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Traditional Turkey Hunting continuation...

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Joined
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94 degrees is not a pleasant way to start a morning. The walk in was uneventful. As I set the decoy and settled in the fresh scent of honeysuckle filled the air. Once the sun lit this part of the earth, the gobbling started. There were three distant Tom's in the distance, two close together on the left and one further off to the right. I clucked, they gobbled. I purred, they gobbled. I yelped, they gobbled. After a while of this the distance from me to them did not seem to change very much. I decided to cut the distance in half or more and made a move. Re-set, I started a calling sequence again. The response of gobbles was the same. I see movement to my right and get ready. Eventually, a jackrabbit comes wandering past my decoy. He kind of walks up to it and looks it in the face, as if to say " good morning". Suddenly the honeysuckle scent is mixed with the distinct odor of cow poop. I begin sweating under my heavy "old style" woodsman outfit. The gobblers have quieted down and no longer respond. These first two hours have been fun, but for now this hunt is over..... next spot later.
 
94 degrees is not a pleasant way to start a morning. The walk in was uneventful. As I set the decoy and settled in the fresh scent of honeysuckle filled the air. Once the sun lit this part of the earth, the gobbling started. There were three distant Tom's in the distance, two close together on the left and one further off to the right. I clucked, they gobbled. I purred, they gobbled. I yelped, they gobbled. After a while of this the distance from me to them did not seem to change very much. I decided to cut the distance in half or more and made a move. Re-set, I started a calling sequence again. The response of gobbles was the same. I see movement to my right and get ready. Eventually, a jackrabbit comes wandering past my decoy. He kind of walks up to it and looks it in the face, as if to say " good morning". Suddenly the honeysuckle scent is mixed with the distinct odor of cow poop. I begin sweating under my heavy "old style" woodsman outfit. The gobblers have quieted down and no longer respond. These first two hours have been fun, but for now this hunt is over..... next spot later.

Just wondering where you are hunting that its 94* in the morning. 36 here near Yosemite.
 
94 degrees is not a pleasant way to start a morning. The walk in was uneventful. As I set the decoy and settled in the fresh scent of honeysuckle filled the air. Once the sun lit this part of the earth, the gobbling started. There were three distant Tom's in the distance, two close together on the left and one further off to the right. I clucked, they gobbled. I purred, they gobbled. I yelped, they gobbled. After a while of this the distance from me to them did not seem to change very much. I decided to cut the distance in half or more and made a move. Re-set, I started a calling sequence again. The response of gobbles was the same. I see movement to my right and get ready. Eventually, a jackrabbit comes wandering past my decoy. He kind of walks up to it and looks it in the face, as if to say " good morning". Suddenly the honeysuckle scent is mixed with the distinct odor of cow poop. I begin sweating under my heavy "old style" woodsman outfit. The gobblers have quieted down and no longer respond. These first two hours have been fun, but for now this hunt is over..... next spot later.
You've never had toms go silent and then come in? My brother and I were out one morning and had a Tom gobble near us when we closed the truck door. Unfortunately we were parked on private land that we could cross, but not hunt on. It was at least a half mile walk just to get to the edge of the public land we could hunt. We stopped half way and let out a very soft couple of tree yelps, that bird gobbled right back. We finally got to our spot, helped a couple times, he responded. Repeated the call a little softer 20 minutes later, he responded, sounded closer, but not a lot. Half an hour later, nothing, clicked and yelped, nothing. Another half hour goes by, nothing. We are on a slight rise just inside the wood line from the private land. Down the hill to the private land is and open field, then some gravel works, then a slight rise and some orchard. The other direction into the public land further goes down the mixed oak and pine ridge into a series of wooded ridges and depressions.
After another half hour of nothing from any direction we start hearing birds on the town owned land behind us. Our experience in the past is that once these birds get there, they don't come back to the ridge until it is time to roost, period, no amount of lovesick hen will bring them back. So, we get up, stretch our stuff joints and look down the little hill to the edge of the field at the bottom,,,,,,, and there, is that tom from the orchard near where we parked, huge, one of the biggest I've seen in the property. Looking right back up at us, in an instant he is turned around and running full speed the other direction and gone.
 
This is South Texas! Now where are those birds in the middle of the day? Shade. There are three distinct oak trees that are the biggest on the property that I can see in the skyline. These moccasins help me walk pretty quietly so I am going to try to sneak up on each tree to get a look. Just maybe there is a turkey under one of them. The first stalk goes pretty good. I have the wind in my favor. I am carrying my decoy, two calls, and a have a make-shift wood-lashed seat slung over my back. The "chair" is starting to annoy me because it swings just enough to rub my sweaty skin and it making a raw spot. About 40 yards from the first shade canopy I can see a gobbler all puffed up under darker area. I ditch the chair and decoy and sneak up further. I am about 25- yards away on hands and knees. The bird has no clue that I can unleash the Grim Reaper with a mere pull of the trigger. If he turns a little and his head is totally exposed the only thing between him and death will be 75-feet of air. I get an overwhelming and weird feeling. This isn't what I came for. I want the excitement of the bird coming in to the decoy. The close encounter of him closing the gap so there is no doubt the control of the situation shifted to me. When he is facing away, I back off and set my decoy. I back up more and get my seat situated. He is now about 40-yards from me again with a clear view of the decoy and a wide cow-path leading right to me. I cluck and his head comes up. I cluck once more and he starts running....the other way! I watched him for around 100-yards until he was out of sight. Ugh! Maybe I should have shot him … now I am second guessing... Time to go to the next tree.
 
Here's the next tree. That didn't take long. Hmmm, doesn't seem to be any birds under there. What is that sudden weight on my right foot? Uh-Oh... its moving. I take a deep breath, hold it and look down. A rattlesnake has decided to slide across my foot and pause to take a rest! One second, two seconds..... It's been a while and I am running out of breath. Time to exhale, slowly and quietly and gulp in more air the same way. As soon as I replenish my air supply the rattler continues his journey and moves off to the left. I wait until he is about 15-feet away and then turn and jog back to the truck. I need air conditioning and maybe a nap … a lot of adrenaline was used in the past half -hour.
 
So the late afternoon the afternoon begins with a Tom Turkey sighting. He is in a corner under a small tree. I make my way over to where he will be able to see Mrs. Turkey and I settle in behind her. A little calling gets his attention. He walks South and turns towards me. He passes by heading East at 50-yards. He turns and heads North. Again he passes at 50-yards. He turns West and walks along. Here he passes at 50-yards yet again. When he is out a ways he turns South and completes this "square" by plopping down right under the little tree he started at. I can't decide if the bird is smart, stupid, lazy or brave. No matter, he is not interested in women today. Or turkey hunters, I guess. I'm leaving him alone. I pick up Mrs. Cluck and we wander back out to the gate. That's enough turkey fun for this little get away. The social distancing was great. There is a weather change coming. Maybe that will make the boys more sociable and have them seeking a date... The turkeys are always fascinating.
 
I’m with you! I just can’t bring myself to “sneak” up and ambush a Gobbler. If I can’t lure them in, they get a pass! While sneaking in to ML range of a long beard is a feat to be proud of, it’s just not the same for me. Keep it up! Thanks for sharing!!!
 

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