Last Minute Gobbler

If anyone is still turkey hunting right now you probably know all about hunting educated birds.  These guys are not falling for any more clever tricks and have become very wary and difficult to hunt.  Theses gobblers have been called at, spooked, and shot at so if they get a bad feeling, they immediately retreat.  With that said, turkey season is still open in some states and I’m not going to sit at home just because the hunting gets tough.

Welcome to 5^th season in Illinois.  Instead of this state being called the Land of Lincoln I think they need a new slogan, Land of Ticks.  I won’t even get mad if they take my idea, in fact I can probably provide some great tick shots if needed!

After hunting for three days and not even seeing a bird, the last day I started second-guessing myself.  I was contemplating getting out of the blind and doing a little run and bow hunting.  If these turkeys couldn’t come to me, maybe I would have to bring the game to them.  As I unzipped the blind I looked back onto the field one last time before getting out and saw a big gobbler coming right out of the woods onto the field!  My blind door was wide open, all my front windows were down and now I was staring at a huge gobbler closing the distance to my decoys.  There was no time to zip up the blind door so I grabbed my bow, resituated and waited for this big boy to come in.

I’m not sure if there is such a thing as turkey fever but if there is, I was getting close to it at this point.  I felt completely unprepared but the camera was rolling and my bow was in my hands.  Movement was critical at this point, because the darkness of the blind was gone.  There was as much light in my blind as if I was sitting out in the open!  As the gobbler came within 20-yards of my decoys something spooked him.  I’m not sure if he saw movement in the blind, my cameraman changing the light on the camera, or what but he decided he had enough. 

He turned and started heading back to the woods.  I drew my bow and made a shot that I feared was a little far back.  I immediately bolted out of the blind to find my gobbler down only 40-50 yards away with another tom already on him pecking the dead bird!  Even though the shot was a little far back the turkey was quartering away enough that my rage broadhead had enough penetration to go all the way through him taking out his vitals. 

This was the last day of the season and absolute proof that gobblers can come in anytime.  It’s almost hard to believe I hunted for days on end, and then when I decide to unzip my blind, a gobbler decides to stroll onto the field.  That’s ok though, because I still love my gobblers all the same whether they show up on the first or last day of the hunt.  

Lovesick Gobbler

Not all turkey hunts are created equal, and not all turkey video is created equal.  What you are about to see is a textbook video clip of how decoys are supposed to work on giant gobblers. I almost forgot to mention there is also a decoy cam for up close and personal turkey action!

After a long week of turkey hunting, it was down to the last day in Illinois.  I hadn’t had much luck with birds, but I also had to stay in a few mornings to do some real work, editing.  Once all my projects were wrapped up I was able to rush out to a cornfield and throw up a blind before first light.  Immediately I could hear gobblers on the roost, but that was not unusual.  The area was full of them; I just had bad luck getting them within bow range the last few mornings I was able to get out.  What I had good luck with were the jakes.  They were in plentiful supply and really raised havoc with my little hen decoy whom I named Bubbles.  Each morning they would stand on her, peck her, attack my jake decoy, and then go on their way.

This morning was different; there were no jakes to start the morning off, only hens.  Shortly after first light, three hens came strolling through and investigated my turkey clan.  Upon their approval they continued to eat, but the tom was back in the brush eyeing up Bubbles.  He scoped her out from a distance then came in with only one thing on his mind.  He did a little dance in front of her and decided that would be enough to seduce her.  He put one foot on her back and I could almost see him smile.  He was thrilled she didn’t run away so he got right down to business.

I have become one of the most patient turkey hunters you will ever meet, because once the gobbler is in range, I believe there is no need to rush.  Sure I am a hunter and I love taking down turkeys, but what I really enjoy is getting great footage.  I knew I had a little GoPro camera right in front of Bubble’s face hopefully catching all the action.  I was almost afraid to look at the camera in my binos for fear that the battery would die or the card would fill up simply from looking at it.  It was all too perfect, and in all reality I think I was more proud of my camera setup than my decoy or blind setup.

Either way I knew we were getting beautiful footage from in the blind and after letting him mount Bubbles for a few minutes I decided he had enough fun for one day.  When setting up my decoys, I always face Bubbles at a perfect angle so any gobbler that hops on her back will be either broadside or slightly quartering away giving me the perfect shot at any time.  I waited for this big tom to hold still while on her back and zipped an arrow right through his chest.  He went down inside twenty yards and my heart was racing, anyone who thinks turkey hunting isn’t exciting and adrenaline pumping is crazy! 

I ran over to my big gobbler but checked my little camera first, and sure enough it had been running the entire time.  Nothing like a feeling of sweet success when everything works out, even if you have to wait until the last day!

Rain Rain Go Away

I understand the saying April showers bring May flowers but will this rain ever end?  As I’ve been traveling around the country hunting turkeys I’ve hit rain in almost every state. We’re not talking small amounts of rain, but nonstop downpours, lightning, tornadoes, and severe thunderstorms.  I’ve always enjoyed storms, but this spring I am definitely getting my fill.  So far I’ve driven through 4 storms severe enough where I had to pull over and let the rain subside.  And just last week I got caught in a tornado in Kentucky.  Luckily it was only a mile off, but it really makes you think when you are in your vehicle and can see it out your passenger window.

This also brings me to another question.  I have always been told that if you are driving and spot a tornado you need to get out and lie flat in a ditch.  Do people really do this?  It was raining sideways, branches and debris was flying everywhere and they really want me to get out of my truck and go lie down in the ditch?  Maybe this would be the safest thing to do but instead I kept driving and eventually got out of the storm.  I was debating stopping by someone’s house to see if they would let me in their basement, but unless I could see that tornado coming right for me, I highly doubt I would jump out of my vehicle and lie in the ditch.

Although the weather has made driving difficult the rain has really put a damper on my spot and stalk turkey adventures this spring as well. When the rain is pouring down, there is really only one place to hunt when you have a camera along.  Welcome to ground blind paradise where the weather is always dry and cameras are happy. I’ve tried pushing the limits at times and taking a camera out in the rain, but it always ends the same; fried out electronics, big repair bills, and no footage.

Although some people may think sitting in a blind is boring, It’s really kind of enjoyable when you’re listening to the rain, thunder, and an occasional turkey gobble as morning hits.  I can promise you one thing, it sure beats sitting in my edit suite putting video together or being in an office! 

There are a lot of people out there who will stay inside at the first sight of rain or storms and I’m really the opposite.  Sure, I like to stay dry whether I hunt from a ground blind, use a tree umbrella, or just layer up the raingear but it’s pretty tough to keep me inside when there is hunting to be done. I can guarantee you there are a million hunters locked up in their cubicle at any given moment that would trade spots in an instant.

So strap on your boots, pull your hood up and get out there and enjoy the moment even if there is no end of rain in sight, just be safe and try to stay dry!

Kentucky Double Bearded Gobbler

Kentucky is a place where I’ve filmed numerous people but never had the chance to hunt until now.  Robbie Sowash invited Martin Teeter and I to the Rackerson Ranch to hunt turkeys in western Kentucky.  Within five minutes of arriving to camp Robbie had several huge gobblers spotted from the cabin above, and when I say huge we’re talking heavy double bearded toms.

Robbie has an incredible setup where he can watch his property from the main cabin, which is located on the highest hill overlooking the bottom fields.  This is nice for turkey hunting, but wonderful for deer hunting.  The property is loaded with deer, tons of sign, and most importantly the lodge photos say a thousand words.  The Rackerson Ranch is deer management at it’s finest, and he has some absolute giants.  Anytime I see a couple 200-inch bucks on the wall you know you’ve stepped onto some great property.  As much as I could spend the entire trip obsessing over deer, we were here to turkey hunt!

The first morning out it was a soggy wet day and even Robbie’s big truck couldn’t handle all the mud and water that Mother Nature delivered the night before.  Within minutes of daybreak we had gobblers inside thirty-yards but we decided to pass because the camera was still reading low light.  Everything is easy to pass on day one, but I can promise you after looking at the footage and seeing how big these two toms were, I might have been ok with footage!  Either way, we were spoiled, plain and simple.

Most people think of turkey hunting as a morning activity, but we were putting in long days.  We would bring our lunch to the blind and stay for the day. That’s right dark-to-dark turkey hunting! It can make for long days, but when you’re hunting a place with as many birds as Kentucky the days go by quickly.

I started in the outdoor industry as a cameraman and I still spend about half my time filming other people, so Martin and I decided to switch off and film each other.  We both spend a lot of time filming other people, so it was nice to switch it up and both get a crack at letting a few arrows fly.

There is one thing everyone needs to know about me and that is I get pretty excited when an animal comes in whether I’m filming or hunting.  In fact even when I’m filming I still get the shakes! As I watched Martin’s big gobbler come in from a few hundred yards off I could barely keep the camera steady but we ended up with beautiful video and his big tom didn’t make it two-yards after the shot!  Martin’s gobbler was a really old bird so we limited the calling and just let the decoys do the work.

Throughout the spring my little hen decoys have been a big attraction, but Kentucky was different.  I’ve named my decoys Bubbles & Delilah.  Bubbles is positioned almost flat on the ground and takes most of the abuse, but Delilah has her fair share as an alert hen.  Apparently both ladies were looking a little rough around the edges on this trip, because every gobbler was fixated on our tom.  It also made a difference that we were dealing with windy, nasty conditions, which brought our tom and his real fan to life.  He was constantly moving, swaying and rocking in the wind.

We setup on a big picked cornfield and positioned the decoys fifteen yards from the blind.  At first light, a lone gobbler pitched down and immediately headed our way.  He cruised in from several hundred yards and got pretty spooky once he hit the decoys.  I’m always trying to enjoy the show as much as possible, but I was getting a little worried that this guy would bolt at any second.

As soon as he held still for a moment, I zipped an arrow right through him and he went down in the field.  Again, it was a rainy nasty morning so his fan was looking a little rough, sort of like a bad hair day, but who can beat calling in a gobbler within the first fifteen minutes.  The added bonus, he was a double bearded tom!  I knew he looked good but that was a pleasant surprise. In fact he was my second double bearded gobbler of the spring!  Lucky for me the spring isn’t even close to over and the turkey tour will continue on…

Swing and a Miss in South Carolina

Making the rounds on my turkey tour there are bound to be a few missed opportunities and apparently my time was up when I rolled into South Carolina.  I had the privilege to join up with my gator hunting buddies near Monks Corner, SC.

There are turkey hunters, and then there are turkey fanatics.  These guys are fanatics, no question.  Their entire spring schedule revolves around turkey hunting and they plant hundreds of chufa patches to ensure amazing turkey hunting all season long, that’s right hundreds of patches.

This was the first time I’d experienced hunting over a food plot planted specifically for turkeys.  The chufa plots are planted almost a full season in advance in either late spring or summer.  It grows throughout the year, dies, and then it’s ready for the turkeys the following spring.  It may look like a field of dead plants, but the turkeys know exactly what lies beneath.  They will flock to the fields and spend hours digging up the chufa, which is a high-energy food source for turkeys that help keep the birds healthy and on your property.

After watching numerous turkeys stream in and out of the fields, two gobblers finally appeared.  They didn’t see the decoys but started to dig right in on the back part of the field, behind my blind.  It was the one area I hadn’t cleared a shooting lane, and sure enough as I released my arrow, it found one lone stick and dropped just below the feeding gobbler.

My heart sank as the two toms strolled away not necessarily spooked, but not willing to stick around for another shot.  My time was running out and I switched fields for my afternoon hunt.  I had a couple gobblers stroll by wide, just out of bow range but nothing in close. To end the evening I watched a beautiful bearded hen dig up chufa right next to my blind.  She had a thick 8-inch beard, but in South Carolina only male turkeys are legal. I decided to put down my bow and get some great footage to add to the turkey tour vault.

Run N Gun Rios-Archery Style

Back in February I remember sitting in my house, looking outside at 3-feet of snow piled up then glancing at the thermometer and seeing -18.  No I don’t live in the artic but there are times I question my own sanity for living in Minnesota.  This is the day I decided as soon as spring hits somewhere in the US and turkey season opens I’m getting in my truck and hitting the road.

Flash-forward to April and over 20-hours of driving later, I finally reached my destination. The hill country of Texas where the grass is green and the gobblers are in season.  The first afternoon was simply a scouting mission since I had never seen the property nor hunted a Rio.

Most people assume that if you are bow hunting a turkey, especially with a camera you need to sit in a blind.  I agree that would be a lot easier but I’ve never been one for taking the easy road. I like to hunt aggressive.

Day one proved to be a slow morning.  There was a lot of gobbling in the distance but the birds were not moving to the property until mid-morning.  So I continued to hunt, call, and walk hoping to find the first long beard that crossed onto the property.

Getting close to noon I finally got a response from a fired up bird.  He was coming hard and I barely had time to setup.  As a bow hunter I knew the most important thing would be finding a place where I could draw without getting busted.  I would also need to draw early and hold it for a considerable amount of time. 

Unfortunately this bird put on a great show, strutting back and forth but just out of bow range.  There was a small drop off that was causing him to hang up.  He was simply too lazy or unwilling to approach my little ladies that were so nicely spinning in the wind 30-yards below. Ultimately another jake came in and my gobbler followed him off, leaving me after nearly an hour of strutting, gobbling, and showing off.

By the last day of the hunt I had the birds pretty well figured out, they were hitting the property mid morning on a daily basis.  As tempting as it was to sleep in, I still got up at o’dark thirty everyday just in case.

As the morning temps were climbing, a couple gobblers fired up a few hundred yards off. I closed the distance and got setup in minutes.  After a few soft yelps, the gobblers came strutting by at 30-yards behind a wall of thick cover. Instead of approaching the decoys these two gobblers decided to swing wide.  As the two toms passed behind a thick bush I drew hoping to get a shot when they appeared on the opposite side.  After staying at full draw for what seemed like an eternity I finally had a clear shot.

The arrow zipped right through and the two-blade Rage left a devastating wound.  As I approached the bird I saw he was a giant double bearded Rio that weighed in at 23 pounds. He boasted an 8 and a 10.5-inch beard with inch and a quarter spurs, but the best part was the way I hunted.  Very few people get lucky enough to take a bird, with a bow, in a  “run n gun” situation, but the hard work definitely paid off.