Hank Huntington: Where Have All The Turkeys Gone

My fall turkey tag is still not filled, and I need this to round out the season. At 5 AM the ground was covered with a heavy layer of frost. There was no wind and the forecast was for rising temperatures. After a gallon of coffee, it was time to head to the woods, which is only a 10 minutes drive for me. I should have checked the temperature as it was really cold. Getting out of the truck, the temp gauge showed 17 degrees. It was just a little chilly. Still the plan was to only stay until the sun was well up. A person should be able to handle a little cold.

Turkeys were hard to come by on the farm right next to my house as they were all flocked up down by the river. Crossing the levee to the west and walking toward the river is really tough going. That was out of the question. We had seen turkeys feeding in a cornfield close to the housing area. Having seen this in the past, they had come from a section of woods and then made their way to the field. I knew the path.

Looking straight west, the turkey will come off the roost and into the open ground and follow the tree line to the next field or feed right out in front. Today, deer came out.

Setting up in the shadows bordering a reserve, put me in the shadows. The waiting game was on to see if this plan was correct. The sun rose over the trees to the back of me and lighted part of the field to my front. It was obvious that they were off the roost or maybe not hiding where they had been before. A light breeze came up right out of the southwest. Wind is not an issue when hunting turkeys. A friend of mine, an old turkey hunter, told me that the deer tell the turkeys we are in the woods. Anyone who believes this, also believes that Elvis is still alive. Still, spooking deer is not good as the rest of the game in the woods are alerted.

Looking to my left and south. I have pushed myself back into the standing grass behind me and kept myself in the shadows.

Then some action developed. It was not the kind of action that was wanted, but still it was action. A really big doe stepped out of the woods 50 yards in front of me. She was followed by three smaller does and at the tail end came a small buck. What was interesting about the buck was the big patch of white on his throat under his chin. They looked straight at me, but because I was in the shadows and in a leaf suit, they could not figure out what was sitting there. The wind was now straight in my face, and they could not wind me. The leaf suit also is a scent blocker type of suit. It has worked in the past as deer have been very close to me in dense timber.

Two more are right behind

They moved closer and at an angle till they were about 25 yards away. Here they stopped and stared. The big doe stomped her foot. Very, very slowly I moved my hand to the game bag and pulled out my camera. My first camera shots were taken pointing in the general direction. Still moving very slowly, I lifted the camera up to my face where the shot was visible. I took several shots. They must have really calmed down because they would just pause, look straight at my location, then slowly moved toward the timber south of my hiding place.

Look how pretty she is just standing there staring at me. This would have been an easy shot.

At this point in time, my body was feeling the effects of not wearing enough or the right kind of clothing for the cold temperatures of the morning. I gathered up my gear and headed across the field in front of me. Two more deer tried to come out of the woods. The minute I stepped into the sunlight, up went their flags and off they went bounding into the timber.

There is the little buck. The white patch is visible just under his chin. He walked with a lot of arrogance.

This was a great morning watching the deer even though no turkeys were shot.

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