Post by huntergks on May 12, 2015 12:27:17 GMT -6
Day 11 - Fri 05/08 – No birds heard or seen. Same situation as before my trip to NY with the only differences being a 20 degree rise in the temp & a whole lot of green-up.
Day 12 - Sat 05/09 - At 6:15 a hen purred to my right & walked past. Another started cutting & raising what-for, walked to the dekes, & sat down 2-3 feet of them. I think she was waiting tor the jake to mount her. She stayed in that position for over 5 minutes, Buck walked within feet of me & wandered off. The 1st hen ran out of sight. I kept the other around for 3+ hours. I thought I saw a little beard & finally got a chance to glass her. She did have about a 2” beard. I toyed with the idea of shooting her for about a half second. It's too late in the season to take a chance on possibly killing 4 future gobblers. The bearded lady wandered off the way she came at about 9:20. At 9:38, I spotted a bird racing across the next field to the west diagonally. A few minutes later, I could see a bird through he bush to my right but couldn’t tell what it was. Out steps a hen. She knew something wasn’t right & entered the woods muttering to herself, walked behind me at maybe 5’, & wandered off. That was it.
Day 13 - Sun 05/10 – 1 started gobbling at 05:50 to the far northeast of where I was sitting. He gobbler pretty well on the roost & sporadically on the ground until about 6:30 when he shut down. I called a little every 10 minutes of so with no response. At 7 straight up, he gobbled close by, 75 yards at the most, 3 times. I yelped & purred real softly with no response. I about wore my eyeballs out scanning the woods for him, without moving my head, but never saw him. At 7:38, he gobbled once even closer but to my left & down in a small depression. I purred & he responded. That was the last I heard from him & I never saw him. A little better than days past but not much. I stayed put calling occasionally but no response. Finally, about 12:30, it got hot & I decided to call it a day. I walked to eh edge of the woods &, as is my norm, stuck my head out & looked north, nothing. I did the same thing looking west but had to take a step out. There were 3 birds about 40 yards away disappearing into the woods. Couldn’t really tell for sure what they were. I have an idea where the gobbler was heading. Hopefully, I’m right & we’ll dance again tomorrow.
Day 14 - Mon 05/11 – Absolutely nothing today. Didn’t hear or see any birds. Either the gobbler from yesterday didn’t go where I thought he would or he just didn’t want to dance. I’ll try a different tactic tomorrow. The woods is literally surrounded by newly planted beans with a lot already sprouting. I think yesterday’s gobbler left the woods & entered the field on an old lane at an inside corner of the woods where I sometimes park the 4-wheeler. I plan to park the 4-wheeler a few hundred yards west of where I’ll set-up which will be about 50 yards from the inside corner along the tree line & set the dekes out into the field about 25 yards. Hopefully I can either call 1 into the field or he’ll come on his own. I’m starting to run out of ideas.
Day 15 - Tues 05/12 – We were under a tornado watch yesterday from mid-afternoon until early evening. I had set-up my short blind & left my dekes, seat, & duffel there as well. With the wind gusting to 20+ MPH & higher, I went back, got everything except the blind, & put it in the barn with the 4-wheeler. I was hoping for some over night rain to maybe send the birds into the fields to dry out.
I got set-up about 5:15 this morning with the wind still blowing hard & the temp at 61. I set Fred & Ethel out about 25 yards & at daybreak, about 6, I half expected to see them blown to the other side of the field but they had hung in there. The ground was so dry & hard, I had to use a large Phillips screwdriver to start the stake holes. At 6:53. I looked west & noticed something white at the end of the drive lane where it meets the grassy area at the end of the field. I hadn’t noticed it when I drove back, so I checked it out with the binos. It was another smoky hen. It took her about 25 minutes to get to the dekes & I could tell it wasn’t the same 1 I had been seeing at my other spot, hot as white & no black spot on her chest. She skirted around the dekes & went into the woods. That was the only bird I saw or heard until the wind blew me out at 10:30 with the temp at 58. In theory, my plan worked except that the wrong bird walked into gun range.
I am just about at a loss. I have tried about every trick I know to get the birds gobbling with no results. I have even thought about running through the woods naked at daybreak. That should elicit some shocked gobbles!! LOL. I am open to any & all ideas. I only have 5 days to fill my last tag. HELP!!!!
Day 12 - Sat 05/09 - At 6:15 a hen purred to my right & walked past. Another started cutting & raising what-for, walked to the dekes, & sat down 2-3 feet of them. I think she was waiting tor the jake to mount her. She stayed in that position for over 5 minutes, Buck walked within feet of me & wandered off. The 1st hen ran out of sight. I kept the other around for 3+ hours. I thought I saw a little beard & finally got a chance to glass her. She did have about a 2” beard. I toyed with the idea of shooting her for about a half second. It's too late in the season to take a chance on possibly killing 4 future gobblers. The bearded lady wandered off the way she came at about 9:20. At 9:38, I spotted a bird racing across the next field to the west diagonally. A few minutes later, I could see a bird through he bush to my right but couldn’t tell what it was. Out steps a hen. She knew something wasn’t right & entered the woods muttering to herself, walked behind me at maybe 5’, & wandered off. That was it.
Day 13 - Sun 05/10 – 1 started gobbling at 05:50 to the far northeast of where I was sitting. He gobbler pretty well on the roost & sporadically on the ground until about 6:30 when he shut down. I called a little every 10 minutes of so with no response. At 7 straight up, he gobbled close by, 75 yards at the most, 3 times. I yelped & purred real softly with no response. I about wore my eyeballs out scanning the woods for him, without moving my head, but never saw him. At 7:38, he gobbled once even closer but to my left & down in a small depression. I purred & he responded. That was the last I heard from him & I never saw him. A little better than days past but not much. I stayed put calling occasionally but no response. Finally, about 12:30, it got hot & I decided to call it a day. I walked to eh edge of the woods &, as is my norm, stuck my head out & looked north, nothing. I did the same thing looking west but had to take a step out. There were 3 birds about 40 yards away disappearing into the woods. Couldn’t really tell for sure what they were. I have an idea where the gobbler was heading. Hopefully, I’m right & we’ll dance again tomorrow.
Day 14 - Mon 05/11 – Absolutely nothing today. Didn’t hear or see any birds. Either the gobbler from yesterday didn’t go where I thought he would or he just didn’t want to dance. I’ll try a different tactic tomorrow. The woods is literally surrounded by newly planted beans with a lot already sprouting. I think yesterday’s gobbler left the woods & entered the field on an old lane at an inside corner of the woods where I sometimes park the 4-wheeler. I plan to park the 4-wheeler a few hundred yards west of where I’ll set-up which will be about 50 yards from the inside corner along the tree line & set the dekes out into the field about 25 yards. Hopefully I can either call 1 into the field or he’ll come on his own. I’m starting to run out of ideas.
Day 15 - Tues 05/12 – We were under a tornado watch yesterday from mid-afternoon until early evening. I had set-up my short blind & left my dekes, seat, & duffel there as well. With the wind gusting to 20+ MPH & higher, I went back, got everything except the blind, & put it in the barn with the 4-wheeler. I was hoping for some over night rain to maybe send the birds into the fields to dry out.
I got set-up about 5:15 this morning with the wind still blowing hard & the temp at 61. I set Fred & Ethel out about 25 yards & at daybreak, about 6, I half expected to see them blown to the other side of the field but they had hung in there. The ground was so dry & hard, I had to use a large Phillips screwdriver to start the stake holes. At 6:53. I looked west & noticed something white at the end of the drive lane where it meets the grassy area at the end of the field. I hadn’t noticed it when I drove back, so I checked it out with the binos. It was another smoky hen. It took her about 25 minutes to get to the dekes & I could tell it wasn’t the same 1 I had been seeing at my other spot, hot as white & no black spot on her chest. She skirted around the dekes & went into the woods. That was the only bird I saw or heard until the wind blew me out at 10:30 with the temp at 58. In theory, my plan worked except that the wrong bird walked into gun range.
I am just about at a loss. I have tried about every trick I know to get the birds gobbling with no results. I have even thought about running through the woods naked at daybreak. That should elicit some shocked gobbles!! LOL. I am open to any & all ideas. I only have 5 days to fill my last tag. HELP!!!!
