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November 04, 2009
Fall Longbeard Double - 16
New York turkey camp was pretty much history. Handshakes, photos, and good wishes all around; many of the guys were heading off to hunt Ohio turkeys; problem is, we still had a little gas left in our tanks, Daryl and I did. And a couple New York tags to spare. A plan was hatched. Pete had his big running male Byrne dog Clyde along. When we heard the gobbler yelping in the woods—cronk, cronk, cronk—it wasn’t long before our canine partner was on that assignment. Barking followed, then flushing turkeys, more barking up the hill, and even beyond that. Now that the flock was separated, we’d set up at the break site to try and call them back to the guns. Mr. Clare installed Clyde in the blind. Scott Basehore did the same with his dog Jenny. Mr. Stubbs overlooked one side of the setup, and I did the other. We had it covered. You fall gobbler hunters know a wait can be involved. They can come back gobbling and yelping after a break, even strutting. Sometimes it happens instantly; often enough not. This one took nearly two hours. Pete gobbled and Scott tagged jake yelping on the end of it. We heard one turkey fly down off near Clyde’s second round of barking; then another. We waited a bit more. Then suddenly Basehore hissed: “Turkeys, to your left. Don’t move.” Two gobblers cruised down the incline, stalking the calls. Stubbs had the shot, a tough one. Bird down, but not out. The second poke did the job. The survivor sprinted down the far hillside. After a fist bump or two, Daryl and Pete left while Scott and I hatched a plan. “I’m ready to wait here all day if you want,” Basehore, who had put a tag on a bird days before, offered. It was game on. Another long sit, but I could live with it. The scene was something out of a Ned Smith painting—a gorgeous hardwood hillside in turkey heaven. My pleasure increased as Scott floated some well-timed gobbler yelps then laid on some silence. Then, from the direction the surviving gobbler ran, came yelping, coarse and steady. We both heard it. I readied myself in that direction. That was when another gobbler started yelping from above, the site of the Clyde’s third round of barking. It sounded closer. I wheeled, set up, shotgun facing that direction. No sooner had I done that, movement up the incline, through saplings: a black body and the sight of a gobbler coming. The bird bobbed and weaved through ground cover, stalking the setup, and likely the sound of the other turkey. I picked my window of opportunity. The gobbler stepped out, looked. What a beautiful thing. I pulled the trigger. We closed the deal on the ultimate experience in the fall turkey woods. |
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Comments (16)
Steve, Congratulations! But I am a little jealous, I never got to close the deal with the shotgun and chances are pretty slim I'll get it done with the bow. While I was out turkey hunting I had plenty of encounters with deer, including a real nice 8 point that had stopped where I had stood about 10 minutes earlier. Next year I might have to hunt the whole season with my bow only, the turkeys will have to be closer and it will be harder, but I always have close encounters with deer while I'm turkey hunting that I have to let walk. Of course by trying that strategy neither one will get close, but we'll see how it goes next year.
Thanks Levi. Good to hear from you. Keep us posted on how you do! -S.
Glad the NY turkeys were kinder to you than their Maine kin
great hunt steve wish you more success nothing like game on the ground!
Hey bigjake. Thanks for checking in . . .
Maine turkeys can come easy or hard, like anywhere I guess. Last five Pine Tree State turkey seasons, spring and fall, read like this:
Fall 2007: Opening Day fall jake.
Spring 2008: Opening Day gobbler.
Fall 2008: Ate my tag after passing on young birds early. Trying to kill one of three full-fan gobblers that got under my skin. Didn't! Hunted all six days of our short season.
Spring 2009: Opening Day gobbler.
Fall 2009: Ate my tag. Hunted five of the six days. Action? Heck yeah . . .
You could say I either cash in early, or milk it. Either way, it's all good man!
Thanks again,
Steve
Hey patrick88,
This fall gobbler will be reserved for Thanksgiving of course! It's a tradition 'round here. We use the whole turkey: breast meat, drumsticks, the pickings off the remaining parboiled bird.
What are you seeing out there?
Thx,
Steve
Two great hunts with the bonus of a gobbler it doesn't get any better than that. Way to go Steve.
Do you have another NY tag?
Way to go Steve! Right there with you man. Love those hardwoods birds! Sounded like a great hunt all the way around. Way to stick it out and close the deal!
James
Hey James & charlie elk,
Thanks as always for the SZ message posts. Got my eye on the May 1, 2010 NY spring turkey opener (two tags). I was pleased to see the upstate NY hatch was fair to excellent, location depending, based on my observations (& the guys in turkey camp) of course. Drove 1000 miles roundtrip as scouting and hunting goes.
You still at it out there, ce? Likely rutting whitetails now eh.
Thanks again,
Steve
The bucks are moving, the family flocks flocking bigger and gobblers working on their pecking order. Next couple of weeks I will be concentrating on the buck. Not to say I won't take advantage of a turkey opportunity my trusty wingbone is always at the ready. 6 more tags in my pocket await punching. First turkey season is open til 11/19 second season opens 11/30.
Later,
ce
Paradise with all those turkey tags. Wow. Keep in touch.
-S.
Steve,
It is paradise and I for one do not take it for granted.
Is that your Luna in the picture above?
Later,
charlie
Hey charlie elk,
That's my late great Midge March Madness to whom the Fall & Winter Turkey Hunter's Handbook is dedicated. Taught me more about fall turkeys than any dog or man alike. Miss her. Luna bears a strong resemblance to her though, if only related by breed and wild bird-crazy desire. That's Luna Girl pictured in my previous "Fall Turkeys: Strike One" SZ post on the Maine opener.
Steve
Hey ce,
It occurs to me I may have confused the issue? That's Midgey in my "avatar" for messages (white dog; intense regal look). I'm posing with the NY gobbler and Scott Basehore's turkey dog Jenny in the article post photo, right there on the hardwood ridge where that turkey came to the calls.
S.
Beautiful picture Steve. Does a pro photographer follow you around?
Later,
charlie
Thanks ce. The key to self-timer photos, and others you or buddies snap in the field:
(1) Shoot a lot. Some images will be good. Some trash.
(2) Fill the frame.
P.S. This particular image was cropped using my computer's photo tools after downloading the digital images, then enhanced via the contrast and lighting modes until it looked pretty decent. In the end, I'm "a writer who shoots photos." Cameras are so good these days a guy like me can even hit a home run now and again, even if I fly out with regularity.
Post a Comment (200 characters or less)
Glad the NY turkeys were kinder to you than their Maine kin
Hey bigjake. Thanks for checking in . . .
Maine turkeys can come easy or hard, like anywhere I guess. Last five Pine Tree State turkey seasons, spring and fall, read like this:
Fall 2007: Opening Day fall jake.
Spring 2008: Opening Day gobbler.
Fall 2008: Ate my tag after passing on young birds early. Trying to kill one of three full-fan gobblers that got under my skin. Didn't! Hunted all six days of our short season.
Spring 2009: Opening Day gobbler.
Fall 2009: Ate my tag. Hunted five of the six days. Action? Heck yeah . . .
You could say I either cash in early, or milk it. Either way, it's all good man!
Thanks again,
Steve
Steve, Congratulations! But I am a little jealous, I never got to close the deal with the shotgun and chances are pretty slim I'll get it done with the bow. While I was out turkey hunting I had plenty of encounters with deer, including a real nice 8 point that had stopped where I had stood about 10 minutes earlier. Next year I might have to hunt the whole season with my bow only, the turkeys will have to be closer and it will be harder, but I always have close encounters with deer while I'm turkey hunting that I have to let walk. Of course by trying that strategy neither one will get close, but we'll see how it goes next year.
Thanks Levi. Good to hear from you. Keep us posted on how you do! -S.
great hunt steve wish you more success nothing like game on the ground!
Hey patrick88,
This fall gobbler will be reserved for Thanksgiving of course! It's a tradition 'round here. We use the whole turkey: breast meat, drumsticks, the pickings off the remaining parboiled bird.
What are you seeing out there?
Thx,
Steve
Two great hunts with the bonus of a gobbler it doesn't get any better than that. Way to go Steve.
Do you have another NY tag?
Way to go Steve! Right there with you man. Love those hardwoods birds! Sounded like a great hunt all the way around. Way to stick it out and close the deal!
James
Hey James & charlie elk,
Thanks as always for the SZ message posts. Got my eye on the May 1, 2010 NY spring turkey opener (two tags). I was pleased to see the upstate NY hatch was fair to excellent, location depending, based on my observations (& the guys in turkey camp) of course. Drove 1000 miles roundtrip as scouting and hunting goes.
You still at it out there, ce? Likely rutting whitetails now eh.
Thanks again,
Steve
The bucks are moving, the family flocks flocking bigger and gobblers working on their pecking order. Next couple of weeks I will be concentrating on the buck. Not to say I won't take advantage of a turkey opportunity my trusty wingbone is always at the ready. 6 more tags in my pocket await punching. First turkey season is open til 11/19 second season opens 11/30.
Later,
ce
Paradise with all those turkey tags. Wow. Keep in touch.
-S.
Steve,
It is paradise and I for one do not take it for granted.
Is that your Luna in the picture above?
Later,
charlie
Hey charlie elk,
That's my late great Midge March Madness to whom the Fall & Winter Turkey Hunter's Handbook is dedicated. Taught me more about fall turkeys than any dog or man alike. Miss her. Luna bears a strong resemblance to her though, if only related by breed and wild bird-crazy desire. That's Luna Girl pictured in my previous "Fall Turkeys: Strike One" SZ post on the Maine opener.
Steve
Hey ce,
It occurs to me I may have confused the issue? That's Midgey in my "avatar" for messages (white dog; intense regal look). I'm posing with the NY gobbler and Scott Basehore's turkey dog Jenny in the article post photo, right there on the hardwood ridge where that turkey came to the calls.
S.
Beautiful picture Steve. Does a pro photographer follow you around?
Later,
charlie
Thanks ce. The key to self-timer photos, and others you or buddies snap in the field:
(1) Shoot a lot. Some images will be good. Some trash.
(2) Fill the frame.
P.S. This particular image was cropped using my computer's photo tools after downloading the digital images, then enhanced via the contrast and lighting modes until it looked pretty decent. In the end, I'm "a writer who shoots photos." Cameras are so good these days a guy like me can even hit a home run now and again, even if I fly out with regularity.
Post a Comment (200 characters or less)