Last weekend I slipped out well before daylight and went deep into the swamps close to my house in a place I rarely turkey hunt. I had intentions of staying all day if the morning started off slow and as luck would have it, it did. I was optimistic just as I am every time I go into the woods but after not hearing a single gobble on the roost and not finding any fresh sign I immediately began to second guess my decision. But, I was a long way from the truck and had nothing on my agenda except time so I began walking and calling every seventy five to hundred yards. As the sun began to rise and the wind laid down I knew that I had made the right decision to stay and hunt, I just had to find the turkeys. This particular area is mostly swamp with small ridges running through the water in places so locating a gobbler can sometimes be tough but once you do and you get on the same ridge as he is, well it usually ends in favor of the hunter.
After nearly an hour of prospecting with no luck I reached a point where I planned to set up for a little while and BAM, a turkey gobbled about 250 yards away down the brake from me. I closed the distance by about another seventy five yards and listened again. He gobbled again and to this point I have yet to call to him. He was simply walking and gobbling in search of a hen and I was about to become the lucky lady. That’s kind of weird to say. Anyhow I called once to him softly and he immediately responded. I followed with an exited sequence to let him know I was equally happy to hear him as he was me and then I shut up. Within a couple minutes and several more gobbles I could see him and two more gobblers that were with him in a dead sprint directed right at my gun barrel. Then he finally reached the point of no return and I pulled the trigger on a beautiful three year, double bearded Mississippi longbeard!
I admit that this story sounds like thousands of others that take place each spring. But what I hope everyone takes away from it is to not give up when you don’t hear a turkey gobble at daylight, some days they just don’t do it. Trust your knowledge of the land and trust your ability as a hunter. Flash hunts like this become more and more frequent as the season rolls on and often take place long after a turkey has pitched down from his roost. Be patient, hunt smart and enjoy every second of the show. Even those hunts that only last a few minutes can make a lifetime of memories.
