My 2023 Autumn Turkey

Last year’s autumn turkey season began with a thud for me. Bob, my son, and I were to hook up and hunt together on the opening day. However, he did not show up at daybreak, and I couldn’t reach him on the cellphone he and my wife “advise” me to carry. I guessed I didn’t have service.

Anyhow, after speaking with another hunter about where each of us would hunt that morning, I progressed out a Jeep trail then entered the woods where I had seen turkeys a couple days before. I hunted all morning but had no luck. I decided to go home for lunch. On my way, I ran into Bob who had endured vehicle trouble that morning. After a brief lunch, Bob and I went back to where I had hunted that morning. We eventually ran into a small group of birds, but we didn’t get them separated. We hung in there and called until dark. Bob thought he heard one call a couple of times, but the turkey didn’t respond to Bob’s pleading yelps.

On Monday I didn’t hunt till afternoon. I despise hunting in the rain; and even though the morning’s rain was a light one, I sat it out. When it quit after lunch, I drove out to the mountain where Bob and I had seen the turkeys on Saturday. I slowly hunted along the edges of some steep ravines until 3:30; and though I found a little turkey scratching, I did not see or hear any birds. At that point I decided I’d better head back toward my truck.

When I was no more than a hundred yards from the truck, I found a big maple tree where I decided to sit and call until darkness set in. I was hoping to attract a bird or two that might be close by and heading to their roosts on a steep bank behind me. That’s just what happened.

After I’d been calling for about a half-hour, I heard turkeys softly purring off to my right. I swiveled slightly and propped my 12-gauge on my knees. Several turkeys appeared out of some brush fewer than thirty yards away, and they stopped and looked around. I had my shotgun perfectly aligned on the largest one, quickly disengaged the safety, and fired. The turkey turned out to be a 14-pound gobbler, which is a pretty nice turkey for a bird of the year.

When the 2024 season begins this Saturday (Nov. 2), I will be hoping to replicate last fall’s hunt.