BOWHUNT FOR THE RIO GRANDE
by Robert Hoague

The Last Stand

DAY 5 - CamTrakker Longbeards Return

Wearing the Pro Ears at daybreak really paid off this morning. It is normal to hear gobbles from the river to the South of the Gate area. But this morning there were none.

However, I did pick up faint gobbles from due West in the Pro Ears. Looking at the picture below, the far tree line is 608 yards from the blind. And the North curve of the river is further than that. Plus there is a steep drop off going down to the river, so it would take a call with extra volume to make the gobblers hear me. 

I waited until the very earliest fly down light and got to work with Woodhaven's aluminum slate and a Jim Pollard mouth call. I picked the aluminum because it has proven to be a far reaching call. And the Woodhaven Jim Pollard is the loudest. I took the picture below at 6:38.

Several gobblers were sounding off regularly so it was difficult to determine if they were answering me, some hens on the river, or each other. But I kept the faith and kept giving them some.

Meanwhile I reached out of the blind's window and stuck a Renzo's hen in the ground, just for good measure. The gobbles gradually got louder during the next hour. 

Over the next hour their gobbles were done sparingly, so I called sparingly. When I could hear them better I quietened down on the aluminum slate and switched to the Woodhaven Doug Crabtree call. They shut up around 8:30. And at 8:58 I saw them in the field and took the first picture of two gobblers. They were over 150 yards off.

The two gobblers split up. One crossed the two track road going toward the field's north fence and the other kept his original course. 

I checked the two Toms with binoculars (Nikon Monarch 10 power) and they were both mature birds.

I put a little Woodhaven Doug Crabtree on them and got a big gobble in response.

Then he went into strut and showed his stuff. 

The 2nd gobbler was now standing by the fence -- and further down the fence I saw a 3rd gobbler. My CamTrakker trio was back. 

The other longbeard walked around and continued to strut.

He was behind a tree and walked across the road and took a look at the situation.

The Renzo's hen was just the ticket, not he not only heard something, he saw what looked to him to be a wild turkey hen. He dropped strut and started in my direction.

This got the 2nd gobbler the nearest one on the fence line) stirred up and blew up into a strut. I looked for the 3rd longbeard but he was not in sight, he had went under the fence and was in the woods and when he gobbled the strutter turned and went under the fence.

Rats! Now the 3rd gobbler went to the fence and looked into the woods at his traveling buds.

And he went under the fence and I lost sight of him. When I took the picture below the camera time read 9:14.

This had looked so promising but not it was in the land of uncertainty. Half an hour passed and a gobble like to have blew me off my chair. The 3 CamTrakker Longbeards were coming under the fence and this one took the lead and let me take its picture at 9:46.

He clearly had his eye on the Renzo's decoy and stopped a few yards in front it and let it admire its fat belly. I could see the other two longbeards slowly getting closer. A picture of all three of them looked like a doable deal and I figured I would get the pic and then do the Sony to BowTech switch.

One thing about turkey hunting is you don't know for sure what a gobbler will do. It's never in the bag. And when I saw the fat belly bird walking away I realized my plans for a group picture coupled with a nice close bow shot at the biggest one had just gone on the fritz. 

My attention had been on the other two birds and I didn't see what the fat belly had done. But my best guess is that when he got over to the hen decoy and realized that it was only 1/4 inch thick he decided to hang it up. Which is what he did ... and he took the other two along.

At noon I drove to the Red Barn Restaurant for lunch. My plan was to hunt above the river in the afternoons but I changed my mind for today.

AFTERNOON HUNT: I returned to the Gate hoping to catch the gobblers on an afternoon walk. This afternoon was clear of clouds and scorching hot. It was sweltering in the blind.  Several hens were on the move through the area later in the afternoon -- and when you are seeing hens you always feel like you might see a gobbler. And I felt that way. But I didn't see any.

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