When I started going hunting with Matt it was mainly for whitetail deer. His brother is big into waterfowl hunting and Matt was more interested in deer and moose hunting.
Turkey is the reason why I wanted to get my hunting license. I don't know what it is about them that I'm drawn to, they definitely aren't the prettiest bird. I guess it’s their character that makes them so interesting. I can't wait until I see a Tom puff it's feathers out in full strut only to attack the decoy during a Spring Turkey Hunt.
Last Spring I asked Matt to take me with him turkey hunting. He had never harvested a turkey and had only been a few times, but he bought his tags and set up a blind in his Dad’s field where we knew a few Toms and some Jakes were roosting near. The first afternoon hunting we had bad weather. We sat in the blind and had a Strutter and a Hen decoy set out. The sky was dark so we prayed the rain would hold off and began practicing a few calls. Matt taught me how to strike a pot call and he had a mouth call he was using. We also had the gauntlet gobble call by Turkey Thugs, which was neat to use. After calling for awhile, it started to thunderstorm. We had sat for a little while with no sign of turkey's and now rain, we thought that was it and texted Matt’s brother, Cory, to come get us. After about ten minutes the rain stopped so we told Cory to hold off, that we would wait. Not five minutes passed after the sky cleared and we noticed a single jake appear straight ahead in the field. He was headed for us so we sat tight and continued to do some light calling. Out of the corner of my eye 4 more turkeys, a couple Jakes and 2 Hens, appeared from the right out of the bushes. I told Matt and he got his shotgun ready.
He harvested one of the Jakes and we were both excited. Not only did I share a first experience with Matt, but my first time out turkey hunting was a success. I asked Matt if he would take me again to fill the second tag on another day.
Here’s a photo of Matt with his first turkey.
Our second time out hunting wasn't successful we didn't see any birds but knew there were some Toms around, so we decided to go a third time.
We sat one morning in the same field where Matt harvested his Jake. I had received all my licenses and borrowed a 20 gauge shotgun from Cory's friend. It was now my turn to try get a turkey. We set out the decoys and began calling. We sat for awhile with no sign of anything. Finally we heard a gobble from the far right where those turkeys came from on our first hunt. A Tom emerged from the bush in full strut with two Hens behind him. We were excited, this was the first time I had seen a Tom in full strut and I was praying he would see our decoys. He kept walking, still not really noticing the decoys so we called a bit and he kept moving closer. Well just my luck, something out of the ordinary happened..
A whitetail doe appeared out of the bushes and began to walk near the Tom. I've heard that deer and turkey's often feed together, but what a site. It came in a few feet from the Tom and the Tom started gobbling at the deer. Matt and I almost laughed we couldn't believe what was happening. The doe stood there for awhile and the Tom kept gobbling at the deer until she finally ran off back where she came from. After this our hunt was over. Our decoys were in bad position so the Tom never saw them and took off with his two Hens. Although I never tagged a turkey, we had quite the hunt and I am even more excited for this Spring , where I will hopefully tag my first male turkey.
Here’s a photo taken from my iPhone out of the blind. It is hard to see the doe, but her body is to the left of the strutting Tom.
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