Grow the Hunt

Kansas Hunt Part II

By Rich Miller

We had a great Saturday and the forecast for Sunday was going to be a good day to hunt.  We were jacked up for our first morning and couldn’t wait till daylight to arrive. We had spotted some turkeys Saturday afternoon and that was where we were going to be when the sun came up. 

It was a little cool that morning, but when we got about 50-yards from the truck we heard the first gobble on the hunt. By the time we made it to the field where we were going to set up, there were about five more birds gobbling with some jakes mixed in, also. Mick and I were hunting together and we quickly brushed up a place on the ground to sit and got set up before daylight. It was a good thing, too, because just when it was light enough to see there was a big gobbler that showed up in the middle of the field. He hung around for a little while until a hen joined him then he went on his way.

All the other birds were still gobbling but they came to the middle of the field and got together with some hens, also, and then went on their way. One bird was still gobbling to our left and we kept calling to him. After a few minutes of calling to him, a big gobbler came in quiet from our right and went straight to our Carry-Lite HD decoys. The first morning in Kansas it was a little after 8:00 am and I had one bird down! My uncle wasn’t so lucky on the first morning, and as the morning went along the rain moved in and we didn’t get much hunting done after that. 

Monday morning was a different story, though. Mick and I went to another spot when we have always gotten on birds. When we arrived, there were a couple of birds gobbling long before daylight. We got set up in a hedgerow between two fields and the birds weren’t 75-yards from where we set up. I put the Bobb’n Tail Tom decoy where it could be seen from both fields. The sky was just starting to lighten up and I sat up to adjust my vest and slide up just a little bit. Out in the field stood a turkey and he was looking right our way. I told Mickey not to move, there was a turkey in the field. 

Now, I have turkey hunted for a lot of years – and had the opportunity to see a lot of turkeys die – but this is the earliest I have never seen a turkey on the ground that hadn’t been spooked. He finally went into half strut and slowly started our way. At that point, I felt better that he hadn’t seen us and then he was in a jog coming to the decoy. The last thing that went through his mind was a load of #5’s and wondering what that other tom was doing in his field. After the shot, I looked at my watch and it was just after legal shooting light. I still can’t believe that turkey was on the ground that early! 

Two days into the trip and I was tagged out. Jimmy had a good hunt Monday morning and ended up with a big long beard, also. I hated not having any other tags to fill but there was one thing for sure; the weather was beautiful and I had a fishing license in my pocket so the fish better look out.

To be continued…..

A Poor Spring

By Brandon Wikman

This year’s weather has been anything but kosher, considering the destructive tornadoes, countrywide flooding and strange cold weather patterns that linger over the states. Spring has not officially sprung into action for the better part of the United States, which puts a lot of strain on everyone in some way, shape, or form – both economically and emotionally.

Many hardcore whitetail enthusiasts around the Midwest have had their food plot production shut down like a day’s end of work. The chilly temperatures and sporadic snowfalls have iced any thoughts of growing season. I’d like to break out the ATV and begin lathering the fields with fertilizer, but I am afraid I wouldn’t be able to make it out without a chain and a strong winch!

My dear friend Joe, who lives in the fertile grounds of Illinois, has over twenty acres of foot plots to put in this spring. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to drop a seed or disk. Weather isn’t his only issue – mud has been his largest obstacle.

Much of the Midwest has random pools of standing water in the fields, driveways and low spots in the forest. Water is considered to be gold to many farmers and foot plot aficionados, however when it comes in never-ending buckets – that is another story. The water not only affects the annual planting season, but halts all of the planting industries across the country from shipping to distribution. There aren’t very many food plot manufacturers that have had a smile on their face the last couple months.

The abundance of water and cold weather has not only affected planters, but also turkey hunters. My woods have been flooded like a swamp in the middle of Florida’s ‘Gator Alley’. Turkeys have ventured into neighboring properties where they established new roost trees and different travel patterns.

It seems that the frigid temperatures have kept them somewhat closed-beaked and out of the field. I am hoping to sneak out in a couple weeks to see if any of my family’s properties are finally worth hunting. Standing water and soggy feathers doesn’t seem to be the best turkey hunting combination.

All we can do is hope that the weather turns ripe and we can begin our ritual outdoor behaviors that we so adore. For those of you with higher ground, good luck planting and enjoy the rest of your spring turkey hunting.