My Favorite Turkey Hunt of the Year

Saturday morning's hunt with Molly, my youngest daughter:

Molly and I headed out to hunt as soon as she got home from school Friday afternoon.  We had planned to sit in a blind in one of my best spots.  I was pretty confident that we'd get a shot but if not, we'd be in a perfect position to roost them for Saturday morning.  Well as so often happens when you are confident about turkey hunting, we totally struck out.  We heard 2 gobbles on top of the ridge about 5:30, but they never came down far enough  for us to see them - that is until they flew up.  We were able to make out 4 or 5 different birds as they flew up into some hardwoods at the top of the ridge - including at least 1 long beard.

These turkeys were roosted in the exact same spot as they had been last Sunday morning.  So I was pretty confident that they would fly down the same spot where they had that morning (that darn confidence again...).  I planned for us to sneak in very early the next morning & set up a small pop-up as close to them as I dared - within gun range of where they should land.

Miss Molly & I were up at 4:30, out the door shorty there after, and on the farm by 5.  After a short ATV ride, and a harrowing walk through a herd of black angus (scary stuff for an 8 year old), we safely arrived at the "landing zone".  I got the blind set up, decoys out, and all of our stuff situated in the blind.  We had just settled in when when he fired off right over our heads.  The grin on Molly's face alone already made this a great hunt.  She pointed and said in kind of a hushed scream (you know, that 8 year old loud whisper when they think that they are being quiet but it usually come out several decibels higher that a high school intercom.  The whisper that they usually use in the middle of church, weddings, and other occasions when they have been told to be quiet but have something that they deem really, really important to say.) "Daddy - he's right there!!!"  

I got her quieted down and then for the next 15 minutes or so, we just sat back and enjoyed the show.  It ended up being 2 long-beards and 3 hens.  The long-beards were the first to fly down, but apparently they missed the memo about where to land.  Instead of sailing down to our designated "landing zone" to a warm, welcoming load of hevi-shot, they flew down in the opposite direction.  My heart sank!  I had just told Molly "oh nooooo, he flew the wrong way!" when the first hen flew out and sailed right over our head.  She was soon followed by the other 2.  What a turn of events!  We were now directly between the Toms and their hens.

The Toms were really fired up now.  They were answering everything that I threw at them, plus I could hear them drumming about 75 yards up the hill.  I was starting to wonder why they weren't coming close when I spotted them through the trees - strutting back and forth - on the other side of a fence...  

We sat and listened and watched for about 15 more minutes until it became painfully obvious that they weren't going to cross that fence any time soon.  I waited until they they were out of sight and told Molly "come on sweetie, we've got to move".  We got out of the blind and headed down the hill.  My plan was to circle around and get on the fence line about 100 yards down from them.  Then hopefully they could be persuaded to strut down the fence line right to us.

Apparently they had the same idea, because they started moving down the fence toward our intended destination before we ever got there.  They were gobbling the entire time, so I could tell that they were REALLY close when we got to about 50 yards from the fence.  Luckily, there was some pretty thick brush between us and them.  I spotted a log about 20 yards ahead and told myself "that's were we need to get to - if I can get us to that log, we'll get a shot."  

Molly had been hanging in there with me the entire time - she was doing a great job of keeping up and moving quietly through the woods.  I was confident that we could make it so I dropped to my knees and started to crawl.  I had probably gone about 10 yards when I heard it "PUTT PUTT".  Huh?  I know they couldn't have seen me?  I look back to make sure that Molly is still right behind me.  She is, but instead of down on her hands and knees like I expected to find her, she is standing up, grinning from ear to ear, saying in that hushed whisper / scream "DADDY, I can see his fan!!!".  Of course, I never told her to crawl - I was just confident that she would know to do what I did...

About that time, the other bird gobbled again so I didn't think that they were too scared.  I motioned for her to get down and told her that we had to crawl for just a few more feet.  I had almost made it to our log when I crawled past a box turtle.  He didn't seem to mind me as he kept inching along.  I remember thinking, "I hope Molly isn't scared of him - I won't point him out and maybe she won't see him..."  The turkeys are still gobbling, and had closed the distance even more.  They are now probably within 40 yards and gobbling every 30 seconds.  This is it - we've got them - slam dunk!

I was in reaching distance of the log when I heard the loudest "whisper" to ever come out of my sweet little girl's mouth "DADDY - LOOK - IT'S A TURTLE!!!  CAN WE KEEP IT??!!!"  

No we didn't get the turkey, but we had one of the best hunts of my life.  We were blessed with front-row tickets to Nature's greatest symphony.  We had been in sling-shot range of 2 huge Toms.  We had braved the vicious herd of cows in the dark.  We picked up some really pretty rocks and a strange looking nut.  We got to spend just about the prefect morning together in the turkey woods!

So after all of the excitement of the day, the first thing out of Molly's mouth when we got back home was "MOMMY, WE FOUND A TURTLE!!!!"

Thanks to my sweet little Molly, I was treated to a magical day in the woods through the eyes of a child.  I was reminded of a simpler time when turkey hunting was more to me than putting another bird in the freezer.  I was reminded about what I so love about turkey hunting.