Well turkey season ends this Saturday in Utah.  It’s been a long one, but a fun one none the less.  Weasel and I have put many miles on the old boots and perhaps today will be my last for this season…time will tell.  But we are headed back out to try it one more time.  Weasel has had his try alone the last three trips out and the birds have out foxed him all three times.  So, today, who knows what will happen.  It’s been almost a full week since his last attempt and maybe, just maybe the other hunters using this same piece of property have given up.  If they have, then the birds have been pretty much left alone and they might be caught off guard this morning.

I’m not giving up hope, but I also know that turkeys don’t generally do what you think they will do.  You can watch them travel up the same trail day after day and when you place yourself on that trail, knowing they will do it again, they go a different direction, or else they aren’t even in the same county.  Weasel set himself up in the same meadow where I had them less than 5 feet away from me fighting, for three days in a row, and all three times they went a different direction.  So the big question for today, Do we set up in the blind together, or do we split up?  My gut feeling is to split up, however, if we were together we could cover two directions at the same time.  This might be my last trip for the season and it sure would be a nice one to bring home a big old gobbler.  I’d like to see Weasel at least get a shot at one.  He did get to aim once this season but it isn’t the same as pulling the trigger.

It’s very late in the season and all the hens are nesting, broods are beginning to hatch and the old toms are all lonely and bunched up in bachelor groups.  We would probably be better off going up to the snow line in search of the birds, but we have a little known haunt down low where we know they like to hide out.  A flock of some 8 to 10 birds and we only need two to fill out tags.  Two dumb ones is what we need.  Is there such a thing as two DUMB turkeys?  Even the two jakes that have been stomping around our home town of Willard are not dummies.  They hang right with the rest of us dummies, yesterday even sporting themselves in a newly cut alfalfa field….close to a shooting spot, but not quite there.  The next place we are likely to see them is on the city council.

So with 4 days left of the season is this our last day afield?  More to come later.

Bears Butt

May 28, 2014

POST HUNT REPORT

Weasel and I got to our hunting spot right on time.  A perfect morning was in store with it being very warm and a slight breeze blowing down the draw.  If the birds were in their usual roost, they should fly down right where they did the time I had them fighting behind me.  On our drive out there we decided to split up.  Weasel would take the upper meadow and I would take the open hill down below.  We also decided to split up the decoys.  He would take Gretchen and I would take Tommy.  Gretchen made all the sense in the world for Weasel to take, as if the birds flew down the toms would probably cater to her more than they would a big old tom, while the tom made sense for me as it would be more visible should the birds fly in my direction.  They might be intending to fly over top of me, but they would see the decoy in plenty of time to shorten their flight and land in front of me.  At least that is what us novice turkey hunters thought.

As the morning light got brighter and brighter the other birds began their usual morning wake up calls.  Soon we could hear a flock of geese passing high over head and with their honking the gobblers began to call out in earnest!  The whole hillside where they usually roost was alive with gobbling!  We even had a hen calling behind my position and up high on the hill.  Surrounded by turkeys!  Two distinct gobblers were below us, while the rest were right where they needed to be for us to possibly get a shot.  They sounded off with every sound a turkey makes, including what I would call putting, but not like an alarm putt.  I’m sure there is a word for that type of call.  The noises they were making went on for over 5 minutes before the first bird came flying down out of the trees.  Just before she lifted off, she made a “fly down” call, which is a series of rapid short clucks.  Her path took her right into Weasels lap!  I thought to myself, YES!  Now if the gobblers will just do the same, he might just get a shot.

Looking up the hill to the roosting area, I saw two more come out of the trees on the wing, these two were coming right at me!  They made a slight adjustment in their flight path and landed just up the hill behind me.  I could hear them making funny turkey sounds as they touched the ground.  I was on my shotgun and holding steady with it pointing toward Tommy.  I just knew they were going to come running right down and knock him over.

In the meantime, I did take a second and looked back up toward the roosting hill, suddenly again, the trees came alive with flying birds and down they came and landed right where Weasel was set up!  I thought YES again and then got back on my shotgun and waited for my birds to come into view.

BLAM!  I heard a shot from Weasels direction and then silence.  Suddenly a flock of six or seven birds sailed over my head and down the hill towards safety.  And then Weasel let out a very loud YEEEEHHHAAAAAA!  I knew he was standing there with his bird in hand!  I thanked God!  And then kept waiting for my birds to come into view.  I could hear them behind me, but they decided to go North instead of East.  The last I heard of them was a distant gobble over the hill to my left.  I continued to wait another half hour before abandoning my position and headed over to where Weasel was set up.  He had closed shop before I got up and was above me on the hill waiting for me to come up.

Sure enough!  Weasel bagged his first ever gobbler!

It was barely 6:30 a.m. and here we were with a bird in the hand!  Congratulations Weasel!  Fine bird!

Back at the truck, I had two cold beers waiting in the cooler.  They have been waiting for this moment for weeks!  Yes, I know it isn’t even 7 a.m. yet, but who cares when it’s time to celebrate!

Great job Weasel!  Next time it’s Conners time!

Bears Butt

May 28, 2014

This sign has been replaced with one that actually means what they intended this sign to mean, but not before I snapped this picture.  I have always thought it was a funny sign and for many years I just “knew” I had taken a picture of it, but I could not find it.  Yesterday, between doing things outside, I had been asked by Winemaker to go through a box of pictures and try and organize them into “commonality” and if I could, to identify them by date.  I posted on Facebook some dates of unknown pictures and have asked some of YOU to help me figure them out….special times like when Weasel killed his big 3 point buck.  That was a special day for him and me.

There was a large group of us on the muzzleloader hunt and we decided to push a fairly large expanse of trees and brush.  A bunch went to the top to make the push, while some of us were to be on “point” and place ourselves where we thought a buck might come running out.  Weasel picked the perfect spot and sure enough this big old 3 point buck came running out and right close to his position.  His shot nailed the buck perfectly, but the buck was a big one and full of  an “I don’t want to die” attitude.  It took more than one shot to put it down for good and the ending was quite an exciting one as the buck decided it would take out Weasel and  another hunter as they went in pursuit of  it over a small hill and onto a flat sagebrush delta.  The buck lost his head down charging battle as two perfectly placed hunting rounds found their marks at the same time in the bucks body.  What year was that?  I can’t remember and so that is why I have asked for help.

Anyway, during my gazing and reminiscing as I went through the box of pictures, I came across this one.

The sign was placed on Temple Flat at the beginning of a mountain road we call “Moose Road”.  Moose Road is actually quite a ways from where this sign is, but it eventually goes to that road.  For simplicity sake we named it that just so people in our group would know where it eventually comes out and meets up with a main road.  The road usually has a lot of deer along side of it and it sure leads through some beautiful mountain scenes, valleys, canyons and hills.

I suspect two different people came up with the verbiage used on this sign and had they separated the two very different meanings with a line, that sign would probably still be there today….but they didn’t.  And so, to say a road has a very low overhead clearance in some places is not a misnomer as it does have some areas where the top of your rig is most likely going to get a dusting off from the low branches of pines and or brush as you travel along.  If your rig is taller than a usual one, say lifted, you are going to get it scratched up with some scratches that might make you unhappy…say, scratched down to the metal.  Normal rigs will get what we commonly call “mountain pin striping”.  My rig had them all over it and that was Ok with me, as I used it for its intended purpose and didn’t care to have it look like it did when it came off the show room floor and especially after the horses decided they wanted to see what color the metal was under the paint on the hood before I had even made my first payment….another story.

So, Yes “Low Clearance Ahead” is a proper way of putting the condition of the road ahead.

“High Profile Vehicles Only”…..HMMMMMM….if you have low clearance ahead and you have a high profile vehicle aren’t you asking for trouble and taking that chance to scratch your rig down to the metal?  I think I would choose another road.  So, let’s decide what the person was thinking that came up with that statement.  Mountain roads around these parts usually are made up of “clay”…the type of clay that sticks to your tires so badly that you end up sliding off the road if it is at all tipped in one direction.  Like these pictures show you:

And even chains don’t help!

The roads are always filled with large rocks and ruts deep enough to tip over an ATV or even sometimes a jeep.  So, there is definitely a need to have a vehicle with an undercarriage high enough to clear these obstacles or go around them.  Four wheel drive is a necessity as well not only because of the roughness of the terrain but also the steepness of some of the hills.  Of course it always helps if the vehicle is carrying the necessary tools to get you out of trouble if you end up in one of the deep ruts and get high centered.  It happens to the best of drivers, and so in order to carry the tools, one is usually looking at a vehicle like a pickup, suburban, jeep or some such rig.  Handy man jack, shovel, come along, chains, tow chain even a winch on the front of the rig is nice to have, just in case.

This is why I think two people were involved with the making of this sign.  One knew about the low overhead branches and the other the roughness of the terrain.

Anyway, I thought you might get a kick out of the sign.

And not related to this story, I have another picture of another sign of mine that is a fun one:

Bears Butt

May 25, 2014

There was plenty of time for a morning turkey hunt before the muskrat auction today, so Weasel and I hit it once again.  Just like clock work, we were in our blinds well before daylight.  The robins nesting in the tree under which I was sitting were quite surprised to find me there when they awoke.  A more perfect morning for turkey hunting could not have been made.  Warm, a very slight breeze at times, overcast….beautiful!

As it began to get light and one could make out the outlines of the tops of the trees, I realized I was not in the spot I had in mind to be sitting, but it was way to late to be making any moves.  I had parked myself too close to the roosting trees and out on the edge of a clearing.  The clearing was where I wanted to be, but I was too far down the hill.  I wanted to be up at the far end of it which would have made me some 100 yards away from the roost.  But, here I sat and unable to move.

I had built a bit of a blind out of some deadfall I found without using my flashlight and it was just a little bit of cover.  I was hoping it would be enough to break up my outline should the birds come down my way.  I positioned my shotgun out in front of me facing the line of trees where the roost was.  Again, you never know if the birds are roosting where they normally do or not, but you have to plan that they are.  My mind said they would fly straight down out of the roost trees and walk out into the meadow I was sitting next to.  With my shotgun pointed in that direction I could move it to my left or right to make adjustments as they came walking out.  This was going to be my day!

In the meantime, Weasel had his new tent blind  and was down the hill from me.  I thought we would be about 200 yards apart and if the birds were roosting down his way, he would get the shot and the birds would run up my way, if they were roosting in the band of trees up my way, I would get the shot and they would run down his direction.

It got lighter and lighter and I was surprised there wasn’t any gobbling going on.  I began to think the birds were not there.  And then I heard the first hen make a soft sound…..crick, crick, crick….And then a little louder….Crick, Crick, Crick….And then I heard her wings flapping as she dropped out of the tree.  I shouldered my shotgun and sighted down the barrel…within a few seconds I could see two birds coming my way out of the trees.  Perfect!  I tried like crazy to see a beard on either one, but they were both hens and they came out perfectly, just like the plan said.  Crossing from my left to my right and out into the meadow about 20 yards from where I was sitting.  They were contently feeding and clucking away when I heard another bird launch itself out of the trees.  This one flew up and out and came down my way like a bomber and landed between me and the two hens.  I was quite certain it was a gobbler.  Much bigger than the hens and darker, but I could not be sure.  Besides, it was to my right and nearly behind me when it landed.  And then the trees erupted with the sounds of wing beats and flying birds.  Down they came, flapping and making strange turkey sounds and they landed with the other 3 birds out in the meadow.  NINE turkeys less than 30 yards away.  Three toms and six hens!   My heart was pounding and I was holding the shotgun in the wrong direction and couldn’t move.  I had my cheek laying on the stock of the gun and peering over to my right watching the birds.  What a magnificent sight!  Nine huge birds right there in my lap and I can’t do a thing but try and hold still and watch them.  The whole time there were always at least two of them with their heads up and of course looking right at me.  I was as stone still as I could be, but after about 5 minutes I could feel my arms beginning to go numb.  The birds fed around behind me and were last seen coming my way.  This is crazy!  I thought to myself.  And then immediately behind the tree I was leaning against, the biggest tom started a fight with a smaller one.  They were only about 10 feet away and I could hear the wings beating against each other and they were cussing in turkey language.  The battle didn’t last too long, but the smaller one finally ran out where I could see it again, obviously roughed up a bit as his feathers weren’t all nice and straight.

Pretty soon all the birds were going in the same direction as the roughed up one and that direction was again to my right and away.  As they neared the far end of the meadow they disappeared from my view, but I held still not knowing if one had an eye on me and I just couldn’t see it.  Then the biggest tom came back into view and stood out about 40 yards and gobbled!  He gobbled 6 or 7 times.  Then I heard Weasel give a call out and the toms head went up and he took about 3 steps down toward where Weasel was.  I thought to myself, “keep it up Weasel and this big boy will cross right in front of me”….but the bird held.  Soon the whole flock came back and joined him and then they all fed across the meadow and out of sight behind me.  I relaxed my arms and let them hang at my sides and the blood finally got back into them.  As I’m typing this, I can still feel the soreness in my biceps.  10 minutes is a long time to hold a shotgun in shooting position without moving.

With them out of sight, I figured I could sneak up a slight depression in the terrain and get above them and I was doing really good at hunkering down and moving quickly when all of a sudden I heard the dreaded PUTT, PUTT, PUTT….busted again!  I backed out as quickly as I had gotten in there.  I never saw them again and I’m sure when that Putting started they high tailed it out of dodge.

So, there you go….Turkeys 7, Hunters 0…..But we were close!  Very close!  Had I been were I wanted to be I’d have gotten a shot and maybe even a bird.  When I got down to where Weasel was, we heard a gobble from up the direction the birds would have ran from me.  We both hid in his blind and tried calling but they wouldn’t have anything to do with it.

Bears Butt

May 19, 2014

I just thought of this:  When those 9 turkeys went behind me and the two toms started to fight, the last turkey I saw was so close I could see its “nose hole” as it sucked air in and blew it out.

How close is that?

The twist almost worked!  As it turned out Weasel wanted to try his hand at sitting under or very near a roost tree.  We snuck in under the cover of darkness and he set himself up.  I kept going up and over to another spot, one in which Dry Dog knows very well.  I staked out Gretchen and then went to building myself a blind next to one of the only oak trees in the area.  I was positioned about 15 yards from my decoy (Gretchen).  My blind went together really well considering I was working almost exclusively without my head lamp.  I didn’t want one of the birds to wake up and see me playing around less than 100 yards from where we suspected they were sleeping.

Once my blind was put together, I snuggled into it and began my long wait for daylight.  The day was overcast with a very slight breeze.  The birds woke as usual:  First the robins, then the tweetie birds, followed by the magpies, crows and pheasants….and then the distinct and very close call of a gobbler!  Right where we wanted it!  YES!

I figured Weasel must be sitting in its poop under the roost tree and he probably added a bit to it as well when that bird sounded off.

I laid out a couple of soft purrs and a cluck or two hoping that when the bird flew down he would come over to check Gretchen out.  Gretchen is one sexy little beast.

Now remember my hearing is terrible and even though the birds were on the roost less than 100 yards away, I could not hear any hens, only the gobbles of the birds and it sounded like there could have been 3 in there.  It wasn’t long before the sun was trying its best to poke through the clouds, but obvious at the same time it was not going to happen.  That is when I heard the distinct sound of a PUTT!  What on earth is a bird putting for?  We are both hidden very well and not making any noise.  But putting was for sure what I was hearing and it was going away and down hill from where Weasel was.  I never saw the bird.

Later, I could hear the distinct sound of a gobbler drumming his wings on the ground.  That sound will never leave you once you hear it.  I’ll describe it as a soft and very low drum beat with a fast cadance…..boomp, boomp, boomp, boomp…..This went on and off for the next several minutes and then I heard the gobbler call out, but he was not coming my way, instead going down hill and away from my position!  He will come back up, I kept telling myself.  I continued to offer seductive sounds of a hen in heat, about 5 minutes apart.  Some louder than others, but no response.  I figured he was coming in silent and so after each series of calls, I put the call down and the gun up to my shoulder, aiming at Gretchen the whole time.  I expected to see the red head come popping up just over the decoys back and I wanted to be ready for action.  Nothing.  This went on for over an hour and I never heard another gobble anywhere around us.

I did see a distant red fox however!

Soon Weasel came over to my spot and told me he had had a great morning.  Here is what I remember of his story:

I was hidden pretty good but when that first Gobble sounded off, I about crapped my pants.  He was about 15 yards from me and up in the tree.  I could see him through the branches.  I was ready for when he came down, I was going to blast him to smitherins!  The hens were all making their sounds as they all were waking from their nights sleep.  There were at least 3 gobblers sitting in the branches around me and I wish I had been about 15 yards farther down the hill from where I was and pointing a different direction but I couldn’t do anything about it now, it was too light and they would have seen me for sure.  So, I just tucked myself down and held fast.

It didn’t take long once it got light for the hens to come off the roost.  They just fluttered straight down.  As I sat there pointing my gun at a small rise in front of me, up popped the head of one of the hens!  BLAM (not a gun blast but more of a swear word)!  She spotted me right off and began to Putt!  Once she started that, the gobblers all shut up and stayed in the trees.  She putted off down the hill and to my right taking all the other hens with her.  Then the gobblers flew down about to where I thought the hens were and off they all went.  The first gobbler that hit the ground came through a small opening about 35 yards out  and I was on him, but not 100% sure it was a gobbler so I didn’t shoot.  Had I known for sure, I would have taken the shot.  (Weasel is shooting a 3 inch 20, loaded with Heavy Metal Turkey loads, 35 yards is not too far for that load)

So, there you have hunting day 6 for us….Turkeys 6, hunters 0.  At least Weasel got to aim at one!  That was the first one he has aimed at in his life!

We came off the mountain and I had some business to take care of, so no extended hunt was allowed for us today.

Bears Butt

May 12, 2014

So, I left Winemaker and MaPa’s sleeping while Weasel and I went in pursuit of the wiley Turkey.  It was 4 a.m. when I picked up Weasel and off we went….heading for our usual beginning hunting spot.

We arrived in perfect time to get signed in and make the mile long hike in the dark.  The weather was not what you would call Great, but we bundled up and made the best of it.  Not to say the turkeys couldn’t see and/or hear us shivering in our blinds long before they flew off the roost.

We toughed it out until first light and then we heard the distinct call of a gobbler on the roost….exactly where they were supposed to be this time!  I was a happy guy, knowing they would soon be busting up the hill right into my waiting Gobbler Getter!  There had to be at least 6 gobblers sounding off down in the holler and I was pretty excited, even though I was freezing my toosh off.  I kept my thoughts on the prize.

As the morning progressed, I could hear one gobbler getting closer, but not close enough.  Time marched on and the whole lot of them took a long break without making any sounds.  I expected one to pop up in view any second.

Today was a bit different than we have seen in the recent past.  There didn’t seem to be the numbers of deer that we usually see, I think I counted 15, where last time I counted nearly 50.  I guess they have migrated through.  My little friend Chipmunk didn’t show up this morning either.  Too cold I suppose.

So, there we sat, frozen or in the process of becoming that state and the big birds just would not sound off.  About 9:30 Weasel came to my blind to make sure I was alive.  He had seen a big Tom travel up a trail in the bottom of the holler and wanted to go try and make it wake up.  So we made a big circle and ended up on the trail high above where it was likely to be heading.  We called, walked quietly, called some more, walked some more, called….Nothing!  So back to the rig we went.

Our next stop for turkey hunting would be….well, I can’t tell you or it would not be a secret….but we took a detour and visited a friend who needed to know the type of animal furs her deceased husband  (and our very good friend) had stored in the house.  Seems she is going to go to Rendezvous and participate in “kids day” to show the kids the different types of furry critters we have in and around our woods.  We had a great visit with her, even though it was short.  And then OFF we went to our next hike.

LONG story SHORT!  All we found was….Well…A…Well, another….GeoCache!  Weasel was the one who spotted it this time.

It is becoming obvious that turkey hunters are natural GeoCache finders.  And after signing our names, I plopped down another of my famous cards!

Oh Ya!  It isn’t every GeoCache that contains a “Bears Butt Dot Com” card….by the way….Don’t forget the “S”!

Bears Butt

May 8, 2014

This little Gobbler is the one we want!  Today is our 5th day trying to find one like this little guy and will we do it today?  Only time will tell.

It’s 3 a.m. and I pick up Weasel in an hour for our trip to the usual morning haunt.  Not once have the birds done what they have done for the past four years, will they do it today?  I’m telling you, turkey hunting is not easy.  The first time I went turkey hunting was in Missouri with my friend Bo, and he had one come in “on a string” (that’s what they call it when one comes running in straight at you).  The season started at 7:05 and by 7:30 we were taking pictures of me with my 26 pound bird.  Have I found that to be the case here in Utah……?…….Not yet.

Well, maybe today.  They say that you have to have faith in where you are hunting and the method you are using to hunt them.  I have faith in both of those things.  Yesterday it rained like the dickens and I highly doubt any hunters ventured out, so the birds got a break from the hunting pressure.  Maybe it was just enough to relax them a bit for todays hunt.

I talked with a lady the other day at the store who owns a mountain cabin near where we have been hunting and she said the turkeys are such a nuisance, she has had as many as 50 birds roost in the overhead of her patio awning and poop all over her furniture and she wishes they would all get killed.  I laughed.  She went on to say that when they first bought the cabin it was such a treat to see the turkeys come into their yard and strut around and how they fed them to make sure they came back.  Now with 50 or more birds coming around she wishes they hadn’t even seen the first one.  I laughed again.  Isn’t mother nature a funny one?  Maybe Weasel and I should go set up on her back lawn…..Coffee, Donuts and a big old yard bird!

There is a fish they call the “fish of a thousand casts”, I’m thinking turkeys are just like that…”The bird of a thousand trips”…..

It’s pretty funny when you think of it, here we are stomping over an area 10 miles, trip after trip and people are complaining about them in their back yards…something doesn’t seem right here.

More to come later, but for now I have to get ready for todays hunt!

Bears Butt

May 8, 2014

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

Well the Gobblers got us again today!  But we did manage to see a couple of hens….let me tell you about our day!

Started off early again, left town at 4 a.m. straight up!  No go backs, no problems.  We arrived at our destination with plenty of time to make our mile long journey in the dark.  We got to Weasels stand and made him a new blind in a slightly different spot.  We figured he might have a better chance hiding in this new spot and have two shooting avenues, one on either side of his blind.  When that was done, I went to my blind and modified it just a tad.  I put a big piece of dead wood over top of my shooting window, which covered me completely and so the only thing the turkeys can see will be the muzzle of the shotgun just before the smoke fills the air.

The air was crisp and it was going to be a wonderful day, a slight breeze and a high expected in the low 60’s.  Much better then Monday.  As the morning got brighter and brighter my hopes began to get higher and higher as well.  I had deer walk very close to the blind and two of them laid down about a hundred yards away.  My concealment is perfect.

My ears were very focused on hearing the gobbling that almost always takes place just as it gets light enough to clearly identify the surroundings and the far off hills.  The sun came up and still not a sound of a gobbler could be heard.  All the other birds were doing their usual, just no turkeys.  Weasel called the morning hunt over about 8 a.m. and we headed for the truck to decide what was the next plan on the schedule.

It was way too early in the day to go home so we decided to go to another spot some distance from where we were and so we headed there.  We had just arrived at that destination when Weasel spotted two turkeys not even 50 yards away, maybe closer.  A quick examination with binocs proved they were both hens….dang!  Well we took ourselves a little hike and didn’t see nor hear anything in the way of turkeys.

Back at the truck again we decided it was time for a snack….Kippers and Viennas with crackers…yummy!  I even topped it off with a Hostess apple pie!  And then down the road we went to destination number 3.

This destination was a blind one for us as we have never done this one.  But I had heard through good sources there were turkeys in the area…so off we went.  It was a long hike but a pleasant one.  The trail was in the bottom of a very narrow canyon and didn’t look “turkey-ish” too much, but we plodded on as quiet as we could.

I spotted a very faint turkey track in the dried mud in the trail and called Weasel back to see it.  He nodded it was a turkey track, but I’m not sure he was convinced.  A few steps later I called him back to another and for sure it was a turkey track!  And then just a few short steps later a turkey up the trail launched itself up and flew away, up the trail it went, flapping and getting out of town.  Dang it again!  We do that alot!

I ask you professional turkey hunters out there:  In a case like this, is it wise to set up and try to call the bird back?  Or just keep plodding up the trail and hope to see it again?

We kept on going, but slower and much more quiet, even though we were being very quiet in the first place, that bird just happened to see us before we saw it.  As we went up the trail the turkey tracks became much clearer and it was obvious turkeys were there.  At a point up the trail several hundred yards from where the turkey took flight, we could hear distinct turkey sounds ahead of us and so we quietly and quickly set ourselves up in a rock slide area, I hid behind a tree and called, while Weasel set up with his shotgun pointing at the trail.  If I could get the bird to come back down the trail to us he would fill his tag easily.  No bird.

We followed the trail again for a hundred more yards or so, hoping to hear the turkey sounds again, but he must have just kept on going up the trail.  We decided not to bust him again today, so we turned around and headed for the truck.

Whenever we are out in the woods we keep a close eye out for garbage and if at all possible we haul it back and toss it in the trash.  We have done this for many years, today was no exception.  As we proceeded down the trail, I just happened to look to my left and saw something red….TRASH!  It was about 20 yards off the trail and nobody else would ever go over and pick it up, so over I went.  BUT WHOA!  This doesn’t look like trash at all:

Butt has found a Geo Cache!  Let’s look inside!

Well, everything else except Bears Butt Dot Com’s card was in there.  A cool stash of goodies and a neat sign in sheet, but no pencil or pen.  So, all I could do was drop in my card.  The canister went back to the spot it was found and I placed a nice big rock on top of it to disguise it better.  Had the rock been on it I would have never seen it.

So, it was a very nice day weather wise, and a very nice day hunting wise.

Turkeys 2, Butt and Weasel ZERO!

Bears Butt

April 30, 2014