May 3rd was opening day for spring turkey hunting in New Hampshire. I set up at the end of a monster hay field, 550 yards long, surrounded by mixed forest. Access is by foot only, and on this morning it required knee boots to get there, so I had 2500 acres all to myself. 🙂 Heard early gobbling at the far end. Eventually called him down the length of the far side of the field, but right when he would have crossed to me, a group of coyotes started choir practice a few hundred yards away. He was done moving in the open, and I didn’t have enough time free to try later in the morning. (Shooting ends at noon during the spring season.)
I went back last Friday and had the most fun possible without actually shooting a bird. Called in the same gobbler and a jake from the opposite corner of the field. The jake came into the midst of my decoys, at ten yards or so. Passed on him as I waited for the gobbler to commit.
Which he didn’t do, preferring to hang back about 12 yards from the decoys. The two of them hung around for the better part of an hour, but I never had a shot on the gobbler. He was gobbling but not thundering, almost continuously. I had two hen and three male decoys – might have been too much maleness for him. He had a very heavy breast but a moderate fan and beard. In other words, not Boss Gobbler.
I’m going to give him a few days off and try a less threatening decoy setup.
