While doing my due diligence as a good neighbor a Tom turkey let loose out back. So tomorrow I'll be out there in a ground brush blind. I was out cutting up a dead beech who's top broke off and into the farmers clover. It was after legal hunting so just got the tree top cut up and cleared so I can plan on tomorrow's hunt. Taking out a cam now and my turkey chair. Will clean up a quiet walk to the blind seeing they could be roosting any where out there.May spray for ticks while I'm at it.
So I'm back in. Dear Lord it's a wonder I made it this long. Thankfully I Sawyered the hunting clothes, socks Hat and all, good last night and left them drying on the porch. Skeeters, blk. flies and yellow jackets. Not to mention the squirrel that used my head as a landing pad between the two sides of the brush blind. Yes yes I did check my shorts when I got home...LOL At 6 I had a Tom sound off behind me ..he was roosted over my tower stand..did a few clucks and light purrs to let him know I was there. Then two ,I assume, Jake's let loose in front and down hill to my right. Tom was on me, Jakes on hunting camp. Hens behind me and down the ridge beat me and Tom went that way. The Jake's and I conversed for and hour and a half but would not come up the hill. When I heard him hit my creeks I decided to go. Typing this and he's out there behind the house gobbling his fool head off. It was fun I also had a close encounter with a young buck. Now talking bit over 5 yards at one point. 25 mins. Of foot stomps ,head bobbing,pretend eating, circling me...had about 4 -5 inch spikes and real thin,last year's fawn. Poor guy,about the time I got swarmed so did he. Suddenly his right ear flopped sideways and he started shaking his head. Then the snorting ,shaking and bucking started. Next came the running away,shaking,bucking and snorting...should have some of that on cam. Ps.. Had the crossbow this morning, hoping to get my next one with that.
I bet that squirrel got your attention, that's funny. I'll share my funny squirrel story that happened just yesterday. I went up to the property to put some more bait in my bear bait barrel. I get there, can see that a bear has hit it since I was last there. The barrel is a 35 gal barrel with a small slot cut at the bottom. It is on it's side and I notice it is still about half full of bread. I flip it upright and start loosening the bolt for the lid, the slot is now about a foot from my foot. I get the bolt about halfway out and suddenly there's a screech, a bunch of commotion, and a dark streak goes racing by my left foot. A freaking squirrel had been inside the barrel the whole time and had finally decided to make a break for it. Lets just say that when that happens and you're already on alert since your at a place where bears frequent, your're going to flinch a bit. Ha ha.
Fun morning in the brush blind had a hen, practically fly down in my lap. Very vocal but no responses. No Tom's or Jakes this a.m.. but some wild owl noises. Alas the bugs found me and I had to move to a enclosed blind. What a gorgeous light breezy morning. It's got the real tail on my jake rockin...lol So so many different birds singing.
I run to New Jersey to hunt, last 2 weeks are all day, very seldom do I stay all day, I love to call a Tom to the gun, this late in the season, mating is over, it becomes ambush hunting. Walked up on a hen with 8 poults last week, I think we do more harm by disturbing nesting hen's when they are trying to nest or feed young ones. Heard at least 8 different Tom's gobbling on roost, then dead quiet after fly down. Think I am done for season. Burned 7 of 8 tags, still had 1 great hunt. Till next year.
Well I made it 2 hours...stinking weatherman...mid 50's my pututi! I dressed for it but then the sun chased the cold air to me and I felt frozen! Low 40's, add s crazed snorting deer that caught my scent. The hens that few drown behind me promptly walked down over the ridge. I packed it up and grabbed the cam card... Lots of turkey hens, Jake's, long beards all walking through from 7am through the day to 7 pm. Mid day they seem to group up. When walking out I saw they had the entire wood lot scratched up. This tells me there is a new hatch of bugs out there.May try going out later, after I get me feet warmed up.
Turkey Gods are just playing with me now. So due to cam and entire woods tore up I decided to go to brush blind again even though I have 2 enclosed in the area and rain forecasted. I walk in all quiet and just as I get to the trail turn and final path something scurried in front of me. Climbs a tree to about shoulder height. OK, figure flying squirrel. 10 more steps flopflopflop. 6 more flop flop flop. I've managed to walk into a nesting flock. To late now. I continue to blind and get set for day light. Carrying gun because didn't want to mess with a wet and perhaps foggy scope on cross bow. A whopping g 40 degrees and wet. For once they were right, wave after wave of light rain. I hear rustling then a dark body appears...great, white and black. Skunk 5' off the blind milling around grubbing. Then more just off my left ear. I SLOWLY turn to face a young raccoon staring at my face, less than a kitchen chair width away. Mind you by this time I have turkey vocals behind me in trees. A tom gobbling on ridge over my tower blind, a fly down way out over my chicken coop blind a gooble and owl over where the flopping occurred 34 yrds away. I'm trying to keep dead still. He moves off when a whopper of a raccoon( fat azz) waddles by then turns and comes into the blind with me,WTH! Thankfully I wiggled my foot and it turned and ran away, though that alerted the roosted birds and the dropping began. They all dropped down and moved away in all directions but by me. Had one Tom come back to gobble behind me but moved by without coming In front..by 9 I had had enough of being rained on although my rain suit worked great at keeping me dry. 4 different gobbling birds today. Nice! ...typing this and hearing hens putting in woods out back..lol Still pretty much a blast and even though no turkey...I literally didn't get skunked!
It's a wrap...tomorrow is the last day but this morning I finally had birds that were surrounding me come in. Gobbling everywhere and hens calling as well. We just ended 2 1/2 straight days of solid rain with cold temps. Thinking there may be a late hatch this year again. We are lucky in that regard the girls will try again successfully. Though smaller clutches. I heard close hens and Tom's moving away and waited a bit before clucking and a couple of yelps. That had a Tom down the ridge coming a little closer when a hen appeared. She paced back and forth clucking and purring,flapping her wings for nearly 15 mins. The Tom that had been getting close was now going away and gobbling like crazy. He must have already bred her??? She moved off and dejected I lowered my gun and stretched my legs out. Not long and another hen snuck in from behind me she was scratching and pecking all over the place silently. I raised my knee back up when she went behind a tree when a rustling behind me produced 3 jakes less than a foot off the blind. They surrounded the hen and also began looking and scratching.in the wet leaf litter. I waited hoping for one of the long beards I was hearing in the distance would come in. By this time, even with 3 camo fleece layers on the shivers took over. My back was starting to seize up from them. That took care of my not taking a second Jake for meat. I waited until one lifted his head away from the others and I dropped him on the spot. No pics I forgot my phone and got home just as my back spasms hit again. Heating pad and coffee before breasting him out. Same size as first except 1/2 " longer beard and 7/16 buttons. Oh well bigger mature Tom's for next year. This is a first in all these years I've not taken a mature Tom.. It was fun getting out to greet so many morning suns. Even fun getting out maneuvered. We will enjoy some tasty young Bird.
Finally ....my first poults and they are small so second hatch ,per usual. 2 hens 6 poults then tonight 6 Tom's 3 long beards for fall spring next year. So happy to see poults it has bee just so rainy here and we had a late cold spell this spring. These hens are old hands at getting their second hatch through the winter.
