The day’s turkey hunt took us to our usual first spot, but the birds were roosting about a half mile farther South than usual.  Just our luck.  A perfect morning too.  Nice and cool, but not cold, absolutely NO wind, which is really unusual.  We thought we had it made in the shade this morning.  But, the birds got the best of us one more time.  We did see a big old strutting tom and 5 hens, but they were over a thousand yards away.  No chance to get a sneek in on them.

In addition to the turkeys we saw close to 50 deer and one coyote.  I kept hoping the coyote would come popping over the ridge into my waiting gun, but it didn’t happen.  He was last seen coming my way on a good clip.  He needs to die!

So we headed to points 2 and 3…Point 2 had nothing and so on to point 3.

Point 3 takes us on a nice long hike and it is really a nice hike to be sure.  Lots of game can be seen if you care to take time and watch for it.  We saw a whole lot of deer and several pine hens.  Turkeys?  Well, not today.  Our hike today was over 3 miles one way and not too shabby when it came to being “steep”…In my younger days I would have been exhausted, but now that I’m older and in better shape it was a fun hike!  We wanted to go further, but we ran into a very deep snow shoot…..Here is Weasel at the end of the trail.

And one can’t do much these days without taking a “selfie”….

By the time we arrived at this location it was after 2 p.m. and when you look up the shoot the top of the snow is over 300 yards, nearly straight up, we did not want to go up there to cross over and the snow was WAY TOO deep behind Weasel to cross there.  It was time to go back to the truck.

Of course up to the end of the trail we had to take a break and here is Weasel eating some Kippers and Bacon flavored Ritz crackers….Now folks, THAT is a good combination of tastes!

Now a break from a strenuous hike is a good thing, but as we sat there enjoying crackers and Kippers we heard a noise and wondered what it was.  It didn’t take long for some critters to come visiting us….Turkeys?  No!  We wish.  So now go back up to the first picture on this post and see if you can see the critters.  No going on, until you go back.

Now see if you can see the critters in the next several pictures:

How many critters do you see in the last picture?

We decided our camo worked very well.  You see these pics are taken with my “not to expensive” cell phone camera and for those deer to look that good, you know they had to be very close.

So, there you have our day.  Tons of deer!  One coyote!  Several grouse!  Six turkeys, one of which was a nice gobbler!  Very sore muscles and my blister….well it will heal.

Bears Butt

May 5, 2014

It’s our 4th attempt to fool the big birds of the forests!  We know a little more about what they do and how they react to the little things that people do.  Stay still, stay focused and when the time comes, aim small!

My blister is acting up this morning, but with some bandaids and a little luck I should be OK to hike around.

More later, as right now it’s time to head out!

Bears Butt

May 5, 2014 (Sink full of Mayo)

Here we go again!  This will be Weasel and my third attempt to get a shot at one of these birds.  Today we are taking Conner with us.  It would be so nice if he could get a shot.  That alone would make my entire season a success.

What do I expect today?  Well, first off it’s Saturday.  Secondly it’s going to be over 80 degrees, sunny and no chance of rain.  A real big change from what it was on Monday.  I’m thinking I won’t even need my coat even at 4 a.m. this morning.  I’ll take it, but probably will regret it by 9.

So, there will no doubt be people all over the hills.  I’m leaving Gretchen in the truck (she is my hen decoy) and Weasel and I have talked about the days expectancies already.  We will be in our blinds long before anyone else gets on the hill.  Then as they come, they will spook the birds (fresh off the roost) right up and into our hideouts.  BLAM!  BLAM!  BLAM!  3 down and it’s off for home!

Sounds like a plan to me!

Most of the time I like to avoid the weekends and holidays, but with Conner in school, we have to go when he can go.  Today will be a regular zoo out in the hills, but that is part of the plan, right?  He needs to see just what it’s like with lots of people around, so when he does get to go out and not see a crowd, he will appreciate the hills to himself.  It’s a whole different situation.  Today we are planning on the crowd to help us herd the flock into our lair.  We will sneak in quietly, hide up as usual, and wait for them to flush them our way.  Where we are hunting there are two major drainages, one is an easy walk from the parking area and this one usually gets most of the foot traffic.  The other takes a bit of hiking for the hunters and it makes them feel like they are really hunting.  The travel along a dirt road for over a half mile, and then they drop in and hike the bottom of the draw.  The birds have come off their roosts by the time the people arrive (usually) and when they see the movement of the “troops”, they run like heck.  Where do they run?  Right to the spot we are set up in!  Either that, or they fly to another zip code.

More to come later.

Bears Butt

May 3, 2014