Today was opening day of the Colorado season. I decided we would hunt the mountains instead of Isaac's limited tag. We will hunt his limited tag on the 25th and 26th on our way home from IL. This year I have two hunters with me, Isaac (almost 12) and Olivia (almost 10). Many of you have seen Isaac's last couple seasons in photos I've posted here, but this is Olivia's first season in CO. She got to hunt in NE last year, but we were unable to get a bird close enough.
With the task of handling two kids with shotguns in front of me, I came up with a plan......somewhat of a safety measure. I decided that I would not purchase my tag until we return from IL, so I could focus full attention on the two of them. I'm packing Olivia's gun most of the time, and Isaac's occasionally. The thought of three guns didn't sound like a good plan. Besides.......when a tom gets in range and looks the least bit spooky like he's gonna disappear...........I tend to go into auto pilot and make sure he doesn't, which eliminates some of the possible opportunities that they may be able to get. What can I say..........I don't like adult toms to leave but one way once in range....and it doesn't include them standing upright. So.......last night I bought Isaac and Olivia their tags and didn't purchase mine. I know...I know........you can already see it...........this isn't going to end pretty.
We made it to our destination this morning a little later than I wanted to, but we were still ok. It was colder than I like, but nothing to worry about if your an adult. If your a 10 yr old fragile little girl............it was COLD. Olivia was having a difficult time coping with the weather, but I kept her going. Isaac thought he heard a bird to the north on the next ridge at daybreak, but I didn't hear it. We climbed to the next level of the ridge where I killed a bird last year and set up for a while out of the slight wind. We had been there about 15 minutes or so and heard a bird gobble to the southeast of us on the next ridge somewhere. I heard it, but could not tell it was a gobble in the wind.........Isaac was sure it was a gobble. Olivia swore it was too, but I suspect she was just following big brother's lead. After a while we decided to drop down into the steep canyon and climb to the next ridge in hopes of striking the bird. I suspected the bird was on the far side of the ridge because I was sure I would have heard him better on our side.
The ridges here run west to east with the north sides timbered with spruce, lodgepole, and ponderosa pine. The south sides are open towards the spine of the ridge with scattered oakbrush and juniper. Other than the tops where we were setting up, the ridges fall off steep. It was 8:45 once we made the ridge top and we set up facing a small opening where I placed a hen decoy out. I do not like to carry a decoy, but was hoping a tom would focus on the deke and give Olivia several seconds to find his head. She shoots fine at targets, but it takes here forever to settle on the target. I started calling in my usual manner........loud and too much, just hoping to get a response and find the bird. Actually, I started fairly quiet for me because I didn't want to blow him off the mountain if he was close. We waited a while, but heard nothing, so we picked up and decided to move east (down) through the trees just off the north side of the spine. The wind was picking up, but we hadn't went more than 75 yards when Isaac said........"there he was......I just heard him". We moved closer to the top and I called and listened, but heard nothing. We decided to set up again and listen for him. Within a minute or two he gobbled at my calls and we repositioned for his location.
Once repositioned, I started to let him have it with the calls and he was gobbling at everything. The ridge is so steep that I coudn't tell if he was on the next ridge or if was in the bottom. His gobble began to sound farther, but again, I wasn't sure if he was farther or if he had finally made it into the bottom and the ridge was blocking some of the sound. He wasn't moving none too quick, so I did what I usually do after turning him inside out gobbling........I shut up and we waited. It had been maybe 10 minutes and he hadn't gobbled in 5, but was gobbling pretty good on his own just before that. Olivia had just said, "I think he's gone daddy", and my response was "he may be coming in". I yelped and he gobbled from 100 yards down the spine of our ridge almost on the top. I love it when I'm right!
He immediately stepped into the open at 100 yards and started strutting and gobbling. He was slowly moving our way and I was soft calling to him at this point. He had a clear path straight to us with only a few short oakbrush bushes in the way, but for some reason decided to move to the norht side of the ridge into the trees as he came in. In our hurry to sit down, I had allowed Olivia, the lefty, and myself to sit on the left side and Isaac, the righty, to sit on the right. There was no way Olivia could shift left and the tom was coming in fast now.......gobbling and looking. Isaac could swing left, but being to our right meant he needed to roll onto his knees and shoot the bird. The biggest problem was that the tom came by gobbling in our face at 20 yards, but just far enough over the edge that my two short munchkins could not see him. However, the guy without a tag or gun watched as Mr Merriams, strolled by at 20 yards gobbling in our face and proceeded behind us. If I had just bought the tag, I could have killed the bird with the little 20 that Olivia was packing.
Now we have a tom behind us that will still gobble at everything, but he isn't coming back. I turned Isaac around, said "kill him if he comes back" and myself and Olivia moved behind him 50 yards to call. It didn't work. He kept moving away gobbling. I moved back to Isaac and said "come on, we're getting in front of him". All three of us took off in his direction, but on our side of the ridge out of his sight. We passed by him probably within 75 yards, but needed to get ahead of him. We ended up at the same tree that we had set up the first time we made it to this ridge and I jammed the decoy in the ground. The bird had just gobbled before I set the decoy out and I called as soon as they had their guns up. He didn't say anything. I called again and he gobbled from 50 yards straight down Isaacs' gun barrel. Two seconds later I was looking at him at 40 yards through a bush. I thought Isaac was looking at him too. He moved forward and stretched his head up. I said "kill him". I glance at Isaac and he's looking left of the bird. I say "he's right in front of us.....kill him" When Isaac moves his gun up, the bird steps up a little closer and stretches his head out nicely. He's looking like he's about to bust, and again I say "kill him....now". Isaac shoots, the bird disappears, I'm sure he just rolled him, but as I come to my feet I'm seeing a white spot booking it through the bushes. I hope with all I've got that the white spot is the bird flopping head over heels, but already have that sick feeling. We confirm the sick feeling by not even finding a feather.
I can see Isaac is looking devastated after such an exiting roller coaster ride is over so quickly and the ending isnt' a happy one, so I reassure him that its ok. Meanwhile, my guts were turning the same as his.........I just wasn't going to cry in front of the kids.
What did I learn after reviewing everything that happend? 1) Isaac has to sit on my left because he's a righty. 2) Olivia has to be right of Isaac because she' s a lefty and can cover the right side. 3) I'm 6'+ and when sitting down, especially sitting upright just calling, my view comes from more than a foot above theirs. Isaac let me know that what I thought was a good shot because I could see from the beard up, was a only a view from just below the turkey's eye to the top of its head for him due to the change in topography. 4) When dad frantically says "shoot.......kill him now" without verifying if the kid has a good view of the bird, the kid does what dad says and shoots at what he can see, even if it is only 2" of noggin. 5) The mountains are a tough place to start a little girl turkey hunting. 6) After a Merriam's walks by in the open at 20 yards and you then miss him in the open at 35 yards after running up a mountain to get ahead of him......a grown man feels like he could throw up even if he didn't miss him. (I suspect this works the same for any of the subspecies).
A bird packed off the mountain with us would have made for an incredible opening day. But.........sitting here now, that is the only thing that could have made it better.
For you guys hoping to kill your first Merriam this year. This bird was all you could ask for, a big beautiful adult bird, beautiful light buff color tips, big full fan, the standard Merriam beard of 6 or 7", almost neon looking red, white and blue head, incredible mountain backdrop, and that usual Merriam gobble............Aloooga, looga,loooga, loooga, looga.
Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez............why didn't I buy a tag.
Daybreak
A little after daybreak
Olivia's still feeling pretty good here and hasn't got cold yet
Not so good here
On our way down into the canyon to try and find the bird that we heard gobble
Our first set up once on the next ridge and the location we moved back to and missed the tom
Looking to the right of the same set up. The next ridge over is where the tom ended up coming from when we were about 100 yards forward on our ridge.
Short Video Clip showing just how windy it got after we missed the bird. I tried to get Isaac to throw his hat up, but he woudn't. I also ask why he missed, but you can't hear him over the wind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOycciXa1oIOn our way back to the truck after the miss. Olivia is just happy to be a turkey hunter at this point.
And.......happy that dad did one thing right.............packed sandwiches and sodas for lunch.
