The Gobble Got Me

This past March I finally had the opportunity to go on a turkey hunt. Everywhere I have hunted in the past I was never blessed with the benefit of turkey hunting. I have always been fascinated with them and wanted to see one up close after being harvested, so I was excited to finally get to go! I spent some time doing research to refresh my memory of what little I did know about turkeys and learning as much new information as possible. I received great tips from our fans and followers (thank you) and a few friends even provided their insight.

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I was excited to get my decoys and practice with the calls I already had as well as try some new ones. I failed miserably at mouth calls so I knew I wouldn’t be using those! This turkey hunt was going to be a bow hunt only so I was practicing every day I could; I knew the vitals on a turkey were pretty small and I didn’t want to miss! I even watched online videos that challenged me to ‘pick my spot’ where I would shoot just to get my confidence up. There was so much excitement building on this hunt, especially with everyone still awaiting their Spring Turkey season to start; I was in Texas and it was one of the first seasons to open for Rio Grande Turkey.

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I didn’t have much time to scout the area we would be hunting and I knew ahead of time this was a problem. One of the biggest tips I got was scouting and finding their roost. I was behind the eight ball starting out but I was still going to give it a shot. I picked a few prime spots near large trees, water, fields, etc and set up some ground blinds. The first evening hunt when I hit that call and heard a tom gobble back sent chills down my spine. I had heard turkey gobbles before but not while hunting them or paying much attention, usually just in passing while hunting something else. This gobble, this response, was different. I had finally felt what I had heard so much about! The addiction and passion for turkey hunting filled my soul! Yes, the Gobble Got Me! I was hooked.

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Unfortunately, I never had a tom come in close enough for a shot but every hunt there I was, face painted, completely blacked out in my ground blind, decoys set, call in hand, ready and on edge. I have always used my hearing while hunting but I could feel myself leaning into every gobble in the distance, nearly falling out of my chair; trying to find out if they were coming closer, listening for the hens cadence to mimic, trying not to move but still trying to see if I was missing anything around me! The anticipation was unlike any other.

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Aside from the ground blind hunts, my husband and I would get out and do some ‘running and gunning’ (but with a bow haha). Late mornings were great to get out and move around because the toms were still moving. We would walk with decoys, ground blinds, calls, and my bow; stop and call, wait for a response and set up. It was a pretty aggressive technique but we were limited on how many days the hunt was forcing us to step it up and try to make something happen. Again, I was unsuccessful at a harvest but successful in my hunt. One of the other hunters did harvest a turkey and I was able to examine the amazing features up close. The detailed feathers, spurs, colors, toes, eyes, and everything about him was an overload on the sensory factory! I loved it!

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I know there are a lot of turkey hunters out there who have been ‘got by the gobble’ and now I can say I have too. I may not have harvested one but the experience was unlike any other. Rattling up a buck and having him respond is awesome, but now that I know calling in a big ol thunder chicken has such an amazing effect, I am hooked. Yes, the Gobble Got Me!!!