Are you tired of me whining while I am waiting for my turkey season to get here? Well guess what? It’s finally here and I have some real live turkey hunting action to tell you about. First, have I told you how excited I am to finally be turkey hunting? I have? Well good, now on to my report. 

The first morning of my hunt certainly did not meet up with my expectations. I decided to forgo the use of a hunting blind, preferring to be more mobile since I didn’t have a great read on where the birds were roosting. Turns out, I was lucky to even hear birds. Ever so faintly I could hear a bird gobble to the west of me that I thought was probably closer to the City of Hudson. The issue there was that I was actually hunting east of Ellsworth. The same thing happened with a second bird. Its gobbled sounded like it was closer to the south end of Lake Pepin.   

I sat tight for a few hours and then decided to mobilize. I picked up my gear and headed off to the west where I had heard the first gobble of the morning. I found a series of dusting beds alongside the edge of a field. They were fresh enough that I could tell birds were using them. That was enough to tell me where I would be hunting the next morning.  

I woke up early with renewed enthusiasm. Not that I was down in the dumps about my first day’s lack of action, but a new day always brings new hope. I’ve passed on birds my opening day for the simple reason of not wanting to be done with my season so quickly. I don’t think I’ve ever passed on Day 2 and I wasn’t planning on it this season. 

While still dark out, I stood near the field I had scouted on Day 1. My plan was to ease along and stop to call every once in a while. Just before daybreak I heard a tom gobble and it sounded like the bird from Lake Pepin. I said a prayer to St. Butterball that the tom was just facing away from me and actually much closer. Turns out, sometimes prayers are answered. The tom gobbled again and he was certainly close enough to call at and to be considered a potential dinner quest.   

It was about that time when everything became quiet which is a pretty good indication that things are going to get unquiet in a hurry. That’s exactly what happened. I was focused on the crest of the field because that’s the direction I heard the gobble. A hen turkey also chirped occasionally in the same neighborhood which is why I was watching the field and not the woods. The quiet was broken up with the unmistakable squawk from the tom turkey who slipped around from behind and busted me. The “BUCK, BUCK, BUCK” turkey alarm call gave me just enough time to turn and to see a huge tom darting to safety. Oh, he was a dandy  That’s how my Day 2 hunt ended and that’s why I can’t wait to get back out there tomorrow.  

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