Well its been awhile since i did a write up so i guess its my turn to contribute to Hunting BC
This adventure takes place with Nathan from Alberta , myself and the Turkey Jedi Alfred who is 80 yrs old and has guided and hunted forever. This man told us stories all day long and everyday not just at Campfire time.
Nathan is a friend that i met through A.O when i assisted him on finding a Moose in his zone he had a draw tag in. A few years later and after success on my Alberta Turkey Hunt i helped him the best i could with locating an Alberta Turkey since he had drawn his tag. While on his trip he met up Alfred and they connected on a Nice Tom and the bond was created . Nathan made a trip to BC the following year with him and was successful again.
through some grovelling and whining and bribery i got invited to the 2019 Turkey opener with these two fine gentleman and was blessed with closing my tag on a Hunt i have been wanting to do for many years in Southern BC.
- Day 1 The truck was loaded i picked up Nathan with holiday trailer in tow and we headed South then West. Alfred had camp picked out where we met him . We quickly set camp up then hopped into the truck to scout the country.
We drove around doing some shock calling and only saw 1 hen and no return gobbles. My feeling was hmmm where are these BC Tom's i have wanted to bag for so many years.. We stopped and cut up a load of firewood then headed back to camp before dark. Im thinking , oh yeah i brought my bad luck with me and dropped it upon these fellas.
Oh well we have 4 days to get it done , Right! .
We got to camp before dark and Nathan hops into the back of the truck and starts unloading firewood. He drops an armload halfway through into the box of the truck when ...Gobble Gobble Gobble from the treetops close to camp !! No Way, did you guys hear that...Nathan drop some more wood , so he does and a chorus again from the treetops not far away. Holy Crap ! Smiles all around. We just put on a bunch of miles and they were here all the time right by camp. We know where were headed in the morning, about 300 yds from camp.
We lit the BBQ and cooked up some marinated Muley backstraps i had prepped for the trip.
After a great meal and a couple Beers we were hit the hay as 4:30 came early and this is the time the Turkey Jedi trainer for us to be up.........
- Day 2 I was calling the Turkey from the treetops when my alarm went off. The coffee pot was turned on and the Camo was put on. Nathan knocked on Alfreds tent door and said we were up and coffee and was ready. We had a quick bite then grabbed our packs and hit the hilltop in the dark following Alfreds lead.
He instructed me to sit at the base of this huge Fir tree and nathan at the edge of a hidden pond not far from me. The decoys were set up and i stayed put where i was told to be. Visions of the Big Strutting Tom in my mind when i heard the first Gobbles direct to my right in the treetops. The daylight was starting and the forest was coming alive with the songbirds and the two Toms that continuously taunted me. The first hen chirps were played between Nathan and i , some scratching on the forest floor , a short time later the sound of wings as the turkeys descended from the trees. Some were Alfred some were the real thing.
I was ready with shotgun in hand face mask pulled up and my poor hearing was fixed as best i could in that direction....
They never showed ? what could be wrong. As it was very light now Alfred came up and his Austrian accent whispered gather your things they have followed the hen out the other way.
As we silently tip toed up the hill and peered over the top towards camp Nathan hit the dirt...get down their right behind camp headed to the for the road and to the next Bush. They were out of Bow range for Nathan and Shotgun range for me. The Toms strutted taunting us and Nathan said Damn , my 17 HMR is in camp. As they were crossing the road a Forestry worker truck had to hit the brakes and almost filled his grill with feathers....
We assembled at camp grabbed a coffee for the road and the cooler of food for the day. We went down the next logging road close to camp doing some shock calling as we went but nothing. Turned around a couple km down the road. As we got close to camp we got a response from the Turkeys that fooled us earlier.
Game on, Nathan handed me the 17 and followed me with the Video camera.
Alfred did some calls behind us which helped us locate their direction.
Nathan says Turkey !! on the next hilltop a little over 100 yds away . We crawled closer and there were trees blocking the way. I strained to see movement...There through a small hole was the Red and white head accompanied by a big Fan of tail feathers. I sat on my arse with gun pointed toward their direction across my knees. Nows my chance, i took the release off and the hen closed in front of the Tom and off he went following her. No matter how much we called the jig was up and off they went.
Ya just my luck again...... I pouted back to the truck and we set off to try another location of the many we were going to check over the next 4 days.
We covered some more gravel trails without much luck and decided to set Nathan up beside a waterhole they Merriams were known to frequent early in the day.
Alfred and i checked some more areas and visited some farmland and had some great visits with the landowners. We didn't have any luck and the weather was started to really cool down. We picked up Nathan and it was starting to rain.
The truck was the wise choice between rain and sleet and wind but no matter we were still hunting..
We ended up a bout 40 -50 kms from camp where Nathan got his Tom the previous year. Permission was granted again as stood on the landowners porch and the Chorus of Turkeys at the edge of the Mountainside beside the pasture land....
The sun was shining again , Lets hope things turn around here. we snuck along the creek and popped up over the edge only a about 150 yds from where the music was coming from.
I hid the best i could with the video camera rolling, Nathan was set up with the 17 laying on his belly and the Master caller went to work....
It did not take long when the Turkey showed up about 125 yds out , in full strut with fan displayed . Nathan took the safety off and waited for a better look to make sure it wasn't a jake........ It stopped moving ? but still tail feathers fully displayed ...... Nathan opens the bolt gets up and walks back to us completely white flushed skin in his face. OMG did you see that, no not really , why didn't you shoot was it a jake ? A jake it was another hunter belly crawling behind a mounted turkey. Through the scope he could see the guys arm and his sitka camo covered body.
BC allows us to hunt with a rimfire so you have to use caution and be sure of your target. The landowner did not tell us someone else was hunting here as well. When we got back to our truck sure enough here was the other guys truck and looked to be a bowhunter by the foam targets in the back of his truck...
It was a quiet drive for awhile thinking what could have been the outcome of this stalk...
Back on the pavement we headed towards camp , as we weaved along the windy Road in silence ....There Huge Tom !!! Except he was on the front yard of someones house under a bird feeder ! LOl no friggn way. We backed up got some pics and said today was your lucky day Big Bird.
We covered more ground and continued our shock calling without much response. Shortly before we got to camp Nathan says , Phil stop here i feel lucky about this spot..Ok Caw Caw goes the crow call and Gobble Gobble is the response... We bail out of the truck and Nathan gets set up. We hang back watching Nathan and now doing Turkey calls with repeated answers . Nathan brings up his firearm and is pointing it towards the Turkey....as it slowly walks away he gets up and comes back to us. It was a jake and to soon to close my tag on day 1 ... Another 500 yds and were back in camp . we start to unload our gear and feeling a little defeated Nathan says hear that , Shhh.....Gobble Gobble. Grab your camera Phil sounds like maybe a Tom coming back to roost from this morning. good luck says the Jedi and we get set up on the hillside , we hear him coming closer and finally out he comes ,Ya i think he has a decent beard, Damn the bushes are in the way and i can't move the camera in fear of him seeing me. Kapow !! First Turkey down. High fives and here we go down to claim Nathans prize.... Nathan turns him over and , what !! Its a Jake? I was sure his beard was longer. Either way we had a tag filled and meat in camp... Nathan is now the camera guy and i'm up to bat tomorrow..
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