Jacked Up For the Morning Hunt!
It was blowing like hell and raining at daybreak, and I could hardly hear the flydown. The Toms were quiet after they got out of the roost. Trouble was, I was setup too far away and they were making pace away from my set. I figured this morning was a bust and was thanking my lucky stars that the blind kept me dry. The wind and rain persisted, but letup for a short while. Never being one to quit, I kept yelping loud with my favorite reed.
I got a return gobble that got the juices flowing. It was wide open in the wheat field and I could tell he was hesitant to break off from the group, ol’ Tommy boy was content just hangin’ with the hens. Some more yelps got his blood boiling and he went looking for a morning conquest. At 75 yards, I got a triple gobble from some soft purrs and clucks. Yes!!! Knowing he was now committed, I grabbed my bow and got ready for him to stroll into the decoys set at 10 paces.
Hunting from a popup ground blind is required with the bow. I’ve been busted too many times with lesser cover, but even the best hideout blind isn’t any good if you’re moving too much. I must have been too squirly waiting for the shot and he caught some movement at 45 yards. Knowing something was up, Tommy Boy kept a steady slow stroll at the end of my range. This was a big boy, a mature 3 year old with heavy breast, spur and beard. It got me worked up, and I was proud of the calling to bring him in from so far off.
At 45 yards, I let an arrow loose and put one through the pump station, he went down in his tracks. It’s hard enough hitting an apple-sized target at 20 yards, much less a moving one at 45. But you can’t miss every time! I’d rather be lucky than good any day of the week!
This was a great start to the Kansas opener. 10.5″ beard, 1.5″ spurs.
With another tag in my pocket, we stalked the rest of the flock on foot through windbreaks and wide wheat fields the rest of the afternoon, but they stayed out of range. Knowing we didn’t spook them through the afternoon, we setup ahead of the flock in another treeline, hoping to draw them in. This being a new piece of ground for me, I wasn’t aware of all the roosting areas, so I picked some good cover and set out some ‘coys. For an hour, I watched the hens lead the Toms around another rolling wheat field.
At dusk, The biggest Tom made a bee line to my set. Am I really that good of a caller? No. He came in to flyup…in the tree directly above my blind! After 15 minutes, I had the rare opportunity of watching the entire flock fly into my lap. Another 20 minutes, I set in the darkness, listening to the soft purrs and putts. Now why can’t I sound like that? It was great training for calling practice and an experience I’ll never forget.
O.K., now to pack up with a flock of turkeys 8 yards above my head. Let’s just say, it was an exciting event, birds putting and flying everywhere. It’s like I walked into a giant-sized covey of pheasants! I know first hand now why they say you never bust the roost, it took them until 2:00 the next day for the flock to regroup. What a treat to be so close to the action. That’s what it’s all about.
