Turkey Updates
Posted By
Missouri
at
5/2/2011 12:00:00 AM
Click here for post from last month.
Althought the 2010 Missouri deer season is over things rarely slow down for the Midwest Whitetail Missouri staff. There are sheds to be found, stands to move, turkeys to hunt, food plots to prep, and the list goes on. Hopefully this blog will give you the information you need to become a more sucessful Missouri deer hunter. Enjoy!
NORTHWEST
NORTH CENTRAL
NORTHEAST
A Turkey Hunt the Hard Way!!
Some hunts go exactly as planned, this was not one of those hunts! I wish I could say I made up the events in this hunt, but they are all embarrassingly true!
It was mid-day and I decided to head out in search of a gobbler. As I approached the farm I noticed a large black spot in a field. Closer inspection revealed a large gobbler with several hens. I decided to pursue the bird!
I parked the truck, grabbed my gear, and started my way toward the bird. Heavy rains had hit the area and the shallow creek was no longer shallow. I was convinced to get across and found a small tree that I could walk across. I underestimated how slick the fallen tree was and overestimated my abilities and the diameter of the tree. I started my way across the fallen structure being ever so carefull! About half way across the tree I realized this was a bad idea and as I turned to jump back to the bank, my feet slipped and I found myself chest high in the muddy creek! I made my way to the shore and wrung out my gloves. I checked my cell phone and wallet just to make sure they were both soaked; they were!!Now I was more convinced than ever to get across and shoot this bird! Now, it was PERSONAL!! I found a larger fallen tree and climbed across carefully. I made it to the other side and made my way to a ridge above the bird. I noticed that the gobbler was surrounded by five hens. I realized calling wouldn't be effective and so I made a plan to crawl to with in range.
I started crawling toward the full strut gobbler and soon realized I forgot my belt. My creek water soaked pants slowly made their way to my knees as I crawled toward the bird. I continued on my way with my pants around my ankles and was surprised to notice that I was only 70 yards away from the birds.
To my surprise, the birds started coming my way with the full strut gobbler bringing up the rear. The hens came through an opening at about 60 yards, and I decided that I would take a shot when the gobbler came into the openning. Seconds later I was settling my sights on the gobblers head as I squeezed the trigger!
Hens flew, the gobbler stumbled, and I chambered another shell. The disoriented bird ran my way and stopped at 30 yards. My shotgun settled again and this time the shot leveled the gobbler!I layed on the ground chuckling to myself with my pants around my ankles. As I said earlier, this wasn't the way I had imagined killing a bird, but it worked none the less and was very fulfilling! I pulled up my pants, tagged my gobbler, through it over my shoulder, and held my head high as I walked back to the truck!!
That night I dried my wallet and clothes, and put my cellphone in a bag of rice. The next day I reassembled my cell phone and to my surprise it worked perfectly! As they say, all is well that ends well!!
Rick Knochel
CENTRAL
SOUTH
May 4, 2011
Finally!!!
This has been a pretty tough turkey season for me so far but I had a change of luck this morning. The private farm I usually hunt near Springfield hasn't been as productive as it was last year due mostly to the excessive rain we have experienced. The farm is bordered on the west side by a river and again, due to the heavy rains, the river has been flooding into the fields a lot over the past couple of weeks. I have heard several birds here but they have all been on the neighbors property, on higher ground, where I do not have permission to hunt.
This morning I decided to go back to a spot where Andrew and I went last week. We called in a bird last Saturday but his shot wasn't as true as he intended and the tom escaped with an education!! I knew from this hunt and previous experience that there were several more toms around besides the recently smoke-ringed bird so I went back to the same general area.
One thing I have learned in the past is that if you are hunting in a high pressure area late in the season the location of your set-up is just as important, if not more important, than your calling ability. I heard two separate turkeys gobbling this morning on a point and they appeared to be heading towards the top of a main ridge along the edge of a field. I had to move quickly to get in front of them to have any chance of killing one of these birds. I also had to cross a creek to get to them and it was higher than expected, it was nothing like Rick's story above so the water only came over the tops of my boots a little bit (you gotta read that story above - talk about determination!!).
I only made one call when I got to the bottom of the ridge to locate the birds and I could tell they were getting close to my ambush point so I got to the crest of the ridge as quickly as I could and made one more call. The closest tom couldn't have been much more than 50 or 75 yards away when he gobbled and, as every turkey hunter knows, I was instantly scrambling for a spot to set up. The rest of the story happened very quickly. Within 2 - 3 minutes of me sitting down I had a hen work her way to within 4 - 5 yards of me and I just knew she was going to blow my cover, fortunately she did not. A couple minutes later the tom materialized over the top of the hill and the hunt was over.
I didn't realize it until later when I was cleaning the bird that it had a couple pellets lodged in the tough skin around it's foot. I played the hunt back in my head and realized there was no way possible that could be my shot because the turkeys feet were under the hill and I could only see from it's breast/beard and up. Could this be the turkey Andrew shot at a few hundred yards away only days earlier? Who knows, either way it was a great hunt and another lesson learned about making sure to do everything you can to get in the best ambush spot possible.
~Darren Beck~
