Cove's Spring 2016

[Cove]

It was a Vermont farmer a couple weeks ago that asked me, "Well, what else do you do besides turkey hunt?" After a moment that was quickly becoming an awkward silence I replied, "Unfortunately, nothing. Nothing I enjoy anyway." While that's not entirely true, it is a fact that all my "life" decisions thus far revolve around Spring turkey hunting. The other things I may enjoy have all happened by chance. But it works out, for me at least. When that farmer laughed and said, "You may have a problem," what else was I to do but shake my head and agree?

Nonetheless, my "problem" season has come and gone much too quickly, yet again. For those wishing to follow the journey, I hope you can enjoy my short collection of photos and highlights. My only request is that these are received as tokens of appreciation from a very blessed, very thankful turkey hunter. A turkey hunter that hopes to share the memories of each of his adversaries purely out of respect. Respect for the most worthy of opponents provided by the most gracious Father. For if the spotlight ever shifts to myself, the hunter, then I have failed miserably.

When I started chasing turkeys some 17 years ago, I would have never dreamed a spring season could start on the big Island of Hawaii. But when the sun rose on March 1st, 2016 that is exactly where I was standing, ears straining for the sound of a Rio gobbler. We found success on the first day and what followed was an amazing week of turkey hunting shared with great friends. The pinnacle of excitement for me came when I found myself 35 yards from a flock of birds in the unforgiving terrain Hawaii has to offer. I was able to enjoy the 3 gobblers of the flock parade around without a care in the world for a full 10 minutes, due simply to the fact that I was unable to pull their attention from the ladies or get them to separate. Eventually, I finished my time with the single pull of the trigger claiming 2 beautiful Rio gobblers.








The weekend following my return from Hawaii, I made a very spur of the moment decision to make a break for Osceola country. The kind of decision that often follows a "the switch just flipped today" message I received from a friend about half way through my Friday workday. No place on Earth tugs at me the way south Florida does and my sleepless Friday night was rewarded the very next morning. A perfect late morning flash hunt.




The next morning, I again got lucky. This ole boy gobbled only 2 times the evening before but that put us in the game for the following morning. What a show we had the pleasure of witnessing when this fine Osceola sailed from this perch 150 yards away and landed in shotgun range. It took him several minutes of cautious strutting so typical of Osceolas to clear the palmettos for a shot. I think it's their wary nature that makes hunting them so rewarding.




It was abnormally wet this year in Florida.


The following weekend was the youth opener back home. It was awesome being a part of young Dallas' first turkey. And what a turkey it was!




After the celebration on his first turkey, we slipped over and found ourselves in the mix again just after lunch. Dallas' 2nd gobbler was another beaut. I'll have this hunt on youtube eventually. This young fella was bathed in the true passion of spring turkey hunting in a real quick hurry, and coming from his parents, he hasn't been the same since. Another bonifide addict is born.


The following weekend, Georgia opened and my every morning grind started. I love it. The seasons in Georgia have gradually gotten slower for the past several springs. Fewer gobbling birds seems to be the buzz surrounding each season. While I wouldn't disagree, plenty of birds are still to be had and it was a privilege to watch spring unfold each morning.






My dad with a nice gobbler.


My Oklahoma friends annual visit proved to be one for the books. A couple of these hunts found their way in front of the camera lens and will also make it to my YouTube page.






My next out of state run wouldn't happen until mid April. An hour long nap in my luxurious truck bed home would be all I would have to power me through my first morning in Arkansas. Acting on advice from a friend, I had pre-selected an area within a national forest. Luckily, a longbeard agreed with me on what would be the "perfect spot" for a roost according to some topo maps I had scoured over before arriving. His attitude was what we all dream of as turkey hunters.



I had ample time to make the drive from Arkansas to Iowa. I slowly picked my way northward and found myself listening over an area on the morning prior to my season starter. I wish someone was there to record my reaction as I opened the door to the chorus of gobbles. Iowa is something special. The next morning had me watching a trio of gobblers on the limb over one of the most incredible ridgetops I've ever hunted. It was even better when they pitched down and waltzed through the Virginia bluebells to 30 yards. It was at that moment I had to disrupt their perfect morning.






It didn't take me long to find an area that I would say rivaled the ridgetop in Iowa. It was April 29th when I found the hardwoods of Indiana. I love hunting woods turkeys, especially in beautiful, open hardwoods. If there was only one I could chase, eastern turkeys that choose to live in the hardwoods would be my choice. This made Indiana Heaven on Earth for me. Imagine my surprise when my first Indiana gobble came from 150 yards away. It got better as 2 more gobblers chimed in from 200 yards further down the ridge. I played the "girl" in the middle and enjoyed the race that followed.


Indiana Roadbed.

[Cove]

With plans to fly out of Indianapolis airport to hunt in the northeast, I had time to spare given my quick fortune. I moved over to familiar ground in Ohio. The rain was forecast to start soon after sunrise on my first morning there. The turkeys were in rare form and seemed to be in a rush to beat the rain. I found myself in the right position on the first morning and collected a fine Ohio gobbler.



On the second morning, before my evening flight, I found another promising location but was not lucky enough to connect on another gobbler. But I would have an opportunity to revisit on my return from the northeast.

On my trip to the northeast, I had 4 states I hoped to visit. The first of those was Massachusetts. After delayed flights and the typical airline aggravation, it was almost daylight when I got to my starting point. It didn't seem to matter, I was forced to withstand 3 solid days of nasty, cold and very wet weather. These conditions seem to follow me each time I visit this region. But on the 4th day, the rain held off for the first couple hours of daylight and both the turkeys and I were very appreciative. It was a phenomenal hunt as 3 gobblers and a jake came charging the call straight off the roost, gobbling with every step.


The next morning had me in quite the "situation" in the state of Rhode Island. The evening before, I had slipped into an area proven to be a gem for a good friend. The amount of scratching I found was astonishing. As daylight broke, I was bombarded by one of the most disrespectful people I've ever encountered on public land and I've encountered quite a few. But either way, day 2 in Rhode Island was much more productive. After roosting a gobbler the evening before, I was under him bright and early the following morning. He did have the opportunity to strut and gobble for several minutes after hitting the ground but only because he happened to land behind a huge multiflora rose bush. Unfortunately for him, he did have to move from it's cover and I took my first Rhode Island gobbler.

My post hunt celebration was cut a little short as the rain began to pour yet again. It sent me hustling back to the rental in an attempt to save him for pictures. I drove through the rain to an area in Connecticut and napped for an hour as the rain fell. There was a little over an hour left of legal hunting time when things seemed to start drying up. I laced up for a quick stroll along a few field edges. A half hour later, after bumping one gobbler, I struck a gobbler with a hen in a fresh select cut. After a bit of bickering between the hen and I, the big boy couldn't help but come to the crest of the hill to show off for the unseen "hen".  After 6 long days of hunting in the rain, I had managed to double up on my last day of the trip. This left only New Hampshire for me to visit on my return trip at the end of May.


Connecticut Select Cut


I flew back into Indianapolis about midnight that night. I used the Ohio gobblers I'd located a week prior as motivation to stay behind the wheel and reach the place they called home by daylight the following morning. As luck would have it, the gobbler that had been on my mind for a week wasn't home. It was about 4 hours later when I was able to catch up to one that was home. He didn't gobble much, but when he did he put himself in a bad spot. In short, I just got lucky.




It was the last week of May when I saddled up my home away from home after a day at work and headed toward the only state in the US with a huntable turkey population I had yet to hunt, New Hampshire. It was 24 hours and almost 1200 miles later when I purchased my hunting license at a local outdoor store. May 22nd, a gobbler started gobbling like so many I'd heard before and as luck would have it, I walked right into his hens as I attempted to find the perfect setup. With the hens out of the picture, the hunt unfolded in textbook fashion and the gobbler walked right into my lap. May 22nd, 2016 I completed my U.S. super slam. A goal I'd started 6 years ago for reasons unknown.




From New Hampshire, I ventured across the river to Vermont where I spent the remainder of my 2016 turkey season. I visited with old friends. Friends I happened to meet due to the very journey I'd just completed. I was also able to share camp with Doc Weddle for an evening before we both struck out for "greener" pastures. That too was somewhat ironic, since it was Doc that I'd followed prior to even considering a U.S. slam. As a matter of fact, he was the only person I knew to even attempt the feat.

By the time my stay had ran out in Vermont I was able to have another pair of awesome experiences with 2 dandy gobblers. One of which had me flipping down a rocky, extremely steep mountainside only to have him flip faster.








I watched the sunrise the last morning without a tag in my pocket. I didn't hear a single gobble and there was nothing I could do if I did. Not sure if I could have slept in if I'd chosen to, but I didn't. I figured the last morning of my spring deserved to be experienced. Spring 2016, as always, it was a pleasure.

[Cove]

Here are a few other pictures I felt "worthy" of sharing.

Vermont's Perfect Barn




The rocky hardwoods of Vermont over a gobbler. 


This guy. . .




Hawaii Sunrises.

Above the Clouds.




Good start in Hawaii.


Another favorite.


One last picture of the wet walk out of Florida.

[Spurs]

Beautiful pics and great season.

Would you mind posting a link to your homepage on YouTube?  I follow every channel I come across


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cove]

Beautiful pics and great season.

Would you mind posting a link to your homepage on YouTube?  I follow every channel I come across


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks! I'm thinking this link should get you there.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7eDrgE4sRia481eiDtu8wA

I'll begin editing and adding some more hunts soon hopefully. I actually still have a 2015 double I wasn't able to finish up before this spring also come to think of it.

[born2hunt]

 That sounds like a bundle of amazing experiences, great job with the story.  Looking forward to the videos.

[hobbes]

Great photos!  Congrats on a great season Cove.

[hookedspur]

Congratulations on a great season and completion of your US Super Slam ..
Great pictures of  a very special season..

[Devastator]

AWESOME!!!

[PALongspur]

Congrats on another great season Dave!

And a big congrats on the super slam!! 

[ferocious calls]

Great season bud! Way to plié them up. Great pics!

[marshboy]

All I can say is "Wow!!!!"
Congrats on your accomplishment!
Greg

[GobbleNut]

Pretty amazing, Dave.  Great pictures and summary.  You are blessed, my friend.  ....The farmer may be right, though!   

[nitro]

Per normal Dave, my hat is off to you on another great season!!! Congratulations to you on completing the quest for the U.S. Slam. That is a wonderful achievement.

What is next ?? Mexico??  We should go kill an Ocellated together. I need one of them...

Fellas, yall that haven't met Dave should know- he is a marvelous caller , and obviously a great killer of turkeys.  To make it even better, he is a fine, humble young man who is a pleasure to spend time around. Passionate about Gobblers?? Yes he is.

Wow indeed.. 

[snapper1982]

Congrats!