[bamaranger]

As has been my custom in recent years, I'll give a brief account of my spring turkey season for this year. Gobbling activity has been scarce, the weather hasn't helped. Nevertheless, I've heard maybe 10 different gobblers on or near property I can hunt, private or public land.

27March-Opening day, and I'm out onto public land near my home, hunting a large ROW. Up very early to get in and set up ahead of the rush. Dawn breaks grey and wet, it rained hard the night before. I've got a blind and 2 dekes set out. I see a guy set up about 1/4 mi to the N. of me on private land at dawn, and I see lights to the south before sun up. No gobbles at daybreak, and it rains intermittently all morning. About 9:30 I hear a couple of distant gobbles appx 1/4 mi l to the E. on private property. Over the span of 15 minutes, those gobbles draw closer,...that bird is heading my way on his own! With the bird about 200 yds out, I crank some loud yelps from the old slate. No answer, but the next gobble is at 100 yds or so, that bird is coming right to me! I yelp back, again, no immediate answer, but when he does sound off, he's just under the lip of the hill to my front, 75yds or so away. The ROW is recently mowed, he'll be in the wide open if he appears, and he does! A raucous gobble to the left and he parades into sight, full strut. I'm on him and ready, having picked a slight dip as "in range" , when he hits the dip, I'll shoot. He pulls out of strut and comes on, at at the dip, I let fly. The bird turns and runs off! I foolishly shoot again, mostly out of habit, but the tom is long gone, and clearly not hurt. What the heck happened? I pace the shot off.....a bit far..... 52-55 paces.
I did not intend to shoot that far, but the wide open space just fooled me, or the bird just slipped the pattern or I did not follow through , ....fact is, I blew it. It's along walk in the rain to the ATV, and a miserable ride home, and I'm disappointed to say the least.

28March-did not hunt, church and family

29March-off to a 25 acre piece of private land/ hayfield that butts against a huge piece of public land. I heard a vocal bird nearby the day before season opened. I stake out two dekes again and climb in the blind. Calling softly in the early morning light. About 7:00 AM I hear wings to my left, and see an airborne turkey flying right at the blind, but it's not coming in to land, it's headed out of here. Something must have spooked it? In the wet and twilight, I could not tell hen or gobbler, but it doesn't matter, it's gone. I get my little bino's out and study where it flushed from...there,.... what's that? Two raccoons! I stay in the blind 'till noon, return about 3:00 PM 'till dusk, for a total of 10 hrs, with no other action.

30March- Sick and tired of blinds, decoys and sitting for hours, I head to one of my leases into a spot I call "Big Hollow". In well before light, there's a full moon and I can walk the paths easily. I'm on a big point/ridge top, that falls away infront of me on two descending benches, to a creek bottom to the S. The Big Hollow is off to my E, and a smaller, rugged hollow off to the W. I've heard a lot of gobbles here, heard my first gobble for this season at this very spot, and this morning does not disappoint. Well before sun up, a tom begins to gobble in the moonlight, across the valley to the south, easily 3/4 mile or more away, on the other side of the creek and the county road. I continue to listen, hoping a tom will sound off on my side. As day breaks, the distant tom hushes, and a few minutes later, a muted gobble roles up from the creek bottom below me, perhaps 1/4 mi away. I pitch off the point, cross the first bench, drop off again onto the second bench and work out to within 50 yds or so of it's lip. I realize there's multiple gobblers there, and I'm well within calling distance, 100 yds or so, and there just under the lip of the flat to my front. Problem is, down low here, it's thicker and the timbers smaller. I have a heck of a time picking a set up tree. By the time I get planted, the birds gobble one last time and it sounds different, there're on the ground......and then they shut up. Finally settled, I cackle hard with the slate call,... nothing. I change strikers, yelp, change back and yelp again,... nothing. I figure they gotta be close and hope for a gobble to help place them, but all's silent. I stay put for about 30 minutes, calling softly on the slate with my favorite striker a wee bit. Then I hear it. The deep resonant thrum of a drumming gobbler. Off to my left, just under the hill, and I mount the gun and cover the spot and hold.......and hold., 'till I gotta adjust somehow. I roll my hips a bit to get my elbow more squarely on my knee......and catch a movement dead ahead.... a dang hen is looking right at me, 35 yds away. She's not sure what she saw, but she's not taking any chances, and veers off 90 degrees to my right, now moving rt. to left instead of coming straight on. She steps behind a big red oak and I punch the gun over to where she was, that gobbler should be close. Four or five more hens slip thru the small window where I saw her, all veering off, following her change of course. Then the tips of the gobbler fan appears, there he is, full strut, and steps into the lane and pauses. I trip the shot and he goes over hard backwards. I don't like to shoot them in strut, but things were happening fast, and he's down hard. It's 42-45 paces to the bird and he's a dandy! Two beards, one 3" and another 10". One spur is chipped off and a stub, the other is about 7/8" and a shark tooth. Back at the Bronco, Grandad's old spring scale puts the bird at 23lbs, which is my heaviest gobbler ever.