listening for the gobbler

[charlie cleveland]

fellows it only a week away for us adults in mississippi till the spring turkey season will be open...this is my favorite time of the year so this morning im off and going to listen for the gobblers call this morning....hope i hear several and hope some of you fellas are listening as well..i must be going its about time..... charlie

[E Robert Fabian]

Good luck Charlie, we have another two months of waiting before the season opens.

[Dean Romig]

I'm envious. Still 1 1/2 feet of hard foozen snow here. Spring seems soooo far away...

Good luck Charlie!

[Larry Frey]

As Dean said all this frozen white stuff in our woods makes May seem so far away. Last Saturday I pulled a half a turkey breast out of the freezer and the wife prepared a couple of great meals with it. That really got the desire to get out in the woods going strong.

[charlie cleveland]

was very windy this morning i did not hear any gobbles this morning but i know thwey are there....last weekend a few gobblers were doing there thing but they were about a 100 miles south of me...all the trees are budding out and we are having a good run of warm weather so i should hear lots of gobblers before long...thanks for wishing me luck i hope yalls weeks will pass swiftly for yall....gonna try a 3 inch elsie my son bought for the opening weekend....good hunting all.... charlie

[calvin humburg]

Charlie, Seen 12 Jakes and Toms getting a drink out of my windmill overflow by the pins where you opend the red gate. There was some beards around 7 inches. Going to throw out some grain today hope they stay around till season so Jett can get one. BoJack says hello! best ch

[charlie cleveland]

know right were that gate is...me old bo jack need to be setting there waiting for them long beards to show up.... cool here today hope it dont give them turkeys the lockjaw...usally does when we have a cool front come on... i usally shoot pop cans on sunday evening but to windy and cool i must be getting soft.... charlie

[charlie cleveland]

very windy and cool here this morning no turkeys heard gobbling....my dad was fornate enough to hear a gobbler at his house yesterday morning though....ive only got one more to wait and the hunt will be on..i went on myfirst turkey hunt in 1962 and now its 2011 still got a lot to learn and have never forgotten the excitement of hearing that gobbler talk at first light...ive seen seasons with no turkeys bagged and ive had seasons that i limited out but all the seasons hunts were good ones.. of all the game and birds that ive chased and shot at the old gobbler is tops in my book.... charlie

[Dean Romig]

Turkey hunting is interactive - you're talking to him and he's talking back to you - that's what makes it so exciting. Do it right and he will parade right in front of you... Do it wrong and you'll see nary a feather or maybe you'll see a big black road-runner going straight away from you.

[Tom Carter]

Yesterday while shooting with our SxS Club at Backwoods Quail Club we saw a huge gobbler with an extimated 10 inch beard strutting around with two hens. We got within 20-25 yards in our golf cart before they ran away. We frequently see turkeys there but this was the first time I saw one strutting. Tom

[charlie cleveland]

look for turkey sign today and i ran across a lot of sign...it had rained the day before so seeing a track was no problem...i seen at least 7 differant set of gobbler tracks today made early this morning i think..they could have been made the evening before but i didnt think so...all the tracks were good and long ecpecially one set of tracks....lots of hen sign also so things are looking pretty good for the morning hunt....supposed to be in the 70s tommorrow but it was cool this morning we had a pretty good frost last night so maybe them turkeys wont get the lockjaw in the morning.... im shootin a winchester no 5 out of the right barrel and a remington no 4 out of the left barrel...so like the old song ofif the right one dont get you then the left one will...gota get up early will tell the results tommorrow night.... charlie

[Dean Romig]

Shoot straight.

[charlie cleveland]

well i havenot reported in lately so i willtry to catch up on the up dates of turkey hunting..all last week i chased turkeys early and late...i was hearing and seeing turkeys every day but not till fiiday did my chance arrive..the previous day i was busted by 2 big gobblers that sneaked in from behind me they never had made a sound till they spotted me some way or another..i had a gobbler coming to me in frontnearly in shooting distance when they gave the put put sound and has all you turkey hunters no you might as well go to the house cause you been busted...gobbler in front also heard them and vanished.. but friday was the day i will not forget...i got the woods about 1/2 hour before daylight.. i carried my decoys and set them up in a field were i hunt sometimes.. after daylight i heard 3 gobblers 2 of them did not gobble much but the 3rd one was very noisy he gobbled at every sound...i would have guessed the turkey was a mile away but i know for sure he was 3/4 mile away.. i started calling to him at 7.00 he must have gobbled at least a 100 times or more on his way to me..i thought twice he must have hens with him he kinda got hung up and would not come closer..but finally he began to steadly close the distance..there was fog vapors rising in the air as the sun shone on that field finall at about 250 yards i saw him making his way to the hen decoys...he sure was a sight long beard hanging down sun catching every glistening feather...he would stop and stretch that long neck looking at those hens i would cluck to him and then he would spin and drum awhile..then he would stop motionless in full strut showing those hen decoys all of his beautiful self..then he wouldmake a few more steps all the while gobbling at every cluck i made to him...finally he was almost in shooting distance.. my decoys were at 30 steps i estimated him to be at 45 steps i thought for sure he would come in a few steps closer but during his spinning around and showing off in front of the ladies he had worked hisself out to 50 steps..finally he let his wings down and said heck with you ladies ..i had made a mistake i had laid my call a box call down so the hens were not saying anything so he lost interest in them...as he started watking off sideways leaviny the ladies behind i knew that he was leaving..i estimated the range between 45 and 48 steps so i made the decision to shoot... i was shooting a 3 in lc smith double using no 4 and 5 shot...i fierd the right barrel with the 4s in it and the old gobbler went down...he flopped around some and i started toward him and all at once he jumped up and started running then got on his wings i fierd the 4s at him hit him again he flew about 150 steps and crashed into a tree line..as i stopped and reloaded i said to myself hell be right there were he crashed...when i got there i was a surprized fellow no turkey.. i hunted him for a good while but never found him... i was a very sick hunter indeed...i re thought the hunt several times even re traced the shot this morning...all said and done ive killed lots of turkeys that far but i gues it was my fault..the range turned out to be 55 steps in reality just a little to far for no 5s...i will miss this old bird he gobbled faithfully every morning for me.. a turkey hunter does not run into a gobbler like this one very often...i believe as im getting a little younger now that my judging distances his getting bad....read this story and dont make the same mistake i did...im gonna get me a range finder...looks like rough hunting weather here for the next few days and being sick for crippling that fine old bird dont make it any better.... charlie

[calvin humburg]

Nobody likes it but sometimes it just happens, wounding game makes one sad.

[charlie cleveland]

listen well this morning heard 1 gobblewr but he was 2 miles away...stayed in woods till 9.00 and noexcitement going on....drove by a big field going home large gobbler at half a mile needed some bodys cannon to get him...was coming home and large hen was standing in my drive... ive hunted hard but no success yet...but have not give up... charlie

[Dean Romig]

Keep at it Charlie, keep at it.

Too bad about your lost bird - I've been there and I know just how bad you felt... makes you feel terrible.

[Dean Romig]

This just in....

My cousin in northeastern Ohio manages his 50 acre farm for turkey and deer and this picture was taken with his trail-cam today near a small deer feeding station at the back end of one of his pastures.

Thay look delicious don't they?



.

[charlie cleveland]

would love to have been there in a good blind...i love to watch the turkeys do their thing... thanks for sharing pictures... charlie

[Dean Romig]

Maybe we'll soon be showing pictures of big ol' gobblers posing alongside our Parkers.

[charlie cleveland]

amen brother ben to that..maybe they will let a picture of a off brand like lc smith be in a picture with a big gobbler... charlie

[Bill Bates]

I've never hunted turkeys. This year I'm going to give it try. In the past here in Utah turkey permits were given on a limited draw basis. This year there is a still an early limited draw hunt that opened this weekend but we now have a general hunt that opens at the beginning of May.

I've been doing some pre-season spotting. I hope these birds I found last weekend don't get pushed around to much during the early hunt.

http://www.pbase.com/slowpokebill/image/133556167.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/slowpokebill/image/133556170.jpg

[charlie cleveland]

beautiful birds.. hope you enjoy the hunt and are successful...turkey hunting is like parkers more you go the better ir becomes... charlie

[Dean Romig]

I think a longbeard posing with a nice old Elsie would be quite acceptable.

[Dean Romig]

Bill, just keep in mind that the worst thing we can possibly do in pre-season spotting and scouting is to try to get them to respond to a call. Never let them associate calling - either shock-calling or hen calls or gobbling - with the sighting of a man doing it.

[charlie cleveland]

was a nice morning to hunt here but turkeys did not cooporate so come to the house and worked in the garden... a fellow could lose a crop chasing after these old birds... charlie

[charlie cleveland]

had planed to go this morning but a dear friend passed away.. i will resume the hunt in the morning...hope you other boys are having fun this morning chasing these sharp eyed old fellas... charlie

[Dean Romig]

I'm sorry for the loss of your dear friend. These things are never easy and the older we get the more often we are saddened by the loss of friends.

It always helps me to get outdoors and into the natural world where things come back into perspective.

[charlie cleveland]

wish i had wings this morning ..gobbler was at least a mile away..i would have paid him a visit it was to far a walk for this old fellow...but sure enjoyed the music..will close the gap on him in the morning if he still at same place...good day charlie

[Dean Romig]

Charlie, are you putting those turkeys to bed in the evening?
My point is that when I hunt turkeys in Vermont I try to see where they go in the evening to roost. Usually where I hunt they spend a lot of time in the afternoon in the fields and meadows and I'll try to keep an eye on them to see which section of woods they head to when the sun begins to set. Once they're in the woods and the sun is about down they don't travel far before they fly up to roost. I've even herded flocks toward a particular woodlot where the chances of success tip somewhat in my favor for the morning. I don't try to drive them but I'll skulk visibly inside the edge of a woodlot where I don't want them to go. They'll see me there, not as an immediate threat but as a reason not to enter those woods, and head in a more desirable (for me) direction for roost trees. It has worked pretty well for me. Legal hunting hours in Vermont for turkey end at 12 noon sharp but I'm not in camo or carrying a gun so...

[charlie cleveland]

thanks for the info..i will try herding yhose turkeys if i ever get a chance..were im hunting is onlyforest lots of pine and hardwood..there is not a lot ofturkeys were im hunting...there is good hunting around me but those places have been leased...i know of a field that i can see turkeys in every time i go by butits posted and i cant hunt it...i have a few acres of mine own that im working on to hold more turkeys but evidenty i need to do a little better on my planing..mostly i get to hunnt in the mornings but i will start hunting some in the afternoon.. thanks charlie

[charlie cleveland]

heres pictures of turkey i got this morning..was very story and rainy
but a good day... charlie

[charlie cleveland]

the turkey was killed with a lc smith field grade 3 in long range gun...usedthe winchester 2x4 3 inch shell..distance was 29 paces... was a very stormy day it was lighting and thundering alot..the old gobbler gobbled at the thunder as if in defiance...old gobbler hung up at 70 yards and stayed there for a good 30 minutes he left the field and 2 jakes came into the field..the gobbler returnedinto the field the jakes run over to the gobbler but he payed them no mind..this time he had only eyes for theladies..i let him come as close as he would come then i let him have the load of 2x4s..i really like this load and it was the last one of them i had..was a real good hunt i will try them again next week gotta go to jackson tennessee to the bunny run tommorrow..have some more pictures but will have to wait till some one can help me post them... will be using the old 10 ga on the next hunt... old turkey weighed 19 lbs 10 1/2 inch beard and had 1 in and 1 1/16 in spurs...3 year old bird in my opinion... charlie

[Frank Cronin]

Congrats Charlie! I hope I fare as well just as you did. The season here starts April 25th.

[charlie cleveland]

hope you the best of luck..we still have a little over 2 weeks left maybe lady luck will smile on both of us.... charlie

[Dean Romig]

Congratulations Charlie! Good one for sure! That's how to do it - any weather at all just so long as you keep getting out there - keep putting in your time and good things happen, especially to good people!

[calvin humburg]

That's a nice one Charlie, good huntin. Save a leg bone for ol BoJack:) best ch

[Bill Bates]

Congrats Charlie...Nice bird.

[charlie cleveland]

going after the the old birds in the morning hope they gobble...will be trying the old 10 ga lefever..my dads old gun its killed a lot of turkeys...its been semi retierd but thought i would give it a little exercise... charlie

[Dean Romig]

Hoping the Red Gods smile on you Charlie.

[charlie cleveland]

they did not smile this morning...too cloudy...theres always tommorrow.... charlie

[Dean Romig]

theres always tommorrow....


Indeed there is.

[charlie cleveland]

got up at 5 am eat a bite got dressedand grabbed the 10 ga parker and 6 rem. nito no 4 shot and headed to the woods...was a 15 minute ride on the ole 4 wheeler and i arrived at the hunting spot for the morning...as i turned the key off on the 4 wheeler and steped off a hen turkey flew over me..i unzipped the gun case and loaded the ole 10 parker and had made about 10 steps when a large gobbler flew off his roost in front of me...i thought to myself this is what you deserve for being late.. walked on to my blind with no more turkeys seen im thinking youve done seen your gobbler for the day.... got to my blind and paced off 30 steps and put my 2 hen decoys out..i always like to pace off 30 steps because it lets me know most of the time how far im shooting..but i do fowl up sometimes and shoot to far... i was in the blind no more than 5 miutes when a turkey began gobbling...i yelped and purred to him and he answered any and all calls i made....10 minutes passed by and a large hen came from somewhere and took up with my decoys....my calls soft or loud never bothered the hen... but what better decoy can you have than the real thing...about 30 minutes had gone by with a lot of gobbling from the tom that was still slowly coming to me.. i ocasionly would check on the hen she was still out from my decoys about 20 steps...as i looked at her i noticed a large gobbler had slipped into the field ..i thought which one of these gobblers will i get a shot at first...the turkey that had slipped into the field had closed the distance to about 150 yards but he hung at that range for about 10 more minutes.. the other gobbler had gotten to with in 100 yards and was coming fast steadly gobbling..i laid the call down and got the old 10 ga up ready for action..what i didnt think about the old gobbler was across a little creek.. seen him finally he was looking for a place to cross the little creek he finally flew across andflustered up showing all of his pretty self..i had pushed the safety off and was fixing to pull the trigger when suddenly he dropped his feathers and took to steps..i had a good bead on his head so i pulled the front trigger and down came the old bird.... i steped the distance to the tom and it was 43 steps...put several of the no 4 shot in the head and neck ... i looked at my watch and it said 7.00 am from the time i head the old gobbler till he lay on the ground was 50 minutes...the old parker was a 10 ga ph twist steel barrel 32 inch...the ammo was the old remington green plastic rooll crimped 2 7/8 inch no 4 shot....this parker has killed a lot of turkeys for me and hopefully a few more....but if its not raing in the morning i will use a lefever 10 ga this is my dads old gun...i took pictures but i will have to wait till the wife gets back to post them...almost forgot turkey weighed 18 lbs 10 1/2 inch beard 1 inch spurs...a 2 year old in my opinion... hope some of yall are having as much fun as i am..... charlie ps that powder smelled pretty good to...

[calvin humburg]

Good job charlie! would of been fun to be there me and jett.

[charlie cleveland]

got a week left come on out...would enjoyseeing you and the boys again...turkey are gobbling good i had the best hunting ive had in years.... charlie

[Dean Romig]

Nice work Charlie!!
Nice work PH 10 ga.!!
You two are a good team.

[Frank Cronin]

Congrats Charlie. Season opened today and I was out there this morning. Gave them gobblers some nice soft pillow talk with my box call but couldn't get him close enough to take a shot.

[charlie cleveland]

try a soft low gobble been working for me when nothing else would interest the old toms...had a couple myself that stayed out range this year...good luck tommorrow if you go..im going in the morning suppose to be bad weather rain and stormy... charlie

[charlie cleveland]

got up at 2.30 am tried to go back to sleep but couldnt...got up at 430 dressed eat breakfast and put on my rain gear....it was raining cats and dogs that 4 mile ride on that 4 wheeler was not to appealing...at 5.30 cralled pu on the old artic cat and headed it to the hunting blind...had to drive slow rain was getting in my eyes and couldnot see to well.. by 6.00i was parked and walking to the blind i set up my hen decoys at the normal 30 steps and got into the blind.. after my usal laying out my calls and a extra shell i was ready....nothing happened for the first hour except a lot of high wind and rain...it was looking like it was going to be a start to a bad hunt no turkeys seen or heard yet.. my blind was in a field that i hunt a lot you can see about 300 yards any direction..but grass was about knee high now so cannot see as good as first of season...i spotted what i thought was a turkey sure enough it was a turkey...there was a hen that came into the field at about the same time i seen the other turkey...the hen by passed my decoys paying them no mind i think she was the same hen that helped me kill the gobbler yesterday..today she was no help it had slacked up raining so hard and the other turkey slowly made its way toward the decoys and the real hen..at about 100 yards i could see the old toms head it waswhitish blue..the tom gobbled twice and went into a full strut he then slowly came toward the real hen she showed no interest in him at all..i kept calling slow clucks and purrs to the tom he would onlytake a step or two then he would either go into a full strut or would raise that head high and stand motionless looking at the decoysit took a half hour to get this tom to with in shooting range...at 40 steps i made my last call i pushed the safty off on the old lefever 10 ga hammerless gun started to pull the front trigger when for some reason he whirled backtoward the real hen he made about 5 steps when i pulled the left trigger it had a load of no 2 lead in it...so the old lefever roared and down went the gobbler gave him the right barrel for some added insurance...had him loaded and back to the house and cleaned pictures took and in the deep freeze by 1130...so what started out looking like a really tough day to hunt turned into my killing my 3rd gobbler and that being the limit in mississippi is my final turkey hunt for this season...hope every one elses seasons that are just starting have as good and fun filled season as i have...the gun used to kill this turkey was a lefever hammerless serial no in the 12888 range damascus barrels 32 inch shell used was the old paper remington nitro longrange load no 2 lead..distance was 45 steps when shot... turkey weighed 18 lbs beard was 8 1/4 inches spurs were 3/4 inch inches...a young 2 year old in my opinion... got to go brak down the old lefever give it a good cleanup..i wiped it down when i came in but desereves a little more .... charlie

[Dean Romig]

Charlie, you're a turkey killin machine and we'll need to do some serious hunting to catch up to you! Congratulations.

[Dave Suponski]

Charlie, Congratulations...You are one dedicated hunter. A freezer full of wild turkey....Very nice!

[Frank Cronin]

Way to go Charlie. Going out in style at 45 steps with a Lefever 10 gauge... in the pouring rain. "Uncle Dan" would certainly be proud of your accomplishment that you did it with your daddy's Lefever.

[calvin humburg]

I think you should change your avatar to turkey slayer:) Did you pluck any off them? good job! ch

[Dean Romig]

Charlie, I sent you an e-mail.

Dean

[charlie cleveland]

woke up this morning at 430 thinking it was time togo turkey hunting but alas i relized i had limited out.. well im waiting on you boys hunting stories now... charlie

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Good Work!