KANSAS
Wednesday, May 11th – Headed to Neodesha, Kansas to meet up with 7 new friends on a 4 day hunt for a Sho-Me Chapter Kansas Spring Turkey Hunt at VERDIGRIS VALLEY OUTFITTERS owned by Doug Arnold on 5000 acres of some of the best turkey hunting in Kansas, I have been told and now have witness. P.S. – What the next follow days bring will be by far some of the wildest things I have ever experienced as a hunter, I just hope things like this never stop happening.
Thursday, May 12th – 4:30 a.m. - Headed to the ground we are assigned to hunt.
5:00 a.m. – While walking in the dark along the edge of the field I grab my partners arm and told him to start backing up. There is skunk that stopped 10 feet right in front of me with his tail up. As we back up slowly the skunk took off running to the across the field.
5:30 a.m. – Blew dog whistle to see if I could shock gobble a gobbler and a hen sounded off along a tree line at the far creek.
6:00 a.m. – Watched a hen going thru the field we just pass thru and crossing are path and heading toward the back fence.
6:30 a.m. – Could still hear the hen calling in the trees.
7:00 a.m. – Watched 5 bucks with the lead buck already having a fork in his antlers at about 30 yards come out of the ditch and out of the trees and cross our path and head out into the field toward he back ditch.
7:30 a.m. – While walking toward the back fence a nice size possum decided to walk by.
10:00 a.m. – While walking back in the direction of the truck a hen decides she has stayed in the tree long enough this morning.
10:30 a.m. – While driving back down the gravel road along the property we watched 4 huge gobblers, 1 Jake and 2 hens walking across the field. Then we watched another hen cross the gravel road. We watched the turkeys trying to decide what we should do. One hen eventually came out on the paved road at the front of the property and decided to head down the opposite side road. Then cross onto the adjacent property followed by 2 gobblers and then two other they flew across.
We waited a little while and drove by the spot they cross and glassed them on the hill on the adjacent property. We decided that they would come back along the same path in the afternoon, so we would come back in the afternoon and find a place to set up back on the property we could hunt and lie and wait for them to show back up as they headed to roost. At least odds seemed to be in our favor.
11:30 a.m. - As we headed back the cabin two hens crossed the road. Then we watched a Jake along the side of the road.
Man what a morning to start my first Kansas hunt.
12:30 p.m. – When we got back we drove down the road to see the turkey might still be on that hill. We could view two. So that gives us hope. But the problem was parking so we decide to park on the county road in the ditch and walked back across so to the property we could hunt. That way the truck would not spook the turkeys.
1:00 p.m. – We found a place along the fence about 100 yards off of the road they crossed near a pond and since it was a hot day, I figured that they would get a drink before they headed past us to go to roost and that would give us enough warning time to get ready.
3:00 p.m. – Hen from the opposite direction, more than likely the one that crossed the gravel road early showed up about 20 yard and way then disappeared below a terrace and headed in the direction they are probably going to roost.
4:00 p.m. – A Jake shows up on he other side of the pond and walks up on the levee of the pond and walks thru the field behind us and over the hill and out of site. Then a gobbler shows up and heads in the opposite direction and disappears behind the pond. That leaves two hens and four gobblers that we have not seen.
4:30 p.m. – A hen and a nice gobbler show up across the field along what looks like an old grown up fence row and heads towards the pond. The hen is in the lead but seems to leave the gobbler behind and disappears over the rise behind the pond. The gobbler follows slowly and is feeding as he grows closer and also disappears over the same rise behind the pond.
5:00 p.m. – Four gobblers show up on the other side of the pond just on the rise. The worked their way down and disappeared behind the levee. We where set up for the turkey’s to pass in front of us, like they traveled this morning. That’s when I said we should stand up because they are going to follow the same path as the Jake and we will not be able to shoot because of the rise in the ground behind us. My partner moved down the hill from me about 10 yards. Both standing up and using the trees as cover we waited.
5:10 p.m. - They now show up from behind the levee and moving thru the open field. They are staying about 60 yard away from are location and moving parallel to us.
About another 20 yards they are going to disappear over the hill. So I bent down out of site and moved down to my partner’s location and ask him if it would be ok for me to call. He said we had nothing to loose.
5:20 p.m. – I moved back to my location and I could barely see the backs of the 4 gobblers. I started calling with mouth, and all 4 heads popped up. They now change direction and where moving at angle in my direction. I kept calling very softly and sparsely and they kept coming.
5:25 p.m. – The bird are now within killing range of 40 yards but I keep seeing only one bird at a time and I am not sure what my partner sees. But they keep coming but they are looking hard for the hen and the tree I am hiding behind does not give me much cover. Just then a chicken hawk appears fly right for me with a snake fighting for it’s life in it’s talons. I duck my head because I am afraid it’s going to hit me in the head. I can hear it lite in the tree just above my head and I am hoping a snake is not going to drop on top of me or this hunt will be over.
5:30 p.m. – I can now see two gobblers at 27 yards and they are looking hard for the hen. I hope my partner can see the other gobbler because I have lost them, due the slope of hill. I both gobblers raise their heads high and are right together in profile I aim at the closet gobbler and decide to take the shot.
BOOM!!!!!! I shot and both gobblers go down on their back and that’s it for them. Two birds one shot. My partner comes out of the trees and takes two shots at the others but it turned out that they are further back than I hoped. Come to find out behind the levee was another small pond so they did get a drink after all.
My first Kansas Gobblers
Gobbler No. 1 = Eastern Hybrid - 20 lbs. 9 oz., 9 ¾” Beard, 1 1/8” Spurs Gobbler No. 2 = Eastern Hybrid - 18 lbs. 4 oz., 9 ¼” Beard, 1” Spurs Gobbler No. 1 becomes my best spurs on a gobbler I have harvested.
After getting the turkeys tagged and into the truck we, head to the back field to see if we can find any other turkeys for my partner.
6:30 p.m. - We just cross the creek and start up into the field and 7 turkeys are in the middle of the field near the highline tower. We watch them and they head to the same tree line and ditch that we heard the hen that morning. We watch them go to roost near the same spot just across from what looks like an old red building that only the walls are left.
7:30 p.m. – We decide to the leave the birds and head back to the truck and hunt them in the morning. Not to leave out how the day began, as we are going down the gravel road the skunk decides to cross the road just to make sure we are still around I guess.
Also as we headed home the Jake from the midday decided to wait and fly back across the road as we came back by.
Friday, May 13th – Off course as a typical Friday the 13th it is lighting and raining like crazy. So every one stay in and waits for it to pass. My plan is to hope to get someone’s hunt on video, since both my tags are filled, and to me will be just as much fun.
8:30 a.m. – Heading down the main paved road there are three hens a Gobbler in full strut just off the side of the road. Then we get to the same field that the Jake was in and a Gobbler basically tries to commit suicide by speeding truck.
Well few more miles down the road I had my head turned looking for other turkeys a hen decides to add a few more years of gray hair by trying to hit my windshield.
Finally we get to the front property and park along the front and start walking toward back checking each field along the way.
We get to the last pasture where we watched the turkey go to roost. Can see one turkey in the distance near a point in front of the red building walls. Finally get sat down and we here a hen. We call very lightly and she responds and shows up and calls, and walks around looking for us.
9:30 a.m. - Hoping she will call in a gobbler but does not, but puts on a great show for video camera.
10:30 a.m. – Second hen shows up again putting on a great show. But, no gobbler follows. Again great show for the camera, along with some cattle that came in and watched a little bull and a big bull who did not like my presents in the area. Just amazing so many hens in this back field and not one gobbler. Has to be a reason for this.
12:00 p.m. – We head back to the cabin to do a little re-grouping of a game plan. Just another wild drive back on the main paved road. Started taking picture of an owl sitting on a oil rig, but could only get the camera out soon enough to take pictures of it sitting on electric pole.
Then we round the corner and I have to put my brakes on because in the middle of my lane a Gobbler is breeding a hen and is not worried about the vehicle doing 55 mph. It waited until I came to a stop before running and turned out to be two more gobblers on the side of the road as they ran.
If I did not put on the brakes I would have for sure killed him. Tried to get the camera on but I was too slow.
Little further down the road had four buzzards eating on a armadillo on the side of the road, did get a picture of one taking off from a fence post.
3:00 p.m. – We headed to a different farm to hunt and found some fresh gobbler and hen tracks in the mud from this morning storm.
3:30 p.m. – A as we made are way by a pond, we could hear a hen start calling. A second storm made its way in bringing some thunder and along with a gobbler who answered it about for times. I started calling and it gobbler one time closer but then the storm brought some heavy rain which shut him down.
5:30 p.m. – The clouds broke but a third storm was coming in quick so we tried to cut our distance from the gobbler but could not find him.
6:30 p.m. – Could see a hen coming from a field, and could also hear a hen call from the other tree line as we made our way to the truck.
7:30 p.m. – Back at the Cabin we could here some gobbling behind the cabin after we got back. Rained late into the night.
Saturday, May 14th – Well because of the rain we could not hunt the last area we were at the day before because of the rain so we decided to go to the area we had hunted the most since the morning was clear and we only had small creeks to cross at anytime. Since I had filled both my tags I was leaving at 12:00 p.m. so we drove separate this day, that way he could keep hunting.
5:30 a.m. – Again on the main paved road going in it was like watching a moving in slow motion as I followed my partner. I wish I would had the video camera mounted to the dash as I watch a deer come out of a gravel road and disappear in front of his truck and then all I saw was a deer flying thru the air and into a ditch. Well, that official does it my partner is official snake bit in Kansas. He hit a doe and broke her back and took out his front corner of his truck. Plus after the sheriff got there and filled out paper work, that put us behind a whole hour.
6:30 a.m. – Again we both park along the front property line, as soon as we got park I laughed as I watched another deer cross the road at the top of the hill, we work are way back thru the field hoping to catch gobbler in the open.
6:45 a.m. – I here one gobble, we walked to top of hill and I called and two gobbler answers and we got set up. But never heard them again, then we heard a shot in the distance. We assumed that the gobblers must had gone the opposite direction to another hunter on the adjacent property. Well that’s hunting, so off we went again headed to the back of the property.
7:30 a.m. – We made it to the field with the 7 turkeys, two days before. This time I could see turkeys on the point in the center of the field along with a deer’s back in the grass. We sat up in the same place the morning before and I could see the turkey on the point heading our way had a read head as I glass and got the video camera set up.
But, he never showed.
8:00 a.m. – I could see in the video camera and with the monocular 7 turkeys in the field I appeared that two had red head but so far off could not be for sure. They did look bigger than he other 5 turkeys. Try calling but they did not even look. They roamed back and forth until 6 turkeys went one direction and 1 turkey broke off and left he area.
8:15 a.m. – I suggest as they went past the tree line in the distance that we go after them to get a little closer to see if they were any gobbler or not in this group.
8:30 a.m. – As we got within 10 feet of the point we had watched so many times before I could see a hen about 20 yards from the other side tree line. So we both got on our knees. Then I could see a second hen, stretched her wings. I walked on my knees to the tree closet and then put then sat the camera on the ground and stood up slowly, behind the tree.
I watched glassed both hens and single to my partner to move over to the trees behind me. Then single to him to come up to me using me as cover.
We both watched as now five hens worked within 20 yards of our location just along the opposite tree line. We were on a 90 degree corner of point of trees just near the red building walls.
But, we are in trouble the hen appear to be working our direction. We will get busted if they get much closer.
Then my partner saw two jakes trailing behind. I looked thru the monocular and I could see beards on the jakes. I ask him if he could get this gun up on my shoulder. As he put the gun up I put my finger in my ear on that side and pull my hat over my eyes and lean into the tree face first, to keep the hens from seeing my eyes.
8:45 a.m. – I have to go with what my partner told me since I could not see. He said the hen came out onto our side as the Jake came closer and closer but not quite as close as the hens did. He could see both heads in his scope and as soon as they cross the last tree he was going to try and take both as the same time. But then the hens started putting which I could hear also, and the Jake stop and he said he had one head in the scope. BOOOM!!!!!
Every muscle in my body jumped as I move out from behind the tree but I looked in the wrong direction, all I could see was turkeys flying.
I said did you get him. He said yes over their. One bird was flopping on the ground at about 40 yards.
9:45 a.m. – We finally made it back to he truck from the back. I took off back to the cabin and had to stop for two hens on the main road again. This time I got a nice picture, just before going into the trees.
11:30 a.m. – Packed up and left my first Kansas hunt. What an adventure, hope all my hunts are this exciting. Others still had 1 ½ days left.
But when I left this was the total.
1 Jake taken on Thursday, May 12th
2 Gobbler taken on Thursday, May 12th
1 Gobbler taken on Saturday, May 13th
1 Jake taken on Saturday, May 13th
1 Road hit doe.
I would like the thank Doug Arnold - VERDIGRIS VALLEY OUTFITTERS for the Great Stories about Africa and the great hunting in Kansas.