MD gobbler makes a mistake

[DaveH]

I skipped Opening day and had problems getting to my desired location on Tuesday morning when I walked through a swale that I thought was dry (it has been very dry for a couple weeks and I had walked through a part of it the afternoon prior). Well, the part I picked in the dark was pock-marked and sloppy due to the cattle and I got mired in the muck and came close to falling numerous times while pulling each foot - with boot - from the mud. Not fun!

The turkeys haven't been hanging around the land I have access to for the last couple years - at least not around turkey season - and I hadn't seen much during my scouting trips or conversations with the landowner to convince me that this season would be different. So I sat at the same tree where I killed a nice gobbler a few years ago.

About 6:10am, I was getting ready to cluck a bit when a gobble rang out from behind me . . . UP the hill, ACROSS the stream and on property owned by a hunt club -- DARN IT! He gobbled at my calls though and then a real hen on my side added to the allure. He started coming my way, but I knew he'd stop at the creek -- I've only been able to call one or two across it over the years. The hen left before he got there, but he kept coming . . . and then I heard him plop down on MY side! I couldn't tell where he landed though and a good part of my vision is obscured by a giant rhododendron bush that gives me excellent cover. He gobbled again about 30 yards in front of me, but I couldn't see a thing. He started spitting and drumming along with his gobbling and after a few minutes of this, I saw parts of him strutting to my left - but no shot. Eventually he started to my right and came out of the obstructions and I was able to get a clear shot at about 20 yards. He dropped like a rock and never even flopped - just like the one I shot from this tree a few years earlier! I checked my watch and saw that I was done by 6:45am!

[DaveH]

I forgot to add - I didn't weigh the bird but estimated his weight about 18lbs or so. The vast majority of his beard was frozen off at the 1 inch mark - it looked like someone had used scissors on him. The 20 or so hairs that remained were about 8" long and his spurs were about 3/4".
Not a monster, but very satisfying!

[PABUCKTRACKER]

Hey Dave,

First off congrats! And second Where do you hunt turkeys in Maryland? I lived in Rockville for two years and Noone could tell me where to hunt Turkeys? I am not looking for your honey holes. Just wanted to where to start. I live in PA and kill Several every season. And i think we are moving back down there.

Thanks
AJ

[Western MA Hunter]

nice... congrats...

[IL-Cornfed]

Congrats on your Gobbler!

[DaveH]

PABUCK-I hunt the mountains of Western MD. I hunted public land for quite a few years -often successfully - before I made some friends out there with landowners and it's kind of snowballed since then. I suggest Savage River state forest as a good place to start. There's turkeys everywhere, but some places are better than others. If you don't want to go that far west, Greenridge State forest in Alleghany county has lots of birds and Billmeyer WMA which is adjacent is pretty good as well. Those areas are usually full of hunters the first week, but it falls off after that. PM me if you want more specifics.

[Ridge Runner]

if it looked like it was cut that was from the shot, unless the beard was blonde on the ends, then thats from "red rot"
probably a 2 yo gobbler, they make it fun!.
if it used to be a good place for gobblers it will be always, after 30 years at it I gave up this scouting!
congrats on your sucessful hunt!
RR

[Canuck33]

Congrats on a great birds bud sounds like you earned it way to stick with it you never know what those old boys will do

[Rickmur]

Congratulations

[JW]

Way to go Dave!

JW