1st Season Turkey’s
I feel like anytime you draw a tag for 1st season in Wisconsin its a total gamble how the weather is going to turn out. This year it looked especially promising when we had 80 degree weather the week before, but mother nature is a bitch. It ended up being in the 40’s and rainy and miserable. Of course, the only way I was getting work off was if it was miserable outside, so I got to hunt during the week on Wednesday for opener, and Friday. I can’t say that it was horrible hunting, I was finding birds but couldn’t get anything to break off from their hens, and couldn’t fire any hens up enough to get them to want to come over and kick my ass. The land that I hunt most has been riddled with coyotes and a bobcat this winter/spring, and I could make cup excuses as to why I haven’t been out trying to kill coyotes, but nobody cares to hear them anyways. So I feel that it has pressured the turkeys in that area and made them hard to pattern and get a good idea of where they are roosting, usually my grandpa Don has a good idea of where they are at, but not this year. So I opted out to try some public spots, and some other smaller pieces I have permission on. I found a couple lone hens on public land, a couple strutters on private next to the public land, but nothing I could seal the deal on.
After three solid days of trying to get it done on my own I decide to spend Sunday morning with my dads good friend, Chad, to go out to his spot and see what we could do. It was another cold morning but as soon as we sat down all set up the crows had the gobbles roaring in the woods behind us. They were noisy all morning, until they got off the roost, then they were quiet we could hear the a couple yelps here and there from the hens, and a gobble here and there but nothing coming into the field yet. Around 9:30am we were debating on sneaking into the woods a little to see if we could get up on them, or get an idea of where they were going to cut them off, we decided to wait a few more minutes and sure as shit here they came, about 12 turkeys, 4 of them strutting in the back. They were about 200 yards away down the field edge, they crossed the field and went into the wood line across from us. We sneaked across the field and got up over a hill to where I could see the other wood line and they were all over the hill probably 80 yards away at this point.
We end up going back to the tree line that we started on and set back up there but unsure of how long it would be before they crossed the field back to us. Chad decides to go around the woods where they are and walk the back edge of the field to see if they will work back across the field to give me a shot opportunity. It worked, but I was looking where I last saw the turkeys when I looked over the hill at them and they came running across from a different spot and by the time I saw them they were about 15 yards away, cutting into the trees and as fast as they came they disappeared into the timber.
This was my first year really giving it hell to get a bird, and I’m so thankful for the experience. I had one of the best times hunting with Chad, and I am so grateful that he invited me along with him. I might not have sealed the deal for 1st season, but I have a 5th season tag too, so we will see what I can do when the time comes. Thank you guys for reading!