Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Turkeys have been gobbling for quite some time this spring. Likewise, Nebraska’s spring turkey hunting seasons have been open for several weeks now. I have not given a report on what I have been seeing and doing in the turkey “woods”. Time to remedy that. . . .
If you have been reading my blog for any time, you know I spend a lot more time scouting for turkeys each spring that I do actually hunting. Frankly, I do not think it is appropriate to separate the two. Scouting is THE most important part of the hunt! As a matter of fact, I enjoy the scouting as much as I do the actual hunting when I have a tag in my pocket and a shotgun over my shoulder. All of it is time in the field observing those big, gobbling birds I love so much!
Of course one primary goal of my scouting is to find turkeys, figure out where they are and what they are doing. Yes, I want to know roosting areas and have an idea of daily routines. Another thing I am trying to do is identify toms, the pecking order and dynamics in the area I am hunting. Are there lots of jakes? Mature toms? Multiple mature toms? Dominant birds? Subdominant, satellite birds? Etc. Having an idea of what toms are present and the dynamics between them will influence my hunting tactics later.
In my scouting this spring I observed at least three mature toms and three or four jakes. One of the mature toms was definitely a subdominant, satellite bird. He would talk a big game, even strut a little bit while alone. As soon as other toms, including jakes, showed up, he was scared of his shadow. The other two toms I scouted behaved more like dominant birds. They were “Maverick” and his wingman. The wingman often chasing the jakes around.
By the time it was actually time to hunt, I had a very good idea of where I wanted to be and the strategies I wanted to use. I put that into action one evening. Picked a likely spot near where they frequently traveled. Since it was relatively open woods, I set out a hen and jake decoy. I knew the jake decoy might not work on the satellite tom I had scouted, but figured it would be money on the other two.
That is exactly how it played out. . . .
Had heard one faint gobble before I set up, right where I thought they would be. Started with some yelping on the diaphragm call. Was not answered immediately, but within ten or fifteen minutes I heard another gobble.
Answered immediately and got the bird to reply to my calling. Once we conversed back and forth a couple, three times, I glanced at my watch and decided to shut up–make him move, come to find me.
Was not ten or fifteen minutes and I could see him walking up through the trees my way! As he passed behind some brush I soft-called to make sure he knew where I was (I should have mentioned, it was a windy day, again). He vectored right towards me. . .
Until he saw the decoys. Although I could see a really nice beard swinging from the bird, I knew that might be the subdominant, satellite bird. Once he saw the decoys, he came no closer and started skirting off to my left. I had an opening for a shot at one point, but he never stopped, and it was a little farther than I wanted to take a poke.
“Scaredy cat” skirted off to my left until he reached the edge of the field north of me. Then he gobbled again. Big chicken.
About that time I caught movement out the corner of my right eye. Two jakes were standing just a few yards away eyeing my decoys. Beside my jake decoy, now I knew why that tom, likely the satellite bird, skedaddled off to the north and left.
Jakes gawked around a bit and then drifted away.
Heard another bird gobble out in front of me.
Repeated the process of calling to him, getting an answer, then shutting up. After fifteen minutes I was expecting to see another tom coming through the trees. Wasn’t any for a few minutes, but about the time I was wondering where they had gone I caught movement in front of me. Then a couple of red, white, and blue heads could be seen walking my way.
They started to veer off to the right, but a couple purrs and a cluck or two put ’em back on the string. They gobbled, one puffed into a brief strut.
Here they come!
I expected those two birds, thinking they were dominant birds, to march right to the jake decoy when they saw it. They did not. At about twenty yards they stopped and looked. Believe me, I had the sights on the bird I wanted, the one that had puffed into a brief strut, but he was behind a bush.
They stood and looked, the one offering a clear and easy shot, but I had decided I wanted the other. Figured it was just a matter of time before they took a couple more steps and I would have the open shot I wanted.
Then they started walking off to my right. Arrrggghhhhhh!
There were still some openings for a shot, so when the bird I had my eye on entered one, I putted on the call and took the shot when he lifted his head.
Both birds acted like nothing happened. They never even flinched, just kept walking.
Getting a little desperate, I was looking for another opening for a shot, at either bird!
Got one, pulled the trigger on the Browning again, and lost sight of the birds. I knew one had started moving off faster. Was not sure about the other.
With dread I got up. Was thinking to myself that I had screwed up, but breathed a sigh of relief as I moved forward and saw my second shot had found the mark!
As I reached the bird, my first thought was that it did not weight very much. Second thought was the feathers in its tail fan were not very large either. I rolled the bird over to look at the spurs and found they were very respectable. It was definitely a mature tom, just a little light and with a tail fan that was less than impressive, “Little Fan”.
Vital statistics ended up being 16.3 pounds; a beard just a fraction less than 9 inches, and spurs of an inch and just a freckle under an inch.
It is spring and there is lots to do! But, I am not sure I have had my fill of gobbling turkeys yet this spring. Stay tuned!