Chess with the King and Queen

No one ever said this was going to be easy.

I love this time of the year, the sounds, the smells, a sense of renewal. There’s nothing more relaxing for me than sitting on the edge of an open field watching the sunrise while Turkeys sitting on their roost get ready to drop down and begin their day. It seems like years ago that I begged my Dad to put in for Turkey permit with me. I love the sport, all of it. The highs, the lows, the rain(not so much)…. I’ve described Turkey hunting to my friends who haven’t tried it as the most addicting hunt there is. Having a mature Turkey all puffed out doing his courtship dance and gobbling his head off really gets the heart pumping. Drawing a bead on that Gobbler and squeezing the trigger is bittersweet when the time comes. It just never seems like it’s enough, as the season is only 5 days long, and I know I could hunt for many more weeks.

That’s where I’ve been the last 2 days. Yesterday, the 18th of April, my Turkey season started. Section 346.

To be honest, my season started the Tuesday before. We(my Dad & I) took the drive out to the farm Tuesday after work, to see how things are and what my options were. This year, my Dad didn’t draw a permit, but he wanted to ride along to see if I could drop the hammer on a big gobbler this year. After a brief visit with the owner, we headed to the back of the valley.

Basically there’s only about 4 places to set up. All of them revolve around the pond at the bottom of the hill, just below the trees. Knowing where the Turkeys roost really helps us determine how we set up for opening morning. We decided to set up on the pastured hillside keeping my decoys out in the open for the roosting Turkeys to key in on. The thinking was, a couple low key yelps, clucks and purrs would get them to glide across the valley and into our setup. Nothing to tricky, just simple plan. After a quick brush clearing for shooting lanes on the edge of the woods, we were on our way out with high hopes for the opening morning.

I gotta tell ya, it’s amazing how soon 4am comes. We were out the door and down the road in no time with visions of Gobblers weaving through my decoys. 25 minutes later we pulled into the farm and made our way to our blind and set up my decoys.

What a beautiful morning it was to be out. The light breeze kept me cool and the song birds kept the tempo by singing louder as the sun chased away the dark and drowned out the stars.

I sat down behind my makeshift blind and set out my various calls I had chosen for this year’s hunt. I’m not typically one to call directy after seating myself. I usually left things calm down for about 15-20 minutes. I want to draw attention to myself, but not in matter that will cause the Turkeys to be cautious of the location.

About 15 minutes into my sit, I ring out a soft series of yelps from my new Purdy Mountain box call. Without delay I hear a responding set of gobbles from 3 different Turkeys. “Well that worked!” I thought to myself. This may be done quicker than I had hoped. Now, I’m not one to over-call and force the issue, so I wait probably a solid 5 minutes before I set out another series of calls. Again, replies from all 3 birds. This time they are hot. One of them double-gobbles and a chorus breaks from the valley they are roosting in. With the birds hot, I switch up calls to try and mimic more than one Hen on my side of the valley. Again, they light up the valley with a round of gobbles and double-gobbles.

Now I’m beginning to think the end is near and these guys will be sailing over anytime. I couldn’t have been anymore off the target with my assumption. The Turkeys dropped out of their roost and made a bee-line for the adjacent field. It’s hard to fight a sunny field full of picked corn. The funny thing about Turkey hunting is, the Toms almost always follow the Hens. The Hens had food on the brain and the Toms had lovin’ on their mind. None of which had anything to do with me and my set up. As perfect as it may be…. I don’t have permission to hunt the adjacent field and I still had to get to work, so my options were pretty clear to me. Find another place to set up for the second day and be ready to make adjustments accordingly. Because anything can and will happen…..

Like I said at the beginning, “No one ever said this was going to be easy.”

The second day’s hunt is to come.

Sounds like a great day Tom. I never have hunted Turkeys myself but have many friends that think it is some of the best hunting there is. They ask every year if I want to go, I might have to take them up on their offer one year.
Thanks for sharing,
Ron

Sounds like a great day Tom. I never have hunted Turkeys myself but have many friends that think it is some of the best hunting there is. They ask every year if I want to go, I might have to take them up on their offer one year.
Thanks for sharing,
Ron

Don’t do it!!! YOu’ll be hooked.

Don’t do it!!! YOu’ll be hooked.

Sounds like a great time. My friend and I were just talking about giving turkey hunting a try next year.. Now I wish we would have just dcided to do it this year. Hope to have a nother great read, with a picture of your bird, soon.

Sounds like a great time. My friend and I were just talking about giving turkey hunting a try next year.. Now I wish we would have just dcided to do it this year. Hope to have a nother great read, with a picture of your bird, soon.

Great read. Good luck tomorrow morning. Hey, maybe you’ll get off work early enough to hunt the roost.

Great read. Good luck tomorrow morning. Hey, maybe you’ll get off work early enough to hunt the roost.

Want to turkey hunt longer than your 5 days?Want to turkey hunt whenever you want?Put down your gun and grab your camera and tripod.Buy a roll of camo tape and camo it up good.Set up as you normally would;blind,decoys,etc.Now you’re ready to capture the thrill of the “hunt” for all to enjoy.

Want to turkey hunt longer than your 5 days?Want to turkey hunt whenever you want?Put down your gun and grab your camera and tripod.Buy a roll of camo tape and camo it up good.Set up as you normally would;blind,decoys,etc.Now you’re ready to capture the thrill of the “hunt” for all to enjoy.

that really sucks. 5 day hunt!!. i couldn’t do it. That’s why i decide to bow hunt deer and turkey. longer seasons baby

that really sucks. 5 day hunt!!. i couldn’t do it. That’s why i decide to bow hunt deer and turkey. longer seasons baby

I’m heading out again either tomorrow or tomorrow and Saturday to work on calling and observing.

I don’t know about the later seasons for bow, but I know my season was 5 days long regardless of bow or gun.

I’m heading out again either tomorrow or tomorrow and Saturday to work on calling and observing.

I don’t know about the later seasons for bow, but I know my season was 5 days long regardless of bow or gun.

Thursday’s hunt.

Once again, the day started way too early at 4am, with the ringing alarm clock. I run through my morning ritual, then jump into my camo and head for the farm. Joining me again as a witness is my Dad.

The day before we set up a blind on the opposite side of the valley. This position offers us the opportunity to get closer to the birds as it’s just below where they roost. The set-aside in front of us is mostly laid down from the previous winter’s snow. There are strips mowed in the grass for the pheasants, which by the way are very adundant.

We took advantage of one of the strips by placing our decoys up on small knoll so the Turkeys can easily see them. Placing them at 30 yds ensures us a clean and lethal shot at that distance should any Turkeys show up. I placed the hens facing away from the direction the Turkeys should come from and face the Jake decoy towards the direction they should come in from. By doing that I can show the Tom that the Jake is defending Hens and the Hens aren’t interested with the would-be intruding Tom. Kinda like picking a fight.

Crawling back into the blind, I once again lay out my calls and get myself comfortable. Sometimes a daunting task when using a tree as a backrest.

After a little cool-down period, I grab an Eddie Salter push-button box call and sound out a series of soft yelps. Instantly I get to reports exactly from where I expected them to be. Plus a long distance gobble from a bird buried deep in the valley. The feelings of excitement are building again. The set up is right, the birds are hot and I’m ready for some action.

Before I can lay down another series of yelps, I hear “The Queen” Ma Hen take umbrage with my intrusion. Now you know why I’ve titled this post, ‘Chess with the King and Queen.’ This whole hunt is a game of chess played out on a massive scale. The fortunate ones get their bird on opening morning. The truly lucky ones get to play the game. I feel truly lucky to be able to test my skills against not one, but 2 great adversaries.

Now I know, I have my hands full. The Tom’s are holed up with Ma Hen and it’s my job to lure them away from her so I can have my shot. To do that, I have to either make myself more appealing by appearing as a flock of waiting Hens or deviate from the traditional course and become the aggressor to the Hen.

I did some online reading for tips and tricks from calling Turkeys. Most of it I’d read before. Some of it I’d forgotten. The one trick I came across, dealt exactly with Toms that are “Henned Up.” To get Toms with Hens lured into your set up, you should mimic the Hen. Do everything the Hen does. If she lays out 7 clucks and purr, you lay out 7 cluck and purr. Be aggresive. The idea is to really aggrevate the Hen into a confrontation. She’ll come charging in and the Tom will be quick to follow. I’ve used this in the past and it does work.

So now that I know I’m dealing with the “Queen,” the King should fall right behind her(with a little luck). It all worked perfectly, she clucked, cut and yelped, to which I cluckd, cut and yelped right behind her. You can really tell when this works, because the Hen will get louder as the confrontation progresses.

What I didn’t bet on was their refusal to cross a fence that they’d been over and under many times before. That was the first dagger in Thurday’s hunt. Every last bird stayed in the woods.

Refusing to be frustrated and head for the truck, I sat back patiently waiting. Not because I knew the birds would be back, but because my Dad looked really comfortable sleeping against his tree. So I wait, probably close to an hour, every so often laying down some yelps hoping something would reply. Those Turkeys are well know for slipping behind you and coming in unannounced.

I had just finished a series of calls when out of the woods came a thunderous set of gobbles from a pair of warmed up Toms. What happens next, I can’t explain. For some reason the Hens that were with the Toms started putting like crazy. I know they haven’t busted us, because they aren’t that close. The Toms wouldn’t call back now no matter what I tried. Frustration and confusion abounds. What happened…? I know they didn’t see me or my Dad. He was still sleeping. Something, spooked them. I’ll never know. I do know that the place I’m hunting has a Coyote problem. We saw one opening morning. Maybe they got spooked by a ‘yote. I’ll never know.

Sitting there now feeling really dejected I see movement to my left. There they were. The 2 Toms I’d been working on for the last 20 minutes. Too far for any kind of shot. A couple soft purrs and yelps, yeilded nothing. They beat feet across the set-aside and up onto the pastured field where we’d been the day before. Incredibly, they ran right through the previous day’s position. That hurt….

Slowly I turned around to see my Dad wake up. He lifts his hands in a gesture as to ask “what’s the deal?” I run my fist with my thumb stuck out across my throat. I’m sure you know the motion. Dead…..as in our day. Over….

In case you’re still wondering, yes I still love this sport.

Friday’s hunt will be up soon.

Thursday’s hunt.

Once again, the day started way too early at 4am, with the ringing alarm clock. I run through my morning ritual, then jump into my camo and head for the farm. Joining me again as a witness is my Dad.

The day before we set up a blind on the opposite side of the valley. This position offers us the opportunity to get closer to the birds as it’s just below where they roost. The set-aside in front of us is mostly laid down from the previous winter’s snow. There are strips mowed in the grass for the pheasants, which by the way are very adundant.

We took advantage of one of the strips by placing our decoys up on small knoll so the Turkeys can easily see them. Placing them at 30 yds ensures us a clean and lethal shot at that distance should any Turkeys show up. I placed the hens facing away from the direction the Turkeys should come from and face the Jake decoy towards the direction they should come in from. By doing that I can show the Tom that the Jake is defending Hens and the Hens aren’t interested with the would-be intruding Tom. Kinda like picking a fight.

Crawling back into the blind, I once again lay out my calls and get myself comfortable. Sometimes a daunting task when using a tree as a backrest.

After a little cool-down period, I grab an Eddie Salter push-button box call and sound out a series of soft yelps. Instantly I get to reports exactly from where I expected them to be. Plus a long distance gobble from a bird buried deep in the valley. The feelings of excitement are building again. The set up is right, the birds are hot and I’m ready for some action.

Before I can lay down another series of yelps, I hear “The Queen” Ma Hen take umbrage with my intrusion. Now you know why I’ve titled this post, ‘Chess with the King and Queen.’ This whole hunt is a game of chess played out on a massive scale. The fortunate ones get their bird on opening morning. The truly lucky ones get to play the game. I feel truly lucky to be able to test my skills against not one, but 2 great adversaries.

Now I know, I have my hands full. The Tom’s are holed up with Ma Hen and it’s my job to lure them away from her so I can have my shot. To do that, I have to either make myself more appealing by appearing as a flock of waiting Hens or deviate from the traditional course and become the aggressor to the Hen.

I did some online reading for tips and tricks from calling Turkeys. Most of it I’d read before. Some of it I’d forgotten. The one trick I came across, dealt exactly with Toms that are “Henned Up.” To get Toms with Hens lured into your set up, you should mimic the Hen. Do everything the Hen does. If she lays out 7 clucks and purr, you lay out 7 cluck and purr. Be aggresive. The idea is to really aggrevate the Hen into a confrontation. She’ll come charging in and the Tom will be quick to follow. I’ve used this in the past and it does work.

So now that I know I’m dealing with the “Queen,” the King should fall right behind her(with a little luck). It all worked perfectly, she clucked, cut and yelped, to which I cluckd, cut and yelped right behind her. You can really tell when this works, because the Hen will get louder as the confrontation progresses.

What I didn’t bet on was their refusal to cross a fence that they’d been over and under many times before. That was the first dagger in Thurday’s hunt. Every last bird stayed in the woods.

Refusing to be frustrated and head for the truck, I sat back patiently waiting. Not because I knew the birds would be back, but because my Dad looked really comfortable sleeping against his tree. So I wait, probably close to an hour, every so often laying down some yelps hoping something would reply. Those Turkeys are well know for slipping behind you and coming in unannounced.

I had just finished a series of calls when out of the woods came a thunderous set of gobbles from a pair of warmed up Toms. What happens next, I can’t explain. For some reason the Hens that were with the Toms started putting like crazy. I know they haven’t busted us, because they aren’t that close. The Toms wouldn’t call back now no matter what I tried. Frustration and confusion abounds. What happened…? I know they didn’t see me or my Dad. He was still sleeping. Something, spooked them. I’ll never know. I do know that the place I’m hunting has a Coyote problem. We saw one opening morning. Maybe they got spooked by a ‘yote. I’ll never know.

Sitting there now feeling really dejected I see movement to my left. There they were. The 2 Toms I’d been working on for the last 20 minutes. Too far for any kind of shot. A couple soft purrs and yelps, yeilded nothing. They beat feet across the set-aside and up onto the pastured field where we’d been the day before. Incredibly, they ran right through the previous day’s position. That hurt….

Slowly I turned around to see my Dad wake up. He lifts his hands in a gesture as to ask “what’s the deal?” I run my fist with my thumb stuck out across my throat. I’m sure you know the motion. Dead…..as in our day. Over….

In case you’re still wondering, yes I still love this sport.

Friday’s hunt will be up soon.

Great read…thanks for taking us along on your hunt.

I was one of the fortunate ones to get a bird the first day, but I’m not ready to quit yet. Tomorrow it’s the calls, decoys and a video camera.

I think you’ll get to call “Check Mate” before your hunt is over.

Great read…thanks for taking us along on your hunt.

I was one of the fortunate ones to get a bird the first day, but I’m not ready to quit yet. Tomorrow it’s the calls, decoys and a video camera.

I think you’ll get to call “Check Mate” before your hunt is over.

Excellent read! I can visualize the entire hunt as if I was sitting right there! Looking forward to your update on todays adventure! Also looking forward to my season which starts next Wednesday!

Excellent read! I can visualize the entire hunt as if I was sitting right there! Looking forward to your update on todays adventure! Also looking forward to my season which starts next Wednesday!

Holy Cow Tom!! Great posts! I will admit I am feeling some suspense here but I learned a lot and that pumped me up too. Too bad my season is already done with like you said it all happens way to fast. Well I hope you got one today or get one soon, sounds like a lot of action going on! The same thing happened to us with the hens..I didn’t notice if my uncle was mimmicking them, but the tom I shot actually came in with 2 hens..We were lucky enough to call in the whole gang

Good luck!

Holy Cow Tom!! Great posts! I will admit I am feeling some suspense here but I learned a lot and that pumped me up too. Too bad my season is already done with like you said it all happens way to fast. Well I hope you got one today or get one soon, sounds like a lot of action going on! The same thing happened to us with the hens..I didn’t notice if my uncle was mimmicking them, but the tom I shot actually came in with 2 hens..We were lucky enough to call in the whole gang

Good luck!

Blue, your account of the hunt makes for great reading. I had some success today. I called in a nice gobbler about 8:00 this morning. He came in on a trot and I had a shot at 25 yds. Hopefully tomorrow my son can get one to come in. Good luck –John

Blue, your account of the hunt makes for great reading. I had some success today. I called in a nice gobbler about 8:00 this morning. He came in on a trot and I had a shot at 25 yds. Hopefully tomorrow my son can get one to come in. Good luck –John

Tom,

Great write up! It sounds like you did everything right but the big boy just didn’t cooperate. That’s turkey hunting for ya and that’s why we do it! If it was easy everytime out, we would probably wouldn’t go anymore.

Have you experimented calling without using your decoy set up? A few years ago, I changed over exclusively to never using decoys and it has really increased my odds. I realize there are good times and bad times to use decoys but was just wondering if you tried setting up on a Tom without decoys.

Tom,

Great write up! It sounds like you did everything right but the big boy just didn’t cooperate. That’s turkey hunting for ya and that’s why we do it! If it was easy everytime out, we would probably wouldn’t go anymore.

Have you experimented calling without using your decoy set up? A few years ago, I changed over exclusively to never using decoys and it has really increased my odds. I realize there are good times and bad times to use decoys but was just wondering if you tried setting up on a Tom without decoys.

Tom

Had a similar experience years ago – I was up on small flat, had a hen and Tom down in the creek bottom – The Tom was strutting. I knew, same as you, that to get to the Tom, I had to get the hen to “come”. I called her in, she was so close when I last looked at her that I could see the hairs on her eyelids when she blinked…..

Tom never budged, he stayed where he was strutting…..

Argh!!

UG

Tom

Had a similar experience years ago – I was up on small flat, had a hen and Tom down in the creek bottom – The Tom was strutting. I knew, same as you, that to get to the Tom, I had to get the hen to “come”. I called her in, she was so close when I last looked at her that I could see the hairs on her eyelids when she blinked…..

Tom never budged, he stayed where he was strutting…..

Argh!!

UG