Cove's 2014

[Cove]

As we close the chapter on Spring 2014 it's always enjoyable to relive the journey through photos. Here are a few that I was able to gather along my way this year. What started as a strange and very challenging season (I didn't kill a bird in the month of March, first time I can remember that ever happening) made full turn with the months of April and May to cap one of my better seasons ever.

With the south Florida trip falling through at the last minute, I wasn't able to get started until the Ga youth opener on March 15th. We had an action filled morning with lots of gobbling and hen talk that finished with our 13yr old hunter taking a fat longbeard as I was running the camera and partaking in a full blown cussin' match with one of his several girlfriends.

Opening weekend had me guiding my girlfriend and pinned down with a wedding which was 'oh so bad' timing. Our opening morning was foiled by a coyote that chased his last turkey dinner. The next time I'd see any real action was when my friends from Oklahoma came down the 2nd weekend. We were able to get them both fine gobblers. The first showed up right off the roost on day 1 in a nice drizzling rain and the other on day 2 after a quick maneuver just after daybreak that put big boy 30 yards down the barrel and the camera right over my gunners shoulder. Should make a nice piece of footage I'll get to work on soon.

Winner of HeviWeight Dinner 3/22




For some reason, I didn't take a picture of the 2nd bird. I do have this camera shot though.


As they pulled out at lunch on Sunday headed back to Okie, I pulled out for another grudge match with Louisiana. I'd chosen another piece of public property to tackle since I'd been whooped for 5.5 days in 2013. I hunted like I was mad at them from the start to finish putting 20.6 miles on foot/ bike on day 1, somewhere around 13 on day 2 I believe and when I returned with my gobbler on the morn of day 3 it was just over 7 miles. It took until the 3rd day for me to get into some terrain that looked 'turkey' in La and that's when it all came together. I called a pair of red hot gobblers down the edge of a bayou through a beautiful swamp bottom and the first one that tripped the 40yd marker was the lucky sole to have his picture taken. It was April 2nd.






A Louisiana black bear



With the ice broken I returned to Georgia and the ball got to rolling. Here are a couple pictures of our beautiful Georgia gobblers. We had a couple misses too.

[Cove]

I had 2 weekends free from out of state travel after I'd made my initial plans for 2014, one immediately before my big out west trip and one after. Kentucky ended up being my filler. I was there for opening weekend and it took until 1pm before I heard my first Kentucky gobble. Unfortunately they weren't accessible due to an enormous canyon that I didn't even know existed in Kentucky. Daniel Boone National forest is some kind of roughed and day 2 found me on the other side only to find the birds gobbling in the bottom of said canyon. They chased me back to Georgia with my tail between my legs but I promised to return.

The Costly Canyon


I lifted off April 17 for California where I hunted with good friend Joe Slaton. Day 1 found us in the center of the action but we were jake struck from the start. Day 2 we were able to turn things around when we found a willing longbeard that traveled a very long way looking for love. He navigated his way off one mountainside crossing 2 fences and a large creek only to find bad news as he started his ascend on our side. Joe captured it all on video and for some reason this is the only picture I have, while I know there are more?


The next day found me 10 hours away in extreme eastern Nevada. I was able to draw 1 of 4 nonresident permits for NV public lands and this was my assigned unit. It took the majority of the day before I found birds but when I did the group had 2 strutters courting a wad of hens and fighting off a hand full of jakes. It took some doing but I eventually put myself in position and gathered my first NV gobbler.




First morning's view and when I realized 'trees' were top priority in finding birds.

The next stop was the state of Oregon. Oregon is an absolutely gorgeous place. The weather I could do without. It just so happened that I managed to hit the weather perfectly wrong. It was a grind, hunting in the snow, then rain, then snow again then repeat. On the 6th morning I was able to watch it all pay off as I slipped in dangerously close to a gobbler on the limb as he gobbled his head off. That poor bird chose the wrong direction to flydown and I did my part in bringing him back to Georgia as the snow began to fall yet again.

[Cove]

On my return from the west I kept my promise to those gobblers in that Kentucky canyon. I was now hunting the last weekend of their season. After a nearly 2 hour hike down, I was in the canyon and it proved to be a good decision. I had my Kentucky gobbler and it was time for the hike back out.




Bottom of the canyon


I was running late with my own Georgia birds and after driving back from Ky I made up for lost time with this double the next morning on video.


In order to chase Spring as far and long as possible, the last trip of 2014 put us in Vermont starting on May 25th. The woods were thick and green but I was able to take my 2 Vermont birds a couple hours into the first morning as they charged into the call.




It took a few more days for my buddy to get his pair of Vermont gobblers due to soaking rain, a swing and miss, and an all out lack of birds to work with. It did come together on the 28th after chasing gobbles that were almost out of ear shot at first light. 

[tomstopper]

Awesome pics. Congrats on a good season.

[Cove]

With only a few days left we skipped over New Hampshire and started in on Maine since it allows all day hunting. After arriving in Maine, we spent the rest of the day speaking with landowners and securing permission on property. The folks in Maine were extremely friendly and all seemed to have a lot of birds. Now where these birds were once we arrived I don't know. The fields the locals had continuously seen birds were grown up and this pushed the birds elsewhere I suppose. On May 31st, the very last day of the spring season in the nation, I was able to find a big gobbler and end 2014 on a good note. I was ecstatic when my buddy came to pick me up and had another fine gobbler riding shotgun in my truck. We had both scored on the last morning of the season and that put a cap on a great 2014.


Maine: 1 1/2"






We Happy.


So when the smoke cleared, I'd hunted from March 15th til May 31st. I was able to put a tag on a bird in 8 states and capture a few more on video. June 1st hurt, now it's June 9th. . . it hasn't gotten much better. I'm ready for March 2015. I hope everyone had a wonderful spring and look forward to sifting through the success stories I've missed out on until then.

[datrip]

Simply put....what a season you had, congrats! Thanks for taking us along and for the fantastic pics. 

[dirtnap]

That's strong.

[Green Trumpeter]

Awesome report, congrats on an outstanding season

[drenalinld]

That Maine bird has an enormous fan! Great stuff, Owens!

[Bigspurs68]

Sounds like some great memories to store away. No matter how great it ends, it's still miserable when it does. Congrats on a fun spring.

[Rio Fan]

Great pictures and congrats on an incredible season.   

[TRKYHTR]

Congrats on a great spring 2014. Awesome pictures.

Joe

[captin_hook]

Absolutely awesome!

[GobbleNut]

As always, great pictures and story, Cove.  ...Can't wait to see the video!

[hookedspur]

Congrats !!! Your Living my dream....