Yesterday I went out for the first time this season and sat in high wind wondering what the heck I was doing out there. No Turkey were moving around or gobbling or yelping or anything. Whitetail deer and a lot of waterfowl were around though so there was something to watch.
Today was a lot nicer. 70 F and and a light wind out of the northwest. There is a place on the river that over the years I have called in a lot of birds. I walked in to the corner of a open meadow above the river and sat at the base of a large cottonwood. While I was getting set up I called once with a box call and got no response. I glassed the fields across the river where there are usually some Turkeys this time of year and there was nothing that I could see. As I lowered the glass there was a movement to the left side and a hen turkey was walking along the edge of the river bank. Then two more came and then three of them. At the tail end of this group was the Tom. Sometimes calling them in doesn't work and it is just being in the right place at the right time.
I would guess this bird is a two year old. Decent beard, wings showed signs of a lot of drumming, and his spurs were still short and rounded on the tips.
I dressed this bird out with one of Sarge's knives, his version of the Belt knife that he posted last year. I dressed a deer with it last year and then this turkey. It is one of those knives that feels just perfect in your hand and it does a great job of getting in wing joints and leg joints as well as getting off the tail. I like it quite a lot and certainly more than any other knives in my collection except for the Kephart which Sarge also made.
Here it is:
