Finally!!!

I just sent SuperCore home. He was down this morning scouting with me. As you remember, SuperCore is the longtime friend that I coaxed into deer hunting turkey hunting. This is his first season. KY’s Spring Gobbler season doesn’t start until mid-April. I just wanted to take him out and let him hear some real turkeys.

As it was last weekend, the morning flydown was a complete bust. We heard a few gobblers, but they were a long way off. About 9, we knocked off and came back to the house to warm up and get some coffee. Morning temps were about 28F when we started. After we’d been sitting a while we went off looking for sign and to see if there might be a quiet flock out trying to get warm in the sunshine.

I had already glassed this one pasture and saw that it was empty, and we went round to some of my blinds in another pasture so that I could show him how just pulling a cedar bough up in front of a tree can be a very effective blind. We were on our way to check out the family campground at the back of the property when I spied some deer out in the same pasture that I’d already glassed over a few minutes before. It was getting on towards 1000 by this time and I guess they had slipped in while I was talking to SuperCore about the blinds. Anyhow, we knelt in the treeline and watched the deer for a while.

Then I saw a big black spot coming across the field. Huzzah! It was a big ol’ gob going in and out of full strut. He seemed to have some hens or something over our way that had his interest, and we were lucky to get down and out of sight before he made us. It took about 10 minutes for him to come all the way over. I wish I could have called to him a little, but alas KY forbids mimicking the sound of turkeys from March 1 to the start of season. Still, Supercore and I made enough noise shifting our weight in the leaves, that I guess he heard enough to keep coming. I saw him for a moment. I told SuperCore to get his gun up and. . .

Well, really SuperCore didn’t have a shotgun. We were just out scouting. But Supercore did get into his stance behind a cedar and did a good job of performing an air-shotgun with his fingers in the general direction of the gobbler. Sure enough, the gobbler popped out again less than 10 yards away. Supercore would have had him dead to rights. The turkey ducked back down and I whispered to Supercore that the turkey was doing an end-around to check us out. Ten seconds later, that gob poked his head up above the weeds a few yards to the left and SuperCore’s trusty phantom shotgun counted coup on the gobbler a second time. By now the gobbler knew something was up, putted, punched his afterburners and took off for the far end of the field, scaring the deer as he went.

Later, as we went back over the exercise I had to admit that I was not a turkey hunting genius. It is never THAT easy, and that in 28 seasons, I had a) never had a gobbler come in on transient noise alone b) never been able to get the drop on a gobbler when I was just out walking and had him strut right up to me c) never had gobbler come up, and examine me so acutely and then come back for a second look d), e) , f). . . bottom line, this had been a gift from the forest and it would be a long time before he got to see the likes of it again.

The one other thing to note: outside of putting after we had been busted, that gobbler never made a sound. He was a dead silent customer. This could be part of the problem with the turkeys, and why I’ve not been able to get on any in 3 weekends of scouting now. Something may have these boys seriously lock-jawed. The other thing I’m a bit surprised over is seeing a lone mature gobbler out in the middle of a field with no hens. We’ll have to see. Next weekend is Yute Season, and Angus will be at bat.

Tomorrow Angus will be going out to spot with me. Moose is coming along too. They’ll be arriving soon, and we still have Moose’s shotgun to pattern. More later!

This post has already been read 284 times!