The Last Day of Spring Gobbler Season

Last Day of the Season


The alarm clock sounded at 2:45. The plan was to leave an hour early and get back into the head of a particular hollow in the black dark. Hopefully this tactic wouldn’t spook some turkeys which had been roosted along an access road. The only way in. At 4:50 I awoke. Way too late. I think I may just pass on the mornings hunt. No, maybe I’ll go over to another place. No, I don’t want to deal with the owl hooters and four-wheelers, Maybe I’ll go over on the hill. Hate hunting there. Talking to myself, running options through my head.

In the truck ay 5:05 headed to the original destination; I know that I’ll get there too late. It is a mile or more into the head of the hollow; where I want to be. I hurry up the road and reach the top of the first hill, it is 5:32 and one is gobbling already. I hurry on towards the next ridge. I can hear two other gobblers in the distance, as I close in on the nearest bird. At 5:55 I settle in above the gobbler. It now sounds as if there are two there. Silence, more silence, I yelp softly. They double gobble and are all ready on the ground and headed my way. I yelp a few more times. Silence.

I look down the ridge and here they come; three big gobblers. For some reason, I was expecting jakes. They are closing in fast and I’m in a super uncomfortable spot. Safety off, gun pointed in the right direction, one arm wrapped around a sapling, this spot really sucks. No time to change. Yelp, gobble, boom. It is over; the other two gobblers attack the downed bird. They jump in the air and come down upon their fallen comrade, spurs digging in in fury. One struts around the deceased, the other picks up the dead gobblers head and slams it on a rock. I stand up and everything is once again quiet. I look at my watch, it is 6:26. Two gobblers are gobbling in the distance as I walk back to the truck. A nice way to end the 2011 spring gobbler season. There are good days and bad days; but you will never experience the good ones, if you don’t go.

Posted by High Virginia Outdoors