Double down on gobblers

Dave and Dick doubled down on a couple nice birds this morning! We worked the birds and had to make several moves but finally got the birds to commit. Dick's bird came in silent and he whacked it! We grabbed that bird, moved 100 yards down hill, set up again and called in another bird within minutes and Dave laid it out! It was a great morning full of twists and turns but we got the job done!

Tommy's Turkey

We headed up to the ranch this morning in search of a turkey! I had a good idea of where some birds were roosting so we headed that way first thing. Sure enough the birds were in the tree and sounded off at daylight. We worked the birds for awhile and they headed the other way so we made a move to try and get in front of them. We got to the top of the ridge where the birds had headed and as soon as we crested it there they stood! Tommy was quick on the draw and laid a nice one over! It wasn't exactly text book but it got the job done.  

Easter gobbler for Cade!

After several unsuccessful attempts and a few missed opportunities the last few years we finally got it done this morning! It seems sometimes that I can get everyone else on birds but when it comes to Regina and the kids the damnedest things usually happen! Well, today the starts aligned and I watched as Cade made a perfect 40 yard shot on this jake that hung up outside the decoys and refused to come any closer. I knew it was a stretch but knew that the Hevi-Shot magnum blend was effective at that range so when Cade was ready he let it rip! The bird crumpled and Cade jumped for joy, I couldn't have been more proud of him. It was a great morning in the field with my little buddy!  

The dove candy is coming up!

I went out and checked the safflower plots today and things are looking good! The seed that was planted shallow is coming up and the stuff that got planted a little deeper is on it's way! Within a week or so we should have a solid stand!

Almost Turkey Time!

Just wanted to throw a reminder out there that Turkey season is quickly approaching and it's time to pick your ammo and pattern your guns! We are shooting the Hevi-Shot Magnum Blend and it patterns well and hits hard! Can't wait to watch it roll some toms soon!!!

Last Minute Gobbler!

Dave and I headed up to the ranch this morning to try and get him a gobbler since they had been eluding him up North. We were at the ranch well before daylight and walked into an area where I had been seeing the birds. Within minutes of setting up the trees came alive and it looked like we had chosen the right spot! The birds stayed in the trees longer than usual but when they hit the ground we could here them coming our way. The birds were sounding like they would appear at any minute but as can happen in hunting things changed quickly!! As the birds came up the road towards us a giant boar walked into the pond directly in front of our set up and started drinking and wallowing. As we watched the show the birds were gobbling and sounded close but the wind swirled and sent the big boar running right down the road towards them, scattering the group of turkeys! We sat patiently and waited to see what would happen but could hear the birds moving off in another direction, dammit!!! We switched gears and hurried to try and get back in front of the birds but they beat us up the canyon. We relocated and got set up again and began calling. Right of the bat we had a gobble up the ridge from us and the bird sounded to be getting closer. Soon he shut up and we waited but he never came, so we went back to calling and to our surprise a hen started talking to us. Both Dave and I were mimicking her every sound and she got louder and closer! While all of this was going on the gobbles started again so we stayed at it until the hen got mad at us and flew across the canyon and landed right in our set up! She stayed put for awhile and then moved up the road and out of sight. About the same time a gobbler came strutting up the road in our direction! He was focused on the hen that had walked up the road and followed her but stayed down low and we only caught a glimpse as he went by us, no shot!!  We waited awhile and decided to move up the road towards them and try to intercept them again. The road that they had went up was right where we had parked first thing this morning and we knew that had to walk right past the rig to get up into the meadows. As we approached the rig we were walking up hill and as soon as we could see over the rise there stood the gobbler fanned out and facing away from us! I quickly got Dave's attention and as the gobbler turned to face us Dave smoked him!! I wasn't exactly text book but that's turkey hunting and a hunt I won't soon forget!  

Fire Repair Has Started!

 Our ranch was badly burned in the fires of 2012. The fire swept up the canyon from highway 16 and decimated roughly 4500 acres of prime habitat on the ranch! Since the fire was out I have been working diligently to whip the ranch back into shape slowly but surely, as time and conditions would allow. Today I started the fencing project to repair all of the fence on the ranch that was destroyed during the fire. When all said and done we will have replaced roughly 54,000 lineal feet of 5 strand barb wire. Prior to starting the installation of the new fence I have run all the old fence lines with the dozer so that we can now access the fence at all points, which will make the installation much faster. I hope to get all of the fence repairs completed by the end of 2014 so that we can go full speed ahead with our pig hunts moving into 2015!!  

Birthday Gobbler!

This morning I guided Vinny for his annual birthday turkey hunt that his brother Donald set up for him. I met the guys bright and early and we got to the ranch and set up well before daylight. As legal shooting time came we could hear birds and the hit the ground and went quiet. I knew where the birds were and we closed the distance a few times and set up on them but they had hen's and didn't want to cooperate. We gave up on those birds and went to find some others. As we traveled through the ranch I would stop and call hoping to get a response, on a couple different occasions we got a gobble but as soon as we set up and tried to call again the birds would go silent. At each set we sat patiently for what I deemed long enough and then moved on. On our third attempt we had 2 birds gobble and they sounded HOT so we set up and waited before giving them another call. At the sound of the call the gobblers we nuts and before long I could see them headed down the hill towards us. They would come down the hill to within 100 yards or so and then head back up. I would wait awhile and call again and they would do the same thing!! After the third time I got pissed and decided to make a move(as some of you may know, patience isn't exactly my strong point!). The plan was for Donald to stay put and Vinny and I would make our way up the ravine towards the birds. We closed the first 50 yards fairly quickly but as we got closer I slowed down and we would go 5-10 yards wait 10 minutes and then give quiet clucks and purrs, trying to sound like a couple hens headed up the hill. Each time I called they would answer and we played this game for quite awhile until we finally reached the top of the draw. This time we waited several minutes and I told Vinny to be ready as I thought they would come running at us! As soon as I purred both birds gobbled not 10 yards from us but they stayed but and wouldn't move! I knew right where they were so we crawled up a little higher and I told Vinny to stand up as soon as I started calling. I hit mouth call and we both stood up and watched as one of the toms gobbled not 10 feet from us. All we could see was his big red head and beard when Vinny put the hammer down!! It wasn't exactly how I had imagined it happening, but that seems to be the story of my life when it comes to turkey hunting!!! Either way the results were the same and Vinny headed home with his birthday TOM!!!   

Turkey Troubles!!

After the great hunt from last week I was eager to get back after the turkey's. Today Aaron and I headed up to the ranch with hopes of getting him a bird. We left the cabin and headed up the hill and found a likely spot to set up. As the sky started to lighten the birds started gobbling and it sounded as if we were in the right location! Once the birds left the roost and hit the ground they were very vocal and sounded s if they were headed our way. I gave a few calls and the birds answered back immediately, so my hopes were high! After a half hour or so we spotted a few birds making their way up the adjacent hill side, several hundred yards away.  Every time I would call the birds would answer and we could watch them as they would swell up and then strut, spit, and drum. It was one hell of a show, as there must have been 6-8 different tom's on that hill side. One of the toms broke off and was headed our way doing the dance when out of no where a couple other toms charged him and scared him back up the hill. I tried to gently coax him back down our direction but he just wouldn't do it! As I was about to loose hope I made one more aggressive set of calls and heard a couple birds a long ways away. I then sat quiet for roughly 10 minutes and hit the call again, and got an immediate answer from 2 birds and they were headed our way quickly! Aaron was set up and ready as we waited another 10 minutes or so and I let out another couple clucks. This time the gobbles erupted and it sounded like they were within 50 yards!! Within seconds we watched a 2 toms came barreling towards us through the brush, the lead bird headed straight in while to other one held up at the brush line. The lead bird came into 20 yards or so but wasn't going to get any closer to my strutter decoy. I gently purred and tried to coax him in closer but he wouldn't do it! I could tell he was getting nervous and as he turned to leave Aaron fired!! To my disbelief and his as well we watched as the birds ran off, it was a clean miss!! We will never know what happened but it just wasn't meant to be. We tried several other locations to try and raise some interest and had several gobbles but no takers!!  It was a great day in the hills and the show that we got to watch this morning was nothing short of amazing!!     

Gobbler's Down!!

This morning I guided Dan and Gary for turkey's. We got to the ranch well before daylight and as we were putting on our gear all hell busted loose up the valley from us. Within minutes we could hear several tom's gobbling and made a mad dash to get set up and entice a couple of them in. As the birds hit the ground they got pretty quiet and we waited patiently until I could take it no more! The birds were answering our calls but they would get closer and then back off, almost like they were walking in a big square, it was weird!! We decided to pick up and we headed up the hill to try and spot the birds to see what they were actually doing. When we reached a good vantage point we spotted a couple hens at a dead run headed up the opposite hill side and shortly there after a line of gobblers! We now knew why they wouldn't come into our calls and I had a good idea of where they were headed so we set out to try and get in front of them. We arrived at where I thought the birds would show and we didn't have to wait long as a line of gobblers came strutting in!! Within seconds of having a good visual on the entire string of birds the guys picked out the 2 biggest and rolled them up almost simultaneously!! It was awesome, 2 nice tom's down! Both of the birds were of good size and one had a 9.5 inch beard and the other 8.5. It was a great hunt and it's always nice when a plan comes together!

Casey 

Turkey Time

I finally got a chance to take my son, Cade out turkey hunting this morning. He has been wanting to hunt them since it opened and I finally had some time to try and make it happen! We arose at 3:30 AM and got ready and hit the road! We headed over to a ranch that I have permission to hunt and set out to try and get it done. We picked a likely spot and got set up well before daylight so that we would not spook the birds that I was sure were nearby. As dawn started to crack the birds went crazy!! It was awesome to hear all of the gobbles, and there must have been 10-15 different birds nearby but sounded as if they had roosted on the neighboring property across the creek. As shooting time neared Cade and I sat patiently waiting for fly down. Prior to legal shooting light some JACKASS decided to sneak onto the property and shoot a couple birds out of the roost!! WTF is wrong with people??? Not only trespassing but shooting birds out of the roost as well, I was pissed and had to take the time to explain to Cade what had just happened. He was bummed but with the amount of gobbling I had heard earlier I knew we still had a chance. We sat patiently and the birds went quiet and we called every once in awhile to see if we could drum up some interest, but no luck. I decided to make a move to the other part of the ranch and as we walked around the corner I spotted two jakes in the tall orchard grass but they had spotted us as well and started moving off in the other direction. We tried to get ahead of them but they had us busted so we called it a morning! Today was a great learning experience for Cade on what not to do!! Even though we got hosed by the poachers it was still a lot of fun spending time with Cade chasing turkey's.