Avid's Hunt Log

[avidnwoutdoorsman]

So in the state I live in where you go to kill turkeys you dont do much scouting. They are just kind of there but in the part of the state (half of the state) where only 1% of birds are killed you have to put in some ground work. Which I can say I did about as much as I could have expected... this means far less than I wanted to but far more than I imagined raising a family, starting a new job, and thinking it would be a good idea to be my kids coach for their first year of soccer. The other part I'll add that if you are kind of in the know of where this 1% of the birds are finding one isnt terribly hard... they are generally in the same area year after year. Finding said areas takes years. I have 4 areas I hunt these days that consistently have birds. This year I wanted to branch out a little more and branched out into 3 new areas that I have seen sign in the past or have been tipped to a possible "pocket of birds"

So where did I start my season this morning? Well I had checked on two spots of old and three spots of new, repeating a couple because the weather wasnt right or maybe it was too early. I had left one old spot that is tried and true and never made it to my forth typical spot. So far, I had heard 1 bird off permit and another bird in a hell hole I wouldn't begin to know how to hunt. This was the most unsuccessful pre-scouting I had done in the area with maybe the 2nd or 3rd most preseason scouting I've done in this area the last 7 years. Another hunter friend of mine, retired, spent far more days in the woods and had 1 maybe 2 birds located. His spot for the last 3 years which he left at least 3 mature birds in had none this year. What happened to the birds was the question going into this opening mornings. We should of had a great hatch last year. The year before was also not terrible.

This morning I got to the unchecked tried and true spot at 0430 and there was a rig there. There were no rigs at any gates Saturday that was probably the 2nd best morning this season for listening. This spot is massive and you could certainly have two people hunt... possible to fit 3 and questionable to fit 4. But to do that you would definitely need some pre-planning conversations to section off who was going to hunt which quadrant of which all are relatively equal. Person at said gate was already gone so no convo to be had. The other entrance was a bit to get around to and likely had hunter 2 at it and then you wouldnt be sure if someone else found another way in for hunter number 3. As not to ruin anyones hunt and to hopefully gain some favor from the turkey Gods I thought heck. I will go to the spot where I heard the one a couple weeks ago. Low and behold as I'm pulling out another rig pulls up and promptly they walk into said gate I just decided not to hunt. I have seen as many as 7 rigs with 9 hunters try to hunt this area before....which you may say thats why there are no birds but that's kind of a dream for me because with that many people someone inevitably messes it up for everyone and all the birds are left but for maybe one when you come back in May after the early season pressures have dipped.

Here I get to another gate and I have the whole area to myself. There is no good way in and at least I have a hunt to myself. I get up on the ridge with a commanding listening advantage to hear nothing. I wait until its good and light out as these birds often dont like to gobble in the drizzle and will stay in their roost for far too long to finally venture out a little more. Slowly I worked my way down to the approximate area I had heard the bird before. Unfortunately there was not any real sign or anything to produce except for a cool damp morning in the PNW.

Getting back to the gate said retired guy killed his bird. The problem is his bird gobbled two times on the limb.... the three previous days that bird hammerd over a dozen times. So now I'm thinking I have to go listen again at the spot that produced nothing this morning.

Great to be back in the turkey woods.

[Happy]

Stay at it. I'm glad to see you spending time with the family. It's important. Fortunately, I only have one left that isn't grown-up, and he is big enough to drag around with me and hunt now.

Good-looking and Platinum level member of the Elitist club

[crow]

I'd hit that spot again after things settle down

[GobbleNut]

     Keep after 'em, Christopher!  Keep those girls in tow now buddy. 

[avidnwoutdoorsman]

This new form format is tripping me out.

Saturday 4/20.... my youngest wakes the wife and I at 2am. I of course am the chosen one to respond to the cries of  need for comfort and head into her room where I coax her back to bed by laying on the floor with her and assuring here everything is going to be ok. As I make my way back to the bed now 2:30am I declare to my wife that this was the sign I needed from the turkey Gods to go out this morning. My destination is an hour a way to the gate, plus a half->mile back and we have a soccer match at 10am a half hour from my house. Sunrise at 6:21 this means I could hunt for probably and hour at best. Being as I have no such luck finding the birds this year I want to go on this perfect spring morning to just know at least there is a bird.

I arrive at the gate at before 4:00am and am greeted with no other rigs there. I gather my things and make my way back into the timber. As I get out into the big cut the moon is so bright I can easily move without a head lamp. I get to my listening spot and continue to put all my things together so I am ready to move if and when there is a gobble. For a moment thinking about the likely pressure from other that will ensue I debate rolling the dice and setting up in a probably best scenerio spot down below. I ration myself out of it that where I am at I can possibly ward off late comers and have a shot to play multiple roost. At 5:27 the first gobble rings to my pleasure 350 yds below me. The problem is its a wide open cut to me and the bird. But without hesitation I cut over to the reprod and down the hill to the lower skid rd. As I ease my way down another bird joins in.... now I am kicking myself because my gut set up would have put me scare between those two birds on the lower rd. Now I had no approach with how much light was accumulating in the sky but to set up to the side of the lead gobbler. Not a bad situation though. When I reach the bottom I am within 200yds of the birds roost. They almost always come to the rd and I have my decoys set to where the gobbler maybe could see them but certainly will if they come straight up to the rd from where they are. A third gobbler joins the fun in the uncut growth one over some 1100 yds away. My hopes in the birds are restored from my above post as I have now heard more birds this morning then the two months scouting before. I'll note that again that was expected of this spot and why I had left it alone. I was glad they were still here is what I am saying.

The birds still continue there gobbling on the roost and fly down a little past 6am. Once on the ground there is only one more gobble to be heard from the dominant bird. They are silent. I call lightly and sparingly as thats what typically has worked best on these birds. I wait until 6:30am and they have not come up to the road. Factoring in the time I need to get back to the truck and home and to the game I figure I have maybe 10-15min left to hunt. So I begin to ease my way down the rd to them. Half way road wise from where I think they would be directly below I stop and call and listen and wait. Nothing. I push to the corner where I can see almost the rest of the road and call and listen and wait. Time is up and I have to go. I hustle up the hill to my bike I walked in (this added 10+min of hunting time) and scurry back to my truck.

I get home by 8:30am somehow we dont leave until 9:20am and make it there 10min before kick off. We have two boys and three girls on our little team. The boys are absent this week and the three girls did there part to get there first win.

[avidnwoutdoorsman]

4/21

The wife and I debated all week if we should take the whole family for WALK MS or if she should go. After much deliberation it was agreed that her getting a much needed "break" would be best. Especially since this Saturday marks my 9 day turkey palooza where she will be left to her own devises while I am gone. So a nice drive up and old friends would be a good little re-charge before hand.

My wife's friend who is previously our mutual co-worker invited us to their wedding in Southern Oregon where I learned the Grooms Dad had a "turkey problem". This area of Oregon I learned on my first hunt is also (I believe self proclaimed) the Turkey Capitol of America. They are abundantly everywhere. On the first hunt I learned some of the public but settled on a nice Tom at a neighbors large property. The Father's property is small. About 5 acres with their house smack in the middle of it. The birds favor his property because the understory is well maintained and open and he is the last property before it thickens up... aka its there roosting spot. With the size of it the hunting is good until about 9 or 10am and then later in the evenings. There is typically birds roosted in the "bottom" of it and the "top" of it. Since I was home alone with the girls I started to communicate with sir about maybe bringing the girls down to hunt. To me this really meant to see some birds up close and maybe shoot one. He was excited and overjoyed we would come and wanted to know how he could help. I asked let me know where a good spot to put a blind would be where I am as far away from where they like to roost as possible but where they would likely pass within 40yds. He sent me a video explaining the property.

The night before I was putting the littlest down and fell asleep in her room. Theme here. I self awoke at midnight. I hadnt packed yet and debated it. But thought i would never go back to sleep. So I set my alarm for 1:30am. I awoke with somewhat eased and begin packing, snack, ear muffs, clothes, diapers, blind, chairs you name it. Bit of a scramble because although I knew I might do this I was going into this with a bit of an ask for forgiveness approach with the wife. So finding everything I needed was tedous. At about 2am I was all set and went to the twins room and asked if they wanted to go hunting. They hazely thought and soon asked if H would be coming our youngest. To which I replied yes indeed. They jumped out of bed in pure excitement and promptly got ready and waited paitently in the truck while I retrieved the youngest.

We stopped for gas and I texted Dave our current ETA was 5:40... I was shooting for 5:00am originally. Fortunately there was no traffic on the road at that hour in the morning and we pulled into Daves at 5:20? E was up and I told her to wait quitely as not to wake up H while I went to set the blind and chairs up. Dave came out and again showed me the two places I could set up. I chose the one that seamed to have better shooting lanes and went back to the truck to get the girls. As I was unbuckling them I heard the first gobble.... well it was cacophony of gobble and they were not as far up the hill as they were suppose to be. I continued to get the kids out of the truck and as we lined up to head to the blind the birds hammered again. In hindsight this was a great thing. It kind of kicked the girls into action and made them responsive in my does and donts. We eased our way into the blind all the whiles the birds gobbling ever so often. Once in the blind I was struck with the knowing presence that we were way way close to the birds. When there was enough there were two birds the next tree over later ranging the limb at 25yds from where we sat. Everytime H made her baby grunt for "more" of whatever she had just finished eating the birds would erupt in gobbles and yelps. This was going to be chaotic. Now there was a fair shot that when the birds hit the deck they were going to do so in range.

Eventually the first bird flew down and landed at about 30yds away. With the ruckus in our blind it was on edge immediately. A second and third bird pitched and all three were moving off quickly. I helped put H's earmuffs on which caused her to wail in displeasure of this awkward thing on her head that ushered more birds out of the tree. There he was the long beard. I had instructed the girls previously and reminded them now we need to help keep H's muffs on. Working on that while trying to get my bead on the bird I whiffed a shot that made the Tom kind of take that skip hop run ten steps forward bringing him to the edge of my range. Having only one more shell I didnt want to not get a bird having gone through the commotion and not know what the outfall was going to be still I checked muffs again and trained the bead on a new bird that had taken the big Toms place of the last shot well within range. This time the shot was true and the bird piled up flapping down the hill. I ensured the gun was safe, grabbed H and ran out the blind to grab the bird. Once I got to it as I looked up the hill five birds stood there looking at me wondering what the heck was going on. I called the twins out to see OUR bird and they ran out. To my amusements they quickly resorted to picking up feathers and playing around the bird.

We packed up the gear and headed into the house were we enjoyed a litany of new-to-them-toys and warmth from the fire. Once the sun got up we moved our play outside. Much to my joy two big long beard came around to say hello and strut eagerly within range while we played and laughed on the swing set behind the house.

I caught zero slack from my wife, got an earful from her Mom, but a memory that will last my life time. My twins are 4yo and the youngest 13mo. What was at best going to be a day out with my girls where we could hear gobbles from the top of the roost tree to watching birds strut and play on the side of an oak hill turned into a greater day with examination and curiosity of a handsome turkey we killed together. H loved picking the birds head up by the snood and seeing how far she could stick her tiny fingers in its mouth. She also enjoyed digging her hand into its back feathers twirling them in her fingers.

My season has just started as I still have 6 more weeks I can hunt and opportunity for 8+ more birds. I've already had the best season I could have sharing it with my three girls on this successful in more ways then one hunt.

[avidnwoutdoorsman]

I swear they are happy.... We are working on their smiles. E smirks and A just looks like she's biting on something real hard.


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[JeffC]

Great read and even better pictures! Congrats Avid, cant imagine dealing with 3 little ones and trying to hunt!!

[avidnwoutdoorsman]

4/27 - My birthday -
I arrive at the Ranch at about 9 or 10am. I stopped in on a few place while on the way in. Left the night before from my home around 10pm or so. 6 hr drive plus a little sleep and scouting some new turf I get to the ranch at mid-morning. The ranch is my coworkers place that is more developed with power and a place to sleep. My property is over the mountain, maybe 5mi as the crow flies but 20min or more in the car. I spend the balance of the day getting my truck fitted up for a cab over camper. My buddy gave it to me as long as it leaves his property. Fair deal if you ask me. Seen lots of birds on the drive in but the weather is ugly. Rain, sun, sleet, sun, rain, rain, drizzle, hail. All day long. Finally about supper time we finish up. I eat a bowl of whatever the misses made and head out to roost some birds. I really want to check on the birds by my place so I head over. To my pleasure there is one roosted in the middle of my property, one two the west on the timber you cant hunt, and a new roost to the east on the timberland you can hunt. I decide I'll make a play for that bird in the morning. Head back to the cabin and get some rest. (The next three days would be wildly good and long).

[avidnwoutdoorsman]

4/28 - I park at the timber gate up from my property and set up on the logging road. I thought the birds were roosting off the road when I get to about where I think I should set up and a gobble echos up the hill from me. That's fine I'm in a good place and maybe they will pitch to the road. The bird gobbles his brains out before the sun breaks the hills. The first bird pitches but instead of to the rd I am on below it is flat to the bench above me. I had wondered that this would not be the outcome. Once I am sure they are all out of the trees and that the are working indeed the bench away I slip back down the hill and around. After a slog of a climb up the hill to get in front of them as I reach the top, with a soft yelp, I am greated with a gobble 100 yds "behind" me toward the roost they flew out of. This meant they had covered a couple hundered yards and I had indeed got in front. Calling infrequently it was apparent they were going to work down the hill and around me out of range. So I mad ethe move to slide over to stay above them but also get more level with there path. After some joking I get a to place where a gobble is close. As I'm sitting in to get ready for  a shot he pops out first and starts to put/walk away/freak all at once. A second one walks in right where he was and I squeeze off. It runs up the hill away towards the first. With my face mostly in my hands a third walks out and stops. Not expecting this I can no sooner get my gun back up when the bird has made haste to join the others.

I head back to my truck and go for a little jaunt. I cruise around a little to see what the numbers look like, how the flock sizes are, and where can I see birds. All looks relatively good. This are I am in we called the pink. It was the wrong way from the airport to Idaho but I felt I knew the best. There was another area the Yellow that I might know second best and if I could turn up some birds there that would be more on our way from the airport, through WA, to Idaho. So I cruise over there checking some spots, looking at other private fields etc. There are no real promising leads.

I pick up my hunting partner from the airport at 1130am. We get fuel and settled and take off for the pink. Again this is a 1.5hr detour but we will probably save 3 hours hunting it because I am that much more familiar with it. We stop in a spot I haven't looked in yet this year where we find lots of sign but cant scratch a gobble. We then get more up and into the pink. I have a kind of loop planned if you will were we will park at a gate, walk in a quarter to half mile calling sporadically and move to the next, looking for a hot bird. As we are getting nearer to the ranch I tell Bennet to look over the handrail in this field below the road. 1/20 times I pass this field there is a bird in it. (Those are terrible odds for where I hunt). Sure as heck there in the field is a big ol Tom. WE run up to the land owners door to confirm pre-acquired permission. He is trying to load some calves up to get them to town. B is itching to get on a bird. He gets a break and reassures us we are good to hunt the "Dam" Field. We ease our way to the edge of the field and give some sweet talk to the old boy. He has a jake with him and not to be stood up he charges ahead of the jake to within range where B makes a nice kill shot and is on the board in state one a little over 3 hours from landing.

We make it to our next state and the weather aint the best. Clouds have continued to move in and its windy. We come across a flock in a brown field and as we drive up to ask permission we bugger them straight to the woods. We back out and get a good lay of the land walking and calling over both public and private ground. Unfortunately as the sun went to bed so had the turkeys in silence. We did not have a single bird roosted. Not common for Merriam's out west. We elect to sit on the brown dirt bird in the morning.

[avidnwoutdoorsman]

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[GobbleNut]

Good read and pics, Christopher.  That big smile says it all!   

[JeffC]

Thanks for the story, good read and pictures, looks like nice spurs on that mountain bird, Congrats to Mr. Smiley

[avidnwoutdoorsman]

4/29 - Monday

So I with the cab over camper on the truck it was quite nice that we could literally sleep at or near wherever we were going to hunt on this trip. Electing to pull into a small church lot for the night we wake with a bit over an hour to go to sunrise. We make our way across the brown dirt field to a Hawthorne tree we had picked out as a good sitting place for the birds to come into the field probably that morning. We get our decoys set and sit for the next hour listening to silence. With the cloud cover I cant tell you it was quite sunrise yet but it was well past fly down and there wasnt a bird in site. We had discussed how we had more places to check with intel of other birds and that we'd wait it out until 5:30 before we went on to other hopeful birds. Not hearing a peep was odd as it was assumable that bird from yesterday was roosting somewhere on the tree line behind us. We pick up our gear and walked in the wide open across the dirt field. A little over 600yds diagonally in the wide wide open. No sooner did we get back to the truck when I take one glance around to see the birds and the long beard 20yds from that Hawthorne where we had been sitting only minutes ago. The upside is that we had planned for this scenario albeit later in the day that there was another road the paralleled the south boarder of the property that could get us back into the timber where we could make a slip through the trees and out into the field near them. What wasn't in the cards was how fast they were moving to the south. We threw everything in the truck and booked it for the back. Getting our gear together and scrambling down the hill we could see the lead birds only a few yards away. We crept out to the edge. Got the birds attention and the three boys came into range. We took two and were done in our second state at 6am. Loading up the truck we were headed to our third state two hours away.

Crossing state lines a little after 8am we got into the area I had mapped out a few minutes later. I personally have never hunted this area but have had friends drive through it seeing birds, sent others to pins that had killed withing 50yds of said pins, and took the time to talk to the local biologist to know that this was a little bit of a turkey mecca. In talking to the biologist she described and area that was very much in line with where all my pins and thought to hunt places where. She also mentioned that she does counts up a road across the highway north of my target area. Half interested in understanding the landscape as real life in a new area is always a little different then escouting and seeing some good private fields surrounded by public land we ventured up said road. We stopped two times to walk a bit and call to see if anyone was lonely with no response. As my hunting partner and I were quacking over this amazing field that certainly should have a bird in it I noticed three large bird looking objects in the middle of the road. My partner put his binos on them and confirmed they were three long beards using the road to stay dry from the persistant drizzle the last few days and to make easy travel between the fields. The upside is that they were smack dab in the middle of a strip of publice that ingulfed both sides of the road. We hurried up there pushing the birds into the timber. FOund a good place to park. Cut the approximate distance in half which ended up to be three quarters. Made some light calls and out pops the three long beards. With two swift cracks of the gun birds 4 and 5 were on the ground and we were back on the road for state 4... that was about 10+ hours away.

Doing the math that we weren't going to get to our next spot for roosting likely even if we didnt make a single stop we slowed down. We had more tags for this state so we stopped at a couple different spots at one which we elicited a gobble but not one eager to play the game. Nearing lunch we pulled over at a lake/river park and grilled up some much deserved ribeyes and processed the three birds from the morning.

Now not fully anticipating we would make it to state 4 neither of us had tags. Pulling into the closest Walmart over the boarder at 10:30pm we coaxed a wonderful lady to not go home, reopen the license booth 30min after it closed and now 15min before the store would close to print us off two tags. Everything kept falling into place.

[avidnwoutdoorsman]

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