an active unsuccessful morning

It’s almost the weekend! Who’s excited? Last weekend was my first turkey hunt of the season, and although we didn’t bag a tom, we had a great time and quite an eventful morning. We headed  to Walterboro on Friday afternoon to our destination – Deux Cheneaux Plantation. It is such a beautiful place, and we made sure to get there a few hours before dark so that we could wander around and explore. There are dozens ofguineafowl roaming the grounds – and I’m telling you – those are the silliest birds I have ever seen (or heard). They provided entertainment all on their own. We also spotted a pretty little blue bird, and another, more ominous creature.

Continue reading

turkey hunting tips for opening day

Happy Opening Day (No. 2), friends! I came across this Field & Stream article for 2014’s turkey hunting season, and thought it was a good one to pass along. Now, these guys are way more hard core than I could ever hope to be {think cross-country conditioning and using 2 mouth calls simultaneously.. How? No idea}, but they offer some great tips for your turkey hunting adventures. Below are the 3 that apply to me the most, and are definitely tips I need to remember once I get out into the woods. Incidentally, two involve being patient once you’re out there. When it comes to still-hunting deer or hogs, I am typically pretty good at hanging tight and being patient. Not turkey hunting. Perhaps its because I have turkey hunted 20-30 times and haven’t taken a shot, but that’s neither here nor there! I really get antsy with anticipation and sometimes it gets the best of me. Definitely check out these tips – There are bound to be a few that work for you, as well!

Continue reading

the essentials: turkey hunting

It’s almost here. Well, for some, it’s already here! Whether your county opened on the 15th, or you’ve got to wait until April 1st, let’s make sure we’re all prepared for turkey season. Last season was fairly slow on the turkey hunting front, but we have some great hunts lined up for this spring. Now, we all know I am a list maker to the extreme, and I always want to be prepared ahead of time for whatever is coming my way (at least when it comes to this sort of thing!). So, let’s get prepared for our adventures!

Continue reading

“Got your turkey!”

Happy Thursday, friends! So, I know I said last week that I would hopefully have a good turkey hunting story for you from this past weekend. It is, with a heavy heart (and an itchy trigger finger), that I must tell you I do not have such a story. As anyone who lives around here knows, it literally monsooned. All. Weekend. Long. Like couldn’t even leave my house, monsooned. Downtown Charleston flooded so badly, there were cars floating down the streets. Anyways, long story short, it was far too rainy to be able to do any decent hunting. Between missing out on the hunts opening weekend, and being rained out this time, I was reminded of yet another hunt missed last year. Which brings us to our #tbt for the week!

For two weekends, my dad and I, along with a handful of friends, tried our hardest to bring down a gobbler at a fantastic place near Georgetown. After many hours spent stalking, sitting, listening, calling, stalking some more, and seeing plenty of birds without ever getting a shot, it was time for me to head back to Charleston and work. Now, as you turkey hunters know, seeing them does not always mean bringing one down. As luck (fate? karma? did I make the hunting gods angry?!) would have it, John went to the same spot my dad and I had last been for his last hunt of the weekend. As I was getting back in my car to return to Georgetown, I got a text message I will never forget. “Uhoh… Got your turkey!” was all it said. Wwwwhhaaaat?! You mean to tell me, that after hours and hours of failed attempts, you went right out there, hit the call, sneaked closer to the gobbler, and brought that thunder chicken to the ground?! Right where I was?! I couldn’t believe it. It was his first turkey, so I was incredibly torn between being all uppity that he got my the turkey, and super happy that he did. Ahh well… C’est la vie.

Happy hunting!

 

 “It was great doing business with you, sir!

gobble gobble- it has begun!

Hello all! My apologies for the radio silence last week. I have been a bit under the weather and haven’t been able to do much of anything, particularly on the hunting front. And, silly/sickly me, I didn’t even get to do an opening day post for this year’s turkey season! Last Friday was the day, and I am sad that I had to miss out. My dad was able to go twice this past weekend, though, and boy did he have some stories for me! As all turkey hunters well know, those birds can be quite elusive. With a brain the size of a pea, you’d think we could out-smart them every time, right? Wrong! In my few years of actively hunting turkeys, I have somehow managed to never bring one to the ground. (Gasp!) I know… it’s awful. Believe me- there have been plenty of adventures chasing Mr. Gobbler all over the state. Those adventures include days when I never heard one peep from a turkey, and others when I have seen them literally fly down out of the tree right above my head and sail off to chase hens elsewhere in the woods. I have never seemed to manage getting a decent shot off. Woe is me. BUT! I am really hoping to change that this year. We have some fantastic hunts planned, and I am sure there will be a few impromptu ones thrown in there as well.

As I mentioned, my dad went twice over the weekend. Despite not bagging a bird, he had two very interesting mornings. After what seemed like forever of sitting, calling, and hearing birds far away with nothing happening close by, my dad and his buddy decided to call the hunt. On both occasions, however, they jumped a group of turkeys as they were leaving to go home. How typical, right? I can remember deer hunting for hours to no avail, only to nearly run one over on my way out of the property. Same story here. Although they were not able to get a decent shot, we at least now know there are a good number of turkeys on the property- several gobblers and more than a few hens. Of course, one cannot shoot a hen, but they provide the perfect distraction for an excited gobbler- we know the only thing he is thinking about!

Hopefully I will have some exciting stories for you in the coming weeks. The first chance I will have to hunt is this weekend, so stay tuned and wish me luck!

 Two of my favorite spots to see turkeys.