A good start to the spring turkey season

Well, I still have a wild turkey tag in my wallet. The spring season here in Ontario opened on Monday, and field editor Al Davy and I got set up before sunrise on his acreage near Port Sydney, Ontario.

Around 7 a.m., we had a hen come right in within gun range, but with no men were in tow. That wasn’t too surprising, since we hadn’t heard any gobbles. And so went most of the day: no tom talk.

Finally, at 4 p.m., we got our first gobbles. We kept calling, and within 10 minutes in came the first bird, albeit silently. I had the bead on it at 30 yards, but I couldn’t make out a beard, so I Iet it walk (for those not from Ontario, we can only shoot bearded birds here during the spring hunt). Clearly, it was male, but no beard is no beard.

The second bird soon followed, and he came to within 15 yards of us, staying hidden behind a large tree. He was swinging a nice chunk of rope. After about five more minutes, he finally popped out on Al’s side of the tree and-Bang!-Al had his bird, a 22-pound tom.

We had a few more gobbles, but couldn’t entice another turkey to come in. Day over.

Later, we checked Al’s trail cam over on the strut zone where we first heard the two birds gobbling. The turkey I passed up was on the camera; he had a barely discernable nub where his beard should have been. It must’ve been torn off in a fight or something. He was also a jake, so no mind: I’ve got my sights set on a tom this season

Yesterday, I joined Rob Pye from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters to check out some cow pasture and mixed hardwood stands just north of Orillia for the last four hours of legal hunting time. It was far too windy, though, and I didn’t hear or see a thing.

Did I mention I still have a tag in my pocket?