First week or so of May starts our annual Turkey Tour. By the end of dads trip our family will have hunted turkeys in 6 states. Last Saturday, April 29, I flew into Omaha and dad was already there with the truck and we headed north and west..
Now the weather out here is always fickle in early May anyway but this year I made the comment on the ride that I got on the plane in June in Raleigh and go off in December or January.. it was just cold (40ish) and the wind was blowing 20 with worse weather in the forecast for Sunday/Monday.. got to the hunting grounds and checked in with our farmer friends.. they wished us luck and said have at it.. a quick hunt Sunday evening created a close encounter but of the Hen and Jake kind so we slipped out and went to the hotel. Woke up Sunday (30th) morning and the rain was blowing sideways and the radar said the worst was yet to come... went back to sleep.. the turkeys can have it.. spent the day checking things out in the closes decent size town up in South Dakota... It rained constantly all day on Sunday... until
About 10pm the rain turned over to snow and we went to sleep with clocks set but little expectation that we would get to hunt the next morning.. we were right.. 5:30am May, 1st still snowing sideways with 3-6" on the ground.. but the radar showed that it should clear by late morning early afternoon. About 10 we looked out an it had stopped.. so by 11 we were sitting on go.. pulled into the farmers driveway and there are 3 long beards and a bunch of hens 100 yards from the house feeding through a wood lot.. no luck trying to get in front of them in the 6" of snow.. but the hunt was on.. Temps rebounded to 50 that afternoon and the melt was on.. birds were pretty quiet.. late afternoon I was sitting in the woods at the end of a corn field enjoying a natural wind break when a call was answered with a gobble then another.. game on..
The birds gobbled a few times but did not seem to be moving so I decided to ease in that direction and see what I could see.. a hillside gave me protection from any eyes in the cornfield and pasture on the other side. As I ease up to the field I catch the movement of what turned out to be a hen in the field. When she turned away I took a couple of big steps to the field and got the gun up.. couple of min later I see the red heads and swinging beards step into view.. clucked with the mouth call and they gobbled and the lead bird stuck his head up.. mistake on his part.. the Heavi went down range and he was done.. Turkeys went everywhere.. I took another two steps forward and a second longbeard was still in the field running in circles.. I let fly a second shot but missed.. the third shot found home and on the morning I woke up to blowing snow.. and my first ever turkey hunt in the white stuff I had two birds on the ground.. 2/3 of a way to a tag out on the first day.
View From the Hotel
Now the weather out here is always fickle in early May anyway but this year I made the comment on the ride that I got on the plane in June in Raleigh and go off in December or January.. it was just cold (40ish) and the wind was blowing 20 with worse weather in the forecast for Sunday/Monday.. got to the hunting grounds and checked in with our farmer friends.. they wished us luck and said have at it.. a quick hunt Sunday evening created a close encounter but of the Hen and Jake kind so we slipped out and went to the hotel. Woke up Sunday (30th) morning and the rain was blowing sideways and the radar said the worst was yet to come... went back to sleep.. the turkeys can have it.. spent the day checking things out in the closes decent size town up in South Dakota... It rained constantly all day on Sunday... until
About 10pm the rain turned over to snow and we went to sleep with clocks set but little expectation that we would get to hunt the next morning.. we were right.. 5:30am May, 1st still snowing sideways with 3-6" on the ground.. but the radar showed that it should clear by late morning early afternoon. About 10 we looked out an it had stopped.. so by 11 we were sitting on go.. pulled into the farmers driveway and there are 3 long beards and a bunch of hens 100 yards from the house feeding through a wood lot.. no luck trying to get in front of them in the 6" of snow.. but the hunt was on.. Temps rebounded to 50 that afternoon and the melt was on.. birds were pretty quiet.. late afternoon I was sitting in the woods at the end of a corn field enjoying a natural wind break when a call was answered with a gobble then another.. game on..
The birds gobbled a few times but did not seem to be moving so I decided to ease in that direction and see what I could see.. a hillside gave me protection from any eyes in the cornfield and pasture on the other side. As I ease up to the field I catch the movement of what turned out to be a hen in the field. When she turned away I took a couple of big steps to the field and got the gun up.. couple of min later I see the red heads and swinging beards step into view.. clucked with the mouth call and they gobbled and the lead bird stuck his head up.. mistake on his part.. the Heavi went down range and he was done.. Turkeys went everywhere.. I took another two steps forward and a second longbeard was still in the field running in circles.. I let fly a second shot but missed.. the third shot found home and on the morning I woke up to blowing snow.. and my first ever turkey hunt in the white stuff I had two birds on the ground.. 2/3 of a way to a tag out on the first day.
View From the Hotel 
