2009 Season Report

[HoytsnHDs]

ORIGINAL: Fan Club

I tagged this gobbler last Saturday on my property. No beating around the bush, this was an easy turkey... right place, right time. I hunted from 5:30 to 10:30 with my 13 yr old grandson, Ryan, at a nearby farm with nothing to show...no gobbles, turkey sightings, nothing. It was overcast, cool and windy and around 10:00 it started to rain. Ryan stayed at the farm with my brother-in-law Chris and I drove home a couple miles to grab some rainsuits. While home, I thought I'd walk to the edge of my woods and call. I got an immediate response and sat under a nearby tree. Another couple yelps and two more gobbles later, there he was at 30 yards.

22 lbs, 1 inch spurs, 10 inch beard.

I've got mixed emotions about this one. We are trying to get Ryan his first gobbler and part of me says I shouldn't have shot it. Then again, this turkey has eaten my corn for the last two winters. I have filled a Michigan tag and can concentrate on helping the kid now. For a real plus, we worked three different gobblers out back on Sunday morning, so there are plenty more toms around.

Nice bird Fan Club! Isn't that the way it usually goes! You can spend day after day chasin' those feathers buggers then BANG one shows up and its over so fast you wonder what you were doing wrong all the other times!

[Fan Club]

Sat, May 23 rd-
 
For three weeks I've been busting my butt trying to help my 13-year old grandson get his first turkey. It's been a challenge. He won't hold still. He gets bored. He gets cold. He gets hungry. He plays with weeds and draws in the dirt with sticks. He falls asleep. At this point, I've realized that I probably want this more than he does.

He enjoys shooting the 20 gauge and he's heard plenty of gobbles and seen some turkeys. But I constantly have to remind myself that although his voice has lowered and he's now taller than me... he's still a kid.

I'm also trying not to be so hard on myself and to make sure this is still fun, for both of us. An altogether different experience than just hunting alone when I'm only accountable for myself, that's for sure.
 


 

[Fan Club]

Part of the frustration with hunting with my grandson is it's just not a priority for him like it is me...starting with trying to get him up at 5:00 a.m. He stays up half the night watching TV. I've tried letting him sleep in and hunting mid-morning, but this late in the year as the temperature rises the turkey action cools. I talked with five guys this past week whom all filled their tags recently at first light. I told him he's missing the best hour of the day when gobbling is at it's peak and birds are moving.
 
Today he got a reprieve for an hour...it was raining at 5:00 a.m. when I got up. We left the house at 6:15 and it stopped raining on the way to the farm. I spotted a group of birds in a freshly planted field trying to dry off. They were about halfway between an island of timber and a corner of the woods, a total span of a couple hundred yards. Ordinarily with two guys, I'd put one in each place and somebody's gonna score. I did the prudent thing and stayed with the rookie. We opted for the woods and belly crawled through wet weeds and briars to get to the corner, Ryan's first experience with that.
 
There were three strutters and five hens in the group. I waited 15 minutes while pruning some space behind a tree. The turkeys hadn't moved. I called softly and sparingly with a mouth call. The turkeys didn't move. Finally after 45 minutes I cackled loudly and yelped on a box call, nothing to lose, right? Might pull a gobbler loose from the pack. The strutters stood proud but the hens began to move towards the island wanting no part of aloud mouth adversary. C'mon, jealous hens on the 24th of May? Give me a break. They should all be nesting by now and the gobs should be answering the call. &*%^$#@ !
 
Anyway, Ryan got to put the sneak on three strutters, within 60 yards anyway. He can't hunt in the morning but we have one more week. Stay tuned...
 
 

[Fan Club]

Well, today is May 31st and the Michigan season ends at sundown.

Ryan passed on the turkey hunting the final weekend, I guess three weekends in a row were enough. He takes karate on Friday nights which is physically taxing and he has been helping another grandfather with some drywalling which wears him out. I question the timing of the later when we had made plans for turkey season well in advance, but it's an unfortunate byproduct of my stepson's (Ryan's father) nomadic living arrangements.

All in all, it was a great season. I filled all of my tags...two in Missouri, one in Michigan... and Ryan and I got to spend some quality time together. Although he didn't get a turkey, it was time well spent. He is learning skills that will serve him well in the future...responsible handling of firearms, steathly movement through the woods, detail observation, focus and patience. Heck he's even learned some lessons in manners and social skills when hanging out with the boys at the coffee shop!

He's going to help me put up the pool this afternoon so we can get on with the season. We'll do some shooting this summer and set our sights on deer hunting this fall.

I wish a safe and healthy summer to all of my Michigan hunting bretheran!

Jeff
 
P.S.- Forgot to add that as a fitting finale, just as I was logging on to post this, A huge gobbler crossed my back yard. I was able to get the binoculars on him...at least a 3 year old with hooked spurs over an inch long and a squared off beard- from dragging on the ground! Next year is already looking good.

[stormshooter4]

NY state season closed at noon today. Missed a tom around 9:45 am. Worked him from 5 am til. His 1st gobble this morn was 4:50am. Oh well, he lives til fall season.