2011 Home Camp Turkey Hunts
Hunt Reports and Photos
Please note: Hunt reports are posted in reverse order with the first hunt of the season at the bottom of this page and the final hunt at the top of the page. To see the chronological order, scroll to the bottom and work your way to the top of the page.
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Hunt 4 April 14 - 17
With six of the nine hunters on our final 2011 Home Camp turkey hunt being Adobe Lodge veterans, the event was like a reunion. Trouble was, the windy weather did us no favors. And the doggoned turkeys continued to exhibit their peculiar behaviors of this droughty spring.
Take the first afternoon hunt on Thursday, for example: southwest wind blowing 25-35 m.p.h. with gusts to who-knows-what. A gobbler can hardly strut in such gales. If, indeed, he is inclined to strut - a rare activity this spring.
Nevertheless, Ricky Hatch from Crossett, AR took a dandy gobbler. At 21.8 lbs, he is the heaviest Home Camp bird of the season. And later, Brad Milner, Atlanta, GA brought a nice jake into camp on that first day. It was a promising start, despite that dastardly wind. We were cautiously hopeful.
On Friday, the wind shifted. Coming sharply out of the north, the dry wind re-ignited a fire north of San Angelo which finally consumed dang near fifty thousand acres by dark. Winds over thirty; humidity below 10%. Smoke covered our fair city. Thankfully, all this was east of our turkey hunters, otherwise they might have suffered lung damage. Hunting, as you might suspect, was not too productive with only a couple of gobblers taken all day. Florida hunter Gene Brock took his first-ever Rio - a celebratory event on an otherwise grim day.
On Saturday, it was 30 degrees at daybreak. Hunters were reporting limited to zero sightings of birds. With this being our final Home Camp hunt of the season, and with no reason to hold-back any likely hunting areas, guides Charles Fleming and Snake Allen were busy re-locating hunters to different locations. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not. But with fifty-plus feeders running, we focused on those which had seen the most action on earlier hunts.
Ray Nickle, Jonesboro, AR and Jeff Baldwin, Poplar Bluff, MO had enjoyed great success in one particular area a year ago. Not so, now. Despite spending hours and hours in their blind, they were seeing anything from zero to, at best, a few hens, no matter which area they hunted - old or new.
Same thing with Ed Ford,from Dexter, GA. Ed, who is as avid a turkey hunter as exists on this planet, couldn't get a look at anything except hens and jakes. Having great success here last season, Ed brought along his hunting buddy, Terry Kile from Leesbury, GA. Thankfully, Terry collected a fine long-beard with some impressive spurs. So Ed's blood-lust was bubbling and boiling as he dearly wanted to share his amigo's success. To that end, Snake Allen led Ed, who was following closely behind in another truck, to a favored feeder. Being in front, Snake got a glimpse of a monster gobbler inside the pen which protects the feeder from depredation by cows. The gobbler was unable to find a way out, having momentarily forgotten that he could fly. Turkeys of both sexes will do this sometime, and you always wonder why.
Snake ran back to Ed's pickup to alert him to the fact that there was a gobbler in the pen "so big, it takes two hens to carry his beard." Exaggeration in describing a turkey gobbler is never a sin. By the time Ed got (1) shells loaded in his gun and (2) close enough to shoot, the old boy remembered his flight training and was gone. And yes, almost any hunter during this difficult season would resort to "shooting a gobbler in a pen". That, too, is perfectly sinless.
Ed's buddy, Terry Kile, collected one good long-spurred, long-beard on his first-ever paid-for turkey hunt. Thank goodness. We wouldn't want him to go home bird-less since he just happens to be retired as the director and head biologist at the Georgia DNR. Can't have those Georgia professionals thinking ill of Texas, you know.
John Romine, who has been here faithfully the past three deer seasons, decided he wanted to try his hand at spring turkey hunting. Being a rank rookie hunting in what has turned out to be one tough season, poor John never got one. But it wasn't from a lack of trying. On Saturday, John sat in one spot for hours, not even coming into camp for lunch, and watched several small flocks of jakes and hens come and go all day. He finally cast a "Hail-Mary" shot at the only tom he saw. Hanging out in camp after the hunt, John got a good sense of what sho'nuff turkey hunters are all about. And if things don't change, John, too, will become addicted to the spring wars.
Brad Milner, another hunter who comes both spring and fall, collected a long-beard on Saturday to give him a total of two birds with that first afternoon's jake. Sadly, his son, James, who been absent from our camp the past few years, cast a shot which failed to connect on that final morning. Both Milners are from Georgia.
Despite the 2011 difficulties, most of the group were making plans for a return engagement in 2012. Reason: the incredible number of jakes this season foretells super hunting for long-beards next spring. Those two-year-old birds, as every veteran of the sport will tell you, are the most fun to hunt of all gobblers. When the conditions are right, it is said, everyone becomes an expert playing his turkey call when working two-year-olds. So put Adobe Lodge on your 2012 calendar and get yourself a hunt scheduled.
Hunt 4 ended as did the earlier hunts. Limited success, even among those who have scores of birds to their lifetime credit. Here are the final stats: nine hunters collected seven birds, one of which was a jake. Three hunters collected a pair apiece; one hunter took only one birds; and five hunters had nothing but empty, white squares on our tally board. And missed-shots would have increased the harvest by a few birds.
That's the bad news. The good news is that we had a cast of characters in camp that refused to get discouraged or despondent. Jokes and stories of other, more successful encounters with red-headed gobblers, ruled the day. You would just have to be here to understand. Turkey hunting, even with all the equipment and gear that is used in the sport, is way-yonder more that pulling a trigger on a tom turkey. Turkey hunters have fun, even in the bad years. Not many other sports can make that claim.
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Hunt 3 April 10 - 13
Our third hunt of the 2011 season produced three magnificent long-beards on the first afternoon. For a while there, we hoped that we'd turned the corner from the disappointments of the earlier hunts. Good grief. That first night in camp found the best spurs of the season, the first multi-bearded gobbler, and two of the three birds weighed over twenty pounds. Optimism reigned supreme.
We didn't know it at the time, of course, but it was cold-shower time. The good hunting didn't last very long. Sadly, after that encouraging start, turkeys far and wide across the entire field of play returned to their mysterious habits of late. To say that they are acting peculiar is a giant understatement.
It is always a special treat to see familiar faces in camp. Five of the nine hunters on # 3 were veterans; four were first-timers. Glenn Allums and brother Wayne were here for the third year in a row, and once again brought Glenn's grandson, T.J. But this year, another grandson of Glenn's was included - Cody Wilkerson. All live in deep East Texas where the trees grow tall. If both grandsons don't turn out to be turkey-hunting-fools, it won't be Glenn's fault. He patiently instructs them in all the intricacies of the sport, and they are learning on-the-job. The proof: T.J. collected a fine jake hunting all by himself. But before the hunt concluded, both teenagers had committed blunders which cost them dearly. They were gently admonished by Grandpa who knew in his heart that their misdeeds had cost their family group a pair of gobblers at least. Turkey hunters everywhere can relate. Mistakes are the best teachers. And both boys learned a lot on this hunt.
It was Glenn and Wayne who knocked the ball out of the park on that first afternoon. Glenn's tom had spurs of 1 5/8" x 1 1/2" - easily the best of the season by far. Wayne's gobbler had four, that's 4 with a capital F, beards: 9 1/2, 6, 5 1/4 and 5 inches, respectively. Both Rios topped twenty pounds - a rare weight in this dry, dry year. So from that point on, both men were focused on getting Glenn's grandsons on birds.
The two other veterans in camp were Arizona hunters, Alan Manas and Carroll Agee. According to Alan, they make a perfect pair for turkey hunting. Alan can call the birds, but can't hear them. Carroll is the reverse. What a deal, eh? Despite their best efforts hunting together in a familiar area, the pair managed to take only a single long-beard. What a difference a year makes. Last year, both men tagged out and left camp early. Their lack of success this season wasn't from a lack of trying, either. They spent plenty of time in the field waiting patiently for gobblers which never came to Alan's calls.
Newcomers included a father/son pair from the Scranton, PA area, both named Ralph Ferarro. The elder Ralph put his tag on a fine gobbler that exciting first afternoon. But from then on, neither Ralph had a decent chance at a longbeard, despite the fact that both hunted as hard as anyone has all season long. Yes, gobbling was heard several times from a distance, but most of the turkeys coming close enough to shoot were either hens or jakes. Ralph Sr. did see something that few turkey hunters ever get to watch - a gobbler mating with a hen. Trouble was, the distance across that field was even too far for a deer rifle, and there was zero chance to put a stalk on that lucky gobbler.
One of the few 2011 hunters to tag out with a pair of gobblers was the other first-timer, Steve Mehlrose from Encinitas, CA. One of his Rios had spurs well over an inch in length, one of the few we taken this season with those credentials. Steve hunted for a third bird, but on the final morning, he was overrun with jakes, which are numerous and ubiquitous this season.
The final total, then, if you have been keeping score, is this: nine hunters collected seven turkeys, only one of which was a jake. One took two; five took one each; three were unsuccessful. This third hunt produced more long-beards than did the previous hunts. To be sure, our score card would have looked much better if some mistakes had not occurred. But hey - that's what makes a turkey hunt into an educational experience. You learn something every outing. You hunt these clever birds to hone your skills. And those skills will grow with experience. The more you hunt, the better you get. The formula isn't complicated. Lesson: hunting even with less-than-ideal conditions can be a huge learning opportunity.
The big event of the hunt was a nearby range fire. Just after dark on that first afternoon (when all the success finally came out way), a line of huge thunderstorms developed just to the east. Yep, it would have been better if they had been to our west. Perhaps we might have gotten a good rain out of the deal. Only a few drops of rain fell anywhere close by, but apparently a lightening bolt started a fire about 6-8 miles north of the Home Camp. As things happen weather-wise, the line of storms was followed by a cool north wind. By early the next morning, the wind had picked up to maybe 25-30 mph. Wind getting stronger; humidity falling fast; and a fire is burning. Very dangerous, indeed. All afternoon, that fire to the north of us raced to the south, headed right in our direction. My son called from 150 miles away to report that he could see the smoke in that clear, blue-sky day.
Burning across a two-three mile front with that dangerous wind, it came right through the heart of our neighbor's ranch. The fire fighters elected to use a farm-to-market road as their defensive line. Motor graders and bulldozers cut fire guards on both sides of the paved road. Back-fires were lit. Scores of vehicles, water trucks, fire trucks and firefighters were on hand. Helicopters and planes were in the air. Thankfully, the wind laid about dark and the fire-guards held. At the Home Camp, we were not in any real danger, what with the almost barren wheat fields which surround the lodge being totally incapable of carrying any kind of fire. So it was stopped a mile north of us, but our neighbors (where we turkey-hunted on Hunt 2) lost most of their prime rangeland. Our three feeders in that burned area were un-damaged, thanks to the turkeys. They had scratched-away all the grass from beneath the barrels leaving insufficient fuel to carry the fire. The latest report says that over 12,500 acres were burned in the fire.
The dry weather continues unabated. No rain in the forecast. The last couple of water holes on our river have a meager supply of water and will be dry sometime soon. The fat lady isn't quite ready to sing, but I wish she were reaching for her umbrella instead.
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Hunt 2 April 6 - 9
Things got a bit better on Hunt 2. Although the heat continues, the wind was not quite so bad. The final count on our tally board showed double the number of turkeys compared to the disastrous opening hunt. But each day of this 2011 season underscores the fact that turkey behavior is severely impacted by the continuing dry weather. So goes the reports we get from each hunter at the de-briefing sessions every half-day.
We had nine hunters on Hunt Two - five Adobe Lodge veterans and four new faces. Actually, two of the veterans, Chip Bennett and Jim Halbert (both Texans, by the way) had hunted the Mustang Camp last season, but were newcomers to our Home Camp. The other veterans were Todd Rapalee, Jim Spencer and Tom Edie. New hunters included a pair of Georgia hunters, Matt Snellgrove and Doug Bennett plus James Brogan from Athens, WV, and Jill Easton from Calico Rock, AR.
Jill is the wife of Jim Spencer. Both are accredited and accomplished outdoor writers. Jim has written a number of books about turkey hunting. In fact, his Turkey Hunting Digest book has been required reading for Adobe Lodge guides, just so they can get a taste of what turkey hunting is all about.
The majority of the other hunters in camp were multi-year veterans of the sport, so the aforementioned de-briefings were especially credible, given the experience and skill-level of our troops on the front lines. Trying to get a handle on a turkey's daily meanderings and habits during the spring season is a continual challenge. We are always keenly interested in scouting reports from our hunters. One word can summarize this season so far: baffling.
The turkeys aren't acting normally. No doubt, the lingering, brutal drought is a major factor. Hens are often seen prowling in groups with no hint of a gobbler in the area. All too often, the toms gobble not one bit in their roost trees before fly-down. Lone longbeard are seen in areas where we seldom ever see a turkey. Jakes are running in packs like a bunch of teenagers at the mall. Hens travel in exceptionally small groups - all alone or maybe as a pair.
The turkeys are as scattered as were the cows described by the old cowboy who told his foreman what he'd see during the day: "The cattle were running in bunches of two, or one, and some bunches didn't have any cattle." Exactly the same with turkeys these days. Some bunches don't have a single turkey.
Turkeys are almost impossible to pattern. They visit feeders and water points on an irregular basis. You can just never tell when they will show up. Report after report underscores this fact.
Despite all these trouble, some of the hunters did darn good, and never mind the turkeys aberrant behavior. James Brogan, a world-class hunter if there ever was one with slam-after-slam of sheep to his credit, hunted in tandem with his taxidermist Todd Rapalee. The first afternoon, they brought is a dandy Rio with a ten-plus inch beard. But from then on, it was one disappointment after another for the pair of very experienced hunters. Do turkeys take pleasure in outsmarting those with the most skill?
Jim Spencer and wife, Jill, both settled for jakes early in the hunt and subsequently got focused on a group of longbeards that had been seen. (Note: what in the world are gobblers doing running in a group this time of year?). The gobblers were spotted headed south and then east, so the next day, in anticipation of that play, guess what Jim and Jill watched? Yep, the gobblers were seen headed north and finally west. Not exactly, but you get the idea. So here's another pair of expert turkey hunters humbled before our very eyes.
Tom Edie, from Metairie, LA, hunting only five weeks after suffering a heart attach and surgery, collected a pair of jakes. Indeed, Tom saw a multitude of the yearlings every where he went. Tom had engaged the services of veteran Adobe Lodge guide, Charlie Bowers, to help set up his blind, etc. While waiting for Tom, Charlie went hunting on his own - for pigs, since we had taken a covey of the little darlings in that same area back during deer season. Success. Charlie collected a pair of them, and it was the first blood he has drawn using his mechanical hands. It was almost exactly two years ago that Charlie somehow survived 7000+ volts and lost both hands. But not his life, Thank God, and we'll never know how he made it.
The Georgia boys - Matt and Doug - are both sho'nuff veterans, but these Texas Rios frustrated them to no end. Matt took a couple of jakes midway during the hunt, his first-ever Rios, and did so in the classic manner of the sport. Finally on the final morning, he elected to exercise the third-bird option we have offered. He connected with a long-beard, which he intends to get mounted for his collection. Doug, on the other hand, just possibly might be the easiest-going hunter we've ever had. To count the entire trip as a success, all Doug wanted was to hear - just hear - a gobble. And for the first two days, not a peep was heard. Finally, on that last morning, he heard several. No sighting; no shot. Just a few gobbles. But thank goodness those rascals finally gave him what he came for.
The only other hunter to collect more than one bird was Chip Bennett. After taking a jake earlier, Chip tagged a long-beard on that final morning. In our legendary photo studio, as pictures were being made of both Chip's and Matt's toms, a striking difference was noticed between the two gobblers - shown in the collection of photos below. Chip's bird had the classic color-pattern of a genuine Rio. But the tail feathers on Matt's looked more like what you would expect to see on a Merriam's gobbler. Interesting.
Here's the final tally: nine hunters took a total of ten birds, three long-beards and seven jakes. One hunter took three, two hunters collected a pair each; three hunters collected a single bird; three hunters went bird-less. And yes, there were missed shots, but who's counting? Missed shots by turkey hunters are as predictable as hot weather in Texas.
Speaking of which. Yes, yes. The drought continues. The heat, too. It was pert-near a hundred degrees one day. "Pray For Rain" is on every church marquee. The livestock water well at the Home Camp is drying up and we are but a few hours from running completely out of water in the storage tank. A temporary pipeline is being installed to bring water from the last remaining hole on the river. The crisis is upon us.
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Hunt 1 April 2-5
You can have card-carrying, blood-tested, bone-i-fied turkey hunters in the field, but if the weather fails to cooperate, you ain't gonna put many birds on the tally board. What a grim start to the 2011 season.
For many years now, most of these guys have been here on the first hunt of the season. An annual gathering of old amigos to hunt spring turkeys - what a tradition, eh? And they have a contest among themselves, to boot.
This 2011 season found, in addition to Warren Jennings Senior and Junior, Mark Bennett, Harry Chism and Rick Duffield (all Adobe Lodge veterans) three newcomers - Mark Ragland, John Wells and Houston Mullins, all of whom are fairly new to the spring sport. Indeed, John Wells was on his first-ever such adventure. John and Houston are college buddies at Mississippi State. Five are from Arkansas, two are from Mississippi and one hails from Georgia.
The hunt commenced at noon on Saturday with a powerful, warm southwest wind blowing a gale. The next day, things got even worse. In fact, our local paper said that heat records were broken with temperatures in the upper 90's. But that wind was like a blast-furnace across the dry landscape. No humidity. Chapped lips. You get the idea.
As you might imagine with conditions being so unfavorable, the hunting was disappointing. Oh sure - some birds were seen here and there, but it was slow, slow going through the first half of the hunt.
When the second half got underway Monday morning, that dastardly wind had shifted. Now coming strongly out of the north, it was downright cold. Yep, a dry-front was blowing through and all the hunters were searching for their previously discarded jackets and coats. Someone even talked about having to put on his long-handles. Good grief. April in Texas can bring any kind of temperature, seems like.
Really, the only decent weather to be found on the entire hunt finally came on the last morning. For a while there, the wind laid so that you might actually hear a gobble. But the favorable conditions didn't last too long, and the ferocious wind rose steadily through the morning.
Thankfully, on that final morning, young John Wells, from Indianola, MS collected his first ever gobbler. The hunt ended with that positive note as all the hunters in camp welcomed John into the turkey hunting fraternity with his good long-beard.
No doubt, the weather played a part in the disappointing harvest of birds. Only five toms were taken by the group of eight. One took two; three harvested one/each; sadly, four hunters took "zzn" (zip, zero, nada). To be totally accurate, there were missed shots on several occassions, but generous bribes to the writer of this report prevents details of the misdeeds or publication of their names.
But beyond the wind and heat, there is an additional factor which plagues the turkey hunting this year. It's dry. Powerfully dry. Really, really dry. And when we have had similar conditions in past turkey seasons, the birds act abnormally. Their breeding ritual gets out of whack. They are impossible to pattern. Breeding/courtship activities are disrupted.
A friend heard a local meteorologist speak recently. His prediction: continued dry weather for at least another month or two. Ouch. If you are getting more than your share of rain, please send some our way.
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