By Glen Wunderlich Outdoor Columnist Member Professional Outdoor Media Association
For many, the turkey season is winding down; for others like me, the late season for private land hunters begins Monday, May 3rd – and, since last August, I have anticipated another session of hide and seek for the wily Tom. That’s when I got my hands on one of the newest and highly touted calls on the market – The Ring Zone from HS Strut.
The Ring Zone call looks like most slate calls but its surface is ceramic and boasts a scientifically proven technology to reproduce the sounds of a hen turkey – all verified by an oscilloscope. Even though I believe it more prudent to spend more time scouting than calling, this new call is sure to get at least a mild workout opening day.
Last weekend, I was afforded an opportunity to sneak to my observation post with the aid of Mother Nature’s silencing rain. Before dusk, I set up a spotting scope for detail work but relied upon the naked eye and binoculars for the task at hand. My goal was to pinpoint an area that turkeys were using to enter the destination field of perennial legumes so that I would know where to place my blind.
Movement caught my eye within minutes at 170 yards. Upon further review, however, my compact Leupold binoculars confirmed a lone sandhill crane out for breakfast. It poked and prodded its way through the spring clover and alfalfa taking full advantage of the night crawlers’ and worms’ propensity to avoid death by drowning. Had they only known it would be death by digestion, maybe they’d have stayed underground.
A distant gobble made sense of my efforts, while a menacing crow dive-bombed the feeding crane, which ducked the airborne attack. When the swooping crow landed atop a white pine, it commenced to coordinate a meeting of its brethren with a “look-here” call. Sure enough, more black demons arrived shortly thereafter and joined the slimy feeding frenzy.
While the cranes, crows, and robins gorged themselves, it made for interesting entertainment and passed the time. But I didn’t get outdoors at 5:30 am for just any bird watching; it was the elusive turkey I came to see. And, then it happened. From the southern edge of the property, a lone hen marched into view. In a double-time walk, she proceeded to cross the entire field in front of me with two other females behind her in single file. They were on a mission, never stopping for a bite and disappeared beyond view.
I had no intention of calling for practice and that’s why the myriad calling devices remained home. It doesn’t make sense to educate the quarry. I’ll do it for real when it matters.
I watched as the crane slowly lifted off and wondered how difficult it must have been with a belly full of worms. In front of God and me, two robins made robins, while those same turkey hens returned to get in on the worms’ misfortune.
With the unsuspecting crows less than 50 yards from me, I knew my motionless surveillance was good. The three turkeys – one of which was a bearded hen – were in no hurry this time. By 9:20 am, they were content to preen themselves – probably for the big guy that had yet to show.
But, that’s just fine for now, because the hunt is just beginning.
