5/9/15 Hunt

        I was finally able to get a turkey for the freezer today, but it didn't occur the way I expected it to. I got out to the field late this morning and was afraid I might have spooked some birds on the way out. When I was walking in I heard a deer snort at one point and saw one running away that was within 40 yards or so. I set up along the fence line that I had seen the tom, hen, and five jakes yesterday to eliminate the problems that I had. The first thing I noticed this morning was the lack of gobbles from where I was expecting them. I always heard the toms to the West other than today and that worried me. Right after sunrise, a little after 6 o'clock, I looked to the East and saw three coyotes trotting across the field. They certainly stood out because I have seen so few this year and they do not usually travel in groups of three or more. A while later I saw two of them go back across the field. I sent out a quiet turkey call to them to see what their reaction would be. They obviously knew something was unusual and they quickly took off. Unlike yesterday when the turkeys were talkative for hours, I heard very few gobbles after 6:30 which I did not like near as much. As I said, I set up along a fence line. There was a very large, thick bush and I sat down where I could see a little bit to the East, but only if they came in to the North of me where my decoys were. Due to the fact that I had not heard any turkeys responding to my calls, I was not paying full attention to my surroundings, I would call out about every 5 minutes or so. I looked up at one point to be surprised to see two turkeys walking away from me, 20 yards away. I saw the short beard of a jake on one of the birds and I grabbed my gun. When I did so, the bird on the right, I believe it was a hen, saw something was up and looked around. The young male looked up and presented a shot. I lined up the bead and squeezed the trigger. The bird dropped immediately and I saw three more birds fly away that were on the other side of  the bush. Once the turkey expired for good I was able to inspect this one year old jake. After putting so much time and effort into being able to glance or try to call one into range, being able to see my work pay off makes it all worth it. Having the opportunity to gain first hand experience is what makes this class so unique. I have learned so much more than what I could have in a standard classroom setting. I am so thankful for every moment I have been able to spend in nature this semester.

Here you can see the bush that I sat next to. The turkeys came from the right side of this picture.