We've had a fantastic season thus far! More updates soon! Thanks for telling your stories guys! It was an awesome hunt! These guys really are "Livin the Hunt Life"! Check them out at http://huntlife.com/
_____________________________________________________
This was not your typical Texas turkey hunt! Very few sightings, and very few gobbling turkeys the first two days. The score card would read like this: I won on Saturday, but just barely. Turkeys kicked my behind all over Southwest Texas on Sunday. I was able to teach them a lesson Monday.
MARATHON
After hearing no gobbles and seeing no birds in The Valley on the Middleton Ranch on opening morning, I was more than disappointed. I was perplexed. Koby Howell, owner/operator of 5 Star Outfitters out of San Angelo, TX, and I had scouted The Valley on both Thursday afternoon and
Friday morning. Sign everywhere on Thursday, and good gobbling from multiple birds on Friday morning at fly down time. If ever there was a time and place to feel confident about turkeys, I was surely that about The Valley on opening day. However, dawn broke on Saturday morning to a stunning silence. I knew something was wrong when I could not see any turkeys silhouetted in the big live oaks at the head of The Valley when I approached in the star light. For reasons still unknown, the turkeys had moved away from a traditional roost. Thus began perhaps the longest day of my Texas turkey hunting career. To shorten the story, I stayed in the woods most of the day, only taking a two hour break for lunch. I did not see a turkey until 5:30 pm, a lone hen who came to water and to check out my calling and a nice decoy spread (B-Mobile, She-mobile and a Flambeau hard body hen). She was an attractive lady, and I was glad to have her company, as she stayed with me for over 30 minutes. Alas, she never made a sound, and thus offered no audio support of my own calling (Halloran pot and Mr. Death mouth call). She finally wandered off after 6 pm. I was encouraged by her visit, as it proved that at least one turkey was proximate to The Valley that had produced so well in the previous two seasons (4 gobblers total). Finally, just before 7 pm, I heard a gobble, and it was close. I saw him almost immediately after his gobble, about 100 yards to the south and west. He was lit up and in full display, eyeballing B-mobile from across a little flat that bi-sects The Valley. It took him 5 minutes to close to 32 yards, where I finally won the long endurance contest of opening day with a load of 4s delivered directly to his red wattles. The shot actually knocked him off his feet. A beautiful bird, hard won in the coin of patience and stamina. My friends Tommy Ellis and Major Harding had also scored on similar birds, so despite the difficulties, a productive opener.TEXAS TWO-STEPPERS
Sunday was one of those days when the turkeys remind you of who really controls the hunt. I saw and heard nothing in the morning, and the evening excursion produced only two sightings: A lone hen going to roost about 400 yards away, and a nice gobbler, also going to roost, at about 300 yards. However, it was still a productive day. Major killed his second bird, and his son, Kyle, killed two nice toms on camera. His videographer was Chris Henry from Dual Shot Outdoors. I have always resisted being filmed while turkey hunting. It changes the dynamic of the hunt, and can shift the focus from dispatching a gobbler to capturing him on camera. However, it is good to know that even an old turkey hunter can learn something new. Chris was an excellent video man, an excellent hunter, and a real nice guy to boot. He convinced me to try a video hunt. Boy, am I glad he did. He and Koby knew about a well established roost on another ranch, and I was going there on Monday morning with Chris. Everyone on this distribution list knows that this is my 32nd spring season. In all that time, I have never had an experience quite like I had this morning. We literally walked right under dozens of turkeys on a roost that had been used for
decades by generations of Rio Grande turkeys in Tom Green County. When I say right under, I mean directly below some ancient live oaks, with turkeys roosted no more than 30 feet above our heads! It was black dark, and we had to do it to get to where we wanted to set up, but it was an anxiety laden adventure, I can assure you. I’m not sure I breathed while we were under the roost. Chris and I did our best to get small, and to hunch over, so that we would look more like deer than humans. It worked, we came out from under the roost, got about 100 yards away from it on a dim road, and Chris said, with real feeling, “We made it.” Now I was breathing. We continued on for about 300 yards to a windmill and water tank that the turkeys frequent after leaving the roost. I set up She-mobile and my hard body Flambeau, and Chris prepared a blind to offer concealment for the filming. We were ready and waiting before fly down time, a little chilled by a temperature reading of only 38 degrees. The gobbling started in earnest, and I was reminded of why I love to hunt in Texas. It is impossible to know how many toms were singing from the roost, but it must have been close to twenty. After almost no gobbling the previous two days, this was an exhilaration. Just before fly down time (about 7:15), Chris did some excellent soft calling on a Cane Creek pot, as I waited for more light before cutting loose with Mr. Death. Soon enough, we heard some hens behind us and to our right. I finally ran a series of yelps, and we tensed for the expected action. Chris was set up on a tri-pod and waiting for a turkey to show. At 7:49 am, they did, stepping around a corner at about 40 yards, on a straight line to the dekes. The lead bird was not strutting, but the follower was, and both were lit up, as colorful as any turkeys that have ever walked to the gun for me. When they got into the decoys, they were twenty yards away and were now both in full display. Chris was ready for me to shoot, but I was waiting for a double. In less time than it takes to write this sentence, they half-strutted past the false hens and their heads practically merged into one target at 28 yards. I pulled the trigger and yet another double was added to my life list. Probably the most satisfying turkey hunt in a long line of them in Texas. Now, when I want to remember a hunt, I simply close my eyes and recall with clarity the vision of the bird that resides in my hard drive memory, forever I hope. In the future, though, for at least this one hunt, I can watch it on TV! A truly satisfying result to a tough hunt for Rios.On to Missouri in two weeks! Can’t wait.
Ten Bears
_____________________________________________________
Texas turkey season opened this past weekend April 4, 2009. The Hunt Life team of Tommy Ellis, Bob Karel, Kyle Harding and I were back for another hunt with 5 Star Outfitters, Inc. in Christoval Texas. This is our third year hunting with 5 Star and our eighth year hunting with Koby Howell owner of 5 Star. We hunt the Rio subspecies and Texas is a target rich environment! We arrived at the lodge on Friday afternoon and got settled in with our gear. We enjoyed a great tenderloin steak dinner cooked on a mesquite fire and all the fixin's prepared by our favorite cook Gerald Farris from Killeen, Texas. Gerald has cooked for us seven of the past eight years and his cooking is over the top! After a couple of adult beverages and stories of the recent turkey hunts we hit the sack with the anticipation of the upcoming hunt.
We were out of the lodge on Saturday by 5:15 am. Bob and I were hunting on the 5000 acre Middleton ranch about a twenty minute drive away. Bob had arrived on Thursday as did Tommy, choosing the 20 hour drive versus a flight from Jacksonville for a little preseason scouting. Bob and Koby had listened to several Turkeys gobble from their roost in the "valley" area of the ranch on Friday morning and already had a place to hunt picked out. Tommy and Kyle were hunting the Harkey ranch were the lodge is located. Kyle was attempting to take a turkey with his bow while being filmed with cameraman from Dual Shot Outdoors, Chris Henry.
The weather was a warm 60* and the sky was crystal clear and the wind was blowing 15-20 mph when Koby dropped me in my favorite pasture on the ranch about thirty minutes before dawn. I have had great success in this pasture and the anticipation of the roost gobbling was building. Last year I heard no less than ten birds gobbling their brains out from the roost and on the ground to my calling. I was primed and ready and so thankful to be back in Texas for another hunt.
I chose to not use a decoy because of the wind. At dawn the wind did lay down and I was second guessing my decision. I waited and waited and waited for that first gobble to wake up the Texas morning. Not a sound was heard. I called very softly then louder and louder but not a bird seemed to be in the same County with me. I sent Koby a text of disbelief at 8:15 am stating that I had not heard anything. He told me there were several birds gobbling in the area he was scouting and said he was on the way to get me.
Koby picked me up and dropped me off on a road that ran through a cedar flat about a mile from
were I was previously hunting. The birds were gobbling in several different directions as I grabbed my gear and shotgun an headed into the flat. I found an area that had a lot of turkey droppings and strut marks on a two rut gas line road and cut my way into the base of a cedar tree about thirty five yards off the road. I set a hen decoy on the ground as if she was ready to breed about twenty yards in front of me. I was set up by 8:45 and started to call. The turkeys were still gobbling and they would answer my calls but would not come. They obviously had female company. I called pretty aggressively until 9:00 and then went to my every fifteen minute routine on the quarter hour. I received a text message from Bob just before 10:00 stating he had no heard anything and he was bummed. As I was going to respond to his message I caught movement to my right. Two longbeards were sneaking into the area silently. They made their way down the road and were looking for the hen that had been calling to them fifteen minutes earlier. The first gobbler stopped and I guessed he was about thirty five yards out and fired my gun. He dropped like a bad habit and the other bird ran down the road but stopped about sixty or seventy yards away. I did not get up right away because I thought this bird may come back to check out his dead compadre. After a couple of minutes I reached for my phone to text Bob back when the bird got to his feet and took off running after his buddy. I dropped the phone and jumped up and ran after him. He stopped at fifty or so yards and I tried to put him away but missed. He ran into the cedars and I chased him for what seemed a couple of minutes until I found him trying to get under a tree and finished him off. He was a three year old bird with one inch spurs and a nine inch beard. The wacky, weird and windy hunt had begun.Kyle just missed two birds with his bow on camera that morning. He and Chris had some amazing turkey film footage and a very fun hunt. Bob and Tommy harvested good birds Saturday afternoon while Kyle and I did not score.
Sunday morning was 49* and very windy when we left the lodge. Bob hunted a different area and I went back to the same spot I harvested the turkey the previous morning. It was blowing 30 mph and cold when I sat down at 6:30 am! I could not use a decoy in this wind. I did not hear a turkey at all that morning until 8:30 when a bearded hen walked up the road. She was obviously going somewhere and I yelped softly to her after she past by. She was about fifty yards away and turned and walked directly to where she heard the yelp. Right in my lap not three steps away looking for the source of the calls, ME! She yelped and yelped and yelped, which I thought was great as she might call a big boy in. I do not like them to get that close however for fear of getting busted. I heard a gobble in the distance and she immediately picked up her head and headed off in the general direction of the gobble. About fifteen minutes later I called again and I thought a jake gobbled back in front of me. Next thing you know three birds are gobbling in front of me but I cannot see them because of a big cedar blocking my view. They are getting closer and I still can't see them. A big bird runs around the cedar and I wack him and jelly his head at 17 yards. One bird flies off to my left and the other runs straight away from me to my right. I swing the gun and shoot and miss two times as he hauls his but down the road and out of range. The tom was pretty much a twin of the bird I took yesterday.Two birds, six shots, and I am as happy as I ever have been overcoming the most wacky and weird hunting conditions.
Kyle harvested two birds while being filmed that morning. Bob shot two with one shot on Monday morning on film with Chris and Tommy left Sunday at noon to drive back to Jacksonville.
Thanks again to Koby and Robin Howell at 5 Star Outfitters, Inc. for helping us "Livin the Hunt Life" Major
No comments:
Post a Comment