I love walking my dogs early in the morning in the spring. Each day before work, weather permitting, I walk my two Labs up to my hunting property. I love the exercise, and the dogs enjoy the crisp morning air. Most importantly, I get a chance to listen to turkeys on the roost.
Most mornings, I hear countless gobblers booming on my property. I pinpoint where the birds are so I can hunt them. From the number of gobbles I heard, I hoped the 2023 spring turkey season would be promising. Time would tell if the birds would remain on my property.
Before the 2023 turkey season, I placed multiple SpyPoint trail cameras near roosting trees. I wanted to see how many gobblers and hens were using my property. The cameras revealed numerous mature birds were roosting on my property every day.
One gobbler in particular grabbed my interest. The gobbler had a unique colored tail feather in his fan. I kept getting trail camera videos and pictures of the gobbler, and I knew he would be my target bird. I couldn’t wait for the season to arrive.
Birthday Miss
Having a birthday in May means I usually have the opportunity to harvest a birthday turkey. I woke up on the morning of May 10th hoping to fill one of my tags on a birthday gobbler. Under the cover of darkness, I walked to my spot for the morning.
As the sun came up, I heard gobblers thundering all around me. I sat quietly, listening to the gobblers double and triple gobble. After I heard three birds fly off the roost, I gave several light calls. Two gobblers sounded off in the distance, and I knew they were coming my way.
Each time I yelped, the birds responded. I took the safety off my Mossberg SA-410 and turned on the Vortex red-dot scope. The birds must have been in full strut because I could hear them spitting and drumming. Two birds emerged from the thick cover and announced their entrance with thunderous gobbles.
I looked at both toms and realized neither bird had the unique tail feather. That was fine; I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to fill one of my two tags on my birthday. As the birds turned in full strut, I could adjust and acquire one of the birds in my scope. The closest bird turned towards me, and I was ready to pull the trigger. The .410 erupted, and I watched both birds tuck tails and run.
What happened? I was stunned that both birds ran away. I sat there for a few moments and gathered my things. I looked at where the tom had been standing and saw what happened. I shot a small sapling that was between me and the bird. I missed the opportunity to harvest my birthday bird.
Tag #1 Filled
After a miss, the best thing to do is to get out and try again. I was up early and, in the woods, the following day to try again. Once again, multiple gobblers were hammering from the roost. I watched one gobbler fly down with three hens. For over an hour, I watched the bird strut eighty yards away. I had to get to school, so I snuck out of the woods and went to work.
I got into the woods early on the morning of the 12th. I wanted to set up closer to the gobbler to see if I could pull him away from the hens. Luck was on my side as I had set up between the hens and the gobblers. The gobblers called to the hens, and the hens yelped back. The group of hens left the roost and walked away from me.
I watched the gobblers leave the roost and hit the ground. I gave a few soft yelps, and one gobbler responded. The bird ran towards me and closed the distance quickly. With my .410 shouldered, I waited for the love-sick gobbler to stop running. The gobbler hammered a few more times and finally stopped running. I yelped twice, and the tom stopped.
My red dot found the base of the turkey’s neck, and I squeezed the trigger on my .410. The Verdict TSS round did its job and anchored the mature bird. The turkey flopped a few times after the shot and then lay still. I walked up to the bird and examined him. The tom’s spurs were over an inch, and his beard was long. I looked at his fan for the unique feather, but it wasn’t there.
I tagged the bird and set up my camera to take photos. I couldn’t believe how quickly the bird closed the distance. The entire hunt happened fast! I threw the gobbler over my shoulder, grabbed my SA-410, and returned to my car. I had plenty of time to clean the bird before I had to go to school.
Tag #2
After filling my first tag, I focused on the gobbler with the unique tail feather. My SpyPoint trail cameras monitored where he liked to roost and strut. Each day I got pictures from the cameras, he was with fewer hens. The time was right to make my move.
On the morning of May 17th, I set up to hunt my target bird in a spot I saved. I sat under a large hemlock tree to listen for the first gobble. With the sun cresting the horizon to the east, I was startled by a thunderous gobble. I couldn’t see the tom, but he was extremely close. My first instinct was I moved in too close to his roost.
Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, the bird hammered, hoping for a hen to respond. I didn’t hear any hens respond to his calls. The familiar sound of spitting and drumming filled my ears. The gobbler was so close that my heart raced out of control. I took the safety off my Mossberg .410 and turned on the red dot scope.
Flapping wings signaled the turkey left the roost. The gobbler landed on a trail less than ten yards away. Immediately, the tom puffed up and strutted. The unique tail feather appeared before my eyes. The gobbler turned in a semi-circle and gobbled three times. I waited patiently for the turkey to turn and tuck all his feathers in.
My heart pounded out of control, and I began to shake. I gathered my composure and held the red dot on the tom. I needed the gobbler to turn around or turn to a side. Three more deafening gobbles echoed through the woods. My breathing slowed, and I waited.
I have called turkeys in close before, but this bird was so close I feared he would hear my beating heart. In the distance, a flock of crows began to caw. The tom blasted multiple gobbles and slowly started to turn. In my mind, I urged the gobbler to keep turning. It seemed like an eternity, but the longbeard finally turned enough so I could take my shot.
Verdict TSS 9 shot peppered the gobbler’s head, and he dropped. The woods became eerily quiet. I sat under the tree briefly in shock at what had transpired. The gobbler I was after since I saw his irregular feather was finally mine. I put the safety on, turned my red dot off, and looked for my spent .410 shell.
I grabbed the empty shotgun shell and held it to my nose. I love the smell of gunpowder. Standing up, I walked over to the gobbler, knelt, and thanked the Lord for a successful turkey season. After my prayer, I examined the tom. The bird had long spurs and a paintbrush beard. In the center of his fan was an uncommon feather with many white accents. I needed to take some pictures.
Success
I never thought about using trail cameras to help scout for turkeys, but it worked great! Setting the cameras up near roosting trees and strutting areas was crucial for my success on these two hunts. I look forward to setting up more SpyPoint cameras next year to help locate places to set up. I hope there is another distinct gobbler to pursue.
