It's way too early for me to fill a tag . I wouldn't have pulled the trigger if they had been longbeards sportin' polished spurs.
I'm waiting on some rain to quieten things down in the woods ,,,so I can ''Indian Up'' on the gobblers roost . I can't recall it ever being this dry in October .
Yesterday morning I was slowly moving along on the top of what we call the ''Break Ridge''. We call it that because if you stumble and fall you will BREAK something. There is a game trail right on the rim which I always use of course . Anyway , moving slowly and stopping for several minutes here and there I finally reach the big saddle where the turkeys like to cross the ridge and roost nearby . It was dead still and dry . Upon reaching the saddle I stopped and planted my feet in a comfortable spot and just froze to listen . About a minute into this quietness a hen begins yelping at me . Then a jake or gobbler did some yelping . Another hen yelps from straight down the south slope of the saddle . Of course I went to work on them with the brass , BUT , my point is , those turkeys were over there out of sight and listening to my footsteps as I moved slowly and stopping frequently . I had nearly the exact same thing happen just before last spring season , except it was a longbeard and he came right over , gobbling all the way , looking for what he thought was another turkey, no doubt . I did not call to him at all . He was a sight standing 20-25 yards in that gametrail looking right at me and never spooking .
The da'gum smart alec turkeys KNOW where the saddles are and how to use them to their advantage . They know all turkeys use the saddles in any given area and when they hear what sounds like a turkey , be it footsteps in dry fodder or a call they are likely to respond .
Oh yeah , I screwed up yesterdays encounter all by myself . In an attempt to keep up the chatter with the jake and hens with the trumpet I missed the note ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and they departed . Oh well, it's just another learning experience for the turkeys and me .
