TURKEY SEASON 2008 SPRING page 1
April 27, 2008

Piff and I traveled early this morning down to Adams Co. to turkey hunt on the same properties where we hunt for deer.  We got a late start and the Toms were gobbling off in the distance as we were readying our gear for morning hunt.  Piff headed off towards the back of the property and I embarked for the property next door where I heard the Toms gobbling.

As I crossed the fence I could tell by the gobbles that the birds were in the pasture on the other side of the ravine and that they were making their way towards the creek.  The Toms would gobble in unison every few minutes so it was easy to tell where they were.  I could also hear clucks and yelps from the hens.  As I hiked up the other side of the ravine I heard the noisy turkeys moving away from me and along the wooded hillside above the creek.  I decided to head them off and to try to get in front of them.  As I walked through the pasture, making my way using the low spots and various brushy ditches, I spotted a couple of turkeys about 150 away.  I don’t know if they saw me or not but they disappeared in one of the ditches that leads to the creek.

As I approached the far property line the flock got very vocal and soon I heard them pitch off the hillside and fly across the creek.  The Toms continued to gobble every few minutes.  I then set up next to the fence line above the creek in a desperate attempt to try to call in a straggler Tom.  After about a half hour or so I gave up on that group and decided to try another tactic.

The fence on the property line separates the pasture from the neighboring property which is made up of a couple of different crop and green fields.  I slipped along the fence line and called sparingly hoping to get a response from any Toms that may have been out in the adjoining fields.  While doing so I noticed six deer easing their way along one of the brushy ditches in the pasture. They eventually ended up somewhere along the hillside above the creek.

Not getting any answers from my hen calls I decided to try to find a spot in the middle of the rolling pasture to set up my decoys.  I eventually found a high spot where any Toms could spot the decoys from different areas of the pasture.  I hunkered down in between some sticker bushes in the field and spent the rest of the morning there without any success.  I heard the Toms on the other side of the creek gobble off and on until at least 10:30.

Since you are only allowed to hunt turkeys until noon in Ohio I packed up my gear and headed back to meet up with Piff at the barn.  On the way I saw two other groups of deer for a total of 15 for the day.  After talking to Piff he said that he only saw two different lone hens all morning.  That’s all for today’s hunt.
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May 3, 2008

Once again Piff and I made the early morning drive down to Adams Co. to try to bag a big Longbeard.  After a short chat with the landowner we both headed our separate ways.  Piff set out to his usual spot at the back of the property while I trekked over to the neighbors land.

I set up on the edge of the first pasture next to the ravine where the birds have been known to roost. I sat there for about 45 minutes without hearing any turkey talk. I then hiked through the ravine and over to the next pasture.  After scanning the field I eased my way over to a brush-lined ditch and peered into the next pasture.  About 200 yards away I could barely make out three turkeys walking across the field towards the wooded hillside above the creek.  In the early morning light I couldn’t tell if any of the turkeys were Toms.

I decided to ease down along the ditch to a spot near the wooded hillside where I set up a couple of decoys.  I then nestled down in some bushes and played the waiting game.  This is the same spot where I shot a young Tom last year.  I would hen call every now and then hoping to get a response from a Gobbler looking for love.

Around 9:30, about 75 yards off to my left, I noticed a young hen coming out of the woods into the pasture.  A few seconds later two more appeared.  I slowly eased my shotgun up to my knee while anticipating a Tom to be trailing the three hens.  As the hens worked their way closer to the decoys I waited anxiously for their suitor.  One of the hens eventually split from the other two and past within 15 feet of me.  I dared not to move!  As time past, all the hens moved on towards the wooded ravine to my right.  To my dismay, a Tom never did show up!

I waited until quitting time, (noon), in the same spot without any more action and then packed up and headed back to the barn to meet up with Piff.  He said that he didn’t see any turkeys but had a buck come within 20 yards of him that had antler bases about as big as pop cans.  The buck’s antlers were in velvet and where just beginning to fork.  It should be a dandy come this fall.  Piff also mentioned that he had a coyote come to his hen calls but it didn’t come close enough to get a shot.  That was it for today’s hunt…
May 18, 2008

We drove back down in the pouring rain to Adams Co. today for the last day of the spring turkey season.  By the time we arrived at the farm the rain had stopped.  After gearing up I made my way over to the next property in the early morning light while Piff eased towards the back of the landowner’s property. 

As I slowly walked through the pasture I caught a glimpse of a turkey by the lower stock pond.  I quickly dropped down and hid in some greenbrier and made a few hen calls hoping to peak the interest of the elusive fowl.  After 20 minutes or so without any sightings I moved into a little depression in the pasture and set up a couple of decoys.

About 8:30 I caught movement in the rolling pasture about 250 yards away.  Four Jakes were out in the field and they were spreading there wings out to dry them off.  They pecked around for about ten minutes and then disappeared into the wooded ravine. About a half-hour later they reappeared again but about 50 yards closer.  They would occasionally jump and spar and chase each other around. They glanced my way when I called but they would not come any closer.  They stayed out in the field for another half-hour or so before they again went back into the woods.  They were entertaining and fun to watch.

After a while I moved my setup into the field that the Jakes were in earlier.  Around 10:30 two young deer came trotting along the edge of the pasture and came right up to the decoys.  I grabbed my camera for a shot but, to my dismay, the batteries were dead.  As they came closer to the decoys they slowed down and became curious.  When they got about five feet away from the fake turkeys one them spooked and jumped straight up in the air and scampered right up to me.  I was hidden in the bushes and I could see that it was a young buck with velvety antlers about 4 or 5 inches tall.  The other one was a young doe, probably brother and sister.

Around 11:00 I packed up and eased my way over to where Piff was hunting and eventually found him at the property line.  He told me that he had seen a Tom about 100 yards away from him. He had his gun ready and tried to call the bird towards him.  The Tom eventually turned away and disappeared into the brushy hillside.  He thought the bird was gone forever so he put his gun up against the tree next to him.  A few minutes later the bird reappeared, but this time closer. It was heading right at him.  As Piff slowly made a move to grab his gun the Tom spotted the movement, turned, and ran off back into the woods!

I left Piff and headed over to the west side of the property where I took my buck this past deer season.  As I made my way over I jumped a couple of deer and a coyote out of a little woodlot.  I spent the rest of the morning in the woodlot but I failed to encounter any turkeys.

That was it for the season for the both of us.  We hope to be back down in the fall for deer season.  Now it’s time to gear up for fishing!