Rain stopped, quiet fly down and a hen came in. Didn't like the miss perfects and slowly left . I'm hearing putts and soft clucks to my side and back. But limited view from chair blind. No gobbles for sure and one shot from the same direction as opening morning. Well just heard a gobbler on neighbors then 2 shots. . So much for that! One more hunter down.
Fogs rolled back in and Temps dropped I will need to put this chair blind up for deer hunting season. Man the deer walk that gully in and out of ours and the nieghbors. I'm planting a,clover chicory , turnip mix in the laneway in the fall.
Day 6 ,I'm lounging in bed having turned off the alarm slept a bit more ,shaved the back of hubbies neck, put away dishes and watched the sun fully arrive. Actual blue skies for once, but it rained all day yesterday and last night. Seeing the ground was a soft wet sponge to walk on yesterday, I didn't feel like a mud bath this morning. Besides on the way home from getting fir and fencing I checked the camps that border us. None of them went home yesterday afternoon. Maybe if they get a break here, they'll get pushed and stay. Weather and predators will see a re-nest soon, so hens will be more vocal. Weather also has me hoping % birds taken were jake. So much planting to prep for....hunting needs to wait.
At it again for last 2 hours. No morning due to waking and both hands were totally numb. Of course I set up and get birds talking..no gobbles when I hear machinery and yelling. Neighbors mowing his trails. Oh well maybe he'll push birds to my hen set. Did have a nice young buck step into laneway. Up date heard but saw nothing. Stood to leave and the chicken farmer was in field behind me with a few trucks and a tractor, I believe planting corn. Birds were pretty hunkered down with all this going on. View attachment 92693
Here we go again. Should have realized my luck was in the dumpster after the 3 Tom fiasco. Checked cams and had birds in at about 8:39 at the hub blind set. Up at 3:30 and all set up by 4:20. 530 I have a Tom roost gobbling on the ridge to my right. I do some clucks and purrs. We go like this for 39 min. When he pitches down. Now sounding far away . Though he was walking the flat just below the ridge and before the big drop. I decide to get agressive . When hens sound back headed my way. They got him gobbling good. They came to the set feeding but took a wide swing around it. Then I saw the tops of their heads as they entered the laneway just above the mouth of gully. They followed it up to the neighbors. The Tom went silent and I fear he may have watched them from the ridge and dropped down into the gully following them. I'll give him till 9 to come pick a fight with the Jake decoy. He's not looking so good. He got tail got heavy in this wet ground and tipped him back
So here is the plan. I checked the cam card from this a.m. It showed a Tom and 3 hens feeding by at 7 last night . Now only 2 of those hens came in off the roost, so I assume the 3 rd hen took that Tom away. I waited until dark and went out to check the card. Sure enough but an hour early the Tom walked by without hens. So tomorrow I'm completely changing up. No calling, no decoying . I'm going to sit tight and hope they are on a regular route down that lane way plot. This plan can't work out any worse than all my others. This will be the last post until I get a bird..ha! Bye BTW...Dang! No more going to the woods in dark unless I'm wearing a hat. The sky just barely above my head was filled with little brown bats. With all this rain ,skeeters and blk. Flies are BAD so bless their scary little hearts..
He dropped into my lap at 5:55 spit and drummed on other side of pines 3 yards away until 6:10 6: 12 he was flopping. Not my biggest by any means. But a nice bird and great hunt
Ok so I lied, he is the heaviest I've gotten at 241/2 pounds, 1 in. Spurs and 9 in beard. He looked smaller in the field, until I had to carry him home..lol Now I have food I'll have the bow out until season end.
Checked cams tonight and another mature Tom has replaced the one I shot Friday. So I'm still in the game this week.
Actually 2 more days, today and tomorrow. I settled on the chair blind. To my utter angst is now under a crow roost. That was not fun from daylight till 6:30. Of course the only turkey thus far is180 yrds away in front of the hub blind. Along with a big doe and nice up comer buck. Couldn't get the jake to come this way,then the buck chased him. No gobbles, purrs, yelps or scratching heard yet. Lots of chippers(chipmunks )
8:30 and 2 nice rabbits came out from the brush pile fence behind the blind that was nice. Though I be leave I'll be calling it at 9:00. Shoes got real wet this coming in this a.m.. my feet are dry but getting real cold. Besides the old back is just on the verge of screaming at me.
The above post was yesterday,apparently didn't hit send. This is the last day. I'm back out at the cardboard blind. The woods are pretty dark. Not one sound of a turkey,have 3 hens out and did light early calling ,staying quiet now. Had 3 beautiful doe ,big girls, stroll by. Thankfully no crows! All this rain has EVERYTHING green, especially fern,so much of it. Looks like a fogs rolling in.