Jack
Well-known member
My youngest Daughter, Jana, decided last year she wanted to kill a turkey!
We hunted a few times late in the season, and got REAL close, but no cigar!!
I have read all of the recent posts about the Youngun's here killing turkeys, and thought I would add a copy/paste on our hunts
this year from a family forum describing our quest!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART I - FIRST HUNT
Here is an update on my quest to get Arkansas Jana a turkey!
First off, we did not hunt opening weekend. We fished lake Weiss on Thurs and Fri last week. Ate lunch at the greasy spoon at the
Marina.
Five hours later, I am near death! And considering there are no stores, restrooms, ect. between my house and Weiss Lake.........
I would just stop in the middle of the road, turn on the flashers, and hit the woods!
But Wed afternoon was gonna be the day!!
There is a place that Meatshot and I found several years ago, it is the BEST place to hunt/kill turkeys in Georgia!
With only one problem! It is a 1.5 mile walk down a steep mountain to "The Hole"! The walk in aint bad! HAH!! But the walk out is
a KILLER!!
I still laugh thinking about the last time Meat, Gates, and Sammy were here hunting turkeys!
Meat would tell Gates, "We need to go to "The Hole" this afternoon"
Gates would say..."I aint walking out of that %^&$$### today!!"
Meatshot killed his first Georgia turkey in "The Hole"!! As we were climbing back up, (He was carrying the turkey), Meat said
Big Guy, If we cant swap up and tote this rascal, I am gonna cut the beard off, and throw the rest of him off the cliff!"
But back to Wed.....
As bad as I hated to do it, Arkansas Jana and I were going to "The Hole"......
The Hole is a unique place! It is at the bottom of a large mountain, with three big drains that all come together at one point, with
huge hardwoods in the drains, and small pines to the South.
We make the easy walk to the point above the three drains, and get set up!
I had bought one of those 12' X 27" stake blinds to set up around us, in hopes it would conceal some movement!
We get set up, face masks on, gloves on, guns loaded! Now that we are ready I make about three series of long yelps on the call.
Approx ONE MINUTE later Arkansas Jana tells me ...."Dad, There's a turkey!"
It aint one turkey, it is TWO big long beards coming straight at us, (Dang!! I should have set out the decoy)
Jana gets her gun on them, and is waiting on me to tell her to SHOOT!!!!
Her little 20 gauge is death at 30 yards! And these two big rascals are 30-35 yards!
The dominate gobbler is all fired up with a big ole red head!
He stops between two trees..........
Jana whispered..."I am on him, can I shoot?"
I told her...."Wait one second, and let him walk out from between those trees"
They go behind the tree to the right, and when they step out, they have decided to go up the mountain, walking away from us?!?!
I tell her to SHOOT!!!!! She cant get a clear shot, turkeys walk over ridge, no turkey for Jana.
Walking out of "The Hole" was as painful as I remembered!! I am panting like a lizard and tell Jana we need take a rest break!
She looks at me like I am 1000 years old, and says......"You are kidding right?!?"
I guess when you are 14, and run about 10 miles a day in track, you dont understand how it hurts a 46 year old fat boy to climb
a mountain!!
When we got home, Her Momma ask...."Well did you kill a turkey?"
Jana repsonds...."I will Never kill a turkey, HE wont let me shoot!"
ITS ALL MY FAULT!!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART II - SECOND HUNT
It has rained so much here, we have not been turkey hunting but once till this morning!
Last weekend was a Monsoon, this Saturday was another Monsoon!!!
But this morning was perfect!
We head to Freeman Mountain, climb to the top of the ridge, get set up at my favorite listening spot!
Wait on gobblin time!!
Five mintues before gobblin time we hear........Whop, whop, whop, whop, as a big turkey flies off 20 yards from us........
This aint good, we have walked RIGHT Under the roosted turkeys!!!
10 seconds later a second whop, whop, whop, whop, as yet we have spooked another roosted turkey!
It is now all bad!!
Daylight is close, and Jana says......"Dad, there is a turkey"
I whisper...."Did you hear one gobble?"
She just points UP with her finger!
A hen is roosted in the tree 10 yards in front of us.............
Double Dang!!!
Finally the "wooled up" hens finally fly down..........
We start our hunt walking down the ridge at the top of the mountain!!!
We walk about 200 yards, and I am getting the slate out ready to make a call, when.........GOBBLE!!!
I figure this turkey is 150 yards or less........it was loud!!
I pick out a good tree, and we get set up!!
One soft yelp on the call, and a thunderous GOBBLE responds!!!
This is now all good!!
I wait, and wait, and wait.....Seemed like an hour!!(3 minutes)
I cluck one time, and the GOBBLE was so loud you could feel it in your teeth!!
This rascal was within 50 yards, we could only see about 30 yards due to the steep slope of the mountain!!
I told Jana, get ready, any minute, there will be a red, white, or blue gobbler head walking up this mountain!!
So there we sit, with Jana's gun pointed down the mountain in the direction of the last gobble, only 50 yards away!! My heart
is pounding, my eyes are searching, it is gonna happen!!
Then I hear the ......"puut"...to MY right!!
THERE THEY are!! Two big red headed long beards 10 yards from me!!
10 dang yards in the WRONG direction!!
It did not take them long to figure out the jig was up...............
We aint gonna never kill a turkey!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART III - THIRD TURKEY HUNT
Jana and I headed back to "The Hole" this morning for yet another turkey hunt!!
Finally had decent weather, 39 degrees, no wind, clear as a bell!!
Rather than making the "Death March" down the mountain, I decided to sit on the highest point on the mountain and just listen!!
It got gobbling time, and we heard Zippo, Nada, Nothing!! Dang!!
It was now time that all the turkeys should have flown down, and rather than start the hunt, I told her get in the truck! I decided
to drive down and look at the fields that run for about a mile along "The Hole".......
Just as soon as we could see the field, there was a gobbler in full strut right where I thought they would be!! Then I saw another
turkey about 50 yards from the strutting gobbler, then it started strutting! I am looking through binoculars, they are about 3/4
of a mile away!! But I soon figure out I am looking at two long beards, in full strutt, with NO hens!
We drive back to the top of the mountain, and start the "Death March".....
We get set up about 200 yards from where the turkeys were....Hoping they were still there!!
It is now the time of truth!! I cut a little on the slate, and then start yelping!!
Them rascals cut me off with double gobbles!! This is now all good!!
I tell myself... "dont over call" .......I wait and wait, and wait.......
They gobbled a bunch without me calling anymore, but were not getting any closer!!
I call again, and they just EXPLODE with gobbles!! It is still all good!!!
At this point they are absolutely hammering, but I dont call........They still are not coming!! Damn!!
I listen to the chuckle fest for another five minutes, and finally, I can tell they are coming our way!! We can see a good 100 yards
in all directions!!
I pick up the call and make a soft yelp!! And get greeted by a GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE, that was now real close!! I
know it is two gobblers, and they seem to be on a frozen rope straight at us!!
Finally one of the long beards tops the ridge below us at 80 yards!! I purr cluck one time, and he is in a tizzy!! This now really
really really good!!
He is all tore up strutting, gobbling, and headed straight at us!!
For some reason Jana is cool as a cucumber, but Dad is nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs!!!
What is killing me is how much he is gobbling!! He will strutt for 5 yards, stop and gobble three times, go back in strutt, and
repeat........all the way to within 30 yards!!
At now a mere 25 yards, he is in full strutt, and awful proud of himself......I whisper to Jana, I am gonna cluck to make him raise
his head up, get on him, and kill him!
Cluck........He comes out of strutt...........BOOM!!!!!!!!!
Turkey Down!!! Shot the flop out of him!!!
We sounded like two "Non-Swimmers" that had just found a case of beer in the middle of the woods!!
There was hoops, hollers, and high fives going in a blur!!
Of all the hunting I have done in my life, this is my absolute proudest moment!!
Man what a hunt!!!!
10 1/2 Beard, 19 1/2 lbs, 1 1/4" spurs!!!
The "QUEST" has ended!! (For Now!)
We hunted a few times late in the season, and got REAL close, but no cigar!!
I have read all of the recent posts about the Youngun's here killing turkeys, and thought I would add a copy/paste on our hunts
this year from a family forum describing our quest!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART I - FIRST HUNT
Here is an update on my quest to get Arkansas Jana a turkey!
First off, we did not hunt opening weekend. We fished lake Weiss on Thurs and Fri last week. Ate lunch at the greasy spoon at the
Marina.
Five hours later, I am near death! And considering there are no stores, restrooms, ect. between my house and Weiss Lake.........
I would just stop in the middle of the road, turn on the flashers, and hit the woods!
But Wed afternoon was gonna be the day!!
There is a place that Meatshot and I found several years ago, it is the BEST place to hunt/kill turkeys in Georgia!
With only one problem! It is a 1.5 mile walk down a steep mountain to "The Hole"! The walk in aint bad! HAH!! But the walk out is
a KILLER!!
I still laugh thinking about the last time Meat, Gates, and Sammy were here hunting turkeys!
Meat would tell Gates, "We need to go to "The Hole" this afternoon"
Gates would say..."I aint walking out of that %^&$$### today!!"
Meatshot killed his first Georgia turkey in "The Hole"!! As we were climbing back up, (He was carrying the turkey), Meat said
Big Guy, If we cant swap up and tote this rascal, I am gonna cut the beard off, and throw the rest of him off the cliff!"
But back to Wed.....
As bad as I hated to do it, Arkansas Jana and I were going to "The Hole"......
The Hole is a unique place! It is at the bottom of a large mountain, with three big drains that all come together at one point, with
huge hardwoods in the drains, and small pines to the South.
We make the easy walk to the point above the three drains, and get set up!
I had bought one of those 12' X 27" stake blinds to set up around us, in hopes it would conceal some movement!
We get set up, face masks on, gloves on, guns loaded! Now that we are ready I make about three series of long yelps on the call.
Approx ONE MINUTE later Arkansas Jana tells me ...."Dad, There's a turkey!"
It aint one turkey, it is TWO big long beards coming straight at us, (Dang!! I should have set out the decoy)
Jana gets her gun on them, and is waiting on me to tell her to SHOOT!!!!
Her little 20 gauge is death at 30 yards! And these two big rascals are 30-35 yards!
The dominate gobbler is all fired up with a big ole red head!
He stops between two trees..........
Jana whispered..."I am on him, can I shoot?"
I told her...."Wait one second, and let him walk out from between those trees"
They go behind the tree to the right, and when they step out, they have decided to go up the mountain, walking away from us?!?!
I tell her to SHOOT!!!!! She cant get a clear shot, turkeys walk over ridge, no turkey for Jana.
Walking out of "The Hole" was as painful as I remembered!! I am panting like a lizard and tell Jana we need take a rest break!
She looks at me like I am 1000 years old, and says......"You are kidding right?!?"
I guess when you are 14, and run about 10 miles a day in track, you dont understand how it hurts a 46 year old fat boy to climb
a mountain!!
When we got home, Her Momma ask...."Well did you kill a turkey?"
Jana repsonds...."I will Never kill a turkey, HE wont let me shoot!"
ITS ALL MY FAULT!!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART II - SECOND HUNT
It has rained so much here, we have not been turkey hunting but once till this morning!
Last weekend was a Monsoon, this Saturday was another Monsoon!!!
But this morning was perfect!
We head to Freeman Mountain, climb to the top of the ridge, get set up at my favorite listening spot!
Wait on gobblin time!!
Five mintues before gobblin time we hear........Whop, whop, whop, whop, as a big turkey flies off 20 yards from us........
This aint good, we have walked RIGHT Under the roosted turkeys!!!
10 seconds later a second whop, whop, whop, whop, as yet we have spooked another roosted turkey!
It is now all bad!!
Daylight is close, and Jana says......"Dad, there is a turkey"
I whisper...."Did you hear one gobble?"
She just points UP with her finger!
A hen is roosted in the tree 10 yards in front of us.............
Double Dang!!!
Finally the "wooled up" hens finally fly down..........
We start our hunt walking down the ridge at the top of the mountain!!!
We walk about 200 yards, and I am getting the slate out ready to make a call, when.........GOBBLE!!!
I figure this turkey is 150 yards or less........it was loud!!
I pick out a good tree, and we get set up!!
One soft yelp on the call, and a thunderous GOBBLE responds!!!
This is now all good!!
I wait, and wait, and wait.....Seemed like an hour!!(3 minutes)
I cluck one time, and the GOBBLE was so loud you could feel it in your teeth!!
This rascal was within 50 yards, we could only see about 30 yards due to the steep slope of the mountain!!
I told Jana, get ready, any minute, there will be a red, white, or blue gobbler head walking up this mountain!!
So there we sit, with Jana's gun pointed down the mountain in the direction of the last gobble, only 50 yards away!! My heart
is pounding, my eyes are searching, it is gonna happen!!
Then I hear the ......"puut"...to MY right!!
THERE THEY are!! Two big red headed long beards 10 yards from me!!
10 dang yards in the WRONG direction!!
It did not take them long to figure out the jig was up...............
We aint gonna never kill a turkey!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART III - THIRD TURKEY HUNT
Jana and I headed back to "The Hole" this morning for yet another turkey hunt!!
Finally had decent weather, 39 degrees, no wind, clear as a bell!!
Rather than making the "Death March" down the mountain, I decided to sit on the highest point on the mountain and just listen!!
It got gobbling time, and we heard Zippo, Nada, Nothing!! Dang!!
It was now time that all the turkeys should have flown down, and rather than start the hunt, I told her get in the truck! I decided
to drive down and look at the fields that run for about a mile along "The Hole".......
Just as soon as we could see the field, there was a gobbler in full strut right where I thought they would be!! Then I saw another
turkey about 50 yards from the strutting gobbler, then it started strutting! I am looking through binoculars, they are about 3/4
of a mile away!! But I soon figure out I am looking at two long beards, in full strutt, with NO hens!
We drive back to the top of the mountain, and start the "Death March".....
We get set up about 200 yards from where the turkeys were....Hoping they were still there!!
It is now the time of truth!! I cut a little on the slate, and then start yelping!!
Them rascals cut me off with double gobbles!! This is now all good!!
I tell myself... "dont over call" .......I wait and wait, and wait.......
They gobbled a bunch without me calling anymore, but were not getting any closer!!
I call again, and they just EXPLODE with gobbles!! It is still all good!!!
At this point they are absolutely hammering, but I dont call........They still are not coming!! Damn!!
I listen to the chuckle fest for another five minutes, and finally, I can tell they are coming our way!! We can see a good 100 yards
in all directions!!
I pick up the call and make a soft yelp!! And get greeted by a GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE, that was now real close!! I
know it is two gobblers, and they seem to be on a frozen rope straight at us!!
Finally one of the long beards tops the ridge below us at 80 yards!! I purr cluck one time, and he is in a tizzy!! This now really
really really good!!
He is all tore up strutting, gobbling, and headed straight at us!!
For some reason Jana is cool as a cucumber, but Dad is nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs!!!
What is killing me is how much he is gobbling!! He will strutt for 5 yards, stop and gobble three times, go back in strutt, and
repeat........all the way to within 30 yards!!
At now a mere 25 yards, he is in full strutt, and awful proud of himself......I whisper to Jana, I am gonna cluck to make him raise
his head up, get on him, and kill him!
Cluck........He comes out of strutt...........BOOM!!!!!!!!!
Turkey Down!!! Shot the flop out of him!!!
We sounded like two "Non-Swimmers" that had just found a case of beer in the middle of the woods!!
There was hoops, hollers, and high fives going in a blur!!
Of all the hunting I have done in my life, this is my absolute proudest moment!!
Man what a hunt!!!!
10 1/2 Beard, 19 1/2 lbs, 1 1/4" spurs!!!
The "QUEST" has ended!! (For Now!)
