Gobblers 1, Aught Six 0
04-18-2004, 09:29 PM
#1
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 13,220
Gobblers 1, Aught Six 0
Well, I'm back from my week-long turkey hunting vacation. And I didn't see squat. 
I was planning on staying at a house in Ruckersville, VA that my dad owns (and going to public land in Southern Virginia), but he sold it right before gobbler season. Just didn't work out, and I couldn't afford to stay in a motel. So I set my sights on another piece of public land in Fauquier County, and skipped opening day to avoid the high hunting pressure.
Then last Sunday it started raining. It continued until early Thursday morning. There was no gobbling at sunrise, and I couldn't find any turkeys in the open areas of the WMA. I don't particularly like getting myself or my grandpa's old shotgun wet, so I headed back about an hour after sunrise Monday through Wednesday. My wife came along Wednesday, so she was really disappointed when the forecast was a day off and we got more rain.
So I go out Thursday; it's a beautiful clear dawn, followed by endless sunshine and a few scattered clouds low on the horizon. Still no gobbling, no turkeys in the woods or fields. I couldn't even find any tracks or feathers in the soft earth. I'm starting to think the the Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries has duped me about the growing flocks. [&:] By this time, I've covered maybe half of the land. I went back out Friday for a full morning, but slept in Saturday (I hate crowds). Nada.
Today the Mrs. and I went to the NRA Range around noon, and then went home and picked up the dog and our vests for some late afternoon scouting. After we got out of the car and headed onto the trail, I found a turkey wing feather! I couldn't believe it. We were coming in from different entrances than I'd used earlier (I'd used two other entrances with a total of three closed dirt roads the previous days), and this was a muddy, snake-infested old dirt trail. I guess the turkeys know where people aren't likely to come after them.
I got a look at some potentially good strut zones, and some nice timber. I'll have to wait until Saturday to head back out, but I might convince my boss to let me off early if work is slow this week. Might be able to do some roosting up there.
As much as I was eager to call in and harvest a gobbler, I really did have a great time hiking around, and seeing beautiful scenery in every direction. It was nice to get lost in the woods and drop down against a tree. I'd like to shoot some dinner, but even without seeing a single bird, it was about as rewarding a vacation as I've ever had.
I'll be back for more next week; that's for sure.
I was planning on staying at a house in Ruckersville, VA that my dad owns (and going to public land in Southern Virginia), but he sold it right before gobbler season. Just didn't work out, and I couldn't afford to stay in a motel. So I set my sights on another piece of public land in Fauquier County, and skipped opening day to avoid the high hunting pressure.Then last Sunday it started raining. It continued until early Thursday morning. There was no gobbling at sunrise, and I couldn't find any turkeys in the open areas of the WMA. I don't particularly like getting myself or my grandpa's old shotgun wet, so I headed back about an hour after sunrise Monday through Wednesday. My wife came along Wednesday, so she was really disappointed when the forecast was a day off and we got more rain.
So I go out Thursday; it's a beautiful clear dawn, followed by endless sunshine and a few scattered clouds low on the horizon. Still no gobbling, no turkeys in the woods or fields. I couldn't even find any tracks or feathers in the soft earth. I'm starting to think the the Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries has duped me about the growing flocks. [&:] By this time, I've covered maybe half of the land. I went back out Friday for a full morning, but slept in Saturday (I hate crowds). Nada.
Today the Mrs. and I went to the NRA Range around noon, and then went home and picked up the dog and our vests for some late afternoon scouting. After we got out of the car and headed onto the trail, I found a turkey wing feather! I couldn't believe it. We were coming in from different entrances than I'd used earlier (I'd used two other entrances with a total of three closed dirt roads the previous days), and this was a muddy, snake-infested old dirt trail. I guess the turkeys know where people aren't likely to come after them.
I got a look at some potentially good strut zones, and some nice timber. I'll have to wait until Saturday to head back out, but I might convince my boss to let me off early if work is slow this week. Might be able to do some roosting up there.
As much as I was eager to call in and harvest a gobbler, I really did have a great time hiking around, and seeing beautiful scenery in every direction. It was nice to get lost in the woods and drop down against a tree. I'd like to shoot some dinner, but even without seeing a single bird, it was about as rewarding a vacation as I've ever had.
I'll be back for more next week; that's for sure.
