Larry A. Smail's Blog

Getting hot!

Thursday, May 18th, I elected to hunt near my old homestead. I walked to a high point in a field to listen for gobbler talk. Around  5:30 A.M. I heard a very far and muffled gobble. I began to get the feeling as to “C’mon which direction was that gobble?” I walked another fifty feet listening for another gobble

Suddenly, I heard a gobble way off at the end of this field at a place I have tried over the years to work gobblers.(About two hundred yards.) Before I began the trek  I heard another tom much closer and behind me. However, after thought I decided to move towards the more distant gobbler and set up along the field where both of these toms could easily hear me. (Not the best move of the day.)

Female Scarlet tanager

I set up in the brush and began calling. Now there were five turkeys occasionally gobbling. I began to wish I would have chosen

My allergic rashes

a better place to set up. After fly-down time was upon me I saw three gobblers coming out of the woods across the field. (Theses birds were the from the closer area that I failed to move on. There was a lot of woods debris and Multiflora Rose and I didn’t believe I could get to them without being spotted or heard.)

The three birds came to about seventy yards. The contour of the field didn’t allow a positive ID, but I suspect they were three young gobblers or Jakes. I couldn’t get them any closer. The other two gobblers had quit by this time and game was over. I quit hunting early for I had some commitments, both, in the mid-morning and afternoon.

However, I had a plan for the next morning!

Today, May 19, I moved out to the end of the field very early and sat down to await whatever the morning would offer. My plan was to adjust my positioning as needed once I heard a gobbler. Little did I know that 5:20 A.M. gobble would dictate my position and I was already in place!

My unused shotgun!

The gobbler was about forty yards from me. I couldn’t chance moving now! I looked the set-up site over and realized many negative things, but I had hope on a couple of positive things as well. Directly between the gobbler and me were some tree-tops from an earlier lumbering operation. Directly to the right of this tree top was a small opening where a gobbler may walk through, and to my left was another opening. I had to try to be confident.

The one gobbler gobbled until 6:40. A second tom gobbled several times in that time frame.  I heard a primary wing feather rubbing against a limb. Gobblers here tend to just soar to the side of the hill and walk to the lower field. Gobblers roosting here can see two fields once daylight is upon them. Setting up without being spotted is very difficult. The shotgun remained in a semi-ready position most of that time. I sat like a stone until seven o’clock after the last gobble. The morning was done!

Later, I turned to the field behind me. I watched a lone hen eating.

I decided to head through the lower field and try to stir one up with lustful calling. I walked the field’s edge to another woodland setting. I walked a ways and stirred up nothing. I did, however, find three Box Turtles! Two of them were together.

The mile long walk across hills and hollows was hot as I arrived at the Jeep at 9:30.

Bobolink

Other interesting critters I saw was a Bobolink. I haven’t seen one of those birds in a very long time. I saw a buck, and some squirrels, too. I formulated another plan for tomorrow if I hunt. The plan is a very risky move on my part, but time will tell. However, the gobblers will need to be there as well!