USA: Spring Turkey in VA 2025 – The Bittersweet Hunt

[BeeMaa]

11 APR 2025 – I’m lying in bed, completely awake but refusing to roll over to look at the clock. It’s Friday and I have the day off to prep with my friend (IGS) for Spring turkey at a friend’s farm about an hour and a half away. My wife however must go to work, and her alarm has yet to sound. I’m guessing that it’s somewhere around 3am, but I still refuse to look.

The things that are rolling around in my head are crazy. A thousand “what if’s” and “did I pack that” along with the general excitement of another hunt and what it brings. I can’t be the only one like this.

Her alarm goes off and the day has officially started. Time for me to get up and go through all my stuff again and re-pack it. The reason for the re-pack is two-fold. First, I’m insane and we all should just accept that. Second is that IGS and I usually have a place to sleep at the farm, but that’s not the case this year. We’ve decided to set up today and make the drive each morning and afternoon that we choose to hunt. This means my packing list has undergone some significant changes.

What I would like is to get the blinds, decoys, and everything else in place at the farm. Then when we come in the following morning, all we will need is our shotguns and headlamps.

 

[BeeMaa]

We arrive at the farm and check in with our friends. One of them (TG) is working from home and the other is off for the day. We talk about what we would like to do and want to make sure we aren’t impacting their lives too much. All is well.

Kubota SxS is loaded up with the gear. We had visited the farm in mid-February to make sure there weren’t any branches obscuring shooting lanes and that we had everything in order. Because of this, plus it being our fourth year hunting the farm, setup goes quickly.

We are home by late afternoon gather the last few items we need and get ready for the morning.

 

[BeeMaa]

12 APR 2025 – Opening day and we are on the road early. Upon arrival, headlamps are donned, and we walk it in. The decoys get set up and I have lit a propane heater in the blind because it’s rather chilly outside. Glad I packed that thing.

Around 6:20 am we hear the first gobbles…and they are LOUD! Fortunately, we have 2-way marine radios that are nice and quiet to operate. We talk back and forth about the positions of the birds as we continue to call them.

Shortly after sunrise, the birds drop down and their calls are now much more muffled, but still very close. The birds are very active this morning, but they don’t seem to be moving towards us. It isn’t long before we hear a shot coming from the direction of a cattle farm. Then another from a different direction. We must have heard about 5 or 6 shots between 7 and 8:30 am, sadly none of them are from us.

 

[BeeMaa]

The birds have quieted down, but I still hear this one gobbler over a ridge, and it sound like he’s coming my way. I radio IGS to let him know, because of the terrain, he’s not likely to hear this bird.

Sure enough, I see a head just over a slight rise in the field. I call and the head disappears as he gobbles. I can’t see the body, but I know it’s a HUGE bird from the size of the head. I continue to call, but he will not turn towards me. He’s on a mission and is making a B-line for the tree line.

He enters the woods and goes another 20 yards in, before turning and moving parallel to the field edge. Although he wouldn’t turn towards me, his decisions have put him on a collision course with IGS.

I can hear that he’s getting further away and once he’s closer to IGS than me, I stop calling. I don’t’ want to pull the bird away from IGS and just hope everything goes well. I hold my breath and wait for the shot.

BAM!!! I feel relieved. Yeah, I didn’t get the bird, but at least our set up worked, and we’ll have something to show for our efforts.

The radio comes on from IGS: “Did the bird come into the field?”
Me: “Of course he came across the field.”
IGS: “Can you see the bird?”
Me: “No, I can’t see the bird.”

BAM!!!
BAM!!!
Followed by five minutes of radio silence.

IGS: “I’m coming out into the field.” And there he is, carrying a massive Tom.

 

[BeeMaa]

What I didn’t know…

IGS couldn’t hear the bird until it got into the tree line. Then he knew the bird was coming towards him but doesn’t want to disturb the bird. The calls I’m making and the gobbles back are marking the bird’s location so IGS can pick up the bird without giving himself away.

Now the bird is getting close and IGS pulls the Browning Cynergy O/U up and takes aim. The bird clears the last tree at 50 yards and IGS takes his shot. The bird jumps up and tries to fly twice but can’t get off the ground. IGS jumps out of the blind and runs to the location of the shot…but there’s no bird.

Add to this that he left the blind wearing just his socks and without a radio. He goes back for his boots and radio, then send me the first radio call about the bird coming into the field. I think he’s talking about the bird walking across the field the first time because he didn’t say anything about the bird being injured…I thought the bird was down after hearing just one shot.

IGS looks to his left and sees something moving in the sticker bushes. It’s the injured Tom. He runs after it to close the distance, then raises the shotgun for the second shot…a clean miss. Then another shot…the bird drops.

 

[BeeMaa]

He comes into the field, and we discuss what just happened. His first shot surely injured the Tom but not a mortal wound. The second shot was another Federal Black Cloud TSS Turkey Load through a Carlson’s TKY choke, and at 20 yard is much like a rifle. This accounts for the miss. The third shot (from his bottom barrel) is a Winchester Last Call with a Carlson’s FULL choke that opens the pattern much faster than a turkey load and TKY choke.

Lesson learned. When they are too close for missiles, switch to guns. Having an O/U in this situation was a good thing. He said that he’s not sure he would have been able to do it with his semiauto and just a TKY choke.

We took a few pictures at the blind with the bird, then I put it out of the way near the truck so we could finish the morning hunt. IGS headed back to the tree line, and I sat in the field.

 

[BeeMaa]

About half an hour passed and I spotted a lone hen in the field, about 200 yards off, but feeding towards me. I glassed for a while to look closely for a beard, nope…it’s a hen. I let IGS know what’s happening and keep an eye on it but no real interest seeing as it’s not a shootable bird.

It makes it way to a low spot in the field about 100 yards from me where I lose sight of it as it goes into a low spot in the field. 20 minutes later it reappears and now it’s only 50 yards away, at the tree line and walking towards my decoys. I pull out my binos again, no beard and no spurs.

It walks up to my “feeding hen” decoy and tries to mount it! Then puffs up and goes into full strut! What the hell? It’s gotta be a Jake and I’m so caught off guard and nothing is ready. I move as slowly and quietly as I can. It takes several minutes for me to get the shotgun ready, and my position set to take the shot. I slowly ease the barrel out of the blind. The bird is at 19.5 yards, and I must get him to move to the right so I don’t obliterate the decoy. I place the bead on his neck and make a slight cluck with my mouth call. He looks directly at me, then moves enough to clear the decoy. I slowly squeeze the trigger.

The shotgun erupts and the bird drops to the ground. I grab the radio and shotgun as I leave the blind to run over to the bird. It’s still flopping so I put my foot on its neck until it stops.

 

[BeeMaa]

Postmortem inspection shows the tiniest of spurs and shortest of beards I believe have ever been recorded. The other thing is the shot I took. Again, this was too close for a turkey load and TKY choke. I barely nicked his neck, and I hit actually him with the wad from the shell. This shows that for some situations, that a tight choke isn’t the best choice. I might consider using my Beretta 1301 with a MOD choke and Winchester Last Call #7’s for closer shots, because the TKY combo is like a rifle at these distances.

The birds are weighed and IGS had bagged a legit 20 lb bird, mine was half of that…LOL. We cleaned up and we got some help from a friend we hadn’t seen in a while, Bernard. We give him the legs, spurs, beard and he even takes the feathers of the right wing to make fletching for arrows.

We check out with TG and tell him the tales and that we will see him tomorrow. We are on the road before 1pm and stop for some ice to cool down the breasts in the YETI. It’s a nice drive home. We talk about the morning we had and what we want to do tomorrow.

Cleaned up and repacked, I’m in bed early with hopes of another good day of hunting.

 

[BeeMaa]

13 APR 2025 – I pick up IGS at o-dark-thirty, we drive, headlamps to the blinds and we wait. We are both calling, but the birds aren’t around like they were yesterday. We continue to call but hear nothing in return except what I believe are other hunters hen calling as well. My suspicions are confirmed as we hear shots coming from neighboring properties in multiple directions. Funny that we didn’t hear the gobblers.

It was a long day of sitting in the blind and not hearing anything, but that’s hunting. It can’t be great all the time. We pack up our gear in preparation of coming back tomorrow (today is Sunday) because I had arranged to hunt for four days.

We take the truck and head to the farmhouse to checkout with TG. We talk about the day and how things are going, then I say that we will see him tomorrow.

He turns and says “What are you doing tomorrow?”
Me: “We were planning on hunting Monday and Tuesday as we discussed.”
TG: “This is the first I’m hearing about this.”

It wasn’t the first he was hearing about it, but I’ll save you the details. Suffice to say that he wasn’t happy, and he said some pretty harsh words. We didn’t say much but tried to de-escalate which wasn’t very successful. It’s his land and he gets to do what he wants with it.

IGS & I got in the truck and started driving. It was about 20 minutes before either of us said anything. It took us that long to process what had just happened. We’ve been hunting this property for four years now and it may have come to an end. I sent TG a text later saying we would be by Monday sometime in the late morning to pick up our gear and he agreed to that.

 

[BeeMaa]

14 APR 2025 – I’ll make this short. We drive out, pick up our gear and leave.

So it ends. Not only the hunt report but a possibly a friendship. In hindsight there were some clues that TG didn’t want us there anymore. First was the fact that he wasn’t really responding to text messages I sent, where in the past he was. Second was that he didn’t allow us to stay in the garage like he had the past three years. Third was the language he had used a couple of times talking on the phone. Words like “entitled” had been used on at least three occasions. I should have seen this coming but was blinded by the thrill of an upcoming turkey hunt.

I will admit that I can’t fully see through his lens and have no way of knowing what his thought process or what pressures he may have other than us wanting to hunt. You never know exactly what someone else is thinking or what they are going through. I’m sure if he were telling this, it would be very different.

IGS and I decide that we will have to make other plans for next turkey season and discuss options on the drive back. As the conversation stalls, I think back to all the memories I have at that farm. The early mornings when gobbles have bounced off the valley walls, shooting goose off the pond, cutting in roads, cleaning up trails, late nights around the fire with a bottle of whiskey…we’ve had a good time. And it’s the place I shot my first turkey. First turkey in seven years of trying. Yeah, it was a Jake, but it was still my first and I’ll never forget it. Sad that it ends so bittersweet.

 

[Fatback]

Glad y’all got to have a good hunt and sorry to hear that the land owner ended things so abruptly. You just never know what might happen with some folks. Best of luck finding a new turkey hunting spot.

 

[Mauser3000]

Congratulations on your first Turkey! It’s quite a thrill! It’s a shame that you may not continue to hunt that farm.

 

[BeeMaa]

Appreciate the well wishes guys. As a hunter, I’ll continue to look at this as a “glass half full” and be thankful for the times, the company and the hunt.

 

[Hogpatrol]

This seems to be a recurring theme in hunting these days. Farms get sold, owners die and their heirs no longer want you hunting there, woods are leveled for housing developments. properties go to leases, or houses spring up around farms. Places I hunted dove are now filled with McMansions and even where legal, gunshots bring LEOs or wardens to check. It's sad. Cherish the good times and the first turkey. TG can't take those.

 

[BeeMaa]

@Hogpatrol - He can't take these either. Brined and on the smoker this morning. Should be ready by lunchtime.

 

[HankBuck]

14 APR 2025 – I’ll make this short. We drive out, pick up our gear and leave.

So it ends. Not only the hunt report but a possibly a friendship. In hindsight there were some clues that TG didn’t want us there anymore. First was the fact that he wasn’t really responding to text messages I sent, where in the past he was. Second was that he didn’t allow us to stay in the garage like he had the past three years. Third was the language he had used a couple of times talking on the phone. Words like “entitled” had been used on at least three occasions. I should have seen this coming but was blinded by the thrill of an upcoming turkey hunt.

I will admit that I can’t fully see through his lens and have no way of knowing what his thought process or what pressures he may have other than us wanting to hunt. You never know exactly what someone else is thinking or what they are going through. I’m sure if he were telling this, it would be very different.

IGS and I decide that we will have to make other plans for next turkey season and discuss options on the drive back. As the conversation stalls, I think back to all the memories I have at that farm. The early mornings when gobbles have bounced off the valley walls, shooting goose off the pond, cutting in roads, cleaning up trails, late nights around the fire with a bottle of whiskey…we’ve had a good time. And it’s the place I shot my first turkey. First turkey in seven years of trying. Yeah, it was a Jake, but it was still my first and I’ll never forget it. Sad that it ends so bittersweet.

@BeeMaa - congrats on you & IGS getting two turkeys Opening morning, looks like a good 3 yr old Tom and your Jake. Hearing all the gobbles that you did - sounds like you were certainly “in the Right spot”.
Too bad about how it ended with the Land Owner and likely losing your place to hunt - it sucks but happens often whenever hunting someone else’s property….they just change their mind for no apparent reason and has happened to many (including Me years ago). I don’t know what transpired but here’s a few reasons I’ve seen in the past: 1). Farmer meets another Hunter who offers to Lease or pay to hunt the land. 2). Landowner was fine with you hunting “until” you actually killed a turkey/deer and then he resents it (less chance for him or his friends/family etc..).
Years ago My friend and I were invited 3 years in a row to deer hunt on a Family farm in PA but we never got a deer - until the 3rd year when were shot two good bucks (8 & 10 pointers). We soon found out that these were better then any buck the Owners had ever taken…AND as such - we were then NOT invited back ! Later, when we asked “why”? We were told “only Family allowed to hunt now”. Seems we were only Welcome - as long as we didn’t shoot a deer. I looked at that and a similar incident and thought “at least I had some good times there was lucky to enjoy it while it lasted”. Plus, it Motivated me to save and buy my own land.
Who knows, my bet is that you treated him very well, were always courteous and appreciative and this was beyond your control. At least you had a nice spot and some success the past few years and you will find or even lease another place soon. Good luck

 

[BeeMaa]

@HankBuck - I will refrain from talking bad about him. He's a good guy and I'm sure he has his reasons. My only problem is how he communicated it. It's water over the dam at this point.

As to your experience with shooting a couple of good whitetail and not being invited back...this very thing happened to another hunter a few years ago who was also on TG's property. I only heard TG's side of the story, but now wish I'd heard the guy who was hunting. Again, I could have read the tea leaves a little bit on this, but we've shot big birds there before with no issues.

Landowners can be tricky. I knew one that said that no one was allowed to take anything less than a 8-point, then he came back with a 4-point 1.5 year old. What am I to say about that? Nothing, because it's his land and I'm a guest.

I'm not loosing sleep over it and seriously doubt TG is either. Just a shame it had to end that way.