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Wisconsin turkey hunt- Making memories By getting drawn for the last weekend of turkey season we were pretty sure we would be clear of the snow, but not so sure about cold weather or the disposition of the toms. Would they all be "satisfied" by now or would there still be some antsy gobblers hanging around out there? With that in mind, my friend Keith and I headed out on our most excellent turkey adventure. This was my first time hunting turkeys and my first time hunting in many years. We started out on the evening of May 22nd, 2003, scouting an area near Black River Falls, WI. After making an attempt to roost some birds we came to the decision that this was an area that would work, considering Keith had prior experience in the area and the abundance of turkey sign that we had seen. So we stopped at a local establishment, Molly's (a great selection of blues music by the way) for a late dinner. Then on to our hotel to get ourselves organized for our 3:45 AM rising. Wednesday started out somewhat uneventful. It was darned chilly, and after nearly an hour or so of calling and answering, the turkeys shunned our technique and headed out elsewhere. So we headed out along some fantastically beautiful trails searching for more birds. We saw a few on the trails, but they were generally pretty far away and very skittish. Even at closer range, they weren't very cooperative. Since all the fields were pretty open, we had to skirt them along a ridgeline that partially surrounded the area we had chosen to call our own. Humping that ridgeline wasn't too bad… the first time. Although we had spectacular views of the surrounding hills, the turkeys were pretty scarce even though we saw feathers and scratchings. We got to a clear-cut area and both thought nothing much would come
of that. We registered Keith's turkey in town, put him on ice, had a quick lunch at Molly's and made our way back to the field. We saw numerous turkeys traveling and hiding from us, but never got another clean shot. As the day ended, we saw two large toms entering a field we had just left. They must have been wearing watches. Thursday started out more promising with a closer set up to the roosting birds, but after watching the turkeys run back and forth fighting on the hill we moved. The day was full of more ridge humping, trail walking, close calls and stalks and basically setting ambushes for turkeys we had seen crossing the fields. But they were smarter than we were. A late afternoon shower put us all in a hunker down mode, and we spent the rest of the afternoon setting up for the following day. Friday morning was a bit warmer, but it had rained through the night. Our calls were completely unanswered this morning. Not a peep. After moving down the trail a short ways, we saw a tom strutting his stuff for a few hens out in a field. We cautiously made our way to a small depression in an adjoining wet field and watched him do his thing. Since Keith had gotten his bird two days before, it was only between the turkey and me now. I made my way through the depression without raising any suspicion and was trying to decide what to do next. Once I left the depression, it would be about 70 yards through an open field to a tree line that split the field in two. And it was still very wet out. Considering it was my last day to hunt I had to go for it. I slipped out, crawling army style through the field. About two body lengths out, I heard some crows start a ruckus behind me. I slowly turned my head to discover two hens watching me very intently. Busted!! So I laid my head down and watched them nervously move around me and make their way to the tom's field. Once in the clear I proceeded with the crawl, taking occasional breaks to make sure I wasn't spotted and that the birds had not boogied out of there. The birds went into the trees and Keith made his way up to me to help spot. After several minutes, we discovered the birds had indeed made their way out of there. Exhilarated but disappointed, we made our way out across the fields and to a couple other ambush spots. By the end of the early morning we had not seen any more birds and now our waterproof boots were beginning to fail. We decided to go back to the last field the tom had been strutting his stuff on. We set up in a stand of small pines with our decoys skirting the field's edge. The tree's low branches limited my view so Keith set up behind me with a view to help out. We heard a gobble that was at least 200 yards or so out and then silence. A bit later a hen crossed the field, snacking on whatever she found. At this point I was about ready to move. Then another gobble, this time much closer. I had a view of the field but could not see down the tree line. I turned and looked at Keith and he whispered, "He's getting close." I got my gun up but not shouldered. I did not want to get the wobbly arms going if this took a long time. Then the tom appeared about 40 yards to my right through the trees. He was mad at our jake decoy and was coming right down the tree line edge, about 10 yards from the trees. As soon as he passed in front of a low hanging branch that blocked his view of me, I shouldered the gun and waited. For this first time turkey hunter, it was an awesome display. Feathers fanned out, head back, neck bright red.
With that done, we headed into town to register the 19 lb. field-dressed turkey. He had an 8-1/8 inch beard and spurs about 3/4 inches long. And then it was across the street to Molly's for burgers and a cold Leinies' Honey Weiss. When you're in Black River Falls, take time to enjoy the beautiful countryside and look for the turkeys roaming the fields. And stop by Molly's, say hello to the ladies behind the bar and order a cold Leinie's. You'll be glad you did. *Chuck Abrams is a freelance writer and avid outdoorsman.
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The sun was now beating down and our cool weather gear was
taking its toll. As Keith proceeded to call out and see if we could get
an answering call, a ruckus began below us on the bluff. Turkeys began
charging us through the grass and brambles! What we thought was a hen,
popped out just 5 yards in front of us and then HE quickly flew away. In
the meantime, Keith had a bead on another bird in the tall grass. After
making sure he was all set, he shot the unsuspecting bird and we had one
in the bag. As I made my way around the hilltop, three more toms quickly
flew the coop.
As he bore down on the decoy he passed me from right to left, passing
the spot I had picked out to take him. With the tom still strutting to
the decoy, I had to track to the left ever so slightly and that's when
he knew I was there. He turned and started to run back to the right and
I quickly dropped him before he could pass back behind that low hanging
branch.