by Brian Lovett, editorAs I eased out of the truck during my second morning in Texas, the reaction
was immediate.
"Warmer," I thought. "Much warmer."
Guide Mike Stroff of SOE Hunts pointed toward a road that bisected two
ponds, and off I went. Turkeys began gobbling almost immediately to the
south, so I slipped in as far as possible and then sat against a small live
oak. Ideal? No, but it was the best I could do.
Soon, the birds flew down and clammed up. A series of yelps netted no
responses, but when I cutt hard, two birds hammered back from the east.
Within seconds, a hen and two strutters cleared the trees and began milling
about in a field 80 yards away. I was stuck.
When I called again, however, a bird responded 75 steps away to the south. I
quickly shifted around and yelped again. After two minutes and some frenzied
gobbling, Rio Grande No. 2 was flopping 20-some steps away.
That afternoon, temperatures hit the mid-80s, and I joined writer Matt
Coffey in a tent blind near a live-oak grove. Astoundingly, we called in and
spooked a gobbler almost immediately. I'm still not sure what happened, but
the bird didn't stick around to find out.
As evening set in, the turkeys got active. A strutter and two hens set up
shop 80 yards behind us, and then two more gobblers circled around us to
join them. Minutes later, a trio of 2-year-olds followed the same path. We
had six longbeards within 80 yards.
Eventually, we coaxed the three 2-year-olds out of the timber to the field
edge, and Coffey killed one at 30 steps, ending a perfect day. Even as we
left the blind to meet our guide, a bird was gobbling like mad in the
distance.
We still had one more day to hunt, but everyone doubted it could match the
first two.
Alm ost had my first Osceola last weekend at JW Corbett WMA in south florida. Not only was it in the 80 degree range but it was public land. Next year I will do better. Next week I'll try for a bird in Wisconsin were I will probably b e wishing for that warm temp right around sun-up!