A Canadian Turkey Story
My alarm is set to go off at 4:15 a.m. It’s early, but I am extremely pumped to get outside on the opening day for the turkey hunt. Last year I learned a ton from sitting in the field for 22 days through rain, snow, and sun without harvesting a bird. I saw plenty of turkey action, but they were either too far out or right beside me — literally, beside me to the point I could not move to take a shot.
I raise turkeys on my farm, so I know the sounds they make and what they mean. Learning to talk to turkeys is important in the hunt. It gives you an edge when you understand what each cluck and purr is communicating. At one point this year, I had three Toms hung up for over an hour telling me to come to them. I was being stubborn and not moving, so I stopped talking. When that happened, and I sat still and quiet for over 15 minutes, the Toms came to me, right behind me, and gobbled so loud I almost jumped right out of my seat. They were literally five feet behind me, so I had to re-strategize and figure out a different way to set up in my blind. I am so thankful I invested in the 360 Double Bull see-through blind because it was amazing what movements I could get away with while trying to get the set-up right by moving everything in a different direction.
I proceeded to change it up and cluck ever so lightly until the Toms had faith enough to stay put in an area that would give me a shot. They wandered out almost in front of me towards my decoys but then changed their mind and walked back to the tree line, now in line, strutting through the bush. They gave me an opportunity to take my shot. At 27 yards away, I harvested my first Tom on Day Three of the turkey hunt. I felt proud of myself, knowing that how I used the insights gained from the year before and having patience led me to this great harvest. I took my harvest home, weighed him, and processed him for the freezer. Naturally, we had fresh turkey for supper. The Tom weighed in at 15 pounds, with a 9-inch beard and ¾-inch spurs. The meat was perfect.
The second part of my hunt was an outing with friends. We split into two groups of two in a new area I had not been to before. The setup was completely different from before, as I had scouted out the previous location and knew what to expect. In this location, I was going in blind, in the dark, and trusting my friend’s word on how it would play out. We snuck in the dark and sat on the edge of the bush until we heard the first gobbles – from a distance. We had to go. We hurried down the edge of the field and set up. I was in the ditch up against a tree, and my friend was 30 yards behind me with the camera, clucking and purring ever so lightly.
Three Toms came running out to the field from the right, but because there was brush between myself and the turkeys, I didn’t see them until they were right in front of me. At that point, I couldn’t move. They ran across two fields into another bush.
About ten minutes later, two of them came back, right in front of me again, and that is when I took my shot. What a beautiful bird! It weighed in at 22 pounds with a 10-inch beard and 1 ¾- inch spurs. The meat was perfect, and once again, we had a fresh meal.
Turkey is a hunt that is versatile and adventurous. There are so many different strategies you can use to attempt to harvest your bird, from sitting in a blind, sitting in the bush line, belly crawling to get to close the distance between you and that gobbler, waiting without moving for him to come to you, the use of decoys, a run and gun decoy (only use if you are on private property and know you are the only one hunting), and even up in a stand.
I had a fun season of turkey hunting this year, as I do every year, with so many different experiences. What a great hunt to experience with friends or alone.
Take your lessons and share the stories with others. Make memories and experience new adventures. Take someone hunting.
Amanda Lynn Mayhew has been in the media for over 25 years in a diverse set of genres including fitness, wellbeing, hunting, firearms and mentoring, covering radio broadcast, journalism, social media and most recently a national television series. She founded and organizes Women’s Hunting Association and Range Day events to inspire, educate and empower those who have no where to start to get outdoors. Combining her love for creativity in all things media, her drive has a purpose to inspire and empower individuals to embrace their hunting heritage roots and life.