Kansas Turkey Adventures

[kansasdad]

First things first......tomorrow is the last day to save some money buying the combo license. As a reminder, only zones that allow a second or two turkeys is NW and NCentral Kansas. SW is draw only (resident only??) although youth tags are OTC here, and SCentral, SE and NE zones are one bearded bird only (bearded hens are legal).

Youth hunters and disabled hunters get first crack starting 4/1, then archers get rolling 4/6 and finally any weapon season opens on 4/15 running through the end of May.

Please be sure of your target and beyond your target. The life you spare might be your buddy. Keep safety in mind.....none of this reaping business on public land please!!!!

May the gobbling be strong, the wind not violent, the permethrin do its job, and your aim be true.

 

[kansasdad]

Permethrin treatment of clothes has been a game changer for me. Ticks, skeeters and other crawly things just stay away. Just the way I like it.




I went for a little scouting excursion to "My" public wildlife area, and today it was all mine. I wanted to get to the top of the hill and with the wind direction, I thought I might be able to hear which one of three or four main roost areas were holding turkeys. Nothing heard as the sun was lightening the sky, and nothing seen around flydown time.

Scanning the well used deer trails, I was sad to see no turkey tracks showing up where I was walking. Leaving one field that normally holds early spring birds I contemplated what the late May floods and high waters of June and July meant for my turkeys. Displaced from regular nesting sites and Noah like rain totals might portend disastrous nesting success rates. The croplands were generally void of left over grain all fall, so perhaps the birds will be slow to come back down river from their wintering roosts at breakup time.

My spirits were sinking as the second and third fields were void of turkeys, but I had heard one weak-sauce gobble back towards the parking area. Walking in that direction, I smiled as I finally saw a little sign of turkey life when I saw a dusting spot at the edge of a field.





Moving just 20 yards along the edge, I spotted a dark moving shape in the cut milo and verified that I had seen my first hen on the wildlife area. Eventually two toms and 5 hens came out to feed. One tom did all the strutting.




Needing to get into the office, I backtracked to leave the little flock alone, and found other signs of turkey life.





And I found other birds using the adjacent pond as well. I hope these teal have good nesting success.




Someone has been watching Big Fin and offered this little deadhead up to the universe. Kansas law requires a salvage tag to walk out with one, so it sits there untouched.




Since everyday is a Saturday for me, (THANKS TONS COVID_19!!) it is only six more Saturdays before I get to take my crossbow for a meaningful walk.

 

[Deleted member 38069]

Permethrin treatment of clothes has been a game changer for me. Ticks, skeeters and other crawly things just stay away. Just the way I like it.

View attachment 133817


I went for a little scouting excursion to "My" public wildlife area, and today it was all mine. I wanted to get to the top of the hill and with the wind direction, I thought I might be able to hear which one of three or four main roost areas were holding turkeys. Nothing heard as the sun was lightening the sky, and nothing seen around flydown time.

Scanning the well used deer trails, I was sad to see no turkey tracks showing up where I was walking. Leaving one field that normally holds early spring birds I contemplated what the late May floods and high waters of June and July meant for my turkeys. Displaced from regular nesting sites and Noah like rain totals might portend disastrous nesting success rates. The croplands were generally void of left over grain all fall, so perhaps the birds will be slow to come back down river from their wintering roosts at breakup time.

My spirits were sinking as the second and third fields were void of turkeys, but I had heard one weak-sauce gobble back towards the parking area. Walking in that direction, I smiled as I finally saw a little sign of turkey life when I saw a dusting spot at the edge of a field.


View attachment 133820


Moving just 20 yards along the edge, I spotted a dark moving shape in the cut milo and verified that I had seen my first hen on the wildlife area. Eventually two toms and 5 hens came out to feed. One tom did all the strutting.


View attachment 133821

Needing to get into the office, I backtracked to leave the little flock alone, and found other signs of turkey life.


View attachment 133822


And I found other birds using the adjacent pond as well. I hope these teal have good nesting success.


View attachment 133825

Someone has been watching Big Fin and offered this little deadhead up to the universe. Kansas law requires a salvage tag to walk out with one, so it sits there untouched.

View attachment 133826


Since everyday is a Saturday for me, (THANKS TONS COVID_19!!) it is only six more Saturdays before I get to take my crossbow for a meaningful walk.

Those blue-winged teal look full of color. Looks like a great day in the woods!

 

[AggieHunter]

I live in Colorado but still plan to sneak over to Kansas and get a break from chasing the mountain merriams to go after some rios!

 

[1_pointer]

Thanks for sharing. Good luck on the turkeys! Our season doesn't open for 3 weeks, which IMO is nearly a month too late.

 

[kansasdad]

Driving home from my shuttered office, I drove through the neighborhood that holds less turkey habitat every month. Houses and apartment complex building have cut their roaming spots down quite a bit.

I have noticed a troubling trend in my part of Kansas. Hardly any jakes have been seen, both in town and out and about while scouting and adventuring. The spring flooding and wetness must have had a big effect on nesting success. (Patting KDWPT on the back for realizing this and reducing bag limit to one bird in 4/5 of the state.

There were over 20 birds in the pecan groove last night. Iridescence in not fully captured by the camera.

 

[kansasdad]

From the KDWPT website:


Turkey Season: All 2020 spring seasons will continue as planned, including the spring turkey season. Hunters traveling from states listed on the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s “Travel Quarantine List,” referenced here http://www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus, must self-quarantine upon arrival for 14 days prior to hunting and/or checking into a state park cabin. Refunds will be available for those no longer able to travel.

Kansas state parks, fishing lakes and wildlife areas are currently open to the public. See FAQ here.

KDWPT offices will resume essential business activities beginning April 6.

For the latest information on the COVID-19 virus, visit http://www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus/index.htm.

For the latest information on KDWPT facility closures, visit https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/KDWPT-Closures.

 

[1_pointer]

From the KDWPT website:


Turkey Season: All 2020 spring seasons will continue as planned, including the spring turkey season. Hunters traveling from states listed on the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s “Travel Quarantine List,” referenced here http://www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus, must self-quarantine upon arrival for 14 days prior to hunting and/or checking into a state park cabin. Refunds will be available for those no longer able to travel.

Kansas state parks, fishing lakes and wildlife areas are currently open to the public. See FAQ here.

KDWPT offices will resume essential business activities beginning April 6.

For the latest information on the COVID-19 virus, visit http://www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus/index.htm.

For the latest information on KDWPT facility closures, visit https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/KDWPT-Closures.

A 6 day hunt could take 20 days for some folks.

 

[AggieHunter]

From the KDWPT website:


Turkey Season: All 2020 spring seasons will continue as planned, including the spring turkey season. Hunters traveling from states listed on the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s “Travel Quarantine List,” referenced here http://www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus, must self-quarantine upon arrival for 14 days prior to hunting and/or checking into a state park cabin. Refunds will be available for those no longer able to travel.

Kansas state parks, fishing lakes and wildlife areas are currently open to the public. See FAQ here.

KDWPT offices will resume essential business activities beginning April 6.

For the latest information on the COVID-19 virus, visit http://www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus/index.htm.

For the latest information on KDWPT facility closures, visit https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/KDWPT-Closures.

Is the quarantine only for hunting public land? I had thought about just driving to Kansas and camping at the land I had access to possibly.

 

[kansasdad]

Is the quarantine only for hunting public land? I had thought about just driving to Kansas and camping at the land I had access to possibly.

All lands seemed to be included. This is not just for hunting.

From the link above (plus an addendum) States lived in or traveled through that trigger the 14 days mandatory quarantine: California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Washington. Some states have dates further back than others. (See link above). This also applies to the standard travel restrictions of China, Iran, Spain, etc, etc.

 

[AggieHunter]

All lands seemed to be included. This is not just for hunting.

From the link above (plus an addendum) States lived in or traveled through that trigger the 14 days mandatory quarantine: California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Washington. Some states have dates further back than others. (See link above). This also applies to the standard travel restrictions of China, Iran, Spain, etc, etc.

I thought I asked this question on a thread, but can't find it. I am not saying one should break these guidelines but how will they really enforce it?

 

[kansasdad]

I thought I asked this question on a thread, but can't find it. I am not saying one should break these guidelines but how will they really enforce it?

Great question. Did you see the traffic jam at the northern Florida border on the Interstate where they were making drivers fill out a form regarding recent travel/living situations? The arial video showed a multi lane backup for miles and miles.

A friend reports that landing in Miami from US Vigin islands this week they were met by a US Public Health physician backed up by armed TSA agents for exam and screening questionnaire before being allowed to pick up luggage and head for the exit.

I suppose we are at the mercy of capricious Governors delivering varying edicts, and depend on the willingness of a certain percentage of people following those guidelines.

 

[kansasdad]

Monday April 6 at thirty minutes before sunrise the archery portion of spring turkey season started. Youth and disabled (shotgun and archery options) started on the first. My alarm went off three hours before legal to get up and get out to the public wildlife area before anyone else, and to be able to walk across the last 380 yard wide ag field and not tip off the roosted birds that there were predators about.

Before the season opened I had gone out to look for sign, and get a feel for the ways birds were using the property. I did find a few birds, and marking that spot mentally, this is where I headed at o'dark thirty with crossbow in hand.

I set out three decoys, tucked myself into the edge of a cedar tree, and began the wait for lightning in the sky. As the full moon set behind my back, I heard what I took to be a hunter closer down to the river. That must mean that he got there by boat, or he walked in using the backdoor option which is a lot rougher walk through several crop fields, and then CRP and a creek crossing. I have never heard a live turkey sound like some of the sounds this hunter was making.

There were a few half hearted gobbles as the sky lightened, and then a couple of crows calling got them rolling. Sadly for me, I had picked the wrong side of the ag field to set up on, as all gobbles were coming from across the field. A couple minutes after sunrise, two toms squirted out of the tree line, and made for a favorite strutting spot in the field. A third tom and a couple of hens joined a few minutes later. After showing off for 30 minutes, they looked like they were ready to move.




I called gently, and they all responded to my calls with gobbles, not so much for the other guy. These birds were already acting wise, and headed further away and then up the opposite field edge. Traversing the full length of the field, and coming right along the field edge, I kicked myself for not setting up there. Turkeys zig when you zag, and zag if you zig it seems.

This little flock of turkeys settled in at the top of the field, picking at this and that, and generally enjoying the sunshine. I had decided that I was going to play this as if it was the middle of May instead of opening day. This meant no calling and just allow their habits to put them in front of me and my decoys when they were good and ready. Mr TwoBricks (my knickname for his calling sounds.....like two bricks rubbed together) below me didn't get the memo about being quiet and quite often would make another of the lowest toned tom-like attempted yelps ever.

As it got to be two hours after sunrise, I noticed that TwoBricks had stopped calling. I thought this might mean one of two things: he was sneaking my way to get to the loafing turkeys up the hill, or he had gone home. I kept an eye on the birds, but my ears to the woods below me, and sure enough, here came TwoBricks with arrow on bow crawling over a long abandoned fence, sneaking towards my jake decoy. I let him get closer than normal before moving so that he could find ol ninja kansasdad hiding in the cedar limbs, as the arrow knocked seemed to ready to fly towards a decoy, and I didn't want him to shoot at movement either. Seeing me, he immediately whispered his apologies, stating that he didn't know that I was there and turned around from whence he came.

I continued to sit in my little hidey hole and waited for action. Eventually the flock melted away off of the wildlife area, and occasionally I would hear a faint gobble or hen yelp. The same number of birds came back onto the public land 90 minutes later. My hopes for success were dashed as they decided to retrace their steps from the morning. Once they entered the woods, I collected my decoys and hotfooted it across the wide expanse. As I arrived at the treeline, I could hear the tom gobbling and I thought I knew the clearing in the woods that would be his strut zone.

I set up adjacent to the woodlot and tried to entice his majesty to come over to see such a foxy hen as I was trying to sound like. He did respond to my calls, but there was no budging him. I thought about it, but there was no way to attempt a sneak as the forest is covered in dry crunchy leaves, and strangely for Kansas, we had a nearly calm windless and quiet day.

All in all, it was a fabulous day in the turkey woods! Thanks Kansas, and obtusely Covid-19

 

[1_pointer]

Better than my day!!

 

[kansasdad]

Wednesday I went out hoping for a flydown success story in the turkey woods. My mantra as I drive the one mile from the corner to the parking space is "nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody was not met with success. Second to get to the lot, I decided that I was going to follow my plan to set up on the east side, hoping for a tom to come onto the field and rush the decoy. As I walked in the light of the full moon, I didn't need a headlamp, but used my red light so if I was encroaching on the early arriver's stakeout they could see me and let me know where they were so that I could move on somewhere else.

I made sure to slow down once I made it to the field I was going to hunt. I used the noise of the nearby highway and train traffic to muffle noise of me topping the underbrush to crossbow shooting height as I doctored up my hide. I tried to split the yardage from two main field entrances from the woods nearby.

As I was arranging my final backdrop I looked up to see a hunter walking down the field edge, just in front of me. Internally I was a little peeved when the dude (it turns out it was TwoBricks!) kept walking past me, but he was just walking a bit further left and then turned to cross the field to the same side we had both hunted Monday.



The first jake gobble rang out about where I had set up Monday. Then immediately responding were four or five more gobbles on that side of the field. And then the east side answered. Further away upriver four or seven or eleven more birds answered. There were gobbles coming from adjacent private land as well. After about thirty gobbles, I decided that it might be interesting to keep count of the crazy wonderful concert of gobbles going on. Before it finally tapered off just after sunrise, I counted over 140 gobbles from all points of the compass around me.

Looking across the way, I thought I saw a fan waving in the gentle breeze so I pulled out the binoculars to verify if it was a live bird, and not a decoy. But it was odd, because in the dark shadows of the pre-sunrise morning a couple of other "birds" weren't moving. The tom was for sure raising and lowering his fan, and not just spinning like some advanced decoys are designed to do but really moving. But two "birds" were stock still. And maybe I could see other birds (hens??) moving in the gap in the woods too.

Sorta confusing at the time, but when I met TwoBricks later in the parking lot, he told me what happened. Four hens and a tom had come in to his two decoys, and put on a huge show. Because of the hens presence (some of them so close he might have reached around the tree and touched them) and the spot that the tom had picked out to strut, the young man couldn't draw his bow without spooking the hens, or having to step way around the tree to bring his bow to draw and then release. Eventually the live birds moved on and left him alone.

Around 8 o'clock I heard a tom sound off behind me in the woods. I called and he replied. The dance had begun.

He kept coming, and I double checked my shooting lanes, and readied my shooting sticks. I quit calling and he kept coming. Looking through the woods trying to see motion, I finally I saw his fiery white and red head. He was in the mood for company, and it turns out, in the mood for love. Instead of moving towards me he retreated to the sunshine where he strutted like no turkey has ever strutted, and gobbled, double gobbled and even triple gobbled right after he humped over as if he was mating a hen. At this moment he was about 100 yards away, so I felt like I had enough time and cover to pull out my phone and make a query that I hoped would not influence ads showing up on Facebook........."do turkeys masturbate?"

It turns out, they do! And not only did he hump once, he did it again, and then again. Over the next ten minutes he put on a show. Strut, spit and drag those wingtips, gobble, (hump) gobble, and occasionally stare down the decoy, incredulous that she was not moving towards his awesome display of turkey testosterone. As the sun/shade line slowly moved, he moved so that he was within a few yards of the junction.



Every time I breathed on the reeds, he gobbled. I wondered how long he would be willing to wait for the icy hen 80 yards away. It looked like he was ready to give up and leave, and then a live hen showed up. She pretty much ignored the bragger and was headed my way.



As she was walking away from him, he dropped strut and then started to come my way for real this time. Safety off, on the sticks with the crossbow, I reminded myself to see a specific feather and hit it. She made it to ten yards with him trailing about 35 yards behind her. She stopped walking and did the dreaded neck elevation, head on a swivel. Looking at me, past me, and then back to where she had come, she was getting antsy, and this was going to blow this whole deal sky high. He hadn't stopped yet and was now only 20 yards behind her, but totally screened by underbrush. Putt, PUtt, PUTt PUTTTTT!! Into the woods she went speedy fast, and he stood there for a moment wondering what to do, and then he too was gone.

All I could do was smile, and I might have laughed out loud. #Watchagonnado with silly turkeys

 

[kansasdad]

With no work to be done at the office the third day of archery season, I was going to go enjoy a nice start to the day with a foray into the turkey environs of a nearby public wildlife area. The cold front had rolled through over night, and it was chilly. The birds took the hint from Ma Nature and were nearly silent. Sitting there, I got a text from the office and knew that there was an emergency that needed my attention shortly. When it was apparent that the birds weren't coming out to play, I headed home.

Skipping a day, I decided to change it up and hunt in the afternoon. I picked the eastside treeline to set up an ambush. I zig, so the birds zag and end up on the westside treeline, hanging out within easy archery range of where I set up the first day of archery. OY!!!

Easter Sunday I arrived in the parking lot extra early as I planned on walking the entire length of the ag field and snuggle in close to the roost trees along the river that feeds the reservoir. With the full moon, I knew I wouldn't need a headlamp to walk safely, and was sure that an early rising turkey might see me ghosting along if any of the first hints of dawn would brighten the ag field.

Every time I go afield, I find some kind of spiritual moment, and this Easter morning was no different. I imagine it was a chilly morning in Jerusalem 1,992 ish years ago when early rising women headed down to the tomb to discover the stone rolled away, and an angel waiting to tell them about a risen Jesus. Normally I wouldn't go hunting on a Sunday, but with a online church only situation (Thanks Covid) I was looking forward to a virtual service online after I had my personal service along the river in the dawn.

Gobbles rang out behind me, and then other turkeys joined in on the morning chorus. I counted three for sure, and knew I was probably hearing the "2 brothers" and the "lone humper" call to each other, and respond to the hen's yelping and occasionally the semi trucks roaring on the nearby highway. I had found a spot about twenty feet from the forest edge, with several shooting lanes out into the field, right where if have seen birds fly down, gather and strut year after year. (@RUT JUNKEY right where you had your full mount decoy last year)

Hens started to ramp up the volume, and I was certain that flydown was eminent. The "limper" hen came down first, to my right, and landed only 25 yards away. The two other hens came swooping past and to my left, out of sight. The limper seemed slightly aware that there was an extra blob back in the trees. This hen has been the most aware of any spooky turkey I have ever dealt with the past several years on the wildlife area. She has an uncanny knack for sniffing out trouble. The other birds had already started breakfast, she wasn't yet satisfied it was safe to do so for at least 5 minutes. She even tried to fake out the blob.....making like she was going to start eating, only to snap her head around and stare at the unmoving blob one more time.

I heard a coarse shriek behind me along the river and slowly moved my head to see what was going on. I saw a very large raptor flying along the river and suddenly change course and to my surprise it looked like the bird (eagle??) make a move towards a roosted tom. This bird and the two others came off the limb, almost straight down, and then took off on a dead run into the trees......on the other side of the river. The hens finally drifted into the shrubs on the east, and never made another peep all morning.

Monday I set up on the east side of the ag field, trying to position myself for my last attempt to get an archery turkey before the shotgun season was starting. I had seen all three toms that were frequenting this field strut in one of four locations on the field, and in the evening leave the field by three different trails into the woods.




I put myself back off the edge, close to two of the trails, and in front of the main strutting location. The loner humper tom sounded off behind me and came into the field with a couple of hens. Strutting his stuff below the pond, they finally drifted further away. The two brothers came off of private and joined them for an evening meal.

An hour later the wind died down and the shadows lengthened. It was looking good as the flock was heading my way. The hens and the humper stayed more in the center of the field, and the lagging brothers decided to swerve towards the trees. No decoy and no calling, I was simply relying on scouting and knowledge of these birds movements to be able to be in archery range.

The first of the brothers headed for the south trail, and I had my crossbow on the shooting sticks ready to go. Safety off, I tracked him across the field and enter right where I thought he might. He squirted through, totally screened by small twigs or skinny trees. Rats! The second brother was lagging behind, and saw his twin disappear. He went from a steady walk to a speedy walk, to a quick trot in an attempt to catch up. The shooting lane that I had made was so narrow and he was moving so quickly that I decided to not chance a poor outcome.

Heart rate was at max for sure!!

(Traditional) Tax day is shotgun opener. More zigging when they zag, but amazing adventures.

 

[kansasdad]

4/15 was the shotgun opener, and I was sad to see that three other cars already in the parking lot as I arrived two hours before legal shooting time. I headed for the same ag field, but knew I might have to alter my desired location to set up if the others were there before me. Hustling along with red headlight I made it right where I wanted without seeing anyone else. Mission accomplished as I never saw another hunter that entire morning.

Trying to get close to the roost area, I settled back into the trees further than I had ever attempted. By doing so I hoped to not tip my hand to the birds, and possibly ambush any birds coming on to the field from the woods behind me. Last year on shotgun opener there were still gobbles up and down the watercourse that feeds the lake. This morning there was a lot fewer birds gobbling, and I didn't hear gobbles from up or downstream from the field I was hunting. That said, I counted more than 75 gobbles from the roosted birds.

I zigged, they zagged once again and I had a great show of turkey behavior as the three toms and four hens entered the field and strutted in the early sunshine but on the other corner opposite to where I had set up.

The humper is quite proud of his appearance



The two brothers on display. Note that one has a full fan, the other one is missing a central feather.



The next day I decided to do an afternoon hunt, and a pattern began to emerge. The "humper" tom came onto the field first, and within half an hour the "brothers" joined him. Every afternoon they worked the same areas to feed and strut. And then half the time they would do a grand counterclockwise tour of the field, and the other half stay on the eastside and go into the woods on their way to roost. I first noticed this as I was sitting on the west side and they were on the east side!

Mrs kansasdad and I were talking about the emerging pattern, and I shared with her how I was feeling snake bit.......me picking the wrong side every dang time. I asked for a direction to go and she said "southwest". As I was going for an afternoon hunt, I walked in the backdoor way and headed for the southwest side of the field. Right on cue, the humper arrived at 4:50 and the brothers about twenty minutes later......on the eastside. They fed and strutted and the boys battled a bit with the two picking on the single tom. Down in the southeast corner there were two decoys and two hunters who haven't yet figured out how important facemasks are when you are trying to hide from turkeys. The birds started their counterclockwise tour which would put them in front of me and I was ready.

The boys down in the SE corner started to lean on the slate call and all three toms responded with gobbles, and the humper did what he liked to do. The hens wanted to keep going with their routine, the toms thought otherwise. With no decoys out, I hoped they might think that the seductive gentle calling produced by me would be a lead to a direction change by the toms, or at least have the hens continue my way.

The hens did indeed come closer, but they were pulled more to the center of the field as the toms were more enthralled with the SE hunters than ol' kansasdad. As the flock of birds continued down this very large field, they seemed to become leery of the Avery brand jake/hen decoys (I have the same set!) and started to lose momentum as the shadows lengthened. The hunters in the corner weren't very good at holding still, and one of the hunter's face was a shiny as a disco ball. Veering directly east, the flock headed into the woods and closer to their roosting trees.

Friday night I headed out and settled in for an eastside intercept. I found a very thin shooting lane 23 yards from the edge of the field, which also might offer a shot at two trails inside the woods as well. The humper came out on cue, and was out into the center of field, and just about ready to make his first gobble, when I heard a loud PUTTT! and looked through the screen of shrubs to see a streaking turkey running full out towards the west. Five minutes later two hunters (the face maskless ones from the night before) were sneaking through the woods, and it seemed that they were surprised to see me. They motioned to me that they would retreat back the way they had come, and after 10 minutes, I heard them calling again.

The humper reappeared on the far side line, joined by the two brothers. Once again I had zagged as they zigged and were on the opposite side of the field. They stayed on the opposite side all evening and finally melted south down to the lakeside trees.

Tuesday afternoon I tried a sneak into the west side trees. Can HuntTalkers guess where the birds showed up and loafed for the late afternoon and evening?? The pattern remained steady....humper, brothers, hens and then head towards the roost zones late.

Wednesday I zigged and finally they also zigged towards me. There had been huge rain bands that started the night before, and continued throughout the night. Several more heavy thunderstorms rolled through, and all morning there was light spitting to heavy rains. Looking at the radar, I tried to figure out if there would be any way to hunt and not get drenched.

The radar showed that around the time the birds were showing up on the field there would be a break in the rain. I told my wife that I knew that by staying at home I wouldn't get a turkey, and I wanted to go out to the wildlife area. The drive out was with the intermittent wipers going, and the gravel roads were full of water as I turned off the highway. No one had been in the parking lot, and there were no footprints in the trail towards the back field.

The rain had stopped and I found my same tree with the skinny shooting lane to the strut zone. I settled in and scanned the wet field with the binoculars, seeing no turkeys at first. The first hen came out of the west side and she fed out into the usual feeding zone. I was sitting far enough back and the shrubs in the under story had really started to leaf out, so it was hard to see most of the open field. I kept watching the hen feed, and then I heard a nearby gobble. Within three minutes I saw the two brothers out in front of me, and it seemed that they were headed towards the trail off the field to my left. The same one that they had used when I chose to not shoot with my bow because of deflection potential.

The first brother entered the woods and scooted quickly away from the edge. I saw that there was a possible shooting lane but decided to go for the second brother. I found the second brother in my visual field, but had my barrel trained down the shooting lane. This tom was moving at a fast walk, and I knew that his vital zone would be in the shooting slot only momentarily. As the tom started to enter the same trail that his brother had used, I anticipated his arrival and pulled the trigger just as his beak cleared the right tree in the gap. He was instantly down and flapping wings and ended up 8 yards away from the impact zone. The brother with the missing tail feather was going to take a ride home with me that night.



I walked it off, and discovered that the shot was 50 yards on the button. One small sapling also paid the price of growing in the shooting lane.



I turned around to look and try to see what a turkey might have seen and couldn't see where I had been sitting.

I took some "as he lay" photos for that thread, and then tried to take some posed photos as well.



The rain started spitting again. I texted the traditional "BOOOOOOM" text to the family group text to announce a successful tagging of a turkey, and then strung him up on the turkey sling and slipped my way back to the parking lot.

Thanks Kansas for a great spring season of south central turkey chasing. If I were to try to get a second bird this spring, I will have to drive hours away, as only the north west and north central zones are open for a second turkey tag.

I'm glad I finally zigged when the birds zigged.

 

[Hem]

Hey K-Dad...thanks for the recount of your hunting this season. Congrats on your BOOM.
So true. Turkeys dont always rush in, you have to get in their head and figure them out. This aspect can be frustrating but ultimately is what makes the hunt so satisfactory. Eventually you and the turkey zig on the same course.
Dont know how you deal with other hunters.

My time is coming.

 

[JLDemo]

Congrats on the bird and thanks for the write up. I'm still a NR in KS and unable to bird hunt right now so it was nice to read some success stories around here!

 

[WildWill]

Congratulations on your success sounds like a great hunt! Enjoyed reading the write up as usual.