I am sorry that I haven’t updated my turkey posts. Getting up at 3 AM, hunting until 8:30, then working 8 hours is exhausting!
I hunted wild turkeys in New Jersey every day but Tuesday of Jersey’s week A season. I saw birds every day, and I even managed to get within 60 yards of two monster gobblers. However, I ended up empty handed at the end of the week.
Monday morning April 13 started out promising. I arrived at my spot around 4:00 AM. I finished getting set up around 4:45, and tree gobbling started promptly at 6:00 AM. I roosted the birds the night before, so I knew they were close. Unfortunately, they roosted in the back yard of a house across the street from where I set up. In order for them to come to me, they would have to cross a road, walk through a patch of woods, and come to a field. After they flew down from their roosts, they walk away from me, not toward me. I did see one hen in the field, but that was it.
Tuesday was a wash out with heavy rains, but I did hunt Wednesday morning in a cold drizzle. I heard a few gobbles around 6:20 AM, but it didn’t sound like the turkeys were happy about the rain. I had one hen walk by within range, but that was it.
On Thursday, I got lucky and saw two hens! Whoo hoo! I packed up and went to scout a new spot. While driving, I saw several nice gobblers strutting in the woods. I parked and set up for them. The birds were still all ‘henned up,’ so they wouldn’t come to my calls. They would gobble when I called, but instead of running toward me, they just puffed up and strutted. I tried to call them for a while, but gave up. I had open woods between me and them, so I couldn’t get any closer than 60 yards.
I roosted 18 birds Thursday night, including five gobblers. I set up close to them Friday morning. I had a 33% chance of the birds coming off the roost and right to me. As it turned out, the birds played the odds and went the opposite direction. Ugh! Again, I couldn’t get close to them, so I packed up and headed to work. Wouldn’t you know it! While driving past the spot where I set up the previous three days, I noticed 8 birds right in the field!! Are you kidding me! I parked and tried my luck on them. I had a 40-yard shot at some tiny jakes, but I opted not to shoot. Let them go, let them grow!
Since I don’t have a permit for the Saturday season, I was able to catch up on some sleep today. I’ll try again next week!