----- TEAM 15 ------- ( Check In )
04-01-2009, 08:10 AM
#21
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location:
Posts: 1,927
RE: ----- TEAM 15 ------- ( Check In )
Weather has been poor. Opening weekend is the 11th. Youth season is this Saturday but my toddlers are too small yet. I've taken off the 24th and 25th for my birthday and hopefully will get some opportunities then.
04-08-2009, 04:57 AM
#22
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: NW OHIO
Posts: 221
RE: ----- TEAM 15 ------- ( Check In )
Bad news guys- i had a terrible accident on monday while shooting my bow thats left me mostly blind in my left eye.
My release broke resulting in my eye having a severe contusion - its a long story , but ultimately i wont be shooting my bow this spring for sure - if ever. Ill probobly be out filming a handful of times with a couple of locals but i wont be whackin tommy this year. i wish everyone the best of luck , ill still be checkin in. ill try to get a hunt or two edited and on here yet in april.
My release broke resulting in my eye having a severe contusion - its a long story , but ultimately i wont be shooting my bow this spring for sure - if ever. Ill probobly be out filming a handful of times with a couple of locals but i wont be whackin tommy this year. i wish everyone the best of luck , ill still be checkin in. ill try to get a hunt or two edited and on here yet in april.
04-16-2009, 06:20 AM
#24
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location:
Posts: 1,927
RE: ----- TEAM 15 ------- ( Check In )
Opening morning was Saturday and I was chasing tom with my shotgun, my bow will come into play next weekend:
I went out Saturday morning an hour before light to a spot on National Forest land that has held gobblers year after year; a large bench on the east side of a mountain. I've tried several approaches to get above the bench in the past and decided that my best bet was to go to the right (North) of the bench a few hundred yards, climb to the top and walk the ridge to above the bench and drop down. When I got within a hundred yards of the crest a turkey busted out of it's roost about 60 yards away. Ok, I thought, either I busted a tom off his roost or a hen. If it was a hen I figured there'd be more then one, either way I decided to continue with my plan. Ten yards later another turkey flew off, and then another. Finally when just a short distance from topping out another turkey busted out of the tree I had my hand resting on. That one startled me.
I discovered that this area at the top had been burned over in a summer forest fire. The undergrowth was mostly cleared but there was plenty of leaf litter from the previous fall. Should be good for turkeys. I followed the ridge and dropped down to where I thought I was about 100 yards above the bench (turned out I was closer to 200 yards and a little further south). Come first light I heard a gobbler far off below, near the creek bottom. He was double gobbling. I also had some hens somewhere below me. I did a soft tree yelp. About 6:20 the hens were really going at it and I imitated the dominate hen as best I could. She sounded really fired up. Gobbler was still gobbling far off. I thought I'd call the hens towards me and see if they'd drag a tom with them. The birds were very vocal until about 6:30. I heard some cars coming up the gravel road down below (who comes in the woods this late during turkey season?) I also started to hear a human calling below and to my right (he would answer my calls and also did some coyote yelps later in the morning?!) All the birds shut up. By 9:00 the wind had really picked up and the temp had dropped. I figured I'd drop down to the protected bottoms where I had heard the gobbler. Maybe they were seeking shelter from the wind down there. As I walked I realized that I had been on the leeward side and the wind was actually even harder then I thought around on the east face. Movement off the side of the mountain caught my eye and I looked to see the grey back of two hens gliding across the valley. I wondered if they had jumped from down below me. Another 50 yards down I was just entering the bench and a gobbler took flight 30 yards in front of me and flew the opposite direction of the hens. I continued to the bottom and inside the woods from some fields I gave a couple of yelps. Nothing. Walking further in the woods between the two fields I see another hunter heading toward the road. I hoped I hadn't bumped him off his position. I hadn't. We talked for awhile and with another hunter who drove up. No one had heard anything, but neither had been there when I drove in in the dark. I headed on as planned and dropped into a creek bottom. On the edge of the dropoff before going down I found a lone deer bed with some shed long hairs in it. As cold as the morning was he better not be too quick in getting his summer coat. It was a steep climb down and I followed a deer trail to the creek. I found one downy turkey feather stuck to a mountain laurel bush soon after I had thought no turkey would be in stuff this thick. In the bottom it opened into a hardwood and I gave some calls before emerging out of cover. No answer. I made my way along the creek occassionally calling but getting no reply. I saw wings flapping in front of me and thought I'd bumped another turkey but it turned out to be a barred owl who came to rest on an bare oak tree to see what had disturbed his morning nap before flying off. Eventually the hardwoods gave way to mountain laurels creekside and white pine thickets on the hillside. I opted to travel the pines and eventually made it back to the service road and then to my truck. I stopped on the trout stream on the way out and fished for half an hour. No bites. I had a good morning just the same. I may go out tomorrow morning before work.
I went out Saturday morning an hour before light to a spot on National Forest land that has held gobblers year after year; a large bench on the east side of a mountain. I've tried several approaches to get above the bench in the past and decided that my best bet was to go to the right (North) of the bench a few hundred yards, climb to the top and walk the ridge to above the bench and drop down. When I got within a hundred yards of the crest a turkey busted out of it's roost about 60 yards away. Ok, I thought, either I busted a tom off his roost or a hen. If it was a hen I figured there'd be more then one, either way I decided to continue with my plan. Ten yards later another turkey flew off, and then another. Finally when just a short distance from topping out another turkey busted out of the tree I had my hand resting on. That one startled me.
I discovered that this area at the top had been burned over in a summer forest fire. The undergrowth was mostly cleared but there was plenty of leaf litter from the previous fall. Should be good for turkeys. I followed the ridge and dropped down to where I thought I was about 100 yards above the bench (turned out I was closer to 200 yards and a little further south). Come first light I heard a gobbler far off below, near the creek bottom. He was double gobbling. I also had some hens somewhere below me. I did a soft tree yelp. About 6:20 the hens were really going at it and I imitated the dominate hen as best I could. She sounded really fired up. Gobbler was still gobbling far off. I thought I'd call the hens towards me and see if they'd drag a tom with them. The birds were very vocal until about 6:30. I heard some cars coming up the gravel road down below (who comes in the woods this late during turkey season?) I also started to hear a human calling below and to my right (he would answer my calls and also did some coyote yelps later in the morning?!) All the birds shut up. By 9:00 the wind had really picked up and the temp had dropped. I figured I'd drop down to the protected bottoms where I had heard the gobbler. Maybe they were seeking shelter from the wind down there. As I walked I realized that I had been on the leeward side and the wind was actually even harder then I thought around on the east face. Movement off the side of the mountain caught my eye and I looked to see the grey back of two hens gliding across the valley. I wondered if they had jumped from down below me. Another 50 yards down I was just entering the bench and a gobbler took flight 30 yards in front of me and flew the opposite direction of the hens. I continued to the bottom and inside the woods from some fields I gave a couple of yelps. Nothing. Walking further in the woods between the two fields I see another hunter heading toward the road. I hoped I hadn't bumped him off his position. I hadn't. We talked for awhile and with another hunter who drove up. No one had heard anything, but neither had been there when I drove in in the dark. I headed on as planned and dropped into a creek bottom. On the edge of the dropoff before going down I found a lone deer bed with some shed long hairs in it. As cold as the morning was he better not be too quick in getting his summer coat. It was a steep climb down and I followed a deer trail to the creek. I found one downy turkey feather stuck to a mountain laurel bush soon after I had thought no turkey would be in stuff this thick. In the bottom it opened into a hardwood and I gave some calls before emerging out of cover. No answer. I made my way along the creek occassionally calling but getting no reply. I saw wings flapping in front of me and thought I'd bumped another turkey but it turned out to be a barred owl who came to rest on an bare oak tree to see what had disturbed his morning nap before flying off. Eventually the hardwoods gave way to mountain laurels creekside and white pine thickets on the hillside. I opted to travel the pines and eventually made it back to the service road and then to my truck. I stopped on the trout stream on the way out and fished for half an hour. No bites. I had a good morning just the same. I may go out tomorrow morning before work.
04-20-2009, 09:57 AM
#25
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location:
Posts: 1,927
RE: ----- TEAM 15 ------- ( Check In )
Saw two this weekend but they saw me first. 
Didn't hear any gobbles or any yelps. Getting my string tracker set up for this weekend and building a long box call for my dad.
Didn't hear any gobbles or any yelps. Getting my string tracker set up for this weekend and building a long box call for my dad.
04-27-2009, 12:34 PM
#27
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location:
Posts: 1,927
RE: ----- TEAM 15 ------- ( Check In )
Congrats Bloodcrick!! Nice bird. I spent the weekend and only saw one jake and a lot of solitary hens. Not sure what that means. Only heard gobbles on the roost Friday morning, once from four different directions and then silence. Beautiful, if not too hot, days but totally silent birds.