Canyon Country Bird

Firedog

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
It has been 3 years since I have been in the canyon in North Central Nebraska that taught me a lot about how to hunt mid west turkeys.. those were painful lessons but have served me well over the years. so as I stood on the south rim mid morning last Monday, I knew what I wanted to do but my confidence level was low.. a quick scout the evening before only yielded a single gobbler and populations that once boomed there have dwindled to the point that we rarely hunt it any more... there was a strutter and several other red heads on the neighboring private property driving in though so we knew there were birds in the area.

My plan was pretty simple go to the far back corner of he property, opposite rim from where I was standing (about a mile and a half and a pretty good climb) I heard one bird on the way in but he was around a couple of houses on the far rim where there are always birds and you can never kill them, they are off the reservation. Been a long time since I climbed that back wall and I am getting older all the time.. slow and steady was the order of the day. Started working my way down the top of the back wall. The property fence is sometimes on the canyon wall and sometimes a 100yards back off the edge creating small meadows or tops as we call them..

I was working my way to one of the tops and stopped to rest sitting on a bolder 3/4 of the way up among a couple of small pines.. hit the call out of habit as a sat down and a hen answered down in the bottom. Couple min later she popped out into the meadow below me and for the next half hour she made all grades of racket working her way to within 10 yards of me.. (if you go to school out there the hens will teach you to talk turkey) Confidence level going down at this point.. if she had not gotten a gobble what chance did I have.. but once she left I resumed my climb.. at the top I call again and another hen answered.. this time on my level but down several hundred yards and I thought I heard a faint goggle.. So off I go working toward them, draw and property fence required me to give up the elevation and then climb again.

The next time I stopped and called I kept hearing the hen, closer this time but no gobbles.. Sitting on a rock on a steep hill contemplating my nest move, I hit the ghost cut Halloran mouth call and the gobble about blew my hat off.. directly over my head behind me maybe 20 yards.. maybe.. face mask up quickly and spun off the rock onto my knees.there is a bluff directly behind me and he has to be on top of that then all heck broke loose.. First thing i see is the tip of his fan then his hens fired up, he gobbled again.. he was strutting left to right and I thought he would walk into the open and was ready.. then he turned around and out popped the hens.. 4 or 5 of them all inside 10 yards coming down draw to me.. one eye on them the other on him.. i slowly swing left and the do not spook.. big boy stuck his head in a hole in the pines and as soon as he did it was game over.. he rolled down within 2 feet of me when he flopped..

21lb 20z, 9.5" beard 3/4 inch Spurs

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