32 Nebraskaland • April 2019
responded with thunderous gobbles.
Under the cover of darkness, I was able
to sneak within 100 yards of where the
birds were roosted. However, it was
dead still, and I was nervous they would
hear me setting up the blind. I was
glad I left plenty of time before sunrise,
because it took nearly an hour to get in
position, place my decoys, and unfold
the blind without creating too much
noise. Thankfully, the turkeys continued
calling, and their vocalizations helped to
cover any noise I made.
As the first glow of sunlight dimly
lit the field, I could barely make out
the turkeys in their roost. When I was
confident there was enough light for
them to see my decoys, I made several
soft yelps on a slate call to get their
attention. A hen responded loudly with
a challenging tone, and one of the toms
shifted on its branch to face me. I didn't
make another noise, and 10 minutes
later the turkeys pitched off their roost
and landed 200 yards to the east.
The hens scratched and pecked in the
cut bean field, uninterested in my decoys,
and the toms followed suit. As the group
turned and began moving the other
direction, I made several loud yelps and
cuts. I knew this would either aggravate
or frighten the group, but it was my last
chance before they slipped away into the
timber. The loud calling infuriated the
lead hen, and she immediately turned
and ran my direction.
The other turkeys watched from afar
as she inspected my decoys, pecking
them and trying to figure out who had
been so insubordinate. Eventually, she
began feeding again. The other birds
sidled toward her. It seemed to take
them a lifetime to reach me, and each
step they took my heart beat faster.
One of the toms hesitantly hung back,
but the other strutted on the heels of
the last hen. When he was finally in
range I took a deep breath, drew my bow,
and took aim. The arrow struck home,
and the tom turned and ran toward the
timber, but he didn't make it far before
Finding roosting spots for turkeys is an excellent tool for knowing where to start hunting in the spring.
