Another dead gobbler in VA
05-09-2003 | 08:02 AM
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Another dead gobbler in VA
I finally got all of my semester end papers and final exams out of the way this week. So I was able to get out and do some hunting. I have been fooling with 2 birds here lately on different pieces of property. One I believe is a old turkey and the other I believed was just over hunted.
On Monday I set up on this bird 5 times, each time he had been gobbling consistenly for at least 30 minutes when I made my first call inside 100 yards. Each time he went silent and the next gobble he would make was always 150 yards away at least 30 minutes later. A small front blew in so I headed back to the truck to get my rain suit and headed to a powerline near the woods the turkey was using. I thought the storm might push him out in the open. After sitting through 30 minutes of rain I called off and on for the next hour and half with no response. I had to go to a dentist appointment and at 11 a.m. I eased into the powerline only to see him standing about 150 yards down from me. He wasn' t spooked bad and just eased into the woods.
Thankfully I finished my duties at school and decided to give him a try this morning. I am saving the old boy for my next door neighbor who only gets to hunt on Saturdays. Anyway, things started out good. This morning I was within about 80 yards of his roost tree. I clucked and purred only once believing calling wasn' t going to work. He did answer me, but after about 30 minutes of gobbling he flew off in the other direction gobbling as he left. Convinced you can' t call this bird I made a big circle to the edge of the swamp in the direction he was headed. Unfortunately he beat me to where I was trying to get to in the swamp. I was about 80 yards from the swamp bottom. I decided I had already killed one bird in Virginia and that it wouldn' t matter if I called and he shut up. So I let out a soft yelp. He answered immediately, so I yelped again. He answered! After 2 or 3 minutes of gobbling I yelped again. He answered and I yelped on top of him. He cut me off with a gobble. I went quiet for 5 minutes as he gobbled, then slowly he began to work toward me. He gobbled and I knew he was just about 50 yards away just over the ridge. I was in some thick cover. The swamp has a rim of small 1 inch oaks near the edge of it that is about 50 yards wide. He appeared, but I could barely see him in full strut. All the small trees made things very difficult. He gobbled a couple of times never coming out of strut. He caught my gun moving with him as he strutted in front of me at about 40 yards. His head went up and I had a small hole to kill him through. He was a nice 15.6 lbs, 10 inch beard, and he had one 1 inch spur and another one broke off at the tip that measured 3/4 of an inch. That club is like hunting public land, except you don' t have to worry about people coming in on you and screwing you up. The birds just get way to much pressure. I suspected earlier this week that someone had shot at him this year. One of his legs showed signs of being broken and healing. Further inspection at the house revealed some shot in it.
I guess I' ll give the old boy a try in the morning. I hope to call him in for my neighbor. He hasn' t killed a bird yet this season. If not I' ll try him myself a time or two next week.
On Monday I set up on this bird 5 times, each time he had been gobbling consistenly for at least 30 minutes when I made my first call inside 100 yards. Each time he went silent and the next gobble he would make was always 150 yards away at least 30 minutes later. A small front blew in so I headed back to the truck to get my rain suit and headed to a powerline near the woods the turkey was using. I thought the storm might push him out in the open. After sitting through 30 minutes of rain I called off and on for the next hour and half with no response. I had to go to a dentist appointment and at 11 a.m. I eased into the powerline only to see him standing about 150 yards down from me. He wasn' t spooked bad and just eased into the woods.
Thankfully I finished my duties at school and decided to give him a try this morning. I am saving the old boy for my next door neighbor who only gets to hunt on Saturdays. Anyway, things started out good. This morning I was within about 80 yards of his roost tree. I clucked and purred only once believing calling wasn' t going to work. He did answer me, but after about 30 minutes of gobbling he flew off in the other direction gobbling as he left. Convinced you can' t call this bird I made a big circle to the edge of the swamp in the direction he was headed. Unfortunately he beat me to where I was trying to get to in the swamp. I was about 80 yards from the swamp bottom. I decided I had already killed one bird in Virginia and that it wouldn' t matter if I called and he shut up. So I let out a soft yelp. He answered immediately, so I yelped again. He answered! After 2 or 3 minutes of gobbling I yelped again. He answered and I yelped on top of him. He cut me off with a gobble. I went quiet for 5 minutes as he gobbled, then slowly he began to work toward me. He gobbled and I knew he was just about 50 yards away just over the ridge. I was in some thick cover. The swamp has a rim of small 1 inch oaks near the edge of it that is about 50 yards wide. He appeared, but I could barely see him in full strut. All the small trees made things very difficult. He gobbled a couple of times never coming out of strut. He caught my gun moving with him as he strutted in front of me at about 40 yards. His head went up and I had a small hole to kill him through. He was a nice 15.6 lbs, 10 inch beard, and he had one 1 inch spur and another one broke off at the tip that measured 3/4 of an inch. That club is like hunting public land, except you don' t have to worry about people coming in on you and screwing you up. The birds just get way to much pressure. I suspected earlier this week that someone had shot at him this year. One of his legs showed signs of being broken and healing. Further inspection at the house revealed some shot in it.
I guess I' ll give the old boy a try in the morning. I hope to call him in for my neighbor. He hasn' t killed a bird yet this season. If not I' ll try him myself a time or two next week.
