poorhunter
Well-Known Member
I've called in a couple (2) for kids but this is my first in three years. I've actually heard quite a few more birds than I have for the past few years too. Not seeing many hens, but heard 5 on the roost yesterday in my hollar just on other properties. Today I went to my two best farms that adjoin each other. Parked at 515 and had one gobble when I closed the door. He was on a neighbor's so I proceeded to walk the 1/2 mile to my usual listening spot across the creek. That one continued to gobble and a couple others near to him picked up close to daylight, but I never heard the first gobble where I wanted to hunt. So after fly down I walked all the way back to where I parked and crossed to where he was. Got near to the property line and set up and called and he gobbled well for the next 30 minutes but just wouldn't commit over the ridge to my side. When he wasn't gobbling I could hear him drumming the whole time. I finally heard a hen so I started calling to her and she abruptly took him away a couple hundred yards. Rats! I knew where they were going and it was further into the neighbors so I had to do something. I moved along the property line and set up again. I broke out a box call that my father in law gave me this winter...I almost didn't take it but I thought I'd be polite. Well, he ate that box call up and turned around and committed all the way in drumming to 45 yards where I killed him. Couldn't really let him get closer since the woods were so open. First time I ever used a box call in almost 30 years of turkey hunting. I always thought they sounded terrible although every time I mistook a real hen for a hunter it was because I thought it was a box call I was hearing.
Fast forward to after I get home. Show the wife and kiddos the turkey, eat breakfast with family and go outside to clean it. Lo and behold two turkeys gobble, one on the neighbors and one on my place! Haven't heard one on my place in a couple years even though they're all around me. One of my girls got her clothes on real quick and I grabbed her gun and my vest. I had a good idea where they wanted to go based on where I heard them. So we circled the long way on our logging trails and got ahead of them. I called a few times but nothing. I started to work my way down a spur when my daughter said to try and sound like two hens. So did the box call and diaphragm together and POW they gobbled about 300 yards down in the bottom! We started to work down and find a good spot when I caught movement. We just sat down in place. I called and POW they gobbled again but not where I saw movement. Turned out it was a pileated woodpecker. By this time the gobblers have worked themselves all the way up the logging trail that connected to the one we took up but we were caught unable to move into a good spot. They came the rest of the way on the trail and stayed there strutting and gobbling 75 yards away just over a rise. Finally they came over the rise but hung up at 45 yards and would not come any closer since they couldn't see a hen. They moved off back down the ridge and crossed the creek back onto the neighbors. No kill but a great hunt!
Fast forward to after I get home. Show the wife and kiddos the turkey, eat breakfast with family and go outside to clean it. Lo and behold two turkeys gobble, one on the neighbors and one on my place! Haven't heard one on my place in a couple years even though they're all around me. One of my girls got her clothes on real quick and I grabbed her gun and my vest. I had a good idea where they wanted to go based on where I heard them. So we circled the long way on our logging trails and got ahead of them. I called a few times but nothing. I started to work my way down a spur when my daughter said to try and sound like two hens. So did the box call and diaphragm together and POW they gobbled about 300 yards down in the bottom! We started to work down and find a good spot when I caught movement. We just sat down in place. I called and POW they gobbled again but not where I saw movement. Turned out it was a pileated woodpecker. By this time the gobblers have worked themselves all the way up the logging trail that connected to the one we took up but we were caught unable to move into a good spot. They came the rest of the way on the trail and stayed there strutting and gobbling 75 yards away just over a rise. Finally they came over the rise but hung up at 45 yards and would not come any closer since they couldn't see a hen. They moved off back down the ridge and crossed the creek back onto the neighbors. No kill but a great hunt!
