from the hens in the fields. After watching them for a couple hours we decided to do some hunting up on the ridges where we knew some of these turkeys would go. An hour later we saw 3 toms strutting on the top of a game trail. We set up next to the trail about 80 yards from them and after a few soft yelps they started our way, they would strut down about 10 yards and strut back up to the top of the trail. This went on for 10 minutes and eventually they strutted over the top and out of sight. We decided to hurry up to the top where they went and see if they were in range when we got there. Boy were they in range, about 15 turkeys, most of them toms, were right there, maybe 10 to 15 yards away. Brennan picked one out that was strutting, then another and another, they had seen us and were all bobbing and weaving, he picked one, shot, the flock flushed and exploded in every direction and were gone down the hill and through the timber. Missed. After it all settled down and after he stopped kicking himself in the butt for missing we realized just how much fun it was anyway! Thats what we're here for! I was wondering if we should have switched the choke tubes back out to modified for opening day turkeys. The extra full turkey choke he had in his Benelli works well on many occassions but for close up shots, they're not very forgiving, especially on super close range gobblers and young hunters out hunting for their first gobbler :)
Well, we're headed back out again, I'll keep you posted on how it works out. Hopefully we'll won't have too many more hard lessons to learn. He's excited to get his first turkey and I'm pretty sure he will. One thing about turkey hunting, you're never too old to learn something new!
Good luck hunting! Send me your stories! Rich
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