<BGSOUND SRC="gunshot5.wav"> MARCH 24, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #1 LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND PARTNER: NELSON CULLUM CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE, DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM, TRUMPET DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: FLYDOWN, YELPS, CUTTING, CLUCKING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: CALLED IN TWO HENS Nelson and I arrived at his farm with high expectations as usual for this our yearly traditional hunt. After setting up we heard a couple of distant gobblers and then one which was closer. Hens started to yelp in several directions. The first birds to arrive at my calling were two hens from across the creek in front of us. They came by the decoys and in their search for me (I presume) flew almost right over us to get to the hill behind us. They continued up and over the hill where they met with the closest gobbler. We called another hour to no avail. We eased up the hill for a closer look and saw the gobbler with several hens. We set up again to try and call them back but were again unsuccessful. MARCH 26, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #2 LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND - FOOD PLOT PARTNER: FRANKLIN SMITH CALLS USED: ROHM DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM AND ROHM SLATE DESCR. OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING DESCR. OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, CALLED IN 3 JAKE GOBBLERS AND 5 HENS As a yearly tradition, Franklin and I met at the Brumfield property to try and video a bowkill. We heard a couple of gobblers but they were too far to come in. After an hour or so of calling we heard a gobble that was closer. After about 15 minutes 3 jakes had slipped in behind us. They came out into the food plot but would never give Franklin a good shot or allow him to draw the bow. After about 15 or 20 minutes 5 hens came in from the left. Oddly one of these hens was almost yellow in color. I'm not sure if this would be called albino, but she definitely had a lack of the pigmentation that most hens have. The 3 jake gobblers had strayed away but now they began to return to meet the hens right in front of us. Franklin was able to get the bow drawn at one point but couldn't get aligned on a bird. All the birds finally fed away and we left to try it somewhere else. See this footage on my Collectors Series 1 Video. MARCH 29, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #3 LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND - PASTURE PARTNER: DWAYNE MORGAN CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE AND DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, AND PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: EVENING HUNT, CALLED IN 1 JAKE On Friday evening Dwayne and I hunted some property we had previously acquired permission for. Shortly after running a series of calls, a jake entered the lower side of the pasture and literally ran in. Although Dwayne had never killed a turkey, he still insisted on shooting a mature gobbler. I had taken my bow for this reason so that I might get a shot at a jake. The bird came in so fast to our decoys, I hardly had time to get set. As he caught some of our movement there was no way of getting a bowshot. We relocated and did some scouting in preparation of possibly hunting there the next morning. As dark drew near we began making our way back to the truck when we heard a gobble. I owl hooted to have him answer again readily. We moved closer to get his exact location. The gobbler we found was roosted just off of the road we had to walk by to get to the truck. We waited until good dark and detoured around as quietly as we could. We weren't sure but the bird sounded mature. At any rate Dwayne had reconsidered his standards on a first bird and said it didn't matter if it was a mature gobbler or just a jake. MARCH 30, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #4 LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND - PASTURE PARTNER: DWAYNE MORGAN CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE AND DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: TREE YELPING, FLYDOWN WITH WING, YELPING CUTTING, AND CLUCKING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, DOUBLE KILL, CALLED 3 TOMS/2 HENS Dwayne and I returned to the pasture a good 1/2 hour before daylight. We were completely setup before daylight and the bird's first gobble. The bird must have gobbled a dozen times before I began calling. When I softly called he answered immediately. I awaited the bird's flydown before any aggressive calling. We heard a hen yelp and knew we had competition. At the first flydown, I called and flapped a wing to simulate a flydown of my own. I cackled, cut and yelped and three gobblers answered. This was the first indication we had that there were more than one gobbler. We heard the other birds' flydown and wondered if they were on our side of a creek that ran through the bottom. After a while the birds appeared on the lower edge of the pasture following the woodline. I called and they turned to come toward us. Once I zoomed the camera in I could tell there were 3 gobblers and a hen. I told Dwayne 2 of the birds looked like mature gobblers and when they got to the decoys to take the one on the right and I'd take the one on the left. On my queue we shot and for an instant I thought Dwayne had missed as 3 birds ran/flew off. After looking at the video a second hen had joined the group after they were about half way in which we had not seen. Also the third bird's beard looked to be 7 1/2 to 8 inches long - a mature gobbler also. We ran to the downed birds and Dwaynes' began to flounce vigorously. Needless to say many feathers were lost when all was finished. My bird weighed 19 lbs., had a 9 3/4 inch beard and 1.0 inch spurs; Dwaynes' bird weighed 16 lbs., had a 10 inch beard and 1.0 inch spurs. The video was a little off the mark when we shot but still managed to capture Dwaynes' bird. Another successful "first" bird hunt! See this footage on my Collectors Series 2 Video. APRIL 05, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #5 LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PIEDMONT, FOOD PLOT PARTNER: HAROLD FOWLER CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE AND DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, AND DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, GOBBLER KILL On the previous day my dad and I heard several gobblers but were unable to call any in. On this day we arrived in the area at least 1 and 1/2 hour before daylight and only minutes later another hunter arrived. We had the choice - should we go to the food plots or where we thought the birds were roosting? On our way down the road we flushed a bird from the roost. We waited as the other hunter followed. When he caught up with us we talked and finally decided that we would go into the woods where we expected the birds to feed. After setting up and waiting on daylight, I heard 2 distant gobblers. We began calling and called up a single hen. When she left, we thought we could find a better area further down the hill. After expending 30-45 minutes we finally set up not over 100 yards from where we were. We called about an hour when we finally heard a gobble. I couldn't determine exactly the direction, so after a few minutes I yelped again and he responded eagerly and was farther to my right that I had thought. As I moved the camera around I finally located him. He was strutting and had came to within 40 yards when he hung up. He strutted back and forth just beyond a shallow ditch. Although I wasn't sure he was within range, dad said he was allowing me to get footage and could have shot the gobbler before he did. The bird weighed in at 20 1/2 lbs., had a 10 1/2 inch beard and 3/4 inch spurs. See this footage on my Collectors Series 2 Video. APRIL 10, 1996 VIDEO #6 LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND - PASTURE PARTNER: TOM UMLAND CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE AND DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM TUBE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING FIGHTING PURRING AND GOBBLING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: CALLED IN TWO JAKES Tom and I went to his hunting club on this afternoon. Tom had previously killed a bird and seen several more here. We set up on the fenceline on a hillside overlooking a pasture. I called sparingly at first and more aggressively as the evening went by. After it began to look dismal I did some fighting purring and gobbling. Not long tom spotted a turkey heading our way. It was a few minutes before I could see the turkey from my viewpoint. When I finally saw the turkey I could tell it was a gobbler but could not tell if it was a jake or a mature bird, since he was coming straight at us. I had brought my bow along and had planned to harvest a jake if the chance was presented, otherwise tom would do the shooting. The bird came closer and then we saw the second jake coming around the hillside behind the first. I'm not sure if the jake spotted some of our movement or not, but he came right past the decoys to observe where we were sitting or "calling" from. Needless to say, I did not get a bowshot. The birds joined one another and I could not call them back. APRIL 12, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #7 LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, BHC CLUB - FOOD PLOT PARTNER: ALONE CALLS USED: ROHM DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM, LARGE SLATE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, AND PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MID-MORNING HUNT, 3-4 JAKES I had hunted Cedar Creek WMA a couple of hours with no luck, so I decided to swing by the hunting club before going to work. As I turned into the driveway in front of the camp house, I turned to look across the road into the upper end of our food plot. When I did I saw at least 4 gobblers between the road and our food plot. I pulled into the drive and behind the camp house. Although I wanted to take the bow, I knew the chance of getting set up and calling those birds back would be slim. I took the shotgun and I hoped I could at lease get some footage. When I gathered my gear I walked across the road to the food plot. I saw a hen feed across the food plot but I didn't see the gobblers. My only hope of setting up was at the edge of an old barn. I did and could see a gobbler strutting through the woods on the lower end of the food plot. Although they all were jakes and I didn't get them on video, I did call them up through the woods and behind me. The hen fed around the edge of the food plot to within 10 yards. I eased away hoping chase could kill one the next morning. APRIL 13, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #8 LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, BHC CLUB - FOOD PLOT PARTNER: CHASE CALLS USED: ROHM DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM, LARGE SLATE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, AND PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, CALLED UP SINGLE HEN We arrived a little late at the hunting club and spooked one of the gobblers off the roost while setting out the decoys in our food plot. I knew the birds were near but had hoped we could get set up without spooking them. Although disappointed we sat and called anyway, hoping all the gobblers were not spooked. Not long we heard a hen yelping behind us. The hen came out and fed through the food plot. Afterwards we left and tried it at another area with no luck. APRIL 19, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #9 LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND PASTURE PARTNER: ALONE CALLS USED: ROHM DT DIAPHRAGM, LARGE SLATE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNT, CALLED IN GOBBLER AND 3 HENS (SPOOKED) I decided to try Nelson Coulomb's property at Hillsboro on this day since he had seen a good bird the previous 3 evenings in the same location. I set up at the usual spot and had completed setting out decoys when a bird gobbled beyond the right end of the pasture. "perfect" I thought. He gobbled several more times before I felt it light enough to call back. When I did he gobbled immediately, but a hen also answered from the same location. The first birds to appear were hens and there were three of them. They fed in my general direction and he soon followed. It was a nice bird and in full strut. This appeared to be the making of a good video. He was gobbling frequently and continued in my direction. As the hens began to stray away, I knew he would surely follow, so I purred and clucked to bring them closer. At first they passed it off but after the second time they starred at the decoys and then turned to walk away more briskly. He followed the hens as I called to try and bring them back. He gobbled continuously as he walked away. I had thought the cows coming down from the upper field behind me had spooked them, but after they walked past a cow going out the pasture, I had second thoughts. They may have caught a glare from the camera lens or just didn't want to associate with more hens (decoys).... Who knows? APRIL 20, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #10 LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND PASTURE PARTNER: ALONE CALLS USED: ROHM DT DIAPHRAGM, LARGE SLATE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, GOBBLER KILL (NO KILL ON VIDEO) I returned the next morning to the Cullum property in hopes the gobbler would be roosted again near the lower pasture. As light approached and the first gobble rang out, it was to my left across the creek instead of to my right as the morning before. This morning it was foggy and for whatever reason he only gobbled a couple of times. As I stayed focused on the left end of the pasture I saw a silhouette of what appeared to be 3 turkeys. After looking at the video it is obvious that at least 2 of these birds were gobblers and one was strutting. The birds were not interested in my calling or the hen that came my way. Instead, they crossed back over the creek and headed toward the other pastures. The hen fed my way and then turned to follow suit. Another hen soon came out and went in the same direction. I called for an hour and decided to go to the other side where the birds had all went. I detoured around the property boundary and came to the upper side of the pasture I thought the birds were in. I walked to within 25 yards of a feeding hen and managed to slip away without being seen. I set up within 100 yards of the cows, which were beginning to bed down. I called for an hour with no success. The birds had to be in the lower side of the pasture and with the wind fairly brisk, I figured they probably couldn't hear me. I decided to move around the edge to see if I could spot them. As I approached the uppermost end, I spotted a strutting bird not more than 75 yards. I backed up, set up a decoy, backed across the fence into cover and began calling with a cluck. The gobbler responded and I prepared by shouldering my gun in the direction of the decoy that I was sure he would come to. Not long I heard a hen yelp and called to her to try and bring her in. As I anxiously awaited, I could tell the hen was circling behind me. I could hear the gobbler drumming, and he was following the hen. I managed to get the camera on but could not get it turned as the hen approached quickly. I could see the gobbler at 30 yards and the hen had came to within about 3 yards. I had hoped the hen would bring the gobbler back out into the pasture, but when she turned to go back toward him, I knew my only chance would be to take him when he too turned around. When he did I turned and shot. No video, but that's the way it sometimes goes when you try to video and shoot by yourself. The gobbler weighed 18 lbs., had a 10 inch beard and 1.0 inch spurs. A good bird, but not the bird from the previous day. APRIL 23, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #11 LOCATION: LAURENS COUNTY, BEAVERDAM WMA, FOOD PLOT PARTNER: ALONE CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE, DT DIAPHRAGM, AND TUBE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELP, CUTT, CLUCK, GOBBLING/FIGHTING PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: PM, CALLED IN 6 JAKES, 1 TOM (BOWKILL & VIDEO) As I left work I contemplated going home and giving it a break this evening. It was stormy and began raining on my way. I decided to go to Beaverdam WMA since it had probably had a rest from the previous weekend hunters. I planned to carry the bow and arrow regardless of the weather. I arrived, gathered all my gear and took off down the closed road on foot. I completed my setup in a food plot including an umbrella as the sky got darker and it began to rain. The wind blew and it thundered several times behind me. I began to wonder if I should pack it up and leave. I thought that if the rain quit and the wind settled, it would be a good evening. The storm passed for the most part and from 6:00 to 7:00 I had only "hen" called. At 7:00 I gobbled and went through a couple of series of fighting purrs. At 7:15 a gobbler appeared from the end of plot which I had expected birds to come from. He came in to the decoys in a fighting position. I saw that it was a mature gobbler and as I reached for my bow I noticed another jake gobbler coming. As they neared the decoys, 5 or 6 more gobblers (mostly jakes) appeared from where the first two had come. Seven or eight turkeys was going to make it a very difficult task in getting the bow drawn. I was content on being patient, getting footage, and waiting for a shot to present itself. Then, as if I had asked for a distraction, it happened! The last 5 or 6 jakes to arrive started fighting. (which can only be heard on the video) this lured the two birds near my decoys to the fighting jakes. I drew my bow as the birds began walking away, but they were out of range. I held the bow and gave a few yelps which magically attracted only the good gobbler back to within shooting range. I released a perfect shot quartering from wing to leg. The bird went only about 15 yards before expiring. As I left the blind to go to the bird, the other gobblers flushed and birds went everywhere. When I approached my downed gobbler, he was all but dead, the cleanest kill you will ever see. I had no harvested my 3rd gobbler with the bow and had done it on a WMA! The bird weighed 18 lbs., had a 9 3/4 inch beard and 7/8 inch spurs. See this footage on my Collectors Series 2 Video. APRIL 25, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #12 LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, BHC CLUB PARTNER: HAROLD FOWLER CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE, DT DIAPHRAGM DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CLUCKING, AND PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNT, GOBBLER KILL Dad and I decided to try the hunting club in Baldwin County since we had hunted there very little. We set up on the front side near the beaverpond. We heard 3 or 4 different gobblers but they were all on the other property or too far to call. We called for an hour or so and decided to go to the closest bird that was behind the camp house, probably 3/4 to 1 mile from where we were. I approached the area I expected the bird to be, I crow called and he gobbled a little over a hundred yards from us and where we wanted to set up. We slipped to where I had planned to set up and began calling. As I yelped I got no response on the first 2 series. On the third set of yelps I was a little raspier and he answered. Shortly after I could hear him drumming and didn't know if I would get any video or not, since the bird sounded like he was going to come in behind my dad. I glimpsed the bird one time as he passed right in front of my dad. He had slipped up on my dad and he had to wait for him to pass behind a tree before he could shoulder his gun. He shot as the bird had turned and began walking away. The bird weighed 19.5 lbs., Had a 11.0 inch beard and 7/8 inch spurs. This was the shortest hunt I had ever made. Only 5 minutes had elapsed between the time I first called and the time of the shot! APRIL 27, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #13 LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND PASTURE PARTNER: CHASE CALLS USED: ROHM DT DIAPHRAGM, LARGE SLATE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELP'G, CUT'G, CLUCK'G, FIGHT'G PURRING, GOBBLING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, CALLED IN 2 JAKES AND 3 HENS (MISS) Chase and I had high hopes of getting his first gobbler since there had been only one bird taken off of nelson's farm (that we knew of anyway). We set up and began calling in the same spot as we usually do. Soon we had hens responding and thought we heard a gobble far on the other side. The hen fed in and when she left chase and I started to nap. I was alerted with a gobble and immediately woke chase. He appeared to be coming from across the creek from which they usually come. At this point, I saw a coyote come out into the pasture and start across directly toward where we thought the gobbler would come. Our chances now seemed slim. We waited, and after about 30 minutes two birds appeared across the creek heading in our direction. I called a little to keep them interested and they flew across the creek and kept coming. I instructed chase to remain ready to shoot between the hen and jake decoys. When the jakes arrived they had circled around on my side to the jake decoy which chase could no see. As chase eased around three trees to shoot, one of the birds became nervous and began walking away. The other bird remained distraught with the decoy and allowed chase to get a shot. When chase shot, he inadvertently shot through the camouflage limbs, which I had put up to camouflage our position. The birds left a little smarter than they had come. Chase had gotten his first miss behind him. See this footage on my Collectors Series 2 Video. MAY 11, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #14 LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND PASTURE PARTNER: CHASE CALLS USED: ROHM DT DIAPHRAGM, LARGE SLATE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, CALLED IN 6 JAKES AND 4 HENS (MISS) As the season end drew near, I decided to make one more attempt on the Cullum property in hopes of getting chase his first gobbler. I had made a blind a couple of days earlier farther to the right of our usual set up. Chase and I set up and began calling. No gobbler had been heard and none responded to my calling. After a few series of calls however, a hen answered in front of us and then another to our left. The hen to our left was the first to appear. She came in and by us within 10 yards. As we were watching her, we heard some clucking and purring to our left behind where she had come. As I turned I saw 6 jakes in single file coming in the same way as she had come. I whispered to chase to pick out the largest and shoot whenever ready. Again when he shot, no birds fell, another miss! Again I was disappointed but we sat there hoping to call the jakes back or another gobbler in. We called the hen back and then another one across the creek. After an hour I turned to see a strutting bird about a hundred yards to my left. I was hoping it was the good bird I had seen with the three hens previously. The bird was behind a little structure, so I couldn't see very well. The bird was displaying for the hen that had came across the creek. I eased my binoculars up but couldn't find a beard. It was a full fan and a couple times I thought I did see a beard. The bird would not respond to any calling and I had heard no previous gobbles. "was this a hen" I thought? After about 15 minutes, the bird came out of strut and fed with the other hen across in front of us. Sure enough, it was a hen. I've seen hens strut before but none display like this one for another hen. The hens met with a third hen and then left the pasture. Chase and I left with hopes of getting his first bird next year. See this footage on my Collectors Series 2 Video. THE END Return to Previous Page Return to Derek's Home Page
LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND PARTNER: NELSON CULLUM CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE, DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM, TRUMPET DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: FLYDOWN, YELPS, CUTTING, CLUCKING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: CALLED IN TWO HENS
Nelson and I arrived at his farm with high expectations as usual for this our yearly traditional hunt. After setting up we heard a couple of distant gobblers and then one which was closer. Hens started to yelp in several directions. The first birds to arrive at my calling were two hens from across the creek in front of us. They came by the decoys and in their search for me (I presume) flew almost right over us to get to the hill behind us. They continued up and over the hill where they met with the closest gobbler. We called another hour to no avail. We eased up the hill for a closer look and saw the gobbler with several hens. We set up again to try and call them back but were again unsuccessful.
MARCH 26, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #2 LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND - FOOD PLOT PARTNER: FRANKLIN SMITH CALLS USED: ROHM DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM AND ROHM SLATE DESCR. OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING DESCR. OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, CALLED IN 3 JAKE GOBBLERS AND 5 HENS
As a yearly tradition, Franklin and I met at the Brumfield property to try and video a bowkill. We heard a couple of gobblers but they were too far to come in. After an hour or so of calling we heard a gobble that was closer. After about 15 minutes 3 jakes had slipped in behind us. They came out into the food plot but would never give Franklin a good shot or allow him to draw the bow. After about 15 or 20 minutes 5 hens came in from the left. Oddly one of these hens was almost yellow in color. I'm not sure if this would be called albino, but she definitely had a lack of the pigmentation that most hens have. The 3 jake gobblers had strayed away but now they began to return to meet the hens right in front of us. Franklin was able to get the bow drawn at one point but couldn't get aligned on a bird. All the birds finally fed away and we left to try it somewhere else. See this footage on my Collectors Series 1 Video.
MARCH 29, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #3 LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND - PASTURE PARTNER: DWAYNE MORGAN CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE AND DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, AND PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: EVENING HUNT, CALLED IN 1 JAKE
On Friday evening Dwayne and I hunted some property we had previously acquired permission for. Shortly after running a series of calls, a jake entered the lower side of the pasture and literally ran in. Although Dwayne had never killed a turkey, he still insisted on shooting a mature gobbler. I had taken my bow for this reason so that I might get a shot at a jake. The bird came in so fast to our decoys, I hardly had time to get set. As he caught some of our movement there was no way of getting a bowshot. We relocated and did some scouting in preparation of possibly hunting there the next morning. As dark drew near we began making our way back to the truck when we heard a gobble. I owl hooted to have him answer again readily. We moved closer to get his exact location. The gobbler we found was roosted just off of the road we had to walk by to get to the truck. We waited until good dark and detoured around as quietly as we could. We weren't sure but the bird sounded mature. At any rate Dwayne had reconsidered his standards on a first bird and said it didn't matter if it was a mature gobbler or just a jake.
MARCH 30, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #4
LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND - PASTURE PARTNER: DWAYNE MORGAN CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE AND DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: TREE YELPING, FLYDOWN WITH WING, YELPING CUTTING, AND CLUCKING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, DOUBLE KILL, CALLED 3 TOMS/2 HENS
Dwayne and I returned to the pasture a good 1/2 hour before daylight. We were completely setup before daylight and the bird's first gobble. The bird must have gobbled a dozen times before I began calling. When I softly called he answered immediately. I awaited the bird's flydown before any aggressive calling. We heard a hen yelp and knew we had competition. At the first flydown, I called and flapped a wing to simulate a flydown of my own. I cackled, cut and yelped and three gobblers answered. This was the first indication we had that there were more than one gobbler. We heard the other birds' flydown and wondered if they were on our side of a creek that ran through the bottom. After a while the birds appeared on the lower edge of the pasture following the woodline. I called and they turned to come toward us. Once I zoomed the camera in I could tell there were 3 gobblers and a hen. I told Dwayne 2 of the birds looked like mature gobblers and when they got to the decoys to take the one on the right and I'd take the one on the left. On my queue we shot and for an instant I thought Dwayne had missed as 3 birds ran/flew off.
After looking at the video a second hen had joined the group after they were about half way in which we had not seen. Also the third bird's beard looked to be 7 1/2 to 8 inches long - a mature gobbler also. We ran to the downed birds and Dwaynes' began to flounce vigorously. Needless to say many feathers were lost when all was finished. My bird weighed 19 lbs., had a 9 3/4 inch beard and 1.0 inch spurs; Dwaynes' bird weighed 16 lbs., had a 10 inch beard and 1.0 inch spurs. The video was a little off the mark when we shot but still managed to capture Dwaynes' bird. Another successful "first" bird hunt! See this footage on my Collectors Series 2 Video.
APRIL 05, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #5
LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PIEDMONT, FOOD PLOT PARTNER: HAROLD FOWLER CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE AND DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, AND DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, GOBBLER KILL
On the previous day my dad and I heard several gobblers but were unable to call any in. On this day we arrived in the area at least 1 and 1/2 hour before daylight and only minutes later another hunter arrived. We had the choice - should we go to the food plots or where we thought the birds were roosting? On our way down the road we flushed a bird from the roost. We waited as the other hunter followed. When he caught up with us we talked and finally decided that we would go into the woods where we expected the birds to feed. After setting up and waiting on daylight, I heard 2 distant gobblers. We began calling and called up a single hen. When she left, we thought we could find a better area further down the hill. After expending 30-45 minutes we finally set up not over 100 yards from where we were. We called about an hour when we finally heard a gobble. I couldn't determine exactly the direction, so after a few minutes I yelped again and he responded eagerly and was farther to my right that I had thought. As I moved the camera around I finally located him. He was strutting and had came to within 40 yards when he hung up. He strutted back and forth just beyond a shallow ditch. Although I wasn't sure he was within range, dad said he was allowing me to get footage and could have shot the gobbler before he did. The bird weighed in at 20 1/2 lbs., had a 10 1/2 inch beard and 3/4 inch spurs. See this footage on my Collectors Series 2 Video.
APRIL 10, 1996 VIDEO #6
LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND - PASTURE PARTNER: TOM UMLAND CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE AND DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM TUBE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING FIGHTING PURRING AND GOBBLING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: CALLED IN TWO JAKES
Tom and I went to his hunting club on this afternoon. Tom had previously killed a bird and seen several more here. We set up on the fenceline on a hillside overlooking a pasture. I called sparingly at first and more aggressively as the evening went by. After it began to look dismal I did some fighting purring and gobbling. Not long tom spotted a turkey heading our way. It was a few minutes before I could see the turkey from my viewpoint. When I finally saw the turkey I could tell it was a gobbler but could not tell if it was a jake or a mature bird, since he was coming straight at us. I had brought my bow along and had planned to harvest a jake if the chance was presented, otherwise tom would do the shooting. The bird came closer and then we saw the second jake coming around the hillside behind the first. I'm not sure if the jake spotted some of our movement or not, but he came right past the decoys to observe where we were sitting or "calling" from. Needless to say, I did not get a bowshot. The birds joined one another and I could not call them back.
APRIL 12, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #7
LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, BHC CLUB - FOOD PLOT PARTNER: ALONE CALLS USED: ROHM DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM, LARGE SLATE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, AND PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MID-MORNING HUNT, 3-4 JAKES
I had hunted Cedar Creek WMA a couple of hours with no luck, so I decided to swing by the hunting club before going to work. As I turned into the driveway in front of the camp house, I turned to look across the road into the upper end of our food plot. When I did I saw at least 4 gobblers between the road and our food plot.
I pulled into the drive and behind the camp house. Although I wanted to take the bow, I knew the chance of getting set up and calling those birds back would be slim. I took the shotgun and I hoped I could at lease get some footage. When I gathered my gear I walked across the road to the food plot. I saw a hen feed across the food plot but I didn't see the gobblers. My only hope of setting up was at the edge of an old barn. I did and could see a gobbler strutting through the woods on the lower end of the food plot. Although they all were jakes and I didn't get them on video, I did call them up through the woods and behind me. The hen fed around the edge of the food plot to within 10 yards. I eased away hoping chase could kill one the next morning.
APRIL 13, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #8
LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, BHC CLUB - FOOD PLOT PARTNER: CHASE CALLS USED: ROHM DOUBLE TROUBLE DIAPHRAGM, LARGE SLATE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, AND PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, CALLED UP SINGLE HEN
We arrived a little late at the hunting club and spooked one of the gobblers off the roost while setting out the decoys in our food plot. I knew the birds were near but had hoped we could get set up without spooking them. Although disappointed we sat and called anyway, hoping all the gobblers were not spooked. Not long we heard a hen yelping behind us. The hen came out and fed through the food plot. Afterwards we left and tried it at another area with no luck.
APRIL 19, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #9
LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND PASTURE PARTNER: ALONE CALLS USED: ROHM DT DIAPHRAGM, LARGE SLATE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNT, CALLED IN GOBBLER AND 3 HENS (SPOOKED)
I decided to try Nelson Coulomb's property at Hillsboro on this day since he had seen a good bird the previous 3 evenings in the same location. I set up at the usual spot and had completed setting out decoys when a bird gobbled beyond the right end of the pasture. "perfect" I thought. He gobbled several more times before I felt it light enough to call back. When I did he gobbled immediately, but a hen also answered from the same location. The first birds to appear were hens and there were three of them. They fed in my general direction and he soon followed. It was a nice bird and in full strut. This appeared to be the making of a good video. He was gobbling frequently and continued in my direction. As the hens began to stray away, I knew he would surely follow, so I purred and clucked to bring them closer. At first they passed it off but after the second time they starred at the decoys and then turned to walk away more briskly. He followed the hens as I called to try and bring them back. He gobbled continuously as he walked away. I had thought the cows coming down from the upper field behind me had spooked them, but after they walked past a cow going out the pasture, I had second thoughts. They may have caught a glare from the camera lens or just didn't want to associate with more hens (decoys).... Who knows?
APRIL 20, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #10
LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND PASTURE PARTNER: ALONE CALLS USED: ROHM DT DIAPHRAGM, LARGE SLATE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, GOBBLER KILL (NO KILL ON VIDEO)
I returned the next morning to the Cullum property in hopes the gobbler would be roosted again near the lower pasture. As light approached and the first gobble rang out, it was to my left across the creek instead of to my right as the morning before. This morning it was foggy and for whatever reason he only gobbled a couple of times. As I stayed focused on the left end of the pasture I saw a silhouette of what appeared to be 3 turkeys. After looking at the video it is obvious that at least 2 of these birds were gobblers and one was strutting. The birds were not interested in my calling or the hen that came my way. Instead, they crossed back over the creek and headed toward the other pastures. The hen fed my way and then turned to follow suit. Another hen soon came out and went in the same direction. I called for an hour and decided to go to the other side where the birds had all went. I detoured around the property boundary and came to the upper side of the pasture I thought the birds were in. I walked to within 25 yards of a feeding hen and managed to slip away without being seen. I set up within 100 yards of the cows, which were beginning to bed down. I called for an hour with no success. The birds had to be in the lower side of the pasture and with the wind fairly brisk, I figured they probably couldn't hear me. I decided to move around the edge to see if I could spot them. As I approached the uppermost end, I spotted a strutting bird not more than 75 yards. I backed up, set up a decoy, backed across the fence into cover and began calling with a cluck. The gobbler responded and I prepared by shouldering my gun in the direction of the decoy that I was sure he would come to. Not long I heard a hen yelp and called to her to try and bring her in. As I anxiously awaited, I could tell the hen was circling behind me. I could hear the gobbler drumming, and he was following the hen. I managed to get the camera on but could not get it turned as the hen approached quickly. I could see the gobbler at 30 yards and the hen had came to within about 3 yards. I had hoped the hen would bring the gobbler back out into the pasture, but when she turned to go back toward him, I knew my only chance would be to take him when he too turned around. When he did I turned and shot. No video, but that's the way it sometimes goes when you try to video and shoot by yourself. The gobbler weighed 18 lbs., had a 10 inch beard and 1.0 inch spurs. A good bird, but not the bird from the previous day.
APRIL 23, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #11
LOCATION: LAURENS COUNTY, BEAVERDAM WMA, FOOD PLOT PARTNER: ALONE CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE, DT DIAPHRAGM, AND TUBE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELP, CUTT, CLUCK, GOBBLING/FIGHTING PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: PM, CALLED IN 6 JAKES, 1 TOM (BOWKILL & VIDEO)
As I left work I contemplated going home and giving it a break this evening. It was stormy and began raining on my way. I decided to go to Beaverdam WMA since it had probably had a rest from the previous weekend hunters. I planned to carry the bow and arrow regardless of the weather. I arrived, gathered all my gear and took off down the closed road on foot. I completed my setup in a food plot including an umbrella as the sky got darker and it began to rain. The wind blew and it thundered several times behind me. I began to wonder if I should pack it up and leave. I thought that if the rain quit and the wind settled, it would be a good evening. The storm passed for the most part and from 6:00 to 7:00 I had only "hen" called. At 7:00 I gobbled and went through a couple of series of fighting purrs. At 7:15 a gobbler appeared from the end of plot which I had expected birds to come from. He came in to the decoys in a fighting position. I saw that it was a mature gobbler and as I reached for my bow I noticed another jake gobbler coming. As they neared the decoys, 5 or 6 more gobblers (mostly jakes) appeared from where the first two had come. Seven or eight turkeys was going to make it a very difficult task in getting the bow drawn. I was content on being patient, getting footage, and waiting for a shot to present itself. Then, as if I had asked for a distraction, it happened! The last 5 or 6 jakes to arrive started fighting. (which can only be heard on the video) this lured the two birds near my decoys to the fighting jakes. I drew my bow as the birds began walking away, but they were out of range. I held the bow and gave a few yelps which magically attracted only the good gobbler back to within shooting range. I released a perfect shot quartering from wing to leg. The bird went only about 15 yards before expiring. As I left the blind to go to the bird, the other gobblers flushed and birds went everywhere. When I approached my downed gobbler, he was all but dead, the cleanest kill you will ever see. I had no harvested my 3rd gobbler with the bow and had done it on a WMA! The bird weighed 18 lbs., had a 9 3/4 inch beard and 7/8 inch spurs. See this footage on my Collectors Series 2 Video.
APRIL 25, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #12
LOCATION: BALDWIN COUNTY, BHC CLUB PARTNER: HAROLD FOWLER CALLS USED: ROHM SLATE, DT DIAPHRAGM DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CLUCKING, AND PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: AM HUNT, GOBBLER KILL
Dad and I decided to try the hunting club in Baldwin County since we had hunted there very little. We set up on the front side near the beaverpond. We heard 3 or 4 different gobblers but they were all on the other property or too far to call. We called for an hour or so and decided to go to the closest bird that was behind the camp house, probably 3/4 to 1 mile from where we were. I approached the area I expected the bird to be, I crow called and he gobbled a little over a hundred yards from us and where we wanted to set up. We slipped to where I had planned to set up and began calling. As I yelped I got no response on the first 2 series. On the third set of yelps I was a little raspier and he answered. Shortly after I could hear him drumming and didn't know if I would get any video or not, since the bird sounded like he was going to come in behind my dad. I glimpsed the bird one time as he passed right in front of my dad. He had slipped up on my dad and he had to wait for him to pass behind a tree before he could shoulder his gun. He shot as the bird had turned and began walking away. The bird weighed 19.5 lbs., Had a 11.0 inch beard and 7/8 inch spurs. This was the shortest hunt I had ever made. Only 5 minutes had elapsed between the time I first called and the time of the shot!
APRIL 27, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #13
LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND PASTURE PARTNER: CHASE CALLS USED: ROHM DT DIAPHRAGM, LARGE SLATE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELP'G, CUT'G, CLUCK'G, FIGHT'G PURRING, GOBBLING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, CALLED IN 2 JAKES AND 3 HENS (MISS)
Chase and I had high hopes of getting his first gobbler since there had been only one bird taken off of nelson's farm (that we knew of anyway). We set up and began calling in the same spot as we usually do. Soon we had hens responding and thought we heard a gobble far on the other side. The hen fed in and when she left chase and I started to nap. I was alerted with a gobble and immediately woke chase. He appeared to be coming from across the creek from which they usually come. At this point, I saw a coyote come out into the pasture and start across directly toward where we thought the gobbler would come. Our chances now seemed slim. We waited, and after about 30 minutes two birds appeared across the creek heading in our direction. I called a little to keep them interested and they flew across the creek and kept coming.
I instructed chase to remain ready to shoot between the hen and jake decoys. When the jakes arrived they had circled around on my side to the jake decoy which chase could no see. As chase eased around three trees to shoot, one of the birds became nervous and began walking away. The other bird remained distraught with the decoy and allowed chase to get a shot. When chase shot, he inadvertently shot through the camouflage limbs, which I had put up to camouflage our position. The birds left a little smarter than they had come. Chase had gotten his first miss behind him. See this footage on my Collectors Series 2 Video.
MAY 11, 1996 VIDEO HUNT #14
LOCATION: JASPER COUNTY, PRIVATE LAND PASTURE PARTNER: CHASE CALLS USED: ROHM DT DIAPHRAGM, LARGE SLATE DESCRIPTION OF CALLS: YELPING, CUTTING, CLUCKING, PURRING DESCRIPTION OF HUNT: MORNING HUNT, CALLED IN 6 JAKES AND 4 HENS (MISS)
As the season end drew near, I decided to make one more attempt on the Cullum property in hopes of getting chase his first gobbler. I had made a blind a couple of days earlier farther to the right of our usual set up. Chase and I set up and began calling. No gobbler had been heard and none responded to my calling. After a few series of calls however, a hen answered in front of us and then another to our left. The hen to our left was the first to appear. She came in and by us within 10 yards. As we were watching her, we heard some clucking and purring to our left behind where she had come. As I turned I saw 6 jakes in single file coming in the same way as she had come. I whispered to chase to pick out the largest and shoot whenever ready. Again when he shot, no birds fell, another miss! Again I was disappointed but we sat there hoping to call the jakes back or another gobbler in. We called the hen back and then another one across the creek. After an hour I turned to see a strutting bird about a hundred yards to my left. I was hoping it was the good bird I had seen with the three hens previously. The bird was behind a little structure, so I couldn't see very well. The bird was displaying for the hen that had came across the creek. I eased my binoculars up but couldn't find a beard. It was a full fan and a couple times I thought I did see a beard. The bird would not respond to any calling and I had heard no previous gobbles. "was this a hen" I thought? After about 15 minutes, the bird came out of strut and fed with the other hen across in front of us. Sure enough, it was a hen. I've seen hens strut before but none display like this one for another hen. The hens met with a third hen and then left the pasture. Chase and I left with hopes of getting his first bird next year. See this footage on my Collectors Series 2 Video.