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CO Turkey

First, a disclaimer. We are the only ones who have permission to hunt on a neighbor's property just a couple miles from our house. We only have to drive for a few minutes over private dirt roads, without interacting with anyone. So we are able to comply with the "stay at home" recommendations and still be able to hunt. At the start of April, I was able to help our neighbor out by removing some old 'devil' wire he didn't need nor want. I'm always glad to get rid of that menace whenever possible, even though I ripped my pants, ruined a pair of gloves, and tore up my hands.

After completing that job, I took a quick look around, and found plenty of turkeys, as expected.

We set up our blinds 3 days before the opening, then sat the next morning to take some photos and enjoy the show. This seems to be the largest roost in the area, but we could also hear activity up, and down, the valley.

Just after my wife shot a Jake at 6:40 AM on opening morning, four jakes came by my blind from her direction. She had made a good shot, and we both saw it collapse. We let it lay for the time being and we both had more activity, but she had the most as they dispersed for the day.

Since we primarily hunt the roost area early in the season, we only hunt until they leave in the morning. I returned about 5:30 PM for their return. At about 6:30 I started having activity. First, I called in two jakes. They walked through the decoys, eyeing them suspiciously. As they fed back the way they had come in, a large mixed group started across the meadow from the other side. Since I was in between the two jakes and the large group, and they were calling back and forth, I just waited without calling to let things develop. Eventually, a decent gobbler wondered in to my decoys. Like the jakes, he seemed more suspicious than interested, or excited. As he stood just behind the jake decoy, quartered toward me at about 10 yards, I aimed at the point of his wing joint and released. The shot looked perfect, and as he ran off I expected to see him collapse. Instead, after running a few yards he started walking away, and didn't stop until he bedded in some grass above a cut bank by the creek a couple hundred yards away. That's where I left him, with his head still up, as it got too dark to see him through my 10 X 40 binocs. Concerned and confused about my shot, and worried about the weather coming in overnight and predators in the area, I had no choice but to wait until morning.

Obviously, it was a long night. I woke briefly at 2 AM and we already had about 4" of snow. By dawn, it was at least 8" and still coming down. The only thing my neighbor had asked, is that I don't tear up the roads when they're wet. They were WET, with snow above slush. As with most wet, spring snows, those of us that plow have to decide if and when plowing does more good than harm on our dirt roads. I decided to head that way with the plow and stop and walk if necessary. Plowing seemed to be helping more than hurting, so I plowed to within about 30 yards of where I last saw the tom bedded. On the way, I could have shot at least a dozen toms loafing near the road. As I approached where I last saw him, I spotted a dark, snow-covered lump where he should have been. Surprised and encouraged, I stopped the truck. I thought I saw the lump shrink a bit. This wasn't over yet! As I opened the door, his head came up, and as I started running toward him, he bailed off the cut-bank into the brushy creek bottom.

The next several minutes would have made good video! After following him into the creek, I immediately tripped and face planted into the snow. There would be two more of those, one into the shallow creek. I almost had him once, but the chase continued. Finally, he got hung up in the brush and I was able to grab him.

The necropsy showed my arrow hit about an inch lower than where I aimed, angled back just below the heart, and exited through the front of the off side thigh muscle, and also cut that knee. An inch or two higher or farther back, and he would have dropped in his tracks.

What beautiful country you get to hunt! Awesome pics. Congrats on the early success for your bride!

Nice job recovering that Tom...Congrats to you, and your Wife!

Addendum:

Saturday was sunny and in the high 60s up here. Sunday morning was 19º with about 8" of snow, and it's been snowing ever since. Today (Monday) it's 12º with close to 2' of snow, although some of the early snow melted when it hit the warm ground. This crap is supposed to keep up most of the week! While we like to turkey hunt - not so much in this weather! Fortunately, now we don't have to. Heading out to plow - again.

Stay safe.

Congrats to ya both!

Nice job on getting it done

Well done Ziek! Great pics as well. Congrats!

Awesome as usual

Are dogs allowed in the spring in Colorado?

Congrats on the nice birds. Curious, your text read like you left it overnight because of concern for predators?

Thanks for the pics and details.

Congrats to you and your wife on the birds!

Great pictures and congratulations to you and your wife. Glad to see that many birds in your area.

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