The three new places were the "Thumb" of Michigan around Ruth, Wellsville, NY, then back to the Thumb outside of Birch Run, MI.
This might get long, so I will just put the result up now. I shot a bearded hen yesterday morning near Birch Run, MI. This was my first bearded hen. Now that I can say I did it, I probably wont shoot another, unless its a smoke phase.
I picked the late season May 6 - May 31. I started out on May 6 afternoon around Ruth and Forestville. Patrick the Killer moved up there and knows a farmer that let me poke around. All my driving to and from this area, I really didn't see much for birds out in the fields. Saw one lone Tom going through a field next to where I sat up and he didn't even seem interested in a call, it was pretty windy and a chance that he never heard me. Here are a couple pics from that afternoon.
I was hunting near Lake Huron, Got to get a pic of a Great Lake when you are there.
Here are some deer in a nice little ambush spot I was hoping to see a turkey in
Then the following Saturday, I was off to Wellsville, NY. I was already planning to pick my daughter Ellie up in Ithaca, as she just finished her freshman year in college. If some of you original BEAST members want to feel old, let that sink in. I am sure some of you remember seeing some pics of her grow up through the last 12-13 years. A few weeks before I left, I was contacted by Sean of the National Deer Association, Upper Genesee River Chapter, for an event donation and we got talking and next thing you know I am going to South Central NY to try to tag a turkey. For those that haven't been through southern NY it is some amazing country. I got in Saturday evening and met Sean at his deer camp. He fixed a fantastic venison burger and fried potato dinner. After a couple of cold ones, 4:30 am came way to early. I could write quite a bit on both Sunday and Monday mornings hunts, but to sum up. There were not an overabundance of birds, but enough to chase. We got to cover a lot of ground, which is how I like to hunt. Close both mornings, but you all know how hunting goes. I missed a desperation shot on first morning after they just wouldn't come in. Patience has never been my strong suit.
Oh, I guess, a little detail won't hurt. Sunday, we had two in shooting range just after fly down, I was looking opposite way when I caught a flash. Sean got busted clicking the safety off, and I didn't even know they were 20 yds in front of him/behind me. Then we went looking and saw a group a couple hundred yards away. I'll just say I have shot turkeys at 60 ish yards, but this was a tad further. The next morning, we started in a different area with the plan to meet the group where they were going the previous morning. Funny thing how rarely turkeys do tomorrow what they did the day before, and I certainly love getting schooled by a bird with a brain the size of a pea. We had some fun chasing birds again, we darn near cut them off. I came over a little rise and saw only his head as he busted me and ran off. We walked another piece of the property and that was pretty much it. I had a great time, it was a beautiful piece of property in an awesome part of our country and we pushed hard. I was off to Ithaca around noon. Hunting is over in NY at noon for spring turkeys.
couple of pics from NY
So Sunday, I am thinking about driving up towards Gladwin to hit some public ground. My late season tag is state wide, but only private land in the entire southern zone of the state, and I don't have any private ground down here anymore, so I need to get up there to hunt public ground. Just before lunch time, my friend Matt G texts and asked if I want to meet him in Holly for lunch. Sure I say. So what else does a bear guide and a camo salesman discuss at lunch, fishing and hunting. We are talking about going crappie fishing on Monday morning when I tell him I still have the late season turkey tag. He said he had a friend up by Birch Run where he used to hunt and said he would contact him after lunch and let me know. Well a few hours later Matt called and said we are on. Then we discussed time. With the drive, getting in in the dark, and how early sunrise is, I had to get up at 3:43am. I guess I could have set it for a couple minutes later, but I hate round numbers. Even at the gas pump I never stop on an even or round number, not certain why, guess I'm just messed up. Anyway, met Matt at his place around 4:30 and off we went.
We get up there and Matt knows this place well, from hunting it quite a bit in the past. Sure enough, we go directly to a spot, even though he really hasn't hunted it in about 5 years. We are tucked pretty good into an inside bend in a little draw/woodlot between two fields. I kept hearing what I thought was a distant gobble, but Matt, probably from all the artillery in the Army, wasn't hearing it. All of a sudden there is a lone hen out in this freshly planted crop field. He puts binos on it and says, if that hen comes in shoot her she has a beard. I kept whispering, are you sure. At about 50-60 yds I could see it with the naked eye. He called her in close enough for me. It was almost to the hen decoy. First time I used a decoy in years, but seemed to work. She got about 30 yards and put her head up real clean for me and I let the single shot 3 1/2" 5 shot rip. Damn that thing kicks. Dumped it. Pretty cool to finally have the bearded hen under my belt. As I was tagging it, I kept hearing the distant gobbles, but now they seem not so distant as Matt can now here them.
Since Matt also had a tag we headed that direction to just inside the next field. As we were setting up, there was a hen just ripping it up with yelps. I thought it was a hunter it was talking so much. We set up and I kept thinking it was going to come through these open maples behind this field. Matt said there was a lane they would hit and poke out right over there, as he pointed. I said OK. Couple minutes later I see the hen poke out right where Matt pointed. She looked our way and then went back. A few minutes later the Tom pokes out in the same area. I peeked out quick then hunched behind the tree as to not spook it and mess Matt up. He pulls up the gun, and I am actually watching the camera he set up. Oh, I guess I didn't mention until now that Matt is filming this hunt. So I can barely see the little black dot on the little camera screen when his safety comes off and I hear bang, pump-bang (pump-bang is rarely good) and off flies the big ole tom. We kinda, oh well, blah, blah, and I rarely rib a guy for missing, I know I have missed and think it's bad karma, but if there was ever a time, this would have been a good time, but I still don't. So we decide to split up him on one side of the strip of woods that separate the two fields and kinda go check where we last saw it. Stranger things have happened than a bird flying away with a couple pellets in it and dying after a few hundred yards. Well, that didn't happen. But what did happen is we heard a gobble by the truck, which is the way the bird flew. So we scramble up a little berm on the field edge and the dang thing was in the middle of the field, and coming our way. Hate to say this, but another shot was fired and we only came home with the bearded hen. Off to Tony's in Birch Run for some bacon. Some of you Michigan guys know this restaurant at the Birch Run exit off I-75, but if you haven't you should go there some time for the 1 lb bacon sandwich.
Here is a few more pics.
My buddy James' kids when I got back to the neighborhood.
I got the turkey club, think it had 1 lb of turkey and 1/2lb of bacon
