2020 Turkey Season Update

On Saturday, May 9th I hit the snooze button on my phone’s alarm…or at least I thought I did. About an hour later I awoke again only to realize that I was going to be late getting into the woods. I headed for a piece of public land that I had never turkey hunted before. I had been to the parking lot to listen for turkeys but that was the only thing I had done there. My truck bounced down the county road quickly as I still had two more miles to get to the parking area and legal shooting time had already started. Showing up this late to any public spot wasn’t my typical style and I had convinced myself on the drive over that someone was sure to already be there. Turning right into the parking lot, I was pleasantly surprised that it was vacant.

Iowa’s turkey season was officially to the point of wearing on me. Now before you harass me for complaining about being able to hunt and not harvesting anything, know that I typically enjoy the journey before the destination. Especially if there is some constructive struggling involved with the journey because it creates growth, learning, and makes us appreciate success. And now, I’m old enough (and maybe just barely wise enough) to know that it’s really not about the destination or success. But darn it, if I wasn’t going to be able to tag a longbeard this season, I’d at least like to sit down next to an oak tree and have some 25 pound “success” come in strutting and gobbling - even if he wanted to hang up at 80 yards.

Lets rewind for just a minute. At this point I had come close twice to harvesting a bird. The first time came on Wednesday, April 29th on a very windy morning. After glassing this turkey the day before, I knew where I had to be set up in order to intercept him on his way to a strutting destination. The next morning, I was already leaned up against a shoulder width oak a full 20 minutes before legal shooting light. I had the feeling that a great morning lay ahead of me and I waited intently on him to hammer out some gobbles while perched in his oak tower. Facing due north, I diligently inspected the horizontal tree limbs searching for any turkey-looking creature. “Nothin”, I said in a disappointed whisper with a mouth call tucked in my cheek. My thoughts briefly wandered as first light was breaking in the eastern sky and I started to think that I had made the wrong move…then it happened. “Gobble gobble gobble” broke the silence to the west of my location. Slowly turning my head to the left, there he was roosted not 90 yards away from me. As the wind picked up, he continued to gobble on the roost and it was almost comical to watch him balance himself as the wind pushed his oak tree back and forth.

I let out just a few sweet and soft yelps when I thought he was facing away from me. I was quickly interrupted by his gobble and I was sure he would come to investigate this mystery hen he had just heard. As he continued to gobble on the limb he began to fidget and reposition himself for fly down. With his tail to the wind, he made three or four powerful wing flaps and swooped down out of the tree directly at me. I’ll pause right here and acknowledge that this was one of the most vivid fly down experiences that I’ve ever had. Just imagine a setting of greens, grays, and browns in the hardwoods and a beautiful eastern longbeard with a red, white, and blue head gracefully pitching out right at you. It doesn’t get any better than that.

He hit the ground no more than 50 yards away from me on a bench just out of sight. I used that as an opportunity to swing my upper body to the left in anticipation for a shot. Holding steady, two minutes passed, then three, then seven, and no turkey. After about 10 minutes he gobbled and he had to be 100 yards or so north of me. I could tell he was making his way to a turkey-favorite location in a field on private land and with no more real estate to work with, my hunt was pretty much over. Feeling frustrated, I picked up my lone jake decoy, briefly inspected where the gobbler had landed, and decided to start back towards the truck. Although thankful for the encounter and another chance to learn, I was slightly discouraged.

Let’s get back to my May 9th hunt now. A cloud of defeat seemed to hover over me, but I was determined to break through this somehow - even if it took several more early mornings. When its this late in the spring and I haven’t tagged a bird yet, I have to keep reminding myself that success could potentially be just one hunt away. And, arriving as late as I did, I elected to take my time slipping quietly into this new public area taking full advantage of the new morning that lie ahead.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and even better, the turkeys were gobbling. I quickly struck a seemingly single tom just shortly before 7:00 am. This bird was hot and at first I thought he was coming towards me but after waiting about 40 minutes, I realized that he wasn’t going to come into my set up. Moving in on him, I used the cover and topography to silently get closer. During my approach to him, he was constantly gobbling and spitting and drumming. This really aided me in keeping tabs on his location so that I didn’t get too close in the process. I found a triple trunk hickory tree that was just beyond his sight. There was a slight dish in the hillside in front of me that opened up and I had the sun to my back. He was close…close enough that when he would gobble it was almost like I could feel it. I started by making clucks and purrs to him which were pleasantly interrupted. Following his response, I made a few short pleading yelps that I was sure would seal the deal.

Unfortunately, I was wrong. I stayed quiet for almost 20 minutes and he was still in the same spot excitedly making his presence know. From there, I threw the kitchen sink at him. I cut hard on my mouth call, I did a series of fighting purrs on my glass call, and finally, I gobbled on my box call (which I rarely do). He didn’t move, but he reassuringly responded to my full on assault of the wild turkey language. Shortly after that he quit gobbling, but I could still hear him spitting and drumming. I continued to sit against my hickory hide, waiting for him to slip off far enough for me to get up and make one more move on him.

By now it was after 9:00 am. I spent the next hour making another circle around him and what I thought was most likely a newly acquired hen. I was always within earshot of him and was able to confirm this by his relentless spitting and drumming. I managed to end up where he was during the my second setup and I confirmed this by the fresh “J” shaped droppings on the ground. Continuing on, I attempted to cross a small ditch while listening to him and I am pretty sure that’s where I made my mistake. I never heard the bird putt or fly off, but I am betting I made too much noise in my final attempt to get close to him. I waited for several minutes next to the nearly dry ditch listening for my prey, but was never able to make contact with that tom the rest of the morning.

My only “success” on this spring morning.

Finding The Time

Written 12/8/2016

As hunters we can all identify with one of the most crucial components to being successful afield – time.  Time allows us to plan, prepare, and pursue the animals that fuel our passion.  Finding enough time for hunting seems to be a continuous struggle with all of the demands of modern day life.  We are constantly peppered with deadlines, commitments, and obligations that for most people, have virtually nothing to do with the outdoors.  During the 2016 deer season this is where I found myself. Time was not on my side and adversity was chasing after me.  At that time I had dedicated nearly fourteen months of effort towards a remodel property and had contracting problems arise during the process - making me physically and mentally exhausted. Fortunately, I was able to get my family moved and situated during the first few days of November.  Once I was finished with that process, it was time for me to try and capitalize on the whitetail rut.

I began trying to create a plan to execute for roughly the next month before the first shotgun season opened here in Iowa.  Luckily I had not let my preparation slip.  Even during my adversity with my recently acquired property, I had stayed vigilant in my shooting and made sure my gear was ready.  I planned to hunt several different sections of public land based on observed movement and wind directions. Unfortunately, my efforts were again set back when my career required my immediate attention, taking me away from Iowa for several days.  During my trip away from home, I was able to secure some time off in the coming days to focus on hunting.

After my work commitments were satisfied, my November was shifted into high gear again when a friend of mine invited me to hunt his farm in southern Iowa during the days of November 18th and 19th.  My excitement on overload as my old pick up hummed down the two track to his cabin.  I quickly got settled in at his place and we made a plan for the next couple of days.  A cold front ushered in the next morning and the deer movement was incredible.  Under my friend’s request, I reluctantly passed two bucks that I would not normally let walk on other farms.  One of the bucks I passed would’ve easily scored in the mid-150’s but my buddy was convinced the deer was a only three and a half year old. I witnessed rutting behavior like I had never seen before and even got to observe a buck tending a doe.  A truly incredible experience. The weekend eventually wound down without me ever drawing my bow.  With my good fortune of hunting private land behind me, it was time to get back to work focusing on maximizing my opportunities on some public land.  

Like other average bow hunters, work again was scheduled to consume most of my week but I didn’t get discouraged.  Thanksgiving week had arrived and this freed up some time at the end of the week for me to hunt some wildlife management areas close to my new home.  The piece I wanted to focus on could be seen from the road but was often passed up by most hunters because of distance and elevation changes that had to be traversed in order to get into good habitat.  I wasted no time and made three scouting trips to glass from a vantage point.  To my surprise, there were several different deer feeding on a cut soybean field on my first evening out.  On my second scouting trip, at last light, I was able to glass an eight point buck scent-checking does in this same field and my third scouting venture only yielded a few deer sightings but I was still optimistic.

My next opportunity to hunt was the Friday evening after Thanksgiving. 3:00 pm rolled around and my wife had arrived home to relieve me from watching our children.  It was late enough that I considered not going.  But with Adrienne’s encouragement, I decided to hustle and make it into this field to set up as quickly as possible.  Besides, the wind direction was favorable for the cut soybean field where I had been observing those deer and more importantly, that buck.

I had no more than finished pulling my bow up and a yearling doe emerged out of the timber.  Then a much larger mature doe followed closely behind.  Feeding on leftover soybeans, they quickly made their way towards my treestand.  I had specifically purchased a doe tag for this county and I was ready for a chance to punch it.  The mature doe took the lead and did exactly what she had done two nights before.  She caught me in the middle of my draw cycle but it was too late.  I settled the pin, squeezed on the trigger, and released my arrow.  Taking out both lungs, I heard her crash in the brush shortly after the shot.

A smile came across my face. It had been awhile since I had heard that sound.  There was still thirty minutes of daylight left so I opted to stay in the stand.  Several other deer, including some small bucks, remained in the field and were undeterred by my doe’s fatal run.  Suddenly there was movement roughly seventy-five yards to the north of my stand.  A large bodied deer came out from a cedar thicket and I quickly determined it was the same main-frame eight pointer I had glassed a few nights earlier.  He took the same path through the field that my doe had been on and was approaching fast.  With plenty of legal shooting light left, I drew my bow, stopped him at twenty-three yards, and released another arrow. 

I watched my buck run out of sight but didn’t see exactly where the arrow hit.  I elected to get down out of my treestand and recover my doe.  After a short and easy tracking job I was able to find her.   I got her tagged, field dressed, and dragged up to the field.  After inspecting my buck’s arrow, I realized that I had got good penetration but decided to wait until the next morning to pick up the blood trail since it was dark.  After all, I had a mature doe down and nearly a half of a mile to get to my truck.

The next morning I recruited Adrienne to come and help me track my buck.  We arrived at my usual parking area right after first light to make the long trek in to the timber’s edge.  Fortunately, the blood trail was short in the day light.  My buck had only gone a little over 100 yards and he was lying just beyond the edge of the soybean field.  My excitement surged and I was glad that Adrienne was there to share in the moment.

Admittedly, my ability to dedicate time to hunting in 2016 was shorter than it had ever been when compared to previous seasons.  Life had challenged me in the months before November, but I decided not to let it deter my hunting preparation process.  I was able to take advantage of my short window of time with brief scouting sessions, planning hunts around family and career commitments, and then striking in the right area at the right time.  Through this experience I am convinced that planning, preparation and perseverance were the reasons I was able to reap the rewards of bow hunting success.

37 Miles, Part Three

4/28/18

Knowing what I knew from the previous morning and how that group of birds acted immediately after fly down, I opted to dive into the timber under the cover of darkness on Saturday. I packed my turkey vest heavy for this trip. I added two decoys, an extra pad, insulating layers, extra water, and some granola bars. I knew I could commit to this area for at least two to three hours. In the twilight I made it to a bench just below the nose of an open ridge top. In my mind, I was sure that this would be a prime spot for a gobbler to at least spend a few minutes before he made his daily migration south, out to some large agricultural fields with his group of girlfriends. Silently, I picked out a large oak tree, set up my decoys, and got into position.

With a partly cloudy sky overhead, I fully expected the gobbling to be somewhat late but that wasn’t the case at all. The same pair of gobblers started off early and strong just like the previous morning. Sitting quietly and slowly using my binoculars, I tried to catch a peak of the duo. That was quickly interrupted by flapping wings. I could tell that they weren’t that far away, maybe 100 yards or so. Each of their gobbles pierced through the hardwoods and seemed to do the same to my racing heart. I joined the party by projecting some soft clucks and yelps off of my slate call while I still had the chance. I anted up on my calling bet by cutting hard on my mouth call and transitioned into some more seductive yelping. Two minutes later I heard the familiar sound of spitting and drumming. The first gobbler popped over the rise at roughly 50 or 60 yards. He eyed my decoys carefully and given his posture, I could tell he was not the dominant of the two toms. And now that I think back on this hunt…my decoys probably surprised him, a rookie mistake no doubt.

I heard the spit and drum again but I still couldn’t see the second tom. The first gobbler broke from his posture and continued on up the other side of the nose of the ridge all the while staying just out of range. The second gobbler was further to the left and higher in elevation when he came into my view. He quickly followed his compadre on up the ridge, strutting most of the way. The first bird was now just inside my range on my left side at the 9 o’clock position. However being left handed he was now on my weak side preventing me from realistically swinging my gun for a shot. Their hens must’ve flown down to a slightly different location based on their yelping. When those two gobblers heard them, they quickly started covering ground to get with the hens. So my action packed roost hunt was unfortunately short lived. I was unable to make another move on this group of turkeys during the morning. I did hang out in this location for about another hour hoping that one of these toms would break off from the group but that never materialized. I decided to hike back to out to a vantage point to glass some other public land. (4.5 miles)

4/29/18

I’ll just be honest, even though I covered some miles on this trip - this hunt was short. Being unable to roost birds the evening before, I didn’t have an exact location as to where the tom duo would be perched. My previous hunts, however, I thought would still give me a leg up to continue hunting this timbered pasture country with effectiveness. You know how it is with the eastern subspecies of turkeys though…on good wooded ridge type habitat, they can have multiple roosting spots that are strung out four, five, even six hundred yards apart. This makes a hunter prone to getting tight, or even worse - spooking some birds from their roost locations. That’s exactly what happened to me on this morning. My attempted access route was going to be slightly different that the previous two mornings all in the name of getting extra close to these two toms that seemed to have my number. While slipping in via this new access route, I had a bird gobble about 60 yards away and this area that I was in (and the fact that I wasn’t standing right next to a tree of any size) left me exposed. All I could do now was freeze and wait to hopefully not spook the tom.

This bonus bird that I had stumbled upon had one of the most interesting gobbles. His gobble was long but in the very middle of it, it was broken. He was all alone so my ears got to sample and confirm it several times. And being this close, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to ease my smart phone out so that I could record it to share later. Not long after it started getting light, he didn’t like what he saw below him and quickly pitched out north and west into the timbered river bottom. I spent the rest of that morning slowly and methodically trying to catch up with that tom and the gobbler duet. (4.3 miles)

37 Miles, Part Two

4/26/18

Thursday found me stacked up with work. After my short but eventful hunt the day before, I definitely had more confidence in this particular area than I’ve ever had. I knew that if I worked this spot long enough, I would get my chance at a gobbler. I planned to make both a quick morning and evening scout because of my work commitments that day. The morning arrived and I was intently listening at a spot I actually have a tendency to ignore, just right across the creek from my Wednesday encounter. The birds did not disappoint and I quickly confirmed their locations. On a whim, I decided to walk the edge of a crop field before leaving. Surprisingly I found what appeared to be several sets of hen tracks. My walk was then extended as I made a small push through an open timber patch where I suspected turkeys would loaf during the day.

Later on as the day wound down, I found myself back in the truck driving past some familiar habitat glassing for more turkeys. Unfortunately I was only able to turn up a lone hen as I snaked my way through some county roads. The other interesting observation I made that day was just the overall lack of pressure compared to what I had seen in previous years. Typically I will bump into at least two or three vehicles doing the same thing I am doing. (2.0 Miles)

4/27/18

I was up before my alarm went off on Friday. The day before I worked diligently through phone calls, a lunch appointment, and emails, so you could imagine that I was looking forward to the peaceful grey light that occurs just before dawn. Fantastic weather lay ahead, at least until 8:30 or so when the weatherman expected the wind to come up. It was in the low 40’s when I shut my door to start my hike into the timber. The past few times I’ve cursed this long trek in, but I willingly accepted the challenge knowing what my findings were from my scouting trip the day before. First light found me in the same hay field that I had been in two days before where the wise longbeard caught me out in the open.

I found a small tree to lean up against that had just enough cedar cover on either side of me. Shortly after setting up, two gobblers to my west started a vocal show aboard their perch like I hadn’t heard in some time. When one gobbled the other one was guaranteed to do the same. Although their choral rhythm echoed down through the hollow behind me, my delight was quickly met with disappointment. From the sounds of things it was very apparent these two gobblers were accompanied by several hens. Shortly after the hens started calling, I could hear several wings flapping signaling their fly down. Like many of my previous experiences, once these two gobblers pitched out off of the roost they seemed to stay with their hens and didn’t utter another peep.

Over the next 30 to 40 minutes a hen would softly sound off making her presence known and cluing me in on the flock’s general direction of travel. Knowing this, I slipped in behind them out in the open using the topography to cover my approach. It didn’t take me long to realize that they had made it over to some private property where they would most likely spend the next several hours feeding. I managed to lay eyes on them with my binoculars before I hiked back out to the truck. I knew that my tact for tomorrow would have me closer to the roost. (4.5 miles)

A New Season

So up until now, the Adaptable Hunter website and blog has laid dormant.  You can reference one other blog entry and see the same thing happened a couple of years ago.  And actually, this is really is an annual thing – work/life commitments take priority over updates and new content.  I am committed to changing that this year.  Enough already, what about turkeys and turkey season?

Saturday morning found me in one of my favorite hunting locations close to my house.  After pulling into the parking lot at 7:00 am, I eased out of the pick-up, sipped on coffee, and slowly hiked to an opening.  The weather was not ideal…a socked-in low pressure system with some light rain loomed over the state.  Much to my dismay, a distant bird sounded off at 7:14 am.  He only gobbled a half a dozen times on the roost and then quit, but it was more than reassuring.  I worked through three other spots as the morning dissolved, only hearing one other gobbler.

Earlier in the week, I slipped away one evening with the intentions of glassing one spot and thoroughly investigating another.  I stopped at a rough pasture venue first.  The light drizzle that had set in, had encouraged a group of jakes to emerge out of the pasture drainage and feed on a flat corn field on top.  I glassed them only for a few minutes and moved on to the location I was interested in really digging in to.  This spot consists of several wooded ridges that backs up to a river that I fish on occasion.  I’ll cut to the chase here - my investigation of this place DID disappoint for turkeys, however not for deer.  I spent roughly an hour and a half there walking deer trails and learning the terrain.  Although I don’t believe this spot will produce for turkey season based on the lack of sign, I’ll thankfully have it cataloged for fall.

37 Miles, Part One

April 25th, 2018

On Wednesday, April 25th I was able to slip away from work for opening day of Iowa’s 3rd turkey season.  I was only going to be able to hunt for a couple of hours in the morning - but at least I was hunting again.  Leaving the truck at 5:05 am I started the ¾ mile hike back into this spot I had scouted earlier in April.  Right before first light a bird sounded off to my west, “Time to cut the distance” I thought to myself as I eased through a wooded drainage.  It was now approaching 6:00 am and legal shooting light was upon me.  I’m going to guess that I was about 150 yards from this bird when I made my first set up and being so close to him and the timber I didn’t even bother to set any decoys out.  Shortly thereafter I heard him fly down to the east.  I had only made a few clucks, purrs, and yelps while he was on the limb…just enough to let him know that I was there and then went quiet.  After waiting over 40 minutes in silence, both from him and me, I pulled out and started to make my way back towards the truck.  Remembering an open spot I liked on the walk in, I was going to stop and spend more time at this hay field on the way back.  By this time it was crowding 9:00 am and I hadn’t relieved myself all morning.  Now before I go any further, I HAD heard two gobbles back to the south out in part of this hay field.  However both of these gobbles seemed more than 400 yards away.  Besides, Mother Nature was calling and I was going to answer.  Just about the time I was finishing answer the call, a gobbler broke the top of the hay field ridge at 125 yards.  Spitting and drumming – gobbling only sporadically – he basked in the morning sunshine.  I managed to button myself back up but it was too late.  At about 100 yards the bird knew something was up and I wasn’t close enough to cover in order make a move.  I let the tom ease on off as I shook my head and smiled. (7.3 miles)

APPLICATION SEASON

Written 5/3/2018

As I sit here and write this application season is in full swing.  For those of you that don’t know what I am talking about, the application process for procuring deer, elk, antelope, etc. tags in western states usually begins mid-winter and runs well into late spring.  This entire process can be a CHALLENGE to say the least.  With multiple states, species, types of public land, and draw processes out there, I had to find a way to shorten my learning curve and this process.  So I splurged and bought a subscription to an online hunting research company called goHUNT.  And up to this point, I have been nothing but impressed.  GoHUNT’s attention to detail is really amazing.  By details, I mean their filtering option on its website that allows you to sort by things like the number of points you have, percentage of public land in a unit, success rates, buck-to-doe ratio’s, and number of applicants just to name a few.  So far, the money has been well spent.
 
When I began the process of looking for a hunt to do solo, I didn’t really know where to start.  I knew I wanted to go to Colorado for a mule deer hunt while building points in other states, but that was about it.  By purchasing the subscription to goHUNT, it drastically helped me narrow my focus down to a few units that I could hunt almost every year while building a point annually all at the same time.  By being an insider with goHUNT, you’ll also get access to great short films, how-to articles, and giveaways.  Being a typical busy guy from the midwest with a career, kids, etc…..and NOT having a whole lot of time to research– this is a solid tool to help you make critical application decisions ultimately leading to more drawn tags in the fall.

FOURTH QUARTER HUNT

Written 6/3/2017

On Thursday, May 18th, I was able to squeeze in one last hunt for the season.  I woke up around 3:40 AM and took a peek outside.  The wind was blowing at a steady pace of 25 mph and I could already tell in the moonlight that it would be overcast at dawn…not exactly your ideal turkey hunting conditions.  Reluctantly I got ready, loaded the truck, and headed for my best public land spot.  There wasn’t a soul to be seen as pulled into the parking lot of the county conservation area.  As always, I started at the top of a hill where the main access gate is, listening intently for the first gobble as daylight broke.  5:30 AM rolled around and nothing…5:45 AM, nothing.  Finally at 6:00 AM I headed towards the spot where I had missed the gobbler just a few days earlier.  Arriving at that spot after a short brisk walk, I stopped and listened.  Although it was hard to hear with the stiff wind, there was a faint gobble back to the west.  I took off towards the bird and cut the distance in a hurry. 
 
Closing in to 200 yards he gobbled again.  Stopping at the tree line, a lonely crow flew by and sounded off causing the bird to triple gobble.  I pressed on into the timber and at 150 yards (or what I thought was that) I found a suitable hickory tree to lean up against quickly.  I made a few soft yelps on my slate call after I had settled and he quickly cut me off with a gobble that was to the southwest of my position on the neighboring ridge.  From there, 10 minutes lapsed without the tom making a sound.  Another crow flew over and made his presence known causing the bird to shock gobble.  He was now to my northwest and it became apparent that he was following the top of a wooded ridge that would eventually lead him to a crop field.  Fortunately it had rained over an inch the night before, allowing me to slip down into a ditch and creep up the side of the ridge that the bird was on.  I made another set of soft yelps as I slowly walked toward a tree that would conceal me.  Immediately he gobbled and had to be within 60 yards.  I cut and yelped again on my mouth call and he answered.  A matter of seconds later I saw his tail fan as he slowly strutted over the crest of the ridge looking for the hen.  He had now closed the distance to approximately 30 yards and as soon as he cleared some brush in between us, I squeezed the trigger.  BOOM…the bird flopped over and gradually the woods grew still again.  I sat there in disbelief and thanked God.  I got up from my position to retrieve my prize.  A dandy late season Iowa gobbler that weighed in at 23.1 lbs and was armed with 1 1/8” spurs.
 
There are a few factors that made this hunt a success.  The first one was the bird.  That gobbler kept gobbling, plain and simple.  It allowed me to keep tabs on his position and slip up on him as a result.  The second factor was the rain.  The night prior to this hunt it rained well over an inch and made the forest floor very quiet.  This masked my approach towards the tom and allowed me to get inside his bubble.  The third and final factor was the foliage on the trees.  Mid to late May in Iowa means that the trees are pretty well leafed out.  If this hunt would’ve occurred earlier in the season with less foliage I would’ve been easily seen.  That wraps up my turkey season here in Iowa.  .

THE HEART OF THE SEASON

5/17/2017

Well, it’s been almost a month since I’ve posted anything on the blog.  Due to my work schedule, I’ve had very little time for hunting.  However, I’ve been vigilant in frequenting my public land spots to glass and keep tabs on the few birds that I have been able to locate.  I had the good fortune of hunting a friend’s farm down in southern Iowa during the last Sunday of April.  The turkeys did not disappoint on the roost.  I’m sure that morning I heard roughly 7-8 different birds and collectively they probably gobbled over 300 times.  It was one of those high pressure mornings following a weather system where it’s crystal clear with virtually no wind.  Unfortunately, once the birds were on the ground they seemed to shut up almost immediately.
 
My second hunt was this past Friday.  I located two toms right next to a piece of public ground that I had continued to scout with my new Covert cameras.  The photos revealed that they were frequenting a pinch point that led to a field edge.  The birds were there and gobbled some but my bad luck continued as the birds pitched out on to some private property and never showed themselves.  Later in the morning I stopped by another familiar public spot that I had mentioned in my very first blog post.  Upon arrival I glassed a couple of mature gobblers in one field and a group of 6 jakes in another.  After watching them feed off, I made a loop around them to try and cut both the jakes and toms off.  My first mistake was not taking my decoys with me…as I found a great hidden field that I sat up in.  After some short yelps and clucks I had 10 jakes at about 50-60 yards.  They milled around in the field for another 15 minutes or so and then eased off into the timber.
 
By this time it was 10:30 am.  I decided to stay put as I had not located the two gobblers that I had seen when I first arrived.  Although I've never like blind calling, I threw a bunch of yelps, clucks, and purrs out there on my slate.  Right before 11:00 am I picked up my phone to check my work email, this was my second mistake.  Looking up from my phone about five minutes later, I noticed that those two toms had worked their way into the field.  At this point they were at 65 yards.  I was able to drop my phone without them noticing and get my shotgun almost into position.  At 50 yards, with no decoys, they saw something they didn’t like.  I made a quick move, pulled up my shotgun, and fired at what appeared to be the biggest bird.  It was nothing but a big swing and a miss.  I am quite certain that I lifted my cheek up off my gun when I squeezed the trigger causing my shot to most likely go high over the bird.

TIMELAPSE FOR TURKEYS

4/21/2017

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I recently invested in four new trail cameras.  The Covert MP8 model that I purchased have excellent reviews and I actually have a few hunting buddies that have had nothing but good things to say about the Covert brand.  One particular feature that I was interested in testing was their time lapse mode.  I tested one camera for a 48 hour period on a piece of public ground that I’ve been scouting…and needless to say, I was not disappointed.  The Covert camera captured many different photos of turkeys using this area during various parts of the day.  Even though the camera wasn’t out very long, I was able to get a better handle on how the turkeys moved through this area.  I was especially excited to see two different long beards show up in my photos along with hens and jakes.

FIRST SIGHTING

4/7/2017

This past Thursday started out windier and colder than I had anticipated.  I started at a spot where I harvested a couple of deer in the fall of 2016.  In the past I’d only observed some tracks and very little turkey sign.  By 6:30 am I was standing on a hill top in anticipation of hearing at least one distant gobble.  Twenty minutes went by and nothing.  Not a tree yelp, cluck, or gobble.  I quickly abandoned that spot and returned to my original scouting location. 
 
7:00 am rolled around and quickly heard three different toms, one of which was on public land.  I made a fast loop to the south and east of my parking area to get a closer confirmation of his location.  From the sound of his gobbles, he must roost on public and then fly off to the east on private ground.  Knowing little about this spot, I went ahead and deployed to one of my new Covert cameras in hopes of catching some afternoon pictures of turkeys feeding in a field near where this bird was roosted.  I am anxious to see how Covert’s time lapse feature works.  After the camera was set, I hustled back to the truck.  Driving off to the east I observed a hen with what looked like to be a two-year old tom.  I imagine that this was the gobbler that I heard off to the east of my second listening location.  Figuring these birds out has been trickier than I thought it would be.

SCOUTING CONTINUES

4/2/2017

Fortunately I was able to get out on Thursday and Saturday mornings to scout for birds.  Throughout this past week and most of the weekend we've had overcast skies and some significant rainfall.  There was a brief period of sunshine early on Saturday morning and gobblers took advantage of it.  I again found multiple birds on the same piece of public land, only I listened from a different location.  This access point appears to be under utilized due to the steep terrain along with cedars and briers close to the parking lot.  I will hopefully return again this coming week.

I stopped in at my local sporting goods store this weekend and found their Covert Scouting Camera inventory on sale.....so I bit the bullet.  This past summer I was running four cameras total.  Later in the fall I gave away an inexpensive one and another quit working.  Although a somewhat expensive purchase, I went ahead and picked up four Covert MP8 cameras.  This particular camera has a time-lapse feature that I'm excited to incorporate into my scouting arsenal.  I will hopefully have more to come on those.

SCOUTING FOR TURKEYS

3/28/2017

I was able to get up early this morning and go to a piece of public land here in Iowa.  I’ve seen some turkeys on this piece during a couple of previous springs.  Fortunately, this short scouting trip did not disappoint.  The first gobble came at 6:41 am as the morning began to materialize.  Shortly after that, another set of gobbles came from the south and east of me.  I heard a total of at least four birds and one of them I believe was a juvenile.  From the roosted location of the birds, I am going to attempt to listen from another access point later this week.