As I am waiting for the decided upon hour (minute) to arrive to go off turkey hunting I figure I might as well remind you one last time about the application period for antlerless permits.  The application process began last Wednesday and continues to June 20…for some of you that is a long time, for others it isn’t.

Weasel and I decided we would group up and apply for a CWMU unit for cow elk, rather than take a chance on drawing another unit that would coincide with the muzzy deer hunt where we like to hunt.

Why?  There are more permits available for this CWMU than the general area that was considered and secondly, it’s an “almost guarantee” of getting an elk on the CWMU, IF we draw.  No draw means more points for future draws…we now have 3 points.

The biggest drawback to the CWMU, as I see it, is the hunting dates.  It is left up to the CWMU land owner and his help to determine when to call us to come up for the hunt.  Which isn’t a bad thing, because usually when they call it’s because the animals are there and generally causing problems for them.  The issue with me is “planning”…I like to know ahead of time when the hunt will take place and by accepting this tag I am at the mercy of the others and must accept the fact that I might have to go hunting “in the morning”, when the call comes on the night before.

If it means a freezer full of super good meat, well I must sacrifice.  Much like “Grog”, who got wakened by “Sluff” to grab his club and try to intercept the migrating Trachodons.  This had to be done before the fire went out, which meant gathering more wood as well.

Well, I’m off turkey hunting for one last time this 2013 season!

Bears Butt

May 31, 2013

Tomorrow is the last day of May…It is also the last day of the 2013 turkey season here in Utah….Not a time I wanted to see come without me having filled my tag…none the less…Weasel and I are heading out for our last day of hunting.  What game changes are we going to employ?  None!  We are going to do exactly what we have been doing for the last several trips out.  Why change now?

Those birds have done the same thing for the past several years and we have been trying to figure them out…so 3 trips ago we were on top of them and then outsmarted our selves and they went where they usually do.  The last two trips we placed ourselves right where we needed to be and the birds didn’t come in…one day of rain…one day of no rain…what is with them?  We don’t know, but we figure what the heck, do again what hasn’t worked yet.  Maybe, just maybe they will come through and we will get a shot.

At any rate, it’s the last day of the season and by golly, we are going to be there!

There are three types of hunters that hunt turkeys…the early birds who end up shooting their birds the first few days and then they go to bragging and saying how easy it is to bag turkeys….The middle hunters who say they have given it enough tries to make them feel like they have given all they could and didn’t fill their tags…and then there are us two…Die hard hunters, who say it ain’t over yet!  It ain’t over until the sun sets and the guide book forces us to quit for the year!

So, at 3 a.m. I’ll be prying myself out of my warm and cozy bed and heading for the top of that one hill, about 200 yards above the roosting birds!  And there I’ll sit until the Weasel says it’s time to go, or darkness overcomes us once again!

Dang it!  It’s bird time!  Give us a shot!

Bears Butt

May 30, 2013…for May 31, 2013, but more will come to this post tomorrow after we get back!  Wish us luck!

THE NEXT DAY…NOONISH…

As before, the morning alarm didn’t ring as I was awake 15 minutes before it was set to go off…I’m up and excited to get to the blind.  There is something in the air this morning…The coffee is tasting exceptionally good to me and with the second cup, I’m down at the Weasels waiting patiently 10 minutes before I told him I’d be there.

We were both excited to be heading out for the last day of the turkey season and we had very high hopes at the outcome.  Our conversation turned from “wonder if anyone else has hunted in there since last week” to “do you think the birds have gotten back into their routine”?  And everything else in between.

I actually can only think of a couple of places that my minds eye tells me I was driving and suddenly there we were at the hunting site.  Scrambling to get down to the blinds.  The morning light was ahead of where it should be…our mistake for forgetting the clock does not tell the sun what to do.

At the blinds Weasel says he wants to be in a spot where he can see the fly down if it happens below us and so he is set up about 20 yards to my extreme right and down the hill a bit.  I am comfy in my blind, with lots and lots of cover.  My only issue was my hydration pack had leaked down my back and my whole backside, butt included, was soaking wet…it did not make for a very warm morning wait…but I soon got used to it.

The wind blew quite a bit this morning and I was beginning to think the birds just might be out in the open more than usual.  However, not being a very adept turkey hunter, I was only guessing.  I thought about how tall the grass was now and what do turkeys do with tall grass?  Does it bother them at all?  I was sitting there “not moving” and listening to the morning erupt…we have a new batch of cows in the area living among the turkeys this morning.  Their beds were all about my watch area, but they themselves were down in the valley below.  The valley that Weasel was watching for the fly down.

The sun was fully up when I heard my first morning gobble.  It was fairly close and to my extreme left and down hill.  After the second gobble, I decided I should let out a single hen yelp to let him know a seductive little critter was perched above him on the hill.  He responded to the call perfectly and I felt great satisfaction in knowing that I had finally done something “turkey right”.  I set the call down and forgot about it.  My mind telling me, “he knows exactly where you are and will come as soon as he gets out of the tree”.

An hour passes and soon the Weasel is knocking my blind down to tell me he has seen a gobbler fly down on an opposite hill and that he is going in pursuit!  I wish him luck and tell him I’m staying right here until he comes back to get me and I’m not leaving a minute sooner.

I keep looking over toward the hillside where Weasel said he saw the bird land and all of a sudden, I see it…pecking the ground and otherwise doing turkey stuff.  I decided I would see if my hen call would get his attention.  He is over 400 yards away and up wind from me.  I let out a slow and seductive series of yelps…UP came his head and he was looking right at me!  I was surprised and I thought maybe if I can keep his attention, Weasel may be able to sneak in for a shot.  I kept yelping about every three minutes and soon he forgot about me and went back to eating and walking off.  Well I had his attention for a minute.  I also watched the Weasel slowly sneaking along, about 100 yards above and behind the gobbler…suddenly the gobbler took off on a dead run away and was gone in a flash…followed closely by a hen doing the same thing!  BUSTED!!!!!  But Weasel didn’t know it.

My attention then came back to my immediate surroundings.  I had to re-familiarize myself with my area.  There are my 30 yard flowers, blowing softly in the breeze…There is the 50 yard patch of brush…Hey, there are 5 deer feeding down there about 100 yards to my left and below me.  It’s way cool to see deer this time of year.  Sometimes they look really rough as they are shedding their winter coats and other times they look really slick and getting fat…all five of these deer looked slick and fat.

Suddenly the two deer in the back of the group pop up their heads and look my way…but not right at me…more off to my left and behind me.  I think, I wonder if another deer is coming up behind me and I slowly turn my head to my left as far as I can and then continue to move my eyes over to the far left of my eye sockets….BAM…a red head!  It’s a turkey and not just a turkey…It’s a gobbler…maybe a 7 inch beard…it takes a step from my left towards my right (making it much better to see than with my eyes smashed against the side of my sockets)…It stops and is looking down at the deer…I am frozen and time stands still.  The bird pecks the ground one time and then pops up its head and looks right into my eyes…I don’t blink…I don’t move…I don’t…..

It takes another step forward and keeps me pinned down and then it turns to look at the deer again.  I already have my right thumb on the safety and my left hand under the fore stock of the shotgun, but the gun is resting on my blind and not up to my shoulder…had I expected a turkey to come from that direction I would have been more prepared, but I thought they would come in front and from the right, not from behind and left.  I slid the safety off and it made an ever so soft “click”, the bird spun its head in my direction and then opened its mouth as if to say…”Wholy Chit Man!!!”…It took a quick step forward just as I quickly raised the shotgun to my shoulder, it launched into flight and flapped one time as the gun blast tore through the air!  A huge pile of flying feathers filled the air and the bird did a cartwheel to my left and down….I was up in a flash, jumped the blind and jacked another shell into the chamber and approached what I knew I would find…a big pile of turkey…nothing…nothing…nothing anywhere…this can’t be…I blew it up!  It was only 10 yards away at the farthest when I shot…It has to be dead…maybe it’s down there…nope…maybe it’s closer than I thought…nope…under that rock ledge, that big bush….ripping through all the brush I could see around there and nothing…not even a single feather could be found!  I saw the bird go down, and in a heap too…where in the heck….

I continued to look under and in everything imaginable on that open hillside and then soon here came the Weasel and the two of us combed the hill side in every direction for over an hour.  I readdressed my position and where the bird was, what the bird did, my last sight of it going side over side toward the ground…nothing!  We started close to the blind and moved away in small circles and ended up over 300 yards from the blind and still not a feather.  My heart sank when I finally had to give in that the bird probably hit the ground, ducked low in the tall grass and ran like the dickens to get out of there and I didn’t see it running away.  My hunt is over.

Last year I bought a special box of shells just for turkey hunting and the box only contained 5 shells, each shell costing $5.  A special blend that makes turkey turn into mush when you hit them.  I was using one of those shells this morning.  When I bought those shells I named each one of them.

This morning I was using “Boss Buster”, the top one in the box…I think I misnamed it:

And so, there is the end of the 2013 turkey hunt for Weasel and Bears Butt…we had a really good time…saw lots and lots of game animals…one strange little green snake and most of all, we got some great lessons from those gobblers!  Look out next year!  We are going to bust some heads!

Bears Butt

May 31, 2013

Adding more at a later date:

I have mulled over my shot at this turkey now for four days and I have come to a conclusion…I missed the bird!

My thoughts on having hit the bird, causing its death and not being able to recover it, is a haunting thought.  And so, I have been thinking very hard about the entire event.  I have gone over and over and over the play by play actions of myself and the bird and have come to this conclusion.

What my minds eye said I saw could not have happened.  What I saw was the bird “explode” into a pillow sized scattering of feathers and roll right over left as it plummeted toward the ground not 10 yards from my blind.

What I believe to be the truth is this:

The bird was only about 5 yards away and walking on my extreme left side and yes he was gaining some “out in front of me” distance, but was still very much on my extreme left side.  When he finally decided I was something he didn’t want to be that close to, he launched himself up and away.  His path was away from me going left and down the hill.  My last visual on him was a large mass of feathers as I fired the shotgun.

I have to say, I have felt my shoulder and I have a non-visual bruise on my right bicep…what does that mean?  I did not have the gun into my shoulder, it was on my arm when I fired.  I could not have had the gun sights anywhere near my right eye…I shot instinctively, and did not aim at all.

My shotgun patterns high.  This I know because we patterned it before Conners hunt last year and it shoots quite high at 30 yards.  Any shot taken with this shotgun must be low with the rear of the two barrel pins being the only one visible to the shooter.

As the bird lifted off the ground, I only recall seeing two wing beats before I pulled the trigger.  The bird could not have been more than 10 yards out at that moment and probably closer than that.  Had I hit the bird, the shot cup would have been planted firmly in a part of the birds anatomy that would have rendered it impossible to even fart.  The bird would have been laying there very much dead.  The shot could not have had a chance to have spread at all, as it would have still been firmly planted inside the shot cup.

The bird lifted up off the ground, but the ground itself was sloping down and away at a pretty good angle, perhaps 10 percent.  The bird disappeared from my visual right after the recoil was felt, and I do recall feeling it.  That in and of itself should have told me that I did not have the gun to my shoulder when I fired, as the shooter usually does not feel a shot when it’s taken at a game animal.  What I thought was feathers flying everywhere was most likely his tail as it turned to fly around the hill in the direction it had walked and it’s right wing as it lifted and rolled in that direction.

What I thought was it rolling right over left was just that, a flight maneuver to “get out of Dodge” quickly.  Tail guidance and wing control, both in unison to guide it hard left and down the mountain.  When I jumped from the blind, had I looked down the mountain to the last visual edge I probably would have seen it gliding down and out of sight.  But my focus was on the spot it should have been laying dead.

We found no feathers on the ground and no evidence that a bird had fallen and puffed up the dirt or bloodied up the grass.  That is because I missed the bird and it flew down and away to safety.

I missed!  It’s as plain and simple as that.  A very close call on what should have been a dead turkey and a smarter bird for sure still lives on.

So, I can sleep better now that I know exactly what I did wrong.

Bears Butt

June 3, 2013

Yesterday I received a reminder notice from the Utah DWR on applying for antlerless permits.  It seems too early in the year to be thinking about the Fall hunting, but by knowing ahead of time whether you have a tag or not allows you to make your plans and do some scouting etc.  AND if you are a working person, you have time to convince the boss that you need some time off.

Looking over the doe deer permits, it looks like there are a few locally, but they all fall into private property and for some reason they changed one of the boundaries to exclude a nice little walk in access area that I like to go to.  I have friends who also like to go into that area, but that is out for this year.  So, if you are inclined to put in for the doe tags for the Bear River Bottoms area, please make sure you have access to the private property before you apply.

So, with doe tags out of the question for me, I looked into the cow elk tags.  Now, elk meat is wonderful eating, to say the least, but bagging an elk is difficult for me, mostly because I don’t know elk.  The only one I have ever shot was sort of by accident.  But they are allowing quite a few cow elk tags for this year, at least locally, and they also allow you to fill that tag if you are hunting an earlier season in the same area as your tag.  So, during the muzzy deer season, I could shoot my cow elk if the opportunity came up, as long as I used my muzz rifle to do it, and I was hunting in the same area as my cow elk tag called for.  In my case, the muzz hunt area and the cow elk area cover mostly the same area.

I asked the boss, Sherry, about it and she gave me a thumbs up on applying.  So, that will be my plan…I’ll put in for the earlier of the two hunts being held in that area, which also has the most tags available.  Should I draw, my attention would be mostly on bagging the cow elk rather than hunting mostly for deer.  I have a couple of spots in mind for hunting the elk as they are water holes with lots of elk tracks around them.  Early morning and late evenings are the most likely times for an elk to come wandering into those spots.  But, there are also a lot of deer that frequent those same watering holes.  Sounds like a plan doesn’t it?  The hardest part will be getting a tag.

For some of my hunting buddies, you might be interested in knowing that there are also quite a few doe antelope permits for that same hunting area!  Have you ever wanted to shoot one of those speed goats while hunting deer?  We stop very often when we see them and it gets under some of your skin to be wasting time when you know they aren’t deer that you are seeing!

Bears Butt

May 25, 2013

Back home from a great turkey hunting day…notice I did not say turkey killing day.  We saw one hen turkey and she was running away from us up a dirt road while we were driving!  But are we discouraged?  Maybe a little, but the day was wonderful.

A little breezy this morning but not very cold.  We didn’t hear any gobbles today and only saw the one bird.  But just being out is what it’s all about.  We saw this:

That by itself was worth the trip.  Then to see the hen added icing to the day, but the very best was this, we took a hike into an area I have always wanted to hike into.  Were there turkeys in there?  Probably and we did see some scat that we are saying was turkey.  But that is something I can now cross off my bucket list.  Been there, done that.

And that’s not all.  Considering that I’m not in my prime anymore and at 63 I think I held my own with the Weasel on this hike.  From our vehicle, we hiked 2.62 miles in…That doesn’t sound like much to you does it?  Toss in the fact that the average incline for this hike was 5.4%…..toss in a few steep parts too…one of which was a 28.7% grade!  And top it all off with a vertical climb of 1,172 feet!

Back home you would think our legs would be rubber and we couldn’t walk…HAHAHA!  We laugh at pain!  Even my sore heal came through without even a hint of giving up!  So, 2.62 miles up and 2.62 miles back down…5.24 miles!  And that was after we had hiked in and out again from our morning stand area!  We are feeling good!

We were both carrying large amounts of water on our backs and Weasel was wearing his back pack…along the way we filled it up with trash from other peoples ventures…Weasel even found a button…so we call the trail…Button trail….Butt ‘N Weasel on the Button Trail!

Back at the truck we popped open a can of smoked oysters and ate them with cheddar cheese crackers with cheddar cheese filling!  MMMMMM!  A new one for the muzz hunt!

So there you have it folks, even old people can still climb a mountain when they want too!

Bears Butt

May 22, 2013

OK! Will this be the last turkey hunt for the 2013 season or not?  All I want to do is get a shot at one of those little buggers.  So does the Weasel.  We think if we get a shot and miss or whatever and don’t get our bird…well the season is over.  That’s good enough.

So, in the morning we are heading out once more to try and seal the deal.  Our game plan is simple.  Get up way before anyone else.  Drive the hour to the spot.  Hike the 30 minutes to the blinds.  Sit for hours hoping beyond hope that a gobbler likes the meadow we are watching.   And pulling the trigger on mister big boy tom.  Could the game plan be any simpler?

So, yesterday I woke up with a split in my right heel.  I have nursed it with Udder Aid

A product that we found in the old milk house when we converted it to the trapping shed.  I saved all of the cans…want one?

Anyway, this salve will fix anything from a cut to a sprain and I even think it will fix the rain gutters.  This stuff is fantastic.  Of course, for you people who are reading this and live in California…sorry guys…this stuff is known to cause cancer in you guys.

I went from a very sore, painful, split in my heal to one that could use that same heal to split bricks like a ninja warrior.  It still shows the crack, but it’s all healed over and is not sore at all.  I will sprint up the hills to the blinds!  Watch out Weasel, stay within sight of  my head lamp light or you will be left behind!

We are convinced that the turkeys will be roosted “where they are supposed to be” (never expect the expected), and they will come up the hill right into our waiting guns!  BLAM!!!!  BLAM!!!!  Two gobblers down!

Back at the truck will await two Oly beers to celebrate the kill and we won’t mind if that happens at 7 a.m. or later!  We also have two Spam sandwiches and some chips for our breakfast/lunch.  Can things be better planned?  I think not!

So, before the morning comes, I am writing this so you know when you wake up and read this that I wrote this “last night” (tonight to me right now) and now you know what me and the Weasel are doing.  Enjoy your cup of coffee and think of us sitting in our blinds in the cold morning air….but it ain’t raining and that is a very good thing, even though today we are prepared for it!  Heck, why don’t you go to the cupboard and get yourself a donut or cookie to go with your coffee…eat it and stare at this computer until the update comes later…It will you know!

Gobblers are coming to us today!

Bears Butt

May 22, 2013 (Actually written in the p.m. of May 21, 2013)

Tomorrow is Saturday, May 18, and it looks like it just might be the last day for turkey hunting for me.  For sure it is the last one available for Conner and I sure hope we can convince those birds to come in front of his gun.

The weather is calling for colder (50’s) temps and a 60% chance of rain…hmmmm.  I looked on the web and every die hard turkey hunter says hunting in the rain is good.  Are they nuts?

Here are a few of the things they are saying:

Most of the other hunters don’t hunt in the rain.

(Well Heck yes!  It’s cold and wet!  Why on earth get out there and sit in the rain?  We all know the birds are going to be held up in the thickest stuff there is and be out of the rain themeselves, they aren’t dumbies!)

Turkeys have to eat.

(Yes we all know that!  And they do it in the comfort of a dense cover of tree branches and leaves.)

Turkeys stay out in the open during a rain storm.

(WHAT?! No they don’t, they hide in the thickets like the other birds and only come out to get wet enough to rinse off the dust.)

Turkeys stay out in the open during a rain storm because they can see anything that is coming to get them.  They can’t hear the predator coming with all the rain hitting the leaves etc.

(Hmmm.  Maybe that’s why I’m a novice turkey hunter and not a turkey killer.)

So tomorrow, when you get out of your soft and warm bed and pour a cup of coffee and look out the window at the rain falling, just think of the three of us, Weasel, Conner and me, sitting there with cold rain dripping off the bills of our hats, trying to stay perfectly still while the icey rain, that has soaked us to the bone, continues its attack on us.  Yes, we are turkey hunters trying to learn just what it takes to bag one of these crafty critters.

I sure hope to have pictures of Conner with a big old gobbler in front of him when it’s all done.  It sure will be a reward after all of this.  A mile hike at 4:30 in the morning with nothing but a flashlight to guide the way.  Sliding down the steep clay banks and slick grass of the Springs growth and nestling into the make shift blind before daylight.  Hoping that the seat under our butts is not nestled into a red ant hill, or that a slick backed olive colored snake isn’t curled next to our necks getting warmed by the heat coming out of the top of our wet coats.

There will be a follow up to this.  Check back later on…if I survive I’ll post up the results of todays hunt.  Just go on past the “Bears Butt May 17, 2013” stuff and there you will have it.

Bears Butt

May 17, 2013

The continued story:

The day began as planned and of course the weather people were right on the money with their forecast.  Rain, and lots of it greeted us from the driveway all the way to the parking spot at the hunt site.  It continued through our hike and to our blinds.  And then it let up just enough that we could see through the drips coming off the ends of our hat bills.  Once it was satisfied we knew where we were, it decided to rain.

If I have learned one thing about turkey hunting it’s this:  Never expect the expected.  You can quote me on that one!  Some people say to never say never, but in this case it is perfectly acceptable and quite well deserving to use it…NEVER EXPECT THE EXPECTED while turkey hunting.  It will only dash your dreams.

Sitting in my perfect blind as the morning light became brighter and brighter through the fog and rain, I felt a slight tickle as some water rolled down the calf of my right leg.  I knew from the tickle that the water was going to end up in my shoe, but did I move?  Not a bit, what if a gobbler showed up right now and busted me for moving my leg so that that one drop of water didn’t end up in my shoe…I’m hunting for heck sake.  Don’t move…that is the order of the day.

Soon the tickle stopped and I knew that my pant leg was totally soaked and the water was just running down the back of my calf and into my shoe.  It’s alright I said to myself, it’s alright.

I wish I had worn some rain pants under my camo covers, then the rain would be running somewhere else, but nope, I didn’t think to bring them.  Oh yes, I wore my rain jacket and it’s under my camo coat and so my upper body is fine and dry…well almost…there is the matter of the soaking hat and the water trickling down the back of my neck, but that shouldn’t amount to much, the surface area of my hat can’t draw that much attention from the rain.

And the morning begins to really show itself off and now some birds are beginning to make some noise.  Nothing like the other day, but some bird chirping none the less.  It does seem odd that the birds are a bit late to start making noises.  Maybe the rain kept them awake a bit longer than usual last night.  I’m straining to hear gobbles, near or far and I think I heard a fly down, but not real sure.  Across the valley a truck pulls up behind mine and turns off the lights.  Then I hear him give out a crow call to try and wake a gobbler up.  He does it again…no gobbles.  Then back into his truck and down the road he goes.  My guess is he has done his turkey deed for the day, just like he told his wife he would and now him and his buddy are headed for the cafe for some hot coffee and breakfast…probably ham, hashbrowns, two eggs over medium, wheat toast with grape jelly, and of course hot, very hot coffee…..ooooo that stream is cool running down the back of my leg right now.

Was that a fly down I just heard?  Why my leg is jumping and my wet pant leg is flapping against itself…that is what I heard.  I’ve got to straighten this leg out and I hope there isn’t a gobbler anywhere close or I’m busted.  WOW!  Blood is sure warm when it’s allowed to circulate…ouch, that almost hurts.  I wonder if I can get away with moving my left leg….easy does it…oooooo, holy heck I had no idea that leg was so wet and cold.  Sure could use a big old plastic bag about now.  I could drape it across my legs and keep all the water off my pants.  Hey that’s a cool sight…look at the water running out the back of my boot…hahaha…whoeee my feet sure are cold.  I’ll bet those two guys in the restaurant are warm and cozy.

Where are those dirty birds?  Haven’t heard a sound from them.  Nobody has been hunting in here since Weasel and I were here a few days ago.  Those birds haven’t been pressured at all.  They should be sitting in those trees right over there and by now they should be all around us.  But NO…just rain…It is sort of cool sitting here freezing and waiting for a turkey to come popping by.  I wonder if Conner is about to go bonkers sitting up there in his blind.  I’ll radio up and find out.  Oh ya, Brandon can hear me, but can’t transmit for some reason.

In my best whisper voice….Hey, I’m soaked to the bone, if you guys are ready to go I sure am.  And looking up toward their blind I expect to see them both jump up and get ready to head off the mountain…but not a stir…are they asleep?  Have they perished from hypothermia?

Suddenly I see a hunter walking the grassy road down below us…I radio to the Weasel…Hey, there is a hunter walking the grassy road, let’s sit tight for awhile, maybe he will spook something up to us.

And we wait for what seems like another half hour.  My butt is frozen, my feet are frozen, my hands are frozen, my frozen is frozen and has freezer burn on it.  I pull my legs under me as best as I can.  Set the gun against the bush and slowly push myself up like a big old cow…there I stand…blood suddenly finding its way toward my feet…my feet are telling me they are still alive, my legs are soaking wet and heavy with clothes.  I look around for what I know will be a peering red head looking over a bush…I glance all around and see nothing of the sort…just wet grass getting wetter…I pick up my shotgun and slowly begin my assent towards Weasel and Conner.  By the time I get there my legs are thoroughly warmed by the climb and beginning to send signals to my brain to begin cramping without warning.  To say I’m cold is an understatement.  Are you ready to go?  And up they jumped as if they were sitting in a red ant bed…of course they are ready to go…they were ready to go when we got there…at least that is what I read in their eyes at that moment.

Back at the truck in record time…we walked up that hill, down the other side, and up another steep slippery and sloppy one with only taking two breaks.  What time is it?  7:30!  Crap, we should still be hunting.

Bears Butt

May 18, 2013

Another attempt at the turkey scene today.  Weasel and I are off to make another attempt.  It’s like the old saying goes, “You can’t bag the bird by sitting on the couch!”  Besides it’s going to be a very nice day today, highs near 80, partly cloudy and a very slight chance of rain this afternoon.  It sounds perfect.

We are once again heading for the same place we have been trying to bag a bird for four years.  There are birds there, we just can’t seem to get the job done.  Maybe today is the day we will stumble across the mountain and right into the birds.  The past three trips we have stumped ourselves, each time the birds have been just a bit “over there” leaving us scratching our heads on why they haven’t been following traditional patterns.

Our game plan for today is to try once again to put ourselves in their ever illusive path after fly down.  (Have you ever seen “fly down”? Me either.  Goose down, duck down, but never fly down.)  This means we have to go a little bit deeper and farther out than we usually do and I’m not so sure we shouldn’t just bite the bullet and go all the way to the bottom of the steepest and deepest canyon on the property…2 miles nearly straight down…nobody ever goes down there.  I hear that the last guy to ever go down there left this truck at the parking lot for two straight years, his wife put out a missing persons report, they combed the hills but nobody ever went “down there” looking for him.  When he did finally show up, he went straight to the infirmary and turned himself in….poor bugger.

But I believe that is where the birds are and the only way to get them out is to either go down there or try and coax one out.

More to come later with the report of the days happenings.

Bears Butt

May 16, 2013

P.M. Report

We had them…YES…we had them…but then we out smarted ourselves.

We had a very good hiding place as light began to brighten.  The birds were beginning to chirp away and the morning was unfolding.  The gobblers were tight mouthed however and it wasn’t until later than we thought it should be that we heard the first far off gobble!  We waited longer and still another far off gobble…way off from the property we are allowed to hunt.

The Weasel grew nervous and made a trek to see what he could see (you see it isn’t always the bear that does that)…suddenly he came rushing back…Birds just flew down and there are six of them right below us.

I snuck out and glassed…I could see two toms and one hen…but I knew there were others as well, I just didn’t want to stand any taller to see them.

So here are 6 birds about 150 yards straight below us, dancing around in a meadow and on a grassy road.  What do we do?

We parlayed and decided that we could get around in front of them and on that grassy road up hill from them…I’d call and Weasel would blast the first gobbler that came into view…a good plan.  And so we moved and moved quickly.  We knew what we had to do.  A silent move at that.  The gobbling continued.  And then it stopped.  Weasel set up at the base of a oak and I snuck off into the brush about 30 yards to his rear.  I began with some soft calls and intensified the sound until I got a gobble.  The birds were close.

My heart raced to think that this just might come together.  And then there were three distinct gobblers calling back and forth.  All three just up the hill from us…just up the hill in the direction we had just come from….what’s up with that?

And then I called some more…the gobbles kept up, but one of them was moving around behind us…still up on the hill side behind.  And out of the corner of my eye I see it strutting on the hill, not 20 yards up.  I could not move or it would see or hear me.  All I could do was watch.  Even if I could have gotten around I would not have had a shot, the brush and trees were too thick.  I gobbled its way out of sight.

But still there were two more quite close.  What about them?  I kept up my calling and they kept up theirs as well.  Pretty soon another was gobbling behind us, following the first one, but the third was still on our side of the world and working up hill from us.

I tried a tactic I had read about…going away from the gobbler while calling…making him think his new hen was going away…the object was to have the gobbler come down the hill and cross paths with the gunner, Weasel,…I kept trying, moving and moving some more as quiet as I could.  Calling and getting the gobbling response I expected, but it would not come in.

I worked my way back to the Weasel and said we needed to split up.  He should take the close gobbler and I’ll go chase the two that got behind us.  I have the call and perhaps my calling will keep his gobbler interested and he could nail it.

Off we went with good luck high fives in the air.

From my side of the mountain:

I continued to cluck and move up hill toward the two sounding off gobblers.  Being careful to stay close to or within the trees which grew thinner the higher I went.  I was moving fast and being quiet.  At the last of the trees I slid into the shadows of the West side and heard a gobble above.  About 300 yards, high on a ridge stood a sentinel gobbler, all alone.  He would gobble as he looked down into the valley where I was hiding.  I heard other gobbles answering his call.  The closest came from down where Weasel was.  The others seemed to be over the next hill to my left.  I sat patiently until the sentinel fed over the edge and then I moved my fastest up and across the meadow before me and into the next band of trees.  I continued up until I reached the last point of trees right at the crest of the ridge.  Quickly set myself up and called, hoping the sentinel would come around the edge and into my sights.  A half hour past, no answers to my calling.  I decided he had gone too far down the other side and I needed to try and get in front of him.

I went across an open hill top trying to conceal myself  by staying low, it worked until I saw the gobbler below me about 100 yards feeding.  I froze just as he popped his head up in a nervous way, looking right at me.  We had a stare down for about 10 minutes until he decided I must be a part of the terrain and then went back to feeding, constantly watching me for movement.  As soon as he disappeared on the other side of a bush, I moved toward the only bushes near me.  As I went into the bushes, I heard the ill feeling noise of a “Putt”…Busted!  But not by the bird down the hill, his one was only about 10 yards from me, and just over a small rise.  I decided instantly to “butt rush” it and hope it was a gobbler.  I ran as fast as I could, gun at port arms, looking for any sort of movement…through the brush I busted and the gobbler, just 5 yards away, took flight…I was in an awkward position and not a safe one at that moment and could not chance a shot…the bird flew and glided away, taking the lower gobbler with him at the same time…they glided down and down into the deepest and steepest canyon on the property…you know the one….shucks!

I sat for a brief moment trying to gather my thoughts on what I should have done, rather than what I did and could find no answer in my “new to turkey hunting” brain.

Without a plan, I crossed the open top and saw the Weasel sitting just under the rim about 300 yards away..I meandered in his direction.

Sitting along side the Weasel, he began to tell me his story:

When I left you, I went straight up the hill through the trees, being as quiet as I could.  The oak leaves are not very forgiving, but I did my best.  I was almost to where I figured I needed to be to intersect that noisy gobbler on my side of the hill.  I heard you several times clucking away as you proceeded in your direction and my gobbler kept sounding off.  He seemed to be staying in one spot.  I knew if I could get to the point of the trees above, I could set up and he would eventually come up and right into my waiting arm(s).  Three more steps and I would be there…and then off to my left…PUTT, PUTT, PUTT….busted!  And the bird turned downhill on a dead run!  I have no idea where he went, but just down hill and he was less than 10 yards from me! Damn!  Another “almost” in the bag.  With that, I decided to go watch your fun from above, I saw you down below me and then all of a sudden you are hidden in the oak high above.  Did you fly up there?

So, there we both sat, good stories in our bag, but the only thing in our hands were our cold sandwiches.

After the quick lunch, we went back to our morning stand to look things over.  That was the place the gobblers came up and over.  I figured my calling below them had caused the two to cut across the hill in search for the lonely hen, while the other was on his normal route up and over and down into the steep and deep canyon.  We have made our minds up that come Saturday, this is where we will be once again.

So we built ourselves two blinds.  One for Weasel and Conner to occupy and another way across the little valley where I will rest my butt.

This is the blind we put together for the Weasel and Conner.

And a quick shot of Weasel hiding in the blind.

And this is the view from within the blind.

There is a small swail about 30 yards below that would offer a nice shot should the birds use that to cross over.  Way out there you can see the point of the hill.  That is where my blind will be.  There is also a small swail about 30 yards below that spot and between the swails is a rise of about 10 feet.  To use it looks like a perfect turkey ambush setup.

This will be my bind and I’m actually in it for this picture.  Can you see the Butt?

And the view from my seat.

Oh Ya!  Turkey soup on Saturday morning!

Bears Butt

May 16, 2013

For those of you who have not seen the KSL Outdoors show from last Saturday (May 11, 2013), this link will take to to the site to view it.  As far as I’m concerned it’s the best Outdoors show put together so far.  But them I’m biased.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1112&sid=25163956

Bears Butt

May 14, 2013

Man o Man, the month is slipping past quickly, it’s already May 11…..Today is Saturday and the Weasel, Conner and I are heading for the hills to do a little turkey hunting.

We have our plan and hope it pays off.  One of these days it will, perhaps today.

The game plan is to put Weasel and Conner on the top of the hill overlooking “busted” meadow, while I will occupy the low spot near Dry Dog Rise.  The birds should hit one or the other this morning.

We expect company in the area since it is a Saturday and most folks will be off work and out, but our key is the early start.  It’s 3:31 a.m. right now and I’m to pick them two up in 16 minutes…I hope they are up and ready.  The truck is packed, the weather is going to be quite warm and I’m pumped for a good day!

I’ll have my binocs today, unlike the other day.  It’s surprising just what little things one misses when out and about…you can see it, but just can’t quite figure out what it is without the close up look.  We would not have seen the gobbler last time we went out without the binocs.  What used to be short new growth from the Spring has now become tall green grass and even though the birds are tall, the grass hides them pretty good now.

Here we go!  More to come!

Bears Butt

May 11, 2013

P.M. Report:

Those miserable turkeys!  They were roosting South of us today!  They are NEVER over there!  OOOOOOO!

Our plan worked out perfectly.  We were in position before it was even light enough to see your shoes.  The birds woke up slowly and it was just a beautiful morning!  At one point I thought I had a hen turkey working into my one decoy setup, but later on after seeing there had been 6 other people sign in to the walk in access area after we had signed in, I figure it must have been one of them.  It did get my heart beating really good though.

Hunting on the weekend isn’t my bag, but with it being the only days Conner can hunt, we just have to sacrifice and try and figure out where the others aren’t willing to go and then go there.

Still a fun day and it’s always better to be out in the woods than sleeping or pulling weeds…I still have weeds!

Bears Butt

Afternoon of May 11!

Oh man it is early!  My clock reads 3:06 a.m. and I’m to pick up the Weasel at 3:45…my eyes aren’t even open and here I sit….will the turkeys be asleep when we get to our spot…they better be.

Coffee in the cup probably should be whiskey.

Today should be our day.  Weasel and I talked briefly about what we witnessed the turkeys doing the past two weekends and decided our game plan for this morning.  Both of us have an uphill spot to sit in mind and both are above the roosting trees.  Last week we went in and set up below the roost in hopes the birds would repeat what they did last year…that didn’t work…so today we are going in the opposite direction and up.

If we had a third hunter we would put them where we were last week, but we don’t and so our fingers are crossed on our game plan for this morning.  We are taking our new found knowledge with us this day, plus our rabbits feet, good luck penny’s and Gobbler Buster shells…This is our day!

Last night I studied what would have been Google Earth, but because that won’t load on my computer any more, I had to choose Bing Maps, I think it’s the same image that Google has, but that’s not the point…I studied it for the boundaries of the place we like to haunt.  Looked at the map features, studied the slope of the ground and our travel route into the hunting area.  We are setting up about 150 yards apart and Weasel will be slightly down hill from my position.

The tree line follows below the Weasel about 20 yards and wraps around the hill and then up to just under my position 25 yards.  If the birds do what we think they will do, either one of us will be in a good spot to bag the bird.  Even if he gets his first, the others should continue around the slope and into me, unless they fly.

That all sounds great, but what we learned the last two weeks is that turkeys do what turkeys do best and that is to allude the hunters.  Our only guarantee to get a shot would be to cover the hills with hunters cutting off all routes of escape and position several more in avenues for wing shots.

So, in reality, today will be a nice morning stroll of about a mile in the dark with our red flashlights shining.  Traveling from the vehicle to within 100 yards of the roosting trees before the birds open their eyes.  Is there danger in all of this?  I suppose, but who cares…we want to kill a turkey and the early bird gets the worm.  The terrain will let us slip in without being seen and if we don’t fall down, we should be just right.

Bears Butt

May 9, 2013

Later:

I had a posting issue with this story this morning, I guess the computer doesn’t like 3 a.m. either.

So, the day went as planned.  As we walked in, there were 50 to 100 eyes watching us as we crossed a sloping meadow…that was sort of spooky, but as it turned out they were all deer.  It’s the red glowing eyes that bother me.

Our spots turned out to be perfect….well as perfect as “spots” get.  However, the birds were not roosting in the same trees that they have been roosting in for 200 years…they were across the valley!  Wouldn’t you know it?

So, as light began to show our surroundings and the little birds began to chirp and wake up, there we sat in our little hide outs..perfect places.  The deer were everywhere and I had three come to within 5 yards of me and never even knew it.  I just knew a gobbler was going to do the same…not so!

This morning the birds were very noisy and gobbled quite a bit even after they flew down.  I decided to make a hasty sneak down and over to where the closest one was sounding and as I left my hideout, I got busted by a hen that was walking along the ridge behind and below me.  I can’t believe how sharp their eyes are, just my head was sticking above the ridge line, and that was all she needed and off she putted down and away.  DANG!  Did she have a gobbler with her?  I never saw one, but there probably was one somewhere close by…at least until she started to “Putt”.  I continued with my plan and hiked down and over to where the bird was gobbling, I set up and called for about a half hour but could not get it to come down to where I was.  I waited a very long time after hearing its last gobble, but nothing came.  Then I heard a shot coming from up the hill past my hiding place and on the other side of that same hill.  A minute passed and another shot rang out…then almost a minute later a third and final shot.  Did someone kill the gobbler that was with the hen that busted me?  I’ll never know.

I then saw Weasel get out from under his hiding spot and start up the hill toward my hide out position.  I figured he didn’t see me cross the valley below and so I started his way.  About half way across the valley he saw me and we waved at each other.  I continued over and up the hill to meet him.  He had not heard the shots.

After a brief time to have part of our lunch, we decided to go around the hill in the direction of the shots and see what we could see.  About half way around we decided to sit and glass the opposite hill side a half mile away…it didn’t take long to spot a hen on a far ridge and then a gobbler came into view to join her.  We made a plan!  Cut down, hide in the tree line and climb to the same elevation as those birds were on.  They should follow the terrain and come right into us but we must be quiet until we are set up and then do some soft calling.  We were quick and quiet and soon set up.  I stayed down in the trees and covered some very well used trails that came off the open hill and into the trees.  The canopy of trees made it look thick from a distance, but once inside the trees it was very much open with viewing and shooting lanes in excess of 50 yards in every direction.  To me it was perfect for an ambush.  Weasel continued up and out onto the open hillside at the level of the birds.  We waited.  I called softly and we waited longer.  An hour passed, the birds should have been there by now.

I came out to where Weasel was and he was already coming my way.  We talked softly about the next part of the plan…He suggested I give a call to see if we could get a rise….I called…right below us a hen gave us a signal and so we moved back up the draw a bit and down about the level we figured she was on.  Quickly we got set up and I began calling, but nothing came back….we moved down the draw toward her and set up again…nothing again to the call…we moved a third time and figure we were sitting where she was when she called the first time…I called for nearly half an hour with no response.  They must have boogied.

So there you have it…skunked again…the story of our turkey hunting lives.

Once back up to the sign in book for the walk in access place we were hunting, there was a single signature of someone who came in a half hour after we did…did he get the bird?  Probably.

Bears Butt

May 9, 2013 p.m. report