PA spring gobbler hunting, 7 hunts 2023

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bamaranger

New member
As my AL spring gobbler accounts seem well received, here's my trip to PA

My longtime pal and best man Jim began to inquire as to whether or not we might hunt together in PA this spring. As neither one of us is getting any younger, I agreed to same. I reasoned also that I could swing a visit to may very elderly mom on Mothers Day, and so plans were laid. We would hunt the mountain ridges in PA on public land for 3 days and then I would slip off to see my mom, Jim would call it quits and return home........

and plans changed.....3X.........the last change made on the day I arrived at Jims. Recent surgery had left him a bit wonky...."could we hunt out on my brothers place?" Jim asked soon after walked thru the door, "I'm still seeing a home care nurse twice a week. My brother has got birds out on his place, just 30 minutes away." Well sure, why not, this trip was more about us hanging out than collecting feathers anyhow, so local hunts it would be.

11May-day # 1
We drove the back roads of Adams county to his brothers place and arrived in good time, to make the VERY short walk to the hunt location. As it grew light I was appalled, we were basically in a rabbit thicket. No way a gobbler was gonna come to call in here. I advised Jim of my opinion, and he led the way to a winter wheat field nearby. Better.......we stuck out 3 decoys and settled into a large blind already set nearby. As promised, 3 different birds sounded off at dawn, all about a 1/4 mi away on private property adjacent that was posted. We spent the morning staring at the dekes, calling sporadically, and going over old times. By law in PA at that point in the season, you're done at noon. We ate lunch at a grand old Inn just across the line in MD, and returned to his place for a nap.
 
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eastbank

New member
it was a slow year for turkeys here, not much gobbling./ i didn,t connect ontill the 29th of may, a good bird but he was no push over and it took work./
 
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bamaranger

New member
hunts #2 and 3

Eastbank.....yeah, everybody I talked with in central/south central PA declared how slow it was, and early season weather was no help at all....very poor. I think a lot of guys in PA must have quit early. I hunted a total of 7 days, 4 of them on SGL public land very accessible, and did not see or hear a soul.....and I spent a lot of hours in the woods' But I did get on some gobblers....eventually.

day #2-12May
Up early again, we drove through the apple orchards and old farms to the brothers, who has 55 acres. Yes, there are gobblers here, but what the brother lacks is huntable acreage. Basically, Jim and I were limited to this 15 acre winter wheat field, with blinds in place on either end. The rest of the property is within the safety zones of the three residences that compose the place. Nevertheless, we settled into the northern blind with the best field of view and awaited daylight. In the gray of dawn a gobble rang out, not 100 yds away. Jim winked and grinned in the twilight, he'd said they were roosting close and that day #1 was an exception. The early bird gobbled freely several more times, and I finally gave him some tree calls. He hammered back and I was hopeful, he knew we were there. When it was light enough, I did a fly down cackle, complete with cap "wing beats" and he hammered again, I figured we would see him soon. To boot, two additional birds joined in the fray, both within calling distance, under 200 yds.

But it was not to be, the early bird got on the ground and went the other way, no doubt following hens he knew were there, heck, he was probably looking at them from the roost. The two satellite birds got down and hushed. I was hopeful they'd sneak onto our field and see the dekes, but they did not. Jim and I again spent the entire morning in the blind, calling and quietly small talking, with no further action.

Day #3, 13May
We awoke to rain, a steady drizzle, but dressed and drove anyhow. Upon arrival, we set in the truck 'till daylight, then the rain eased and we beat it over to the field, less than 200 yds distant. Obligingly , as we were deciding which blind to sit, two birds cranked up on the lower end of the 15 acre field, near the blind we had not yet hunted. Jim and I beat feet down there as fast as 75 and 65 yr old guys could go again slapped out three decoys and settled in about the time the gobblers got on the ground about 150 yds away. Again, it was not to be. We got an answer or two as they drifted away, further south on posted land. About 9:30 AM the sky opened and it began to pour, along with high winds. We called it quits, and that was the end of my Adams county suburban turkey hunting.

Now....off to the mountains!!!!!!!!!
 
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bamaranger

New member
hunt #4

I motored northwest 100 milesfrom the farmlands of the PA piedmont section to the mountainous ridge and valley area and showed up at my mom's for Mother's Day, unannounced, she was quite pleased, to tears literally. Sister came over with food, we had a good visit. That PM, they wanted ice cream , and we loaded up in my new to me 'bamaSUV for treats. On the way, I took a side trip and discovered a dandy 4 mile gravel road through SGL that would be ideal for an extended walk 'n call type hunt, I even found turkey tracks. Mom (at 92 yrs) found the whole business quite exciting, though she did not approve of me getting the shiny SUV a bit muddy.

hunt#4-15May
I slept in on purpose, left Mom's place after morning coffee, and was on the 4Mile Road about 10:30. Parked and walked about half mile on the front section, cutting on a box call occasionally, then stopped and listened for an hour on a R.O.W cut that ran from the farmland valley floor straight up to the crest of the mountain. Jeez that cut was steep....ranger, you ain't in the rolling pine hills of AL now! No gobbles rang out from below or above, and after an hour, walked, again calling, back to the SUV . Drove through a rather scrubby section lined with safety zone signs, then parked and resumed my walk again, intending to go out and return on the remaining distance.

For this foray, I was carrying my Lanber O/U. It's just a 2-3/4" gun, fixed chokes of F & M, but the full barrel does very well with a Win XR 2-3/4 #5 (yes, they make'em, but I've only seen them once I shoulda bought both boxes) or more common short mag #6 from about any maker. I load #7-1/2 in the M barrel for anything close. Once the foilage comes out, I do not feel particularly under gunned. With it's 26" barrels and short receiver, the double is shorter than the 24" barreled Mossberg 835 I'd also brought, and noticeably lighter. The big advantage today was that since I was strolling SGL roads open to vehicular traffic, I could drape the broken double over my shoulder, obviously empty, and avoid the ire of a rambunctious game warden or deputy.

I walked along the roadway, cutting occasionally on a big box brought for that purpose, admiring the big timber and the new countryside, absolutely enjoying myself no end. From time to time I'd settle on a convenient log or big rock on a high spot and listen for a bit, but no gobbles rang out.

I reached the end of the track, and began to retrace my steps, within a half mile I'd noted a very pretty stretch of mature hardwoods on the downhill side and left the road to investigate further. Once thru the roadside brush, it opened up into a gorgeous hardwood point extending out from the mountain side perhaps a 1/4 mi or more, very open and park like. "If I were a gobbler, I'd live here" I thought, and so found giant hemlock to sit beneath that commanded a view of the point, settled in and began a calling session.
I called perhaps two cycles on the box, 15 minutes or so apart, with no answer, and got the nods. A month of hunting in Al, 1000 miles of driving, several early mornings in PA, my big stroll today, the idyllic setting, took it's toll and I fell asleep.

Now that's not a bad thing, as long as one wakes up correctly. I've killed several toms, some of them notable, when they awoke me from a nap with a gobble. The trick is, if a bird gobbles, one must not jerk awake. In this instance, there was not a gobble, and I wakened some 20-30 minutes later on my own. I rolled my eyes about carefully, searching for a sneaky gobbler that might have eased in silently. ............there, what is that? Yup, that's a turkey!!

Seventy five yards distant, faced square away from me, in the late afternoon shadows, I could not tell hen or tom. It walked behind another large hemlock and when it emerged, was in a patch of sunlight. Geez-o-man, what a gobbler! An enormous thick beard hung from it's breast, likely near a foot in length, and his male colors popped in the sun. Wow! I did not get the impression he was coming to call, but moving across the face of the point, parallel my position. I figured I needed to call to him, but I did not have a call in my mouth, just the box setting near my right hip, the shotgun across my lap. When he went behind another tree, I retrieved the box......and that's all it took!:eek:

He didn't get that big by not paying attention. When he appeared on the opposite side of the tree, he was still moving right, to left, parallel, but was doing the famous turkey quick step, head jerking and obviously spooked. He disappeared in a depression there to the left and was gone. The whole episode didn't take 15 seconds, I almost thought I'd dreamed it. Well nuts....all this way for that.:mad: I began to berate myself, I shoulda'not fell asleep, I shoulda' had a mouth call in (and likely choked on it sleeping) , I shoulda' not moved let him walk off, and called him back. Nuts.

I stayed in place another hour, perhaps he had a pal. Heck, I'd come to a place I'd never seen and had an encounter with a trophy gobbler, that's something......I guess.

The good news......I'd be back!
 
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stagpanther

New member
Great story, as always. You really capture the spirit well in that a hunt without a tag can be just (or almost) as satisfying as one that gets the bird. Our season up here just ended a few days ago, and all the turkey hunters I talked to confirmed what I noticed through the spring season--lots of young smallish hens and jakes running around but no "Mr Big" (that's what I call the big Toms, and I've seen some really big ones around here in years past). Today I was test firing a new 300 wby build and when I finished shooting I turned around and about 20 yards away there was a fair-sized Tom with about a 7" beard annoying his girlfriend hen from the looks of it. First relatively nice Tom I've seen this year up here. I can't help but feel somehow insulted by how often deer and turkeys show up when I'm out shooting.:)
 
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bamaranger

New member
hunts #5 & 6

#5-16May
Next morning in the predawn I parked about 1/2 mi of so short and hoofed out the gravel road and down hill side to ease onto start of the point to listen for gobbles. I didn't expect the bird I's seen to be right there, but close enough to hear when he did gobble.

As dawn broke, a bird started to sound off, well to the south, and not knowing the country side I couldn't say exactly how far. He may have been back at the ROW where I had paused on the walk the day before. I felt certain he was not the bird I'd seen, I'd guessed this early riser was at least 3/4 to near a full mile away, by the sound of it low down in the farmland in the valley and likely on private property down there. Up high on the mountainside, I could hear him well, but he was too far to gallop after, at least at this early moment. My decision to hold off was rewarded when he hushed in about 15 minutes and no more than 10 gobbles. I would have never got close enough to place him.

Within 15 minutes of his shutdown, a second bird gobbled one time off to the north and also low down likely 1/2 mile or more in distance. Sounded much like a jake, clearly not the trophy I had seen the afternoon before. What to do?????..........I decided to stick it out on the point until something further developed. I settled down once again with a good view of the flat out ahead of me and paid some extra attention to not being to much in the open or sunlit. Found a enormous chestnut oak with a dead snag leaning against it and sat down for the duration, calling sporadically on my slate as the morning was quite still. Six hours later, I'd had enough. No gobbles, no turkeys spotted. I was treated to 6 deer picking their way up the point, headed towards the thick and rugged ground higher up to bed, likely having been feeding down in the farmland all night.

hunt #6-17May
I parked a bit closer this morning, broke out the big Mossberg, and lugged the pop up blind and folding chair out onto the point in the darkness. The day broke overcast with flat light, cooler and a steady breeze, which built all morning. No gobbles heard, no turkeys spotted. Again the highlight was deer slipping uphill headed towards bedding cover higher up, this time just 3, but they passed very close, the blind apparently blending well with the snag and big chestnut oak tree. The wind was such by 11:00AM it was a real problem, racking the dekes and rattling the blind constantly. I left early (for me) and was back at Mom's in time for lunch.
 
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bamaranger

New member
last hunt..almost

After the windy day hunt, my sister called and inquired if she and I might spend the next day together. I can't remember the last time we did that....so I agreed. We certainly made a day of it, so much so that I slept in the next morning, thus my last hunt in PA on this trip was an afternoon number.

-hunt #7, last one , 17May
I was not particularly disappointed that I was making an afternoon hunt. After all, the big gobbler I had spent the week hunting I'd located on an afternoon hunt, perhaps he would frequent that open point on the mountainside this last afternoon as well. In addition, I was beginning to feel the fatigue of multiple hunts, and glad to sleep in.

I drove out to just above the spot and simple walked downhill to the flat a mere couple of hundred yards below. I carried the blind, a hen and jake decoy, and the pretty Lanber O/U. The Lanber is short, light and easy to carry. Too, if that big tom came in to thrash the jake decoy, the more open choked barrel of the double would prove useful. I made the setup a bit further out on the point than the earlier hunts, hoping to give the Lanber a bit of reach if the gobbler appeared further out, and I would be in range of the area where the big gobbler had waltzed across on the instance I had seen him 4 days before.

Satisfied with my set up, I glanced at my watch.....3:00PM. Calm and still with no wind, I pulled the old slate from my vest and ran a series of yelps out with the carbon fiber striker that is attached to the lanyard. Nothing... OK, ,,,,,different striker. I ran another series using a hardwood striker that has a more mellow tone....and was electrified when a gobble rang out inside of 100 yds away to the right side of the point. :) I calmed my jangled nerves and answered with more yelps, and he gobbled again. I grinned.....I was gonna kill a Pennsylvania gobbler on my last day. Everything was in my favor, the blind offered total concealment, he's close, say 75 yds or so, and he'd answered twice, definitely interested. No point in overdoing it, he's been called to plenty this late in the year, I shut up and let him make the next move.

It didn't take long, in less than 5 minutes he eased into view, half strut, came to a stop, full strut, and gobbled hard. I answered with some very soft clucks on the slate, then ditched the call and got the Lanber in my hands and the muzzles to the opening....this was gonna be easy. When I clucked at him he pulled out of strut and stuck that long periscope neck up high, peering my way. But instead of starting up to the set, he wheeled and strutted back the way he'd come 30-40 feet, then gobbled again. I figured I was in trouble and I wasn't wrong.

For over 2 hours, we played this game, him in view and strutting and gobbling fully, me answering. I tried every trick I knew. I went silent for half an hour, 'till it seemed he was going to wander off. I switched strikers, he only gobbled at the hardwood number that he liked initially. I called softly, I called aggressively, I tried the box. I purred and cut. I used the gobble tube with a short, chopped gobble simulating a jake. I yelped with the mouth call. He stayed out there, back and forth, out of range, and would not approach further. Close to 5:30PM, he slipped straight away, off the end of the point, and gave me a farewell gobble as he dropped out of sight. Nuts.

For an hour I did nothing, then picked up everything and moved up to within shotgun range of where he'd strutted, and stuck the hen decoy on the very spot, and stuffed the jake deke under a stump. I then resumed calling softly, but he did not return, and I heard no more gobbles. Nuts. As darkness approached, I figured it wouldn't hurt to walk to the end of the point and see what it looked like down below, perhaps even call to see if he'd gobble from the roost. As I reached the drop, a big turkey blasted from a beech tree below the crest, not 50 yds away, it almost had to be him.....he was within 100 yds of me the rest of the afternoon!

Here's what I figure. Replaying the episode over (and over) in my mind, I've come to the conclusion that this gobbler was NOT the big one I had seen the Monday before. This bird was indeed mature, sporting a 6-8 beard, likely a 2-3 year old gobbler. In retrospect, it was not the unmistakable enormous black rope that the gobbler on Monday was sprouting. When the Friday bird spotted my dekes, he saw the tom decoy from a rear, 3/4 angle, and in his bird brain, decided my jake decoy was the dominant tom I had seen earlier in the week. The big tom had likely thrashed this younger bird at some point in the season and this subordinate was not going to come any closer.

And that was it for me and PA and the 2023 gobbler season. Counting my seven hunts in PA, I made a total of 30 hunts this spring. I don't have a lot of feathers to show for it, but I did have a grand time and am lucky to be able to do so, both time and money wise. Additionally, I am still healthy and mobile enough to hunt where I please, though I will admit that the ridges seem steeper and it is a bit harder to drag it out of bed some mornings. I hunted with an old friend, hunted new ground and spent time with family. Thanks for the patience of the moderators for allowing my dribble, and the positive comments from some of the members.
 
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