Sunday May 7, 2006

Okay, so Bill and Aaron heard a bunch of birds up behind Putnam's house yesterday morning, so we agreed that my Dad and I should go after them. He said there were 5 or 6 birds gobbling up there. He went after them yesterday, but they shut up when they hit the ground. Well, this am Dad and I got up to the best listening spot right about 5:07am. As I leaned against a hemlock and looked at my dad to say, "they should start gobbling about now", they did! The first gobble was at 5:08, just like yesterday for both Bill and I. Two birds were close, right across a small stream that divides the hardwoods and the hemlocks. We climbed up the extremely steep hill to the first major bench and set up. In previous years all the birds I've worked over there have moved up the hill, so I was a little unsure of the setup, but I thought they were to close to try and navigate up the hill any farther, because it gets pretty open up there. The birds were about 150yds away and one was even with us and the other about 150yds up the hill. Two or three other birds joined in the morning chorus from behind these two, a little to far to worry about though. As flydown time approached, I did a series of fly down cackles using my hat to make wing sounds. The birds were gobbling at everything, and I was primarily using a crow call to keep my position hidden until flydown. The birds didn't necessarily gobble at me once they hit the ground, but I could shock gobble them whenever I needed. Once I determined they were working up the hill, I gathered Dad and the decoys to continue up the hellish hill in front of us. We kept track of the birds with the crow call and when I figured we just couldn't get any closer I would set up. We set up a few times before we reached the top of the hill. Once at the top, I found a good spot and could hear the hens making noise, we each set up against two big white oaks. The spot was pretty nice, except that there was an abundance of beech tops lying on the ground which made it difficult to decide where the bird would come from, but they did offer the cover we needed to get close enough. I called and tried to mimick the hen I was hearing, but she was just as stubborn as the boys, and eventually walked off. With the new perspective on the terrain, I realized these birds were just feeding along a side hill and still moving away from us. The top of that side hill was a good flat bench and the grade change between the side hill and that bench would offer perfect concealment to get around on these birds. I felt bad that I had dragged my dad up this steep hill all morning, but I know he wants to kill a big gobbler more than anything, and he would surely be ready to make yet another climb. So, I let out the obligatory, "psssst" and made the motion and we were off and running again (well, not running, that hill is pretty damn steep!). We snuck through where those birds had just been scratching, and I could still hear the two gobblers competing for the hens that were with them. We made it up to the absolute top of the mountain, and it was as flat as flat could be. The birds gobbled again and the vibration in my chest was all I needed to know that the birds were right over the ledge, directly below us. The one bird sounded so close I thought he was right on the break and he was going to pop his head up at any second, so we dropped to the ground like a fat kid in dodgeball. Dad put the gun up, and knelt behind him for support. We were sitting in a patch of very young red maples and they were about as tall as we were sitting down, and that was the only comfort I could find in the setup. I was so nervous that the bird was going to pick us out immediately that I think I actually wished him farther down the hill. His next gobble came in response to his buddy sounding off below him, and he was indeed lower than I initially thought. I decided to make the move and told my dad to get up to a big oak about 10yds ahead of us. As we stood and took our first steps, two birds...both hens, jumped into the air and flew off the ledge and over the trees. I prayed that they wouldn't put and that maybe, just maybe the gobblers wouldn't catch on, but as they both pushed off like hang gliders on the side of that hill, they both putted and putted and flew and flew. I sat for a moment to see if the birds would gobble, and I decided to make one call.... a series of putts, to try and ease the tension. I knew that all I was doing was educating the birds, but after the effort that we put in, I figured it was atleast worth a shot. Well, no gobbles came, and we headed down the hill, still trying to accept the defeat. I don't look at it as a loss really, now I know the lay of the land better, and the habits of those birds better. With any kind of luck, the next time I am in that town in two weeks, I will educate one of those birds and eat the other! As for the other people I know, Larry "LB" Brissing and Matthew "Highball" Stanley hunted over near LB's uncles on Saturday and had two birds shot out from underneath them, and didn't really work any other birds. On Sunday however, the made the trip up to Sausage Hill and connected on this nice jake, his second NY turkey ever. It was one out of a group of four, and LB just couldn't get a good opportunity for a double. Bird tagged, they continued the hunt, and two calling spots later they called in a bird with a mature fan, and little to no beard visible, and Larry managed to get a shot off, but the situation didn't end favorably, and I will leave it at that. Congrats to those two on a successful hunt, and wish us luck next weekend!