April 13 Minnesota Turkey Hunting

Day 1 April 12


Opening morning.  I set up in an overgrown pasture near the roosting area on the oak ridge which I described in the previous blog entry.  10 pm the night before, I set up my Double Bull blind in the dark.  It was overcast with a steady breeze so I was confident that I wouldn't spook any of the birds that could have been roosted close bye.

I was in the blind 30 minutes before first light with my 2 hen and strutter Avian-X decoys set up half-way between the blind and the edge of the woods.  It is very peaceful just before day break, waiting for the woods to awaken.  As the sun first started to appear from the east, the quiet morning turned into thunderous gobbling 75 yards to my left.  I could hear and see 2 toms roosted just on the edge of the woods.  Every 5 minutes a chorus of gobbling would sound off. I counted 4 toms close by with another 2 or 3 deeper in the timber to the east.  I figured that my hunt could be over in 5 minutes.  As the day was quickly gaining more light I could see more and more turkeys (a half-dozen hens) roosted in the nearby trees.  I resisted the urge to call to the gobbling toms except for a few light tree yelps with my Lynch's box call just to give the illusion of hens in my set-up area.   

The toms continued to gobble and stayed on the limb almost until sunrise, 20 minutes past legal shooting time.  When they finally pitched down, they flew straight down and went to the bottom of the ravine.  Then hens followed approximately 15 minutes later.  I thought the hunt was over before it even started.  Historically the turkeys would go down in that ravine and follow the creek bottom away from the property that I had permission to hunt.  This time was different.  I could still hear some sporadic gobbling, so I knew the birds were still close.  The hens eventually emerged out of the ravine and were now on the edge of the woods in the pasture where I was set up.  Three strutting toms were not far behind.  The hens and toms paid no attention to my decoys and pecked away in the pasture about 40 yards away.  The toms were in range, but were so close to each other and the hens that I didn't have a clear shot.  The flock of birds started slowly working away from me and I was beginning to think that I wasn't going to get an opportunity.  

23lbs 10.5" beard 1" spurs

I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye from the woods.  I could see the dark tips of a turkey fan working its way up the ravine towards my directions.  As the tom got closer to the edge of the timber I could see his bright blue head. I knew that when he stepped out of the woods he would likely be joining the rest of the flock so I my chance for an opportunity would come quickly.  He stepped out of the woods at 45 yards and my shot was true.  

The keys to the success of this hunt were:

• Historical knowledge of the farm.  Ideally I would have had more time to scout, but my prior knowledge of this farm paid off as I knew where the birds liked to roost early in the season when they were still flocked up.  This allowed me to set up close to the roosting sites.
•  Light calling.  The birds were moving very naturally and aggressive calling could have driven the hens away from my location taking the toms with them.
• Confidence in my gear.  A few years ago I tried the newest and best turkey load on the market which shot very poorly out of my gun.  Switching back to a tried and proven load combination gave me the confidence I needed to take the 45 yard shot when I had my opportunity.

KK