Turkeys can be satisfying, aggravating, and completely nonexistent during the course of a single season (or even one day for that matter!). Perhaps it’s this mix of highs and lows that draws me in but this season put me through the full gamut of emotions. Growing more and more fond of chasing long beards each season, I figured I’d try my luck in two states this year including two locations I had never hunted before. Having a couple of turkeys under my belt now I thought it was time to branch out and really test my turkey-hunting prowess. I am also blessed with a son, who at 7, showed interest in turkey hunting so I would be making certain to include him in as many outings as he wished to join me on.

*An early season decoy set in Indiana utilized two hens and a jake. The shotgun waited at the ready in the bi-pod but a tractor to the South probably drowned out the mornings calling.*

Our first hunt of the season would be in Indiana at a small parcel of land I had been able to secure permission to hunt on. This particular portion of Northeastern Indiana isn’t known for its booming turkey populations but they are around. The 17 acres was in proximity to a good river system where I had witnessed at least one flock of turkeys over the last couple of years. Hoping that my calls would carry to the wooded bottoms and entice a gobbler our way my son and I set our sites for the youth hunting weekend. Even though I had been planning this hunt for a month with the blind set up and ready to go, and my son and I practicing our turkey calling, it still almost didn’t happen.

A friend was allowed to spend the night before our hunt so getting my son out before daylight was no longer an option. Fortunately for me the kid had to be home early the next morning so we snuck out a little after daylight to the blind to try our luck. To spare you the boring details, this is where the “famine” comes from in the title. No gobbles, no birds, no tracks, no nothing. My optimism and son’s attention were quickly squashed at the hands of no birds in the vicinity. There was a tractor working ground between us and the river so I told my son they just couldn’t hear our calls. Though in my mind I just think there aren’t any turkeys in the area. But we tried, enjoyed the sunny day, and went home happy to have spent some quality time together.

My son has shown significant interest in turkey hunting so I wanted to make sure he got his shot to call one in. Early mornings are a bit rough on little ones so patience is of the utmost importance in these situations.

Next Stop on my turkey tour was my 4th annual hunt at Uncle Vic’s place with Uncle Mike doing the calling. It was started in usual fashion with a trip North to my In-laws with my two youngest in tow. My wife and teenager would stay behind for a basketball tournament while I tried my luck on the thunder chickens in The Thumb. Uncle Mike was early as usual and we made it to the blind well before any turkeys flew down. The gobbles were constant as night became day and as scripted from previous years, two hens and a gobbler appeared from the NE corner of Uncle Vic’s ag field.

Then also as had happened in previous years the hens and tom skirted our blind and three decoy set at about 65 yards. While some may argue that with my 3” tungsten load a shot like that is certainly achievable, I opted to wait for more of a sure thing. Eventually one hen and the tom broke off leaving the other hen alone in the field. Hoping a lonely male would see her or the decoys we continued to wait with eager anticipation. The morning would end though with no birds in range but a very exciting encounter. Uncle Mike had to leave but I would return and hunt for the entire afternoon. Bouncing around between the hardwoods and field edges I would turn up one more hen, a few gobbles, and a fleeting glimpse of a red head as he worked toward the swamp to roost for the night.

Getting young ones involved with all aspects of the hunt will keep them interested longer and hopefully instill a passion for future hunts. My son helps with the decoys during our first hunt of the season.

Excited to go at it solo the following morning I adjusted my plan, left the blind, and slipped into the field corner where I was certain a bird would come from. Eliminating the jake from my decoy set I placed two hens where they could easily be seen from the trail leading into the field. I had four long beards working over the course of the early morning and as one gobble started moving closer I started to get excited. That is until a shot rang out letting me know that there was another hunter between me and that bird. As it was still early I sat put and was eventually greeted by a series of gobbles to the South. They began

moving closer and closer. My plan was working and I was in the perfect set up. Coming around a rise in the field there were the two most beautiful blue, red, white and feathered beasts I had ever seen. Readying the gun, this was a slam dunk. Until I realized they had a live hen with them and she took an abrupt turn into the woods taking them with her. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. Call as I might, they would not leave a live hen for my decoys. On this property my Uncle has done a significant amount of habitat improvement and predator control making the turkeys quite prevalent. I’ve never hunted there without seeing plenty of turkeys. I’m not saying it works out every time, but I’d went 2 for 3 in previous years. I consider this the “feast” in the title.

During my first trip to Michigan there were definitely plenty of birds but as you can see here most of the gobblers were already with hens. No matter how much I changed my setup and location it was impossible to pull toms away from a live hen.

Not being one to give up easily and wanting to explore my own property I scheduled a guy’s weekend with my son Mid-May. We got an Airbnb on a lake within 10 minutes of my place. We would chase turkeys in the morning while reserving the afternoon for fishing and kayaking. Taking a Friday off leading into our big weekend we rolled up to the property mid-afternoon. The plan was to set up the blind, get some supper, and fish the rest of the evening. As we drove down the gravel road paralleling my farm I peered to the right and on a trail 20’ off the road there was a group of three turkeys. I couldn’t believe it.

We immediately went into hunt mode and continued North past the gate I was going to park at as not to spook this group. After shutting the truck down the two of us scrambled to find our camo in our bags and throw it on in record time. Cramming shells into my shotgun as we scurried back towards the birds I hoped this trip may be over before it even started, in a good way. Finding a creek crossing we snuck through to the field edge and got set up. Hitting a few soft notes hoping for a response, but we didn’t get anything. After the initial excitement wore off, we got settled in and I turned up the calls just to ensure they were hearing me if they had wandered off while we were rushing to get set up. After an hour we decided our opportunity had passed and we headed back to the truck to get set up the blind as we had initially intended.

Ironically, after bringing the truck back to the gate near where we had seen the turkeys, and not far from where were calling only fifteen minutes prior, a group of six trotted across the field. Well, at least we knew there were birds and we’d give it our best shot in the morning. Dragging my son from bed the next morning his excitement and interest in hunting turkeys had waned significantly since our exciting afternoon the day before. However, he persevered and we made it to the blind before daylight. Turkeys were sounding off all around us. I figured four different ones for sure and maybe even a 5th off towards the swamp to the North. The birds were quite talkative all morning until they flew down. Then silence for the next 3 hours. Nothing I could do would entice a call. We settled for catching a cooler full of bluegills and making memories for life.

*Sunrises are absolutely captivating to me. Mix it with a little fog and a chance to kill a long beard and it quickly becomes what dreams are made of.*

If you are taking a youngster with you (or even if you're not), Spring time makes for great fishing. Don't get too infatuated with killing a bird that you forget to enjoy some of the other opportunities available to fill your table.

In a last ditch effort to fill a turkey tag I managed to sneak in a trip to my Uncles house disguised as me being a nice guy and taking my wife up to see her parents. Since we left after work it was a little late when we got in and things were kinda happening at their house so we ended up having a pretty good time. Needless to say, I wasn’t up for the sunrise. Since I knew the property held a good number of turkeys and had witnessed them moving at all hours of the day, I wasn’t too worried about waiting for an afternoon hunt. As a matter of fact when I pulled into his driveway I ran off a quartet of birds when I parked the truck.

They ran into a swampy area and not wanting to bust them away any further I readied myself and ducked into a dense stand of pines that were easy to get to without wreaking any more havoc. After letting things quiet down I made a few calls, then a few more, then a few more and was getting no response. An hour later I caught movement on a hilltop that had just been planted in beans. At first I was confused and after a quick check with my binos I confirmed it was a turkey. I studied the bird intensely as it appeared to have a white glow or shine to it. I don’t want to call it albino by any means but it was easily the lightest turkey I have ever seen. Watching for 10 or 15 minutes I confirmed it was a hen before she wondered off to the East.

A custom call from a friend finally sealed the deal on this long beard. He came in with a buddy but after a few soft calls they couldn't resist checking out my decoy. Thankfully for me the rest is history!

Something told me that this was the signal to move. Not sure why, but I grabbed my stuff and headed in her direction. Reaching the location that had been cleared for the blind I hunted from with Uncle Mike, I staked out my single hen and backed up to a tree before sitting down. I had a good back drop and some small growth between myself and the field edge. The decoy was on a slight rise and could be seen well from any direction. I broke out a custom slate called a former co-worker had crafted for me and struck a few chords. Twenty minutes later I did a similar sequence. I knew there was nothing going to respond vocally to my calls so my head was on a swivel watching for any movement.

As I peered across the field from left to right there appeared two longbeards walking down a small ditch in the field. Initially it looked like they were going to follow the ditch to withing 35 yards. When they veered slightly uphill and away from me there was no way I was going to let them get away from me. I let out a few purrs and they locked in on the decoy. Not only did they head back towards the ditch, they crossed it and were on a string to my lone hen. Carefully I scooted my butt a little to the left, had to swing the gun to the right, clear a couple small branches, and then wait for the lead gobbler to show up in front of the bead on my shotgun. He did just as I hoped and in a split second, I had a hefty, 9 ¾” bearded tom on the ground. This I deemed the “just desserts” portion of my story. Sticking with it, never giving up, and working to get a little better each time out I was able to end my season with a pretty sweet trophy!

Feast, Famine and Just Desserts

Sun, Waves, and One Big Fight

Not So Fast