Record breaking Year for the State but Less then that for Me Originally posted 5/06
May 27, 2006
 Sources have told me that when North Carolina wildlife releases the numbers the 10,000 mark will be shattered with the harvest being 11,700+ A record breaking year and I didn’t punch a single one of my tags.
This was a tough season for me and it seemed that I had a bunch of bad luck following me around. Opening day was a stormy day, I was in the mountains hoping to film my buddy’s wife killing her first bird. The camera wouldn’t work but maybe that was for the best. We had a bearded hen come into our set up and the hunter would not believe me that was a legal bird in North Carolina to harvest. Once convinced it was legal, we had so many hens around us, isolating the bearded hen was difficult. The shot presented itself again and when I told her to take it she again declined. She could see a couple of gobblers were headed our way but they stayed outside of the range of the shotgun. After about 30 minutes of strutting they came in close enough to the side of the blind for her to shoot. The shot was a clean miss but because of the thunderstorms the turkeys showed little reaction when the gun went off. Moments latter they did react to my buddy walking up to see what she killed.Â
A few days latter I was working some birds early afternoon in a field in the piedmont when one of my other hunting partners’s walked in on me and scattered the birds. I made the mistake this year by not taking a vacation at the beginning of the season and could only get a few days off at the end. The last few days were some of the most exciting with out actual getting anything. I called a gobbler in one evening and I learned that the foliage blocks a lot of the noise so they are closer then they sound. I had one come in from behind me I was only half the way turned around when he showed up. The tree I had been sitting against prevented me from swinging my gun far enough over to get a shot. The next day I had another one come in behind me and the foliage was so thick I couldn’t see him.
To end the season I took three days in the middle of the week and went to Washington County to hunt. I got busted by a gobbler by being impatient and moving to soon after he shut down gobbling. Another 5-10 minutes he’d probably be there instead he was 60 yards from me and caught me moving to another calling spot.Â
I also chased two gobblers down a logging road but never got close enough for a shot. The last morning I set up in a field with two hen decoys out. There was a good breeze that morning and the gobblers were fired up on the roost. They quieted down once they hit the ground but about 9am a lone gobbler entered the field. He showed little interest in my calling or the decoys but he slowly drifted my direction. I had my gun up and I was watching him get closer and closer to my range. All of a sudden he goes to alert and Putts and I know he is ready to run. I catch out of the corner of my eye my decoy spinning like a top. [I had put a couple of sticks in the ground to prevent this but the wind had worked them out]  I took the shot and afterwards as I paced it off I realized it was to far (47 paces). That’s how my season ended but I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. I may not be part of the record breaking success but next year’s season will be here before we know it and hopefully I learned my lessons well. Congratulations to all who filled their tags and to everyone that got out an chased the birds.
Â
Moose Droppings is a place that chronicles my journey, I’ll explore new places and ideas I’ll learn new things and I’ll teach the things I’ve learned to others. Join me on the adventure and hopefully it will help you in your outdoor endeavors.
