Turkey Hunting Day Three: Rain, Wind & Cold

This morning I trekked to the woods as the lone hunter in my group.   Both of my partners had work commitments that would prevent them from doing any hunting on this particular day.   And lucky them!   It was a dismal, dreary day full of discomfort for both the turkey and for the turkey hunters.   Actually, the early morning was not too bad with temps in the low 50s and at least the walk to my blind was dry.   But that didn’t last for long.   The rain came shortly thereafter and it actually got colder as the day grew on.

If you read yesterday’s blog you will know that I was commiserating over the possible loss of my lone tom yesterday morning possibly shot by some other lucky hunter.   Here’s the good news…I heard the ol’ boy gobbling up a storm from the same roost tree during most of my walk into the woods this morning.   This created a little extra bounce in my step as I grew anxious to get situated in my blind.

Early on today the winds were fairly moderate and then even when the rain started it was very light through most of the morning.   As I watched a pair of wood ducks wingin’ up the river I thought about how this day was much better suited for being a duck hunter rather than a wannabe turkey slayer.   Still, the confines of a nice fully-enclosed blind with a roof made the stay in the woods fairly comfortable, all considering.

At 6:42am. I heard my first shot coming once again from the next valley over to the east.   I was already working a gobbler that sounded like he was struttin’ in a field on top of a hill about 400 yards away to my south.   The sounds of the gunfire did not deter my bird thankfully…he just kept responding to my calls but seemed otherwise apathetic toward closing the distance between us.   Some turkey pundits have might encourage that at this time it would have been prudent strategy for me to then mover closer to this tom, and I cannot argue with that logic.   However, on a day filled with miserable weather I kept convincing myself that sitting stationary in my weatherproof blind was good back-up plan.   Besides, if you’ve ever hunted from a blind it can spoil you just a bit as it allows much more freedom of movement.

By 8:00am this morning both the wind and the rain picked up noticeably…and with the increasingly inclement weather the gobbling all but ceased in turkey valley.   Then again, hearing the continuous patter of rain on the roof of the blind was about all I could hear during most of this time.   Still, I hung in there thinking that as long as I am out in the woods things can still happen.

Then at about 8:25am I caught a glimpse way out in the field of a moving object.   I brought the binoculars up and soon discovered it was my tom moving off the hillside and across the field being overlooked by my blind.   I let out some yelps and it seemingly didn’t phase him.   Without as much as even a courtesy gobble he walked into the woods down by the river.   I then re-positioned myself inside the blind thinking that maybe if he walks up the river from 150 yards away I could get an ambush shot on my backside, if nothing else.   No more than 20 minutes later…I saw this same dark blob of turkey moving back across the field in the very same path he took to get there.

I quickly reached for my mouth call and let out some moderately loud yelps.   No response.   I did it again…and noticed that he didn’t even look up the field at where my decoys were positioned.   He was almost out of sight so I let out an excited “cackle” that created absolutely no interest from him whatsoever.

I sat there in the blind thinking that maybe it was time to call it a day.   Besides, on a rainy day like this there was plenty I could do back at home.   I started to secure all my equipment in my vest…re-case my gun…and zip shut all the windows in the blind.   I was then reaching down to pull open the zipper on the blind to exit when all of a sudden I heard some distinctive “clucking.”   WOW!   I guess I caught something’s attention.   I peeked through an open slot in the window and there walking towards me was a hen about 10 yards away.   I pulled my camera from the case and attempted to get some pictures again…but on this day it was too dark with the heavy overcast skies…they just didn’t turn out without using a flash.

I watched the hen for another 15 minutes or so…then I grabbed my vest and gun to start the journey back home.   The rain continued all day and the wind actually picked up considerably with gusts nearing 30mph.   Not what you would call an ideal turkey day.   Even so, it was fun to be out in the woods seeing how things respond to the changing weather conditions.   It was also a relief to see and hear that my big tom was still alive and able to fool with me yet another day.

The forecast for tomorrow isn’t much better than today…but I’ll give it yet another try in the morning.   It might not be the ideal turkey hunting conditions as I would like to see them…but I do know one thing for sure.   Even though the weather turns bad the turkeys are still out in the woods…and if I am not out there, too, I stand absolutely zero chance of being successful.

2006 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.