My county has 2 weeks of winter turkey season starting tomorrow. I'm heading out in the morning. Got my truck loaded. I have two of my bestest kee kee'ing friction calls. My Primos Waterboard box and my Hanks Zebrawood glass over aluminum with my dymondwood and poplar striker and a pure dymondwood striker. Got a few mouth calls, too. The Primos kee kees reasonably well and belts out some really good chatter. The Hanks kee kees like a champ if I condition it with 220 grit sandpaper as well as the strikers. I've been annoying my pets all day with some last minute practicing. Will be taking my Winchester SX4 20 gauge and some Federal TSS #7s. Now I just need a bird to committ suicide and get in front of my gun.
Should be back tomorrow evening to tell you no turkeys committed suicide
Thanks, man! Looking forward to it. Early in the week they called for some rain. Now its supposed to be mostly sunny with a high of 42. 1% chance of rain.
Got here before light and set on a rise overlooking the bottom area where the flock has been coming down the last few times I've been here. Didn't hear any birds at all. Gave few soft calls to see if anything would happen. Nothing. The lighter it's gotten, the windier it's gotten. All I'm hearing is the wind, trees creaking, and branches cracking. No birds, squirrels, nothing. So I started to still hunt the pine thicket and check out the several tight ravines that would make good wind breaks. Nothing. I've cicled back around and am about where I set up this morning, eating a protein bar. I'm gonna give it a little while and see if the wind dies a bit. This bottom area is all torn up from birds looking for beech nuts. But nothings moving in this wind. And I don't know where they've holed up. I'm thinking they may be in some of the ravines in the clear cut area but getting in there is tougher than getting thru WW1 barb wire.
Still had a good time. Any day outside is better than working.
I took some pics of places I stopped to rest and call and wait. It was so damned windy I figured I'd still hunt the pine thicket. Took a seat for awhile.
Lots of small ravines that provide soem wind breaks.
Just down this hill is the bottomland where the flock had been flying down in the morning and rooting around for beech nuts. This is where I set up first thing this morning before it started getting windy. Once it was clear the wind wasn't going to let up, I worked my way across here and into the pine thicket on the far side and still-hunted that.
I had a chance to visit my deer stand and blind from the fall.
On the way out, I came across what I think are coyote tracks.
And a fresh poop full of hair among the fresh tracks.
And a fresh turkey turd on my way out. They're here. But this one tract is 780 acres and it was impossible to search out every nook and cranny. I stuck to the areas that I've seen birds recently.
This morning is already looking better. A bit warmer than yesterday. And the clouds are broken up and much thinner. The moon is out, and so far, no wind. Should be a much more pleasant day.
The sky is clear, but the wind picked back up. And it feels like it's in the 20s. Colder today than yesterday. I'm still hunting the pine thicket again. I know they're here. Saw more poop on the trail. But it's a big ass area. This thicket is a pretty good wind break.