April 2007
Monthly Archive
First Time Birds In Nebraska
Posted by Wes on 30 Apr 2007 | Tagged as: Turkey
![3 happy hunters with 5 birds for the weekend - all first time Turkey hunters[1]comp1.jpg](http://blog.atkinsonexpeditions.com/wp-content/uploads/3%20happy%20hunters%20with%205%20birds%20for%20the%20weekend%20-%20all%20first%20time%20Turkey%20hunters[1]comp1.jpg)
It’s the 3rd weekend of the Nebraska shotgun season and the weather up until Friday morning was rain, rain, and rain. The forecast said clear and sunny all weekend, I was praying they were right and the Tom’s would be “ready”.
This hunt was incredibly special for me as I not only had 3 first time Turkey hunters but I also had 3 generations of hunters. The Grandfather (Allen), his son (Eric) and his 13-year-old grandson (Sackett)! Not all of us have had the opportunity to be on a hunt like this with our fathers and much less our father and grandfather.
Friday morning we set up about 400 yards from a roost and for once the birds fly out and start coming our way. The Tom’s were leading the pack and feeding fast towards us. They wouldn’t close the distance less than 40 yards and the hens were feeding 50 yards to our right and 20 yards out. I was getting nervous that the Tom’s would continue on and the hens would bust us. So, I called the shot at 42 yards – a clean miss and Eric was beating himself up all day. I wasn’t concerned that they all had opportunities on Friday and by Friday night, my hands hadn’t touched a bird. I knew these gentlemen had learned a lot about Turkey’s in their first day and I was anxious to see how they applied it the next day.
Saturday morning we set up in a position really close to a lone roosted Tom. He flew down and headed east as Sackett and I pursued on foot. I’ve never seen a Tom move like that without being spooked. We simply didn’t have enough cover to catch up to him and he still walks that property today. As I was deciding which direction to go, I glance at the field below us and see 2 Jake’s strutting, a Tom strutting and 8 hens’. I collect dad and grandpa to move closer. We get within 100 yards of the birds and set up on a fence line. I started calling softly and eventually the hens start feeding our way. At the end, Allen was in a position for the best shot but the Tom wouldn’t come out of strut. I hit that diaphragm call with aggression and he picked his head up. Allen had taken his first Turkey at 68 years old.
We moved to another farm for the afternoon hunt and set up in an abandon farmstead where the Turkeys were just outside the shelterbelt in the field. That Tom had too many hen’s and not cooperating at all. About the time I felt a little discouraged, a truck goes by on the dirt road and the sound of gobbles makes my heart jump. I sneak through the cover to get a position on them and they’re coming down the wood line in the field. We set up for the ambush. They make their way to us and I call the shot. Allen’s connected with bird number 2 for the day, Eric takes his first bird and Sackett is left disappointed for the 2nd day in a row.
Sunday morning comes and goes with no good shot opportunities so we have lunch and move back to the Saturday afternoon “honey hole”. As we’re driving past the first drainage we spot 2 Tom’s making their way down it. A perfect set up for us as we can get around in front of them without them seeing us. Long story short, Sackett’s disappointed grows stronger after a miss on a Tom of a lifetime at 23 yards. Not to worry, we always save the best for last. As were making our way to set up in the abandoned farmstead, Sackett, his grandpa and I move around the barn and a jelly head not 30 yards in front of us picks his head up. Sackett drops him where he stands. Turkey’s are running past us as I tell him “take that jake”; he swings and connects on that one too. The smiles replace the looks of disappointment as we measure a 10” beard and 1 1/8” spurs on a beautiful double.
The “Tri-Fecta” was complete. 3 first time Turkey hunters, 3 generations of hunters and 3 first time Turkey Harvesters. They ended up with 2 Tom’s and 3 really nice Jake’s.
Brady
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It just keeps happening for Brady in NE
Posted by Wes on 25 Apr 2007 | Tagged as: Turkey
It’s the Friday after the Nebraska opener and I have 4 guests on this hunt. We split up into 2 groups on a creek line gobbling their brains out. The birds start flying down and move to the south of us. I wait ½ hour and can’t take it, I have to find out where those birds are heading. 2 guests and myself carefully move through the cedars and discover a group of Tom’s, Jake’s & Hen’s continuing south. We set up and start calling with soft purrs and the Jake’s start moving our way. Of course the old Tom in the group wouldn’t put up with that so he makes his way too. At 40 yards he hangs up and boom a clean miss! We meet up with the others and decide to move to another farm. The birds aren’t talking at all (no gobbling) so this makes it more difficult. We spend our afternoon watching birds move through a 400-acre field before we decide to set up in a different location in the direction they were heading. I spread the guys out waiting for birds to move in on us. About an hour into it a mix of jakes and hens (about 20) move in on us. As I’m watching the guys I discover the bobbing head of one of them trying to sneak a peak and yep it happened, putt, putt, putt and they were gone. I peak up into the field below us and see 5 hens being pushed by a huge Tom with a lesser Tom bringing up the rear. The clouds were moving in and the rain started. The Tom pushes the hens quickly through an opening 18 yards from myself and one of the hunters. He raises his gun a little too fast and the old Tom takes off, boom – another clean miss. There’s more to this day and more to explain but at the end of the day all 4 had taken a shot with the exception of one, which took 2 shots and not 1 bird to show for it. I’m not sore at them, I just feel bad for them, as they had heard the story of the last weekend where we harvested 6 birds in one day.
Saturday starts with at the farm we ended at on Friday night. We set up in virtually the same area as the night before. Again Gobblers surrounded us and they flew down in the other direction. This brings us to the afternoon. We set up in a meadow where a nice Jake quickly meets his maker. We move to a meadow that I’ve watched Tom’s strut in later in the afternoon. 2 Tom’s and 2 Jake’s start making their way across the field. As they feed across the field in a zigzag motion the anticipation rises. At 30 yards Eric raises and takes a nice Tom. We’re celebrating his accomplishment and setting back up incase more birds are on their way when we hear a shot about 200 yards behind us. I have to admit I was a little freaked out as I thought someone was trespassing on our lease. Come to find out one of the guys had moved without me knowing and smacked a nice Tom too. The sun set and we were heading back to the truck with 3 birds for the day. At 9:30pm the rain started and continued through the night. The boys were discouraged to say the least that the rain was still in full swing at 5:30am. We arrived at a different farm and drank coffee until 6:00am when they decided to call day 3 of the hunt a bust. We headed for the hotel and at 9:00am they headed back to Denver. The lesson here is don’t count your (bearded) chickens before they hatch because at noon the weather broke and sun and birds came out but, the guys were well into Colorado by that time.
Until next week, have a safe hunt and may the Tom of your lifetime gobble his way into your lap. Brady
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They have turkeys in New York
Posted by Wes on 23 Apr 2007 | Tagged as: Turkey
Kile’s First Turkey Hunt, A New York Success.
Mike Burline and I took Mike’s kid friend Kyle out for New York’s youth turkey hunt. We scouted the night before and found a big Tom with some hens. We waited till dark to find out where they were roosting to get a head start for the next mornings hunt. The next morning came quick and Mike left to pick up Kyle and then came back to get me. We decided that Mike would call and I would sit next to Kyle and coach him because this was his first ever turkey hunt. As we were walking across the field we could here gobbles erupting in the near distance. Mike quickly and quietly set us up at the edge of the woods where the turkey’s had roosted. Mike made a couple yelps and the Tom responded immediately. He kept on gobbling as we called. The Tom was still on his roost and gobbling like crazy, so Mike stopped calling to wait for him to fly down. After we heard him fly down, he and a couple hens appeared in the field about 100 yards away. Mike started his routine again, making soft yelps and purrs. The hens made there way over and were feeding about 20 yards away. Then a Jake ran towards the Tom from across the field. The Toms puffed up and kicked the snot out of him. The Jake ran from the Tom and towards the hens. The hens started walking closer and walked past a shooting lane at 8 yards. I told Kyle to get his gun pointed towards the shooting lane and get ready to shoot when the Jake walked by. I could feel Kyle’s heart pounding and body shaking through his clothes and vest. He was getting anxious. The Jake took his last steps into the shooting lane and Kyle pulled the trigger, making a great shot and killing his first turkey on his first hunt. He dropped his gun and ran out to grab his bird. We ran behind him to see the biggest smile along with a bloody lip for the recoil. Priceless! The rest is history!
This was by far the best hunting experience for Mike and me. If any of you have a chance to take a kid hunting, do it. You won’t regret it.
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When to use a rear naked choke while turkey hunting
Posted by Wes on 20 Apr 2007 | Tagged as: Turkey
Travis’s First Archery Turkey
Travis and I hunted “West Park” the morning of April 6. We heard two
or three birds on the roost but nothing after that. We set up twice and
called but produced nothing in the way of turkeys. We did find two dead
bucks from the previous winter. One was a 115 to 120 inch 8 point, The
other was about a 125 to 130 inch 9 point. The snow and no gobbles sent us
back to the cabin at around 10:30 am.
Wes had seen some birds strutting on “Section 25″ so we set up there
for our afternoon hunt. We were in the blind by 1 pm calling every 15 or 20
min and enjoying each others company. Around 6:30 Travis was ready to head
back to the cabin but I talked him in to staying till the sun went down.
About 7:05 we both called and out in front of us a gobbler appeared 100
yards out. He could see the decoys but was apprehensive because of the
cattle that had come in to our right. We hit the calls hard, I mean both of
us on mouth calls and Travis on his slate at the same time. Cutting,
purring, and putting LOUD. Even threw a couple jake gobbles at him. Upon
review of the footage it was remarked that we had thrown everything at him
but the kitchen sink.
Well, it worked because the long beard committed and came around to our
left at a run. When he got to about ten yards I putted twice, he stopped
and Travis let fly. The bird ran a bit and then flew out of sight. We got
everything on camera except the final few seconds before the shot. It was
Travis’s first bird with a bow and both of our first time trying to video a
hunt. What a rush!
We bumped the bird about a half hour later so we decided to let him lay
up for the night.
The next morning Travis was on the camera and I got behind the bow. It
was about 18 degrees at daybreak so by 8:30 am the cold and anticipation got
the best of us and we went looking for Travis’s bird. We both walked to the
last place we had seen the big tom then split up and started kicking through
brush piles. 15 minutes later I kicked him up and chased him down the bluff
yelling back to Travis, “I got him, I got him over hear.” The bird reached
the bottom of the hill and stopped. I skidded in next to him and put a rear
naked choke on him and then Travis showed up to claim his first ever archery
turkey. 2 year old 22 lb bird with a 8 inch beard.
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Marty and Jake
Posted by Wes on 19 Apr 2007 | Tagged as: Turkey
![DSC00063[1]1.JPG](http://blog.atkinsonexpeditions.com/wp-content/uploads/DSC00063[1]1.JPG)
So I park the truck, load up my Wild Thing pack with all the accoutrements, you know, decoys, stool, tripod, camera, calls, bow, kitchen sink, etc. and walk maybe 2 tenths of a mile to my favorite little turkey clearing. It was around 3:30 pm when I arrived. As I was walking in, I could hear gobbling ahead, steadily getting closer. “Funny”, I remember thinking, “what would be really funny is if they kept coming” because I was loaded down like a pack mule with a set of XXL panniers. Well it wasn’t as funny as I thought it would be when they circled wide of me, in plain view the whole time, then went down to where I’d just parked the truck and gobbled their gaudy heads of…silly birds. I went ahead and set up where I had originally planned, and with in no time had jakes flirting with my decoys. I really had no intention of shooting a jake, but when they hang around at less than 10 yards for longer than 5 minutes I will occasionally make an exception. So I did. I got the whole thing on video, I was hunting alone, so it kinda makes the video gig a little tricky but it came out great, and it also happens to be the first bird I ever konked in the noggin. Makes for a short recovery.Good Hunting,
Marty
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Brady and Gang Shoot 9 birds in 2 Days in NE
Posted by Wes on 18 Apr 2007 | Tagged as: Turkey
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On the Friday before the Nebraska shotgun opener a blast of cold weather makes it’s way through and completely shuts these birds down. Here we go again I thought. Later that afternoon the weather broke and I was out roosting birds with my 3 guests from Colorado.
It’s opening day and the clouds were gone and the Turkey’s were going crazy on the roost. The birds hit the ground and got quiet. I kept the occasional calling up as I watched birds move through the hills to the South. It was about ½ hour after fly down and I heard a putt behind me. As Mike was rotating into position and had to wait for the hen’s to clear the Tom’s, a shotgun blast interrupts the peaceful morning. Mike harvest’s Tom #1. 5 minutes later we hear a blast from below us in the creek bed. We head down there and Joe has harvested his first Tom of the season. We collect our birds, head towards Rick’s position to take off for breakfast and to buy more tags.
We arrive to farm #2 at 12:00. As we’re gearing up for a long afternoon, I spot a Tom strutting on a hill to our north. I split the guys up and take Mike to climb hills and get behind this Tom. We’re calling and he’s working towards us. Not realizing it, we had set up on the other side of a canyon and that bird wasn’t crossing for anyone. About the time we’re thinking of moving, we hear a shot from below. It was Rick with a nice Tom, he couldn’t resist the 15-yard shot opportunity. We decide to move to the far south end of the property and Rick decides to stay back. Mike, Joe and I move on to the south meadow and discover a long beard in the meadow beyond us. We set up and start calling with soft purrs and yelps. 30 some minutes later Mike harvests his 2nd Tom for the day. Mike insists I take Joe for the rest of the afternoon and he will walk back and take Rick for the afternoon. I knew of a group of Turkey’s that love to lurk on this bluff and strut their afternoons away but, we’d have to move quick to get there ahead of them. As luck would have it, they were already there putting on a show for each other. Joe and I just sat there and admired them for over an hour. We decide to hunt our way back to the trucks and discover Rick and Mike already there. Rick was the only one who had purchased 3 tags before the hunt and it was a good thing. He and Mike set up a Jake decoy 45 yards out in the meadow and ½ hour later had 5 Jakes run to the decoy. Rick pulls the trigger one time and only 3 Jakes run away. Yep, 2 birds with one shot – Rick has filled all 3 of his tags within a 4-hour period on opening day. The boys decide to call it a day with 6 birds harvested.
It’s colder now on Sunday morning than it was the day before. I decide to go back to the same farm on Sunday but I want to leave the area alone where we had taken 2 the previous morning. We hike back 2 miles to locate the birds I had been watching from a distance. The birds are flying down and hen’d up. They wouldn’t give us the time of day. I decide to mobilize and try to get in front of them. On the way we can hear and see them from time to time. As we stop to listen and call one time I spot 2 jakes and a Tom straight across the creek from us on a bluff. The birds slowly move on with no response to my calling. I decide to go postal on them and the boys agree. We cross the creek and scale the bluff. As we get closer to the top Joe takes a shot and Mike follows up with another one. A great double Tom shoot on the second morning. We have breakfast and head to another farm. Joe wants set up where Rick was the afternoon before and an hour later a Tom makes his way into the field. I give him some soft purrs and he commits to a steady walk towards us. Within 10 minutes he’s literally in our laps and the impossible task is complete. 3 Guests with 9 birds harvested by 3 pm the second day of the season.
To my 3 guests: I’d like to thank you gentlemen for giving me the memories of this spectacular weekend, see you next year – Brady Thomas
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