Turkey hunting stories

[Daniel G Rainey]

report from north Miss. Opening day Friday the 15. Winter trying to turn into spring. Overcast very little wind temps. in the high30's. heard a couple just across the railroad off of club property, but they will cross on to us they do it all the time. Set facing east 100 yards off the railroad 50 yards from a small field and here comes the train. Trains do seem to mess up turkeys. I think It is because they have seen and heard them since the day they were hatched. After train got out of the way the woods settled down I yelped a couple times and leaded back against my tree just enjoying being there. After 3 or 4 minutes A turkey gobbled then a gobbled again in a couple minutes. Then I realized the turkey was behind me. ( I am totally deaf in my right ear and have awful time with sound direction ) I slipped to another tree 4 feet away got set. About this time he was to close to move and I was in a open area too open. there he was dark as night with red head bobing as angled toward me. He got to about 75 yards and stopped fanned out gobbled and really put on the show. I yelped a time or two over the next 20 minutes and he walked back and forth looking for than hen. It was so damned open where I was and the gobbler knew if there hen there and she moved he would see her. He gobbled and gobbled and double gobbled on his own. Never in 48 years of turkey hunting have I seen a gobbler get this worked up this early in the season. It was like late April and all the hens are nesting and he had been cut off for week by all the girl turkeys. He was so loud I was thinking That he was going to call up every turkey in the bottom. All at once he starts acting uneasy looking back and walking back and forth and here comes 2 gobblers fanned out the running toward him. They face off gobble at each other and play whip ass for a short time while I setting there praying they run the SOB by me. ( had that to happen one time) All at once they stop and the 2 newcomers begin to walk off. Guess they made there minds there was no need to fight since was no hen. After a very short time the first gobbler just walked away and I just relaxed thinking only six more weeks of this and what a way to start the season. Know where I will Saturday.