Last Morning In Nebraska

My bowhunting buddy Fred Lutger had airline return reservations late in the afternoon. So this morning was our last opportunity to tag out in Nebraska. I returned to the bottom of a hill near the turkey hunting headquarters and quietly waited for daylight. I couldn’t see them but I heard wild turkey hens and gobblers further downhill in a frequently used roost area.

From where my blind was I could see some of the picked cornfield down hill where Fred had gone to hunt. After daylight a number of wild turkeys went into the picked cornfield and even more went up the hill to where Fred was hunting.

I glassed a handful came up from the roost area and go through a hole in the fence about 70 yards away. But none came by me.

An hour passed without seeing any wild turkeys around my area. And then, Bingo, two jakes walked into view walking in my direction.

They came right up close and I shot them with my camera instead of my bow. I wanted a more mature gobbler.

Which, speaking of more mature gobblers, one came off the hill and through the 70 yard hole. I took his picture and called at him but he went off toward the picked cornfield.

However, my calling lured a jake over. He was close by and approaching at a steady pace.

And a second jake came up and looked things over from 7 yards away. I could have but I didn’t.

Once again it got quiet. In fact I stopped hearing distant gobbles or yelps for half an hour. I had been chilly this morning but it was warming up fast so I took off my warm coat. Not long afterward mosquitoes paid me a unwelcome visit. But I was prepared and dug my ThermaCELL out of my backpack and turned it on. The mosquitoes moved out of the blind and left me in there by myself.

Then a hen walked up on the right from behind the blind.

Some other hens joined her and they hung out in the immediate area. They stayed 20 minutes. But no gobblers showed up to harass them.

Finally a gobbler came out of the woods behind me and approached the group of hens.

The hen led him over by me, less than 10 yards away. Again, I took a picture instead of taking a shot.

After they were gone another gobbler came off the hill and slipped through the 70 yard hole. This one was a big mature gobbler.

I called at him and he strutted up and showed off for 5 minutes but left for the cornfield instead of for me.

An uneventful hour passed and it looked like the wild turkeys had gone off for the day. Before I quit a hunt I always count to 100, just in case. But nothing happened, however I did not want to call it quits so I decided to say another half an hour.

The turkey-less minutes slipped by one at a time. Woops! What’s this? A hen was walking down the hill to my left and it looked like she was coming my way. Further uphill, in the cedars, I saw two red heads shining in the sunlight.

I glassed the two gobblers … both nice, fat longbeards. They both were following the hen. And the hen was getting closer.

CONTINUED… 

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