Day One of Turkey Season
April 13, 2008
The opening of turkey season was a bust for me but it appears others across the state did well. The front that came through on Saturday gave us a cloudy overcast day with a number of thunderstorms throughout the day.
I was at the hunt camp up in Caswell County with a couple of friends for the opener none of us had any luck. I had a plan of where I wanted to go because the week before we had heard gobblers in this particular area and it’s one of my favorite places to hunt so I decided to go in there. I hadn’t been in there in a while and there is a thick stand of pines to get through that is easy to get turned around in the dark. I normally go in every year just before deer season and re-blaze and re-mark the trail but being sick last summer I didn’t do it. I was confident that my memory and the old trail markings I could slip in well before daybreak and be in position to listen for gobbles. Besides if I got confused my GPS would back me up.
Well best laid plans don’t always work out. I got about halfway through the pines when I lost the trail and after moving the general direction I thought was right I realized that I was off the trail. There were a number of trees and branches down and I was trying to pick my way through quietly because turkeys often roost in this area. I had a clear view of the sky when I looked up and I fired up my GPS. After what seemed like an eternity but was really just a few minutes I got a lock on the satellites and I quickly hit the search for the nearest waypoint. My big mistake was not looking very closely at it because I knew it was the nearest point because of the deer stand. Latter I would remember that I had replaced my GPS and this particular deer stand was not in my new GPS but at that moment I headed off in the wrong direction. I went a little ways and knew I should be out of the thick cover but I wasn’t. At that point I knew something was wrong so I dug out my compass and got a bearing that should take me to the opening where I wanted to set up if I missed it I knew I would hit the creek and I could set up there. Well I hit the creek having missed the opening by only 200 yards or so. Once I hit the creek I knew exactly where I was and I could back track to the opening but given I hadn’t busted any turkeys with my roundabout trek in that I didn’t dare push my luck by doubling back up the ridge to the opening. I set up on the creek bottom and waited for daybreak.
Daybreak came and went with out the first gobbler sounding off. There was plenty of noise to entice a shock gobble between the crows and the geese not to mention the occasional roll of thunder. With no turkey noise at all I settled in on the creek bottom knowing the gobblers often use it as a travel route. I did the occasional calling hoping to have a gobbler check me out. I heard some noise behind me coming from the area I had originally wanted to hunt so I started to turn around slowly. A few minutes latter a fat grey squirrel came bounding off the ridge. I started to turn back around when I heard him, a Jake looking for that hen he had heard. He circled above me and back into the pines without making a sound.
That was the only turkey I saw all day. The afternoon I sat in a blind on the field edge and never saw or heard anything. As the sun was setting the walk back to my truck was a lot easier then my morning walk in because I just had to cut across a couple of fields and up a field road to my truck. I can assure you I’ll re-blaze and re-mark the trail in the near future so I don’t get confused my GPS has already been updated.
Moose Droppings is a place that chronicles my journey, Ill explore new places and ideas Ill learn new things and Ill teach the things Ive learned to others. Join me on the adventure and hopefully it will help you in your outdoor endeavors.
I gotta get a better camera! Moose, how many times am I going to say I am buying that better digital camera ? Last Friday morning as I sipped coffee and enjoyed the view from the porch at Two Rivers Farm, I was entertained by a young jake. Seems he was trying to entertain the two young hens and none of them were paying attention to me. I took multiple shots with my relatively old Canon A60. These birds were 30 feet away and a “photographer’s delight”, if you you had good equipment and some skill….neither of which applied to me. So, use your imagination when you look at my pictures. I sent an assortment including a white deer and bear shots…use your imagination. Mike
Hey Mike,
Thanks for your comments. Cannon A 60 Yup it might be time for an upgrade. There has been a lot of advance in digital photography since when Cannon offered the A60. The cost of them has dropped down a bit as well. My email address is moosesign@aol.com and I look forward to getting them to view.
-Moose-