Turkey hunting SC season starts on April 1st in my county because I’m located in the upper part of SC. I’ve been looking forward to it and have been counting down the weekends until turkey season got here.  This past weekend was the opening weekend and on Saturday morning I went turkey hunting again with Mr. Bruce Puette in Marlboro County. I had been looking forward to our trip and it turned out to be one of the most memorable turkey hunts I’ve been on.

We met really early at the entrance gate to the hunting land.  Mr. Puette’s brother, sister, and nephew would also be hunting in other areas of the land as well.  We all set out going our different ways and Mr. Puette and I were heading to the back of the property where a swampy area backed in to the Pee Dee River.  And we went deep in the swamp.  Mr. Puette said that the turkeys hadn’t been working in the fields like they normally do by this time of the year so we were going to try something different. I was interested to see how the new CrossOver Camo would do in the swampy environment of the Pee Dee River area and it blended in very nicely.

We walked in by the moonlight and as we began walking we stopped and looked at the stars and Mr. Puette pointed out the Big Dipper.  He said you can always find whichever direction North is by looking at the stars from the Big Dipper.  Even though we probably walked a mile until we finally got to our location it didn’t bother me much because it was a chance to get some blood flowing and warm up.  It was cold early that morning…34 degrees to be exact.  It was chilly and I didn’t have enough layers on and walking helped me warm up some.

We ended up walking through fields, 4-wheeler paths, old logging roads, even jumping trees, and yes…water higher than my ankles! The wet socks countered the new warmth that I had just gained from walking. I also found a pretty deep stump hole on the way in too.  My right foot ended up wetter than the left because I only found that stump hole with my right foot. Once we got back pretty deep in the woods we heard an owl hoot.  We stopped and every time another owl hooted we stopped to see if any turkeys responded. At one point Mr. Puette said that he was going to do an owl call to see if we could locate any birds.  I anticipated that he would dig in his pocket and get out a call, but Mr. Puette just held his hand to his mouth and yelled “Hoo, Hoo, Ho, Hoooo” and amazingly an owl responded about 50 yards away.  To be honest, I was pretty impressed with how accurate Mr. Puette’s owl call sounded. Mr. Puette fired back with a “WOOOOOoooo” that ended with a lot of bass in the sound.  The owl fired right back.  It was neat that he was able to get several owls calling to each other with just his natural voice.  The downside was that no turkeys gobbled back at us.  We kept on walking.

We finally reached the furthest point that we could walk and we stopped again.  This time Mr. Puette pulled out a crow call and it made a loud shriek as he blew it.  We waited, and a couple of seconds later, a turkey, that sounded about 70 – 100 yards away, hammered back at us.  Mr. Puette pumped his fist like a golfer does after sinking a putt and we headed toward the sound looking to make a setup.  We walked about 40 yards down an old logging road and Mr. Puette said we ought to set up on a tree that was about 5 yards off the path.

Mr. Puette had been carrying his gun as well as a home-made blind that he created and a small stool.  He had given me a stool that I carried in too. The home-made blind was some camo, burlap-like material that wrapped around 4 wooden sticks.  He told me that 4 sticks and some burlap was a lot cheaper than most blinds you find in stores! He set this up just in front of us as I started getting the video stuff set up.

I had all of the stuff I needed to video setup and had got two Thermacells out and fired them both up because deep in the swamp mosquitoes are thick and even though it was cold… I wasn’t taking any chances.  I put the new Thermacell in front of us and put last year’s model Thermacell to my left.  Needless to say we didn’t get bothered by any bugs or mosquitoes during this hunt.

We were finally situated and the sun was slowly starting to shine through the woods. Mr. Puette did some calling early to see if anything would respond and we had turkeys gobbling to our right, middle, and to our left.  We were definitely in a good location, but we were worried that the turkeys would come off the roost and go a different direction. Randomly Mr. Puette would call and the turkeys arbitrarily responded. We had to wait and to keep our eyes peeled.

I was sitting on the left side of the tree and Mr. Puette was on the right side.  As I scanned the woods (and I say wood because last time I used the word “forest” I got criticized…thanks Hoot!) I saw something to my left that looked like a dark stump, but I didn’t remember seeing this stump before so it kind of caught me off guard.  Since I was in a new area, it was kind of “hazy”, and since I couldn’t focus well I wasn’t sure.  I watched the dark looking stump and then all of a sudden it started moving and the shape turned into a fan-tail.  I was pumped! I tapped Mr. Puette immediately and told him that we had a gobbler about 25 yards to our left.  This turkey had slipped up on us and hadn’t made one sound. Yes, turkeys were gobbling, but they were further away…this one came in silent.

There were so many trees and brush in front of us that it was not only difficult to see the turkey, but it was even more difficult to film the turkey.  In retrospect I should have turned the auto-focus mechanism off, but I wasn’t chancing any extra movements while he was that close to us. Because Mr. Puette was behind me (in the line of sight for the bird) he couldn’t see it.  The bird was standing behind a big tree and was stepping to the right, puffing up, spinning, and stepping back to the left, puffing and spinning and did this on repeat.  It was very odd, but he was staying in one spot.  The whole time Mr. Puette couldn’t see the bird and he kept asking me “Are you sure?”, “How far out?”, and “Where is he?”  Finally the turkey stepped out far enough to where Mr. Puette could see it.  At this point at least he knew I wasn’t lying about a bird being that close.

As we were watching this turkey strut his stuff in circles we had other gobblers hammering out from other directions.  We didn’t know where to look we had so many birds talking around us, but I kept my eye on the gobbler to the left. I was frustrated at this turkey because he kept spinning and puffing and spinning and puffing and he wouldn’t come out to where I could get a good shot at him with the camera and Mr. Puette was just itching to shoot him, but it would have been a forced shot so he held off.  Another frustrating thing was that the camera kept focusing on the underbrush of the woods rather than the turkey…so the majority of the footage I got is really blurry because we were so low on the ground and because the turkey was staying just behind the brush.  I bet we watched this turkey for about 15-20 minutes at just about 20 – 25 yards away from us.  Mr. Puette even kicked the brush with his feet simulating the sound of a hen scratching, but nothing we did would entice this turkey to come any closer. Eventually the turkey faded back into the woods where he came from and we lost him.

We sat there a little dejected, but still hopeful talking about it the whole time and couldn’t figure it out.  We sat for another 15 – 20 minutes and we even talked about moving to a different location.  Mr. Puette called randomly and nothing much responded and the thoughts of our hunt from last year came back to me.  I remembered Mr. Puette saying “Patience kills turkeys”. We sat there a little while longer and then out of the blue we heard a loud gobble right out in front of us and Mr. Puette instantly grabbed his gun and got in shooting position. I couldn’t see any turkey so I asked him “Where is he?” and Mr. Puette responded “I don’t know, but he’s close!”  We sat there on alert scanning the woods.  Then I saw the dark spot moving through some woods out in front of us this time and I zoomed in on him. The turkey was finally moving across the front of our location heading to the right…which means he was getting at a better angle for Mr. Puette to shoot. Mr. Puette had the gun up and I was just trying to follow the bird.  With such dense wood and brush in the swampy area it was tough.  The turkey finally got out to where Mr. Puette could shoot and he didn’t waste any time. I couldn’t see the bird so I just filmed Mr. Puette.  A loud boom rang through the woods and I saw the bird fly up.  Mr. Puette said “I missed him” and I said “No you didn’t, he just crashed”.  I had heard the bird go down, but Mr. Puette didn’t.  He got up and walked over to that direction and the turkey jumped up and started running.  He got his gun up and the turkey turned and started running toward him! Mr. Puette rang out 3 shots and on the 3rd shot he stopped the turkey in his tracks and the turkey was only about 10 yards away from him. The footage wasn’t good on that so it isn’t worth posting, but I think he was about to get spurred had he not had that last shot in his gun!  After the hunt ended we took a bunch of pictures and videos.

As I was taking pictures Mr. Puette said “Did you see that tree?” and I said “What tree?” I had seen a thousand trees that were in the way of me filming the turkey, but obviously he was referring to one in particular.  He pointed and said “Look at the ‘Twisted Oak’”.  We walked over and saw something that was pretty rare in my opinion.  Two white oak trees were side by side and one had fallen into the other and over time they had grown together.  It was a unique site.  I took some pics and videos of it as well. I know that I’ve never seen anything like that before…and those trees were huge.

Five yards from the base of that tree Mr. Puette picked up the top half of an acorn shell and said “look at that” and I looked at it and said “Yeah I bet some deer love that huh”.  He responded “Look closer at it” and I did and when I focused in on it he said “Look at the shape of the break in the shell… those are deer teeth marks that cracked it” and sure enough you could see the outline of the deer’s teeth. Mr. Puette sure pays attention to detail…especially when he’s walking.  He finds arrowheads and picks up on anything out of the ordinary.  He’s just got that knack.

After a couple of more pictures we headed back to base camp.  It was a long walk back to the entrance and I was definitely glad I had some Wildlife Energy drink with me on this occasion.  As we walked back over the path we came in on Mr. Puette was looking around every corner to see if any turkeys were strutting in the roads.  He’d already told me that if we saw another one that we would be stopping and setting up again!

I always enjoy going hunting with Mr. Puette because there’s usually some action involved and I also always learn something. Mr. Puette says I bring him good luck, but I don’t know about that.  Most of the time whenever you take a camera in the woods it means that you’re definitely not going to see anything, but so far he and I are 2 for 2 with turkey hunting SC and videos.

I hope to get in on more hunts with Mr. Puette and next time I’ll try to get better focus on the turkey!

Regards,

Clint

Provided by: http://www.wehuntsc.com/Blog/ViewAllBlogs/tabid/57/EntryId/239/SC-Swamp-Turkey.aspx

By Tommy Darby

While standing behind an old fence row, a series of yelps triggered a gobble from a distance.  After a few minutes contemplating our next move we hit him with another series of calls.  This time his gobble was closer.  He was coming.  We scrambled back and decided to set up on the tree line along the fence.

April 15th, 2011 is a day that I won’t forget and neither will my cousin JD.  I am a novice turkey hunter and am thrilled anytime I get to go, but this day was special for another reason.  This was JD’s first turkey hunt.  A couple friends, Robert Abell and Rick Currence, invited us to tag along and attempt to get JD his first bird.  Robert and Rick are seasoned turkey hunters so the thought of tagging along with them had us fired up.  We meet them at 6:00 a.m. and the action was heart pounding from that point forward.  Now back to the story.

As we scrambled to get set up we spotted three birds truckin’ it across the field.  It was three jakes to be exact.  Rick was attempting to get a decoy out when he realized he was stuck.  Robert and JD were able to get set up on a tree but I was stuck somewhat out in the middle of this tree line.  Knowing that these birds were moving in fast we all sat tight.  The birds moved into the tree line at about 70 or 80 yards out.  I thought these birds were going to come right up the fence line so with me stuck out in the middle I was really going to be putting my Crossover Camo to the test.  It did its job and the birds moved out into the field, but they seemed to get hung up just outside of gun range.  They moved on and we regrouped.  My heart was pounding and I know JD was pumped.  Robert chuckled and said that when those birds were coming JD’s gun was just a shaking.  He told JD “alright buddy you gonna have to calm down” with a laugh.  JD was worried about missing and said, “If I miss you we’re gonna go again!”  No doubt he is hooked.  That’s what it’s all about right there!

We moved down the tree line and got set up on the back field that the birds exited.  With the decoy out and everyone set, Rick assumed the calling.  It was time for some turkey talk hunting. Within minutes the three Jakes stormed out of the opposite tree line like a freight train.  JD clicked off the safety and got ready.  They were headed straight at us.  We thought this would be quick, but as the birds topped the little knoll they seemed to hang up again.  They were gobbling like crazy but seemed to be weary of the decoy.  As they moved around just outside of gun range boy did they give us a show.  As we sat there I thought to myself that there isn’t a whole lot that beats listening to a turkey hammer out a gobble over and over.  These birds were definitely not shy about stretching their necks.  The birds finally moved out of the field.  Check out the video below.

Although JD didn’t get his first turkey that morning I could see the fire in his eyes when we headed home.  There was so much to soak in about that hunt that I know I will never forget and I’m 100% sure JD won’t either.  Being able to listening to Robert pound out the meanest owl hoot in Chester County without the assistance of a manufactured call was pretty neat.  Being able to listen to the reactions of the jakes to Rick’s yelps and purrs was also awesome to witness.  Thanks to Robert and Rick for the invite and awesome calling.   I had an absolute blast!  JD hasn’t quit talking about it so I know he’s hooked.  This should be fun!

Provided by: http://www.wehuntsc.com/Blog/Bloggers/Tommy/tabid/161/EntryId/290/-Jake-Madness-JDs-First-Turkey-Hunt.aspx

Jan. 25, 2012

Spring Turkey Hunting  Season Set, Online Apps Available

The state Game and Fish Department is offering 5,795 wild turkey licenses for the spring turkey hunting season, a decrease of 925 from last year. The decrease is a result of additional winter mortality the last three years and poor production during spring 2011.

Ten of the 22 hunting units have fewer spring licenses than in 2011, while 11 remain the same. Unit 21 (most of Hettinger and Adams counties) is again closed in 2012 due to lack of turkeys in the unit.

Successful spring turkey applicants must purchase a 2012-13 hunting license, as last year’s 2011-12 licenses expire March 31. In addition to the spring turkey license, hunters must have a fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate, and a general game and habitat license. Also, hunters ages 16 and older must possess a small game license, or combination license.

First-time spring turkey hunters ages 15 or younger are eligible to receive one spring license valid for the regular hunting season in a specific unit. To be eligible, the youth hunter must be 15 or younger on opening day of spring turkey season, and have never received a spring turkey license in North Dakota.

Spring turkey applicants can apply online at the Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov. Applications can also be submitted by calling (800) 406-6409.

Application forms will also be available by Feb. 1 at most license vendors, county auditors and Game and Fish offices. The deadline for applying is Feb. 15. Online or phone applications must be logged before midnight that day.

Spring turkey licenses are available only to North Dakota residents. The spring turkey hunting season opens April 14 and continues through May 20.

These durable decoys are also sold individually if you are looking to go the lone hen route. Either way, in a flock or alone, our decoys will pull in the lonesome gobbler looking for love.

When getting dressed for your hunt you want to wear a color that matches the inside color of the ground blind you are going to hunting from. You will be suprised how much movement you can get by with if you dress to match the color of your blind. I use a camouflaged scent lock pullover because I can kill two birds with one stone. I can wear the camouflage “out” while going to and from my blind then turn it “inside out” when I am in the blind. I also use my Scentlock facemask, it is black on the inside because of the carbon layer. For me, wearing black is the best color to match the inside canvas of the blind for turkey hunting situations.

A 3-sided turkey blind and ghillie suit will keep you concealed while on the move.

If you’re used to turkey hunting in the spring, there may be a few strategies that you need to change up for turkey hunting in the fall. Even though turkeys are turkeys, they respond differently in the fall, at a time when mating calls raise suspicion rather than excitement.

Set up your ground blind within 100 yards of where the birds are roosting early in the morning. Since turkeys have excellent sight and hearing, you’ll need to be extra careful not to make any noise or get too close. When the turkeys start calling, take your cue from the calls they choose. Mimic their calls. Hens are more vocal in the fall, while toms are more vocal in the spring turkey hunting.

Turkeys stick together when feeding, and if there are several groups of birds nearby, they may all flock up together. They generally use the same trails for moving from roosting to feeding areas, so take note of these trails during scouting trips and for subsequent hunting days, if you are hunting multiple days.

Staying mobile is part of the game. If you’re hunting from a ground blind, don’t be afraid to pull up stakes and move if you think you chose the wrong spot. A 3-sided Body Block Ground Blind is ideal for turkey hunting, since you can set it up and take it down in a matter of seconds. For stalking, consider a ghillie suit for full body camouflage on the move.