Post by Decatur on May 1, 2006 7:03:37 GMT -5
Well, me and my buddy Steve Roe, from the Sportsman's Lodge in Decatur, headed down to Big Oaks on Tuesday to get our orientation video out of the way. It rained all day. Wednesday morning was cool and cloudy. We walked 400 miles through swamp and 6" deep moss. Talk about 2 tired old fat guys! Never heard, saw, or even saw sign of 1 single turkey. Thursday morning it was cool and clear, and the birds were gobbling! We heard 6 close to us. Couldn't get any to answer us, so after waiting awhile, we went to another spot in our section that looked promising. We get there and see a hen out by the road right where we wanted to walk in! Figures! So we headed back to our original spot. As soon as we stepped in the woods, we heard a couple of gobbles, and they were CLOSE. We in a hurry like, got set up and started calling/waiting/watching/having a heart attack, etc. About 20 minutes later, 2, probably, 2 yr old birds, came sneaking in (from wher we HAD BEEN sitting not 30 minutes before!). They, of course, came in on our right side, which by the way is our WRONG side, since we are both right handed. They hung around about five minutes, and got within 15 yards of me. No shot. Maybe if one would have come in alone, we coulda tried something, but not with 4 turkey eyes on us. One of the birds wanted to come back into the woods with us, he kept walking back and forth, trying to decide if that hen sounded sexy enough for the trouble, but his buddy, who must have been a little light in the loafers, kept putting trying to get him outta there. So no bird. Friday was another beautiful day. Heard 2 gobble early and then nothing the rest of the day. Bummer! The first day at Big Oaks, they checked in 21 birds, the second day only 3. Don't know about the third day. We went to a gun shop in Madison, and they had checked in 30 birds the first day. At the orientation, the instructor told us last year, in their youth hunt, only 1 bird was bagged. This year they took 12 birds! It was a fun hunt, but I'm still looking to bag my first turkey. Oh well, maybe Michigan will be kinder to me. Congratulations to everyone who did score. 
