Well it is finally that time of year again when the camoflauge comes out of the closet, decoys get dusted off, and the bow sights get checked one last time! Spring turkey season is here! This year we are going to try to successfully hunt three states - Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. One of those states has all ready been checked...
This past weekend, we ran up to southeast Nebraska with good friend Chris Barton to hopefully fill three tags in less than 18 hours. We knew it would be challenging, but also one heck of a good time trying. As we arrived at Chris' Uncle Jack and Aunt Bonnie's home for dinner, we were greeted by great food and hospitality, but also heavy rains and winds gusting up to 50 mph. Fortunately, the weather took a turn for the better and conditions could not have been better for the rest of the weekend.
The first afternoon, Bo and I ended up setting up on a property that we had scoured earlier that day with no success. About five minutes into the setup, we spotted a single bird in a corn field about 600 yards away. That bird quickly turned into five and they were feeding towards us. We did not have much time until dinner would be ready so we made the decision to cut the distance and move on these birds. Once we had repositioned, a few call sequences led to two jakes running, then flying, directly into our setup. Within 30 seconds, Bo and I both successfully filled our Nebraska tags on two Rio jakes! Unfortunately I deleted the hero pictures so here is one from the field.
The following morning, we ran down to a property where we had located a few birds the previous day, but unfortunately had our hunt interrupted by a passing vehicle. With the shut of our truck door, we were greeted by half a dozen birds gobbling from the roost. These birds gobbled their heads off all morning, but were henned up, and just would not come into the calling. After a few hours of calling and one quick move of the setup, Bo called in a bird from over a quarter mile away to a mere 20 yards! Our buddy Chris was in perfect position and made a great shot on his first turkey, which just happened to be a mature, 3+ year old bird. Congrats on a great bird Chris!!!
The following day was Missouri's season opener. We had two good friends, Randy and Jay, that decided to come up from Indiana for some Midwest bird hunting. Again, we fought the wind, but we continuously heard gobbles - both from the roost and on the ground. As the morning progressed, we heard the great sounds of gun shots to our north - straight from Randy and Jay's direction! Not four hours into the Missouri season, both guys had birds on the ground!
Bo and I have come close in Missouri.....close as in 10 yards.....but the big gobbler was on the wrong side of the fence and just would not make the final commitment. But the season has just begun and I'm sure that we will get Bo his first bird in Missouri this year!
And as a small teaser, both Vince and his son Tristen connected on birds during the past couple of weeks. Tristen made an impressive shot on a gobbler during youth season and Vince was setup against the perfect tree this morning! Congrats on the birds guys, but I'll let you tell the stories!
