Pre-season scouting
3/31/2007
Beaver co. Went over to my friends farm this morning to visit and lend a hand with some chores. Along the way I decided to stop on top of this ridge and listen for a while. Boy it sure didn't take long, accross the hollow from were I was parked It came alive with turkeys gobbling from their roosts. There must have been about 6 different gobblers going off. Tme was 6:20am, they continued to gobble for the next 15 mins. I spent the next few hours at the farms messing around with him and also did some minor scouting, about all I saw was some turkey tracks in the mud.
The week of 4/01/07 to 4/07/07:
Spent most of this week tying up loose ends from my previuos job. Needless to say not much scouting took place this week, but I did see one nice gobbler on Weds. morning, he ran accross the road right in front of the truck. I could see he had a nice beard about 9" long or so. Gotta love those birds that live on poster property!! Oh well. This upcoming week I'll have more time to scout so check back when you have time. Hopefully we'll get some real spring weather soon!
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Ahead of the cold front.
Went out on 4/14/07 at 5:00am ahead of the approching cold front. Boy the gobblers in Beaver Co. I've been watching did not disappoint. I had worked my way in the woods towards their roosting location and sat down. At first it was one lone gobbler talking in the dark, by 6:15-6:30, all hell had broken loose and there were 5 or 6 different birds gobbling like crazy, My location was about 150 yards away. By 6:45 all was quiet. I waited til around 7:15 and slowly began walking in their roost direction, as I cressted one ridge I could see movment through the trees. I watched this group of 10 birds work their way down the ridge toward a freshly plowed field. At the field the show began, strutten and gobblen,after a few mins. more hens showed up. At one point I counted over 25 birds in this field. I sat and watched these birds for an hour or so,during that time I plotted my plan for opening day. I will try and sneak between them and the field in hopes of cutting them off before they make it to the field. Well sounds good on paper anyway! Hopefully they'll keep the same pattern. The season is 2 weeks away, are you ready?
Ready - No! Excited - Yes!
Especially after reading your post! I saw three groups of birds this morning on the way to church. I need to make some decisions and formulate a plan.
Excited is the word!
Hopefully my plan will hold water, we'll see. I spent a few days last week tuning calls, patterning my new shotgun,and practicing with a diaphram calls, trying to perfect not gagging!! LOL. Mr. York please keep me posed on your plan of attack when you come up with one.
JD
Just one of the guys?
Driving home this afternoon about 5 p.m. through the Lewistown Narrows I spotted a turkey near the western end of the infamous construction zone. I've often suspected that there are "turkeys" on some road crews, and now I've seen it with my own eyes. Here was this big old bird, strutting around the heavy equipment and the workers as if he was just one of the guys. He was easy to spot since he was the only one not wearing a hard hat and he had the longest beard (maybe 6 or 7 inches).
Where do you think he falls on the pay scale?
Orange and white barrel season
I see the same thing except the turkeys in the construction zone I drive through are a couple of hens holding signs! Both are of good size also! LOL. It''s been a off week,I'm still tringto pattern the group of gobblers I heard 2 weeks ago.their in the area but they sure arn't talking much anymore.
Wait a minute!
Was the color of that beard black or gray? I think he/it would tip the "scale" at 200 pound if it was gray and 20 pounds if it was black!
Rain Scouting
I just took a trip to the post office and did a windshield scouting trip down the valley. Saw one gobbler keeping watch over his hens in a field about 1-mile from the house. The corner of that field always holds one tom’s attention.
As I traveled back from Erie yesterday, I saw four flocks in different fields and one water soaked gobbler standing near two hens in a corn stubble field next to the road. Wet turkeys are sure ugly!
I need to get back to scouting. A friend is coming down for the first day and I need to find a place that holds turkeys and is not hunted too hard. That is a tough assignment in Pennsylvania.
The trip to Erie was good. If you are interested in steelhead, check it out in my blog:
On the move
Spotted three turkeys in a field near Arch Spring in Sinking Valley, Blair County, PA this morning at about 8:45 (and two more road kill deer near there). They were too far off to get any other details.
Coming home this evening, saw two hens on Route 22 in Blair County just east of the Route 866 intersection on Short Mountain.
It's been quite a while since I'd seen any turkeys -- glad to see them again.
BTW, I was up in Benezette in Elk County, PA over the weekend. Coming home on Monday afternoon, saw about 30 elk off of Route 555 near the spot known locally as Campbell's (between Benezette and Medix).
Spotted
4-10-07,
Watched 2 gobblers from about 400 yards in the morning. Both appeared to have nice long beards and were good size. Also saw a flock of about 11 hens feeding through a freshly plowed field, what ever they were eating must have been good, They could have cared less about me, all heads were down and eating!!.
4-11-07
Up early and in the woods I intend to hunt at 5:30 am. Coffee in hand I settle in under a large oak tree hoping to get a good location on these birds.5:45am the woods began to wake up, no gobbles yet. 6:00am woods very awake and starting to get light, still no gobbles.... yet ? 6:25am light out and only one faint gobble from who knows were! Stayed in the woods til about 10:00 am then left for home.
Turket spotted
Driving home tonight saw two on the hill next to my house. The one had a good beard. We don't normally see them around the house. Might have to give up on the pheasants and chuckers and try my hand at turkey hunting.
Clay hardens by immobility – men's minds by standing pat. Both lose the power to take new impressions. (Pinchot 1910: 138)
No turkeys yet
Here where I live along the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata in Blair County, I usually get turkeys coming into the yard at this time of year, but haven't seen any this year yet. Haven't heard them, either, or seen them in the big fields along Route 22.
The road kill deer count around here has taken a big jump up in the last week or so -- there are dead deer everywhere!
Last week
Last week while it was warmer out the turkeys were defenitly more active. I think this cold weather has slowed everything down. It sould get warmer later this week.
Ya know, I've also noticed a increase in road kills around here to. I wounder why ?
Pre-season scouting
I was out and around northern Beaver Co. this morning, late after 10 am. My son and I drove by many farms and fields and didn't see one turkey. Tomorow is another day, we'll see.
Warmer Weather Needed
I know that the turkeys do not mind the cold weather, but I sure do. I hope we get a few days of spring before summer arrives! Is there any public ground to hunt in Beaver County? Would be great to have nice weather for the youth hunt too. I think it rained last season.
Weather
I agree warmer weather would be nice, but what are you going to do ? The cold don't bother me much,but that wind has been a killer latly ! Bad for listening and/or calling turkeys. It's been very quiet latly. We'll see what happens this week, the forecast is calling for it to warm up.
Yes there is public ground in Beaver Co. I believe there are State Game Lands around Ohioville and out near the Ohio State line. I've deer hunted the Gamelands out near the state line, their pretty nice. My advise is go knock on some doors, most of the farmers I know are very nice people and will let you hunt their land, they just want to know who's on their land.