From the moment duck season ended, I immediately began to think about turkeys. You see, the problem is, since the beginning of September I’ve been hunting at least two weekends out of every month. My wife has grown tired of hearing the “H” word, so for the last month and a half, I’ve done my best to stick around the house and not say that word. Over that quiet month, I managed to plan four solid days of nonstop turkey hunting.
The first two days, I would spend with Adam, as he drew a quota permit for the Green Swamp WMA. He asked me to tag along and do some scouting, calling and the heavy lifting of carrying the camera. The fun began last Friday as we headed to the swamp to do some scouting. The sign was everywhere!! We also managed to see a couple stud gobblers feeding along the roads and the two us were instantly pumped!
Opening morning arrived; we walked to our spot which seemed like ten miles to me. Got our set up situated and I immediately started running the scenario of a big gobbler strutting around the corner and coming to us on a string. Needless to say, it never happened. We did however; hear a lone gobbler not far away. We gave him our best calling, but he was having none of it and meandered away.
The next morning we were recharged and decided to go to another spot where we found a roost tree with tons of sign all around it. We slipped into the woods to about 150 yards from the roost and waited. Sure enough, at day break the ‘Ol Tom’ belted out to let us know he was on that tree. “I knew this was it”! I had the camera positioned perfectly to catch him coming in. We saw and heard him fly down and he continued to gobble like crazy. Again, we called, he responded, and unfortunately he went the other direction. Adam and I were puzzled, “what could we have done wrong”? I personally think those public land birds are of a finicky type. Regardless, we had a great time, and saw some really nice birds. It was time for me to push on. That next morning started the second leg of my turkey trip. As Adam and I were packing up to leave the WMA, I was so excited to get on the road. I gave him the, “yeah yeah, well I’m going to get” routine, and off I went. South Carolina bound!!
As soon as I arrived, I hit the woods running to see if I could put a big boy to bed. Sure enough, an hour before dark they started filtering in. I had 3 gobblers roost 70 yards from where I was sitting. I had to wait until well after dark and basically army crawl out in order not spook them.
This morning felt like Christmas to me! The other guys in camp were drinking coffee and just barely waking up. Not me, I was as excited as a hound waiting at the back door, wondering if we were leaving yet. We got to the woods and the fun began. The chaos sounded like there were twenty gobblers in the woods. I worked the group that I roosted the night before; and unlike the green swamp birds, they liked the music. Within 30 minutes of sitting, here they come. Two rounded the corner strutting and before I could enjoy the show I fired a shot and had a tom down. Sooner than I could even get to my bird, I heard one of the other guys, not far from me, shoot the other gobbler retreating from my shot. A double in the first 40 minutes of day light!
Despite not scoring on public land, this was one of the best few days of hunting I’ve ever had. I’ve been thinking about spring since the last season. Hunting turkeys really jacks me up and I’ve been rather lucky the last few years. The past four days went by way to fast and I’m already trying to figure out my next turkey trip!
P.J. SD Pro Staff
Southern Draw Field Journal 