So anyways…made it over to Detroit Lakes for my turkey season last weekend. Barely made it into town before the wind/snow picked up. I drove in from Grand Rapids and my buddy came up from Litchfield.
We were pelted with 17 inches of snow, blown by 30-40 mph winds on Saturday morning. After getting stuck a few times in the truck, we returned to the house and worked out “plan B”. Plan B included strapping the shotguns (cased) to the snowmobiles and taking off to the turkey woods. The snow was so sticky that even getting there with the sleds was a process…2 hours to go about 15 miles.
Not surprising, we didn’t do any good opening day. Looking back, I’m not sure why we even ventured out. Just looking for an adventure, I guess.
Sunday was better (the snow had stopped falling and the wind had calmed down). We had one encounter with a decent tom, but he was unwilling to close the distance. Confident that we’d located his home stompin’ grounds, we decided to back out and try again in the AM. Day three found us in the Double Bull prior to shooting light with our decoys in place – our set up was just across a clearing from where we’d spotted the tom the previous day.
About 8:30 we had a jake sneak into our dekes, and we passed on him – due mostly to the fact that he never gave us a good profile view of himself until he was out of range. Couldn’t be certain if it was a hen or a jake. Hmph.
An hour later, the tom presented himself – gobbling and strutting for us on the far side of the clearing. He would not close the distance, however. He’d goggle, strut, and then scratch for acorns in the patches of bare ground. Everytime he’d start in our direction, he’d sink belly-deep into the snow and retreat. Hmph.
We figured we’d waite him out – either he’d come in or leave. We had to sit for 5 more hours for him to leave. 8 1/2 total hours in the blind is a long time, but we were able to slide out of there undetected.
Day four – I was up at 3:30 and worked my way into the edge of the clearing that the tom had spent his time at the previous day. Feeling especially confident in my set up, I bent down to place a decoy near a large oak tree when my world exploded. The tom was roosted in that tree not 15 feet above my head. He blew out of there and I about filled my britches.
There I stood in the pale moonlight holding a hen decoy knowing that my Turkey Season ’08 was over.
Though no tags were filled, it will undoubtedly be one the most memorable hunts of my lifetime. I’ll try and figure out how to post some pictures of our efforts in the snow.
That is just a bummer about the last day and spooking your tom! That has to be a crappy feeling indeed! But hey, hats off to you and your hunting partner for not giving up just because of the weather. The birds live in that stuff 24/7 so they are used to it…we just have to give it a try because you never know what will happen. And you can’t shoot one if your in bed! 
