When it goes the other way and the Turkeys look stupid!

[outfishedagain]

I just returned from a four day trip to Nebraska. This hunt was by far the most frustrating and just plan odd hunt I’ve ever been on. Everyone who has hunted turkeys have had a turkey just make them look stupid. This trip, very much, started out the same way starting from excitement of purchasing the license. The plain was to go out to the Pine Ridge National Forest near Chadron. So Monday night we take off. As we approached Valentine, WOW, strutters all over. We were half way and the excitement was busting out the windows. After, what took forever, we arrived to the national forest. We pulled onto a rodeo that headed into the back country. Not even a hundred yards in there stands a strutter. First, we were going to find a place to set camp, just to get the dirty work out of the way. So we headed to the top of the valley to make camp. We always find it easier to walk down to the birds in the morning cause hunting in the high country the birds roost lower then work higher. Well we set camp and take long needed nap, after driving all night. Well like usal the wind picked up in the afternoon and made for a full day of driving and a quick scouting session. Well that day we roosted a few birds and went to bed excited for the next morning. More then less we started filling out the toe tags for the next day. But as it would have it, I was woken up at 11:30 that night with the tent flattened by the wind. The wind picked up to about 40 to 50 mph. It blew that way all night and into the morning. We woke up before dawn and headed toward the roost. We sneak with the wind to our advantage. Perfect, you’d think, well as the sun came no gobbles and with the wind blowing that way, if they made any noise it would have sounded as if they were right there. Nothing, my guess is with the bright full moon they tree hopped out or hit the ground super early. This happed not once but twice the wind would die right at sunset. This made it easy to owl call and find their roost. Then wind would start blowing again like no other at about midnight. Getting mad not only is this wind making it worse, but the terrain and how vertical as well as wide made it difficult to find birds during the day. To make matters worse, that afternoon the clouds and rain moved in. By now I’m ready to pack up and head home. Getting mad at the weather, the lack of sleep and just everything had easily made this the worst conditions for turkey hunting. Forth and final day the wind slowed for the morning, finally. We made our way down into the low country. The mist came down hard and I was wondering why we are even trying. But just before 5:00 Mt. time a gobble, which made both of us go what was that. We made our way out on a point above the gobbling bird. Using past experience thinking that with the rain they’ll come up the hill and find the open spot were sitting in. While, it’s getting lighter and he stopped gobbling, so we’re still par for the course. So mad and tired we start walking toward the road. When suddenly we he a gobble back off the next ridge. So we work our way up there and set up on the other side of a wash out which came off of a flat open area. Again, we set up and start with some super soft clucks due to the rain. Twenty min.s and nothing not another gobble bird did come around the corner nothing. Again par for the course, so we pick up wet and miserable from the week we just had. We decided to walk were we heard the turkey gobble. So we sneak up around the corner and nothing out in the opening. Hit a crow call, nothing. So face mask off and to the truck we walk, talking about were to go for breakfast. Walking down a field road, to our left was a grass field about 4 inches high and the left thick was a grove of thick pines. As we were walking I noticed a brown spot about ten yards ahead (thinking it was a stump) we get with in five feet and a red head turns around and looks at us. I tap my friend on the shoulder and shoulder my gun. He says what and finally sees, what turned out to be a turkey, sitting with in foot steps way. I clucked and the turkey takes off running and as quickly I pulled the trigger. Up and down the Mt. (large, steep hills) steep up, move, etc. and we walk up on this turkey like this. When the turkey rolled from the shot both up came unglued. We were hooting and howling. People would have thought we’d just won the lotto high fives for everyone as we walked out to the truck. We started back to camp to get out of the rain and pack up to leave on a good note. We didn’t even drive ½ mile and I spotted a strutter with two hens along a tree line. Well, we the land in our favor, so we decided to put a stock on him. We ended up beating them to the other end of the tree line and found a place to sit. Nothing, nothing, and more nothing, finally I was going to sneak around and basically drive them back at my partner. I stood up and started to walk way out and around. I just happened to see that he moved out into the road near where we parked the truck. Perfect, I went back and got Jess. With him out that far in the opening we were able to get onto the other side of the tree line and walk down to him. Jess barley peaked around the corner and like a bolt of lighting that turkey was off. But After two shots he didn’t make it very far. So after four days of the worst hunting conditions and the terrain making it just as bad, grinning from ear to ear we had two turkeys within an hour. There is no better way to end a hunt and the only thing we had going for us was that we did give up, even thou we really wanted to. Aleast both of these turkeys did some very unusal things that made them very easy to take. Either someone was look out and thoughted we've earned a chance or these turkeys fell off their rocker at the wrong time.

If you look close, there is no color tip on the middle two tail feathers. Which i've never seen before.

[RodNGun]

Turkeys are very smart and you got lucky. Nice birds. You should change the post title to we got lucky.

[Nate McVey]

Great job outfished! I have yet to get out, my dad should be back from the fire this week and then we are going out.

[outfishedagain]

i know that turkey's are very smart. I was trying to say that these two birds just did some very unusal things, because 99.9% of the time they have made me look stupid.

[Hotspotter]

Outfished:

Great story! Glad you were rewarded for all your hard work.

As for luck, well, it can smile on all of us from time to time, but I tell you what.....after frustration like that, esp. in that hardnosed terrain with all the fires they had out there, it's pretty easy to give up. Perserverance is a key trait of all good turkey hunters, and that story if any, is a perfect example of never giving up.

Good work!

Joel

[outfishedagain]

With the new grass coming up in the burn parts, thats where they wanted to be. Being much more open denfintily gave the turkeys the advantage. The camo did match up real well. So you might as well hung a big sign. But i've seen turkeys lay down out in the open when its rainning, but never would i expect to accidently walk up on one.