YOUTH HUNTS ARE A GOOD TIME

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) offers a variety of special hunting opportunities.  Most are in the fall but spring turkey hunts are on the list, too.  Many of them focus on youth hunting opportunities and they're conducted in various parts of the state.

The KDWPT youth turkey hunt at Hutchinson has been going on for a dozen years or so and 10-12 youngsters are treated to a wonderful experience during the special youth season.  Most kids manage to kill a bird over the course of an evening and morning hunt.  If not, there's always tales of narrow misses and what-ifs.

There were 10 kids present for this year's hunt and one youngster and his father came all the way from Denver, Colo., to participate.  Shotguns were patterned and participants were treated to grilled hot dogs, chips, snacks and drinks (courtesy of the Ark River Chapter of Pheasants Forever) before heading afield with their parent or guardian and a volunteer guide.  Each kid walked away with a Cabela's gift card, camo hat, box call and information on hunting wild turkeys.

The evening hunt was a good one and for once the weather cooperated.  About half of the kids managed to kill a turkey the first evening.  Those that didn't were back bright and early the next morning and the weather and morning promised to be a good one.  When all the smoke cleared and the shotgun shells quit flying, eight out of 10 kids had killed at least one bird.  One of the youngsters who didn't get a bird missed several times and the other had too many turkeys in range at once and a good shot (one that wouldn't kill several hens, too) never really materialized. 

However, even an "unsuccessful" turkey hunt is a memorable experience.  Turkeys flying up to roost, non-stop gobbling, turkeys fighting and calling, deer sniffing turkey decoys at only 15 yards and all the other sights and sounds of time spent in the woods is worth the price of admission (although there is no fee to participate in these hunts, other than the required licenses or permits).  Killing a turkey is the ultimate goal but a successful hunt is often about more than the end result.

For many of the participants this is their first

exposure to turkey hunting so everything is new.  A parent or guardian is required to tag along and oftentimes they learn as much or more about the experience than the child.  And even just the time spent together as a father and son or daughter or mother and son or daughter is special.  It's good to slow down, breathe easy and relax in an ever-changing, fast-paced world and just enjoy the moment.  There's no better place to do that than the great outdoors.

   

To find out about special hunting opportunities for species such as waterfowl, deer and turkeys, check out the KDWPT web site at www.ksoutdoors.com. 

"SPRING" TURKEY SEASON

Spring is here....or so they say.  My front yard looked like an ice skating rink and trees buckled and broke just two days ago when the Kansas spring turkey season opened.  Rain, sleet, snow, ice, hail and BIG north winds.  Ouch.  I'm guessing anyone who went Wednesday morning has a BAD case of turkey hunting fever. 

I opted to wait until the weather moderated just a bit.  I'm all about enjoying the morning as much as killing a turkey.  Turns out this morning was above average for enjoyment, but not so much for shooting a big ol' tom.  I'd still give the experience a 9 on a scale of 10. 

It was 29 degrees with light winds when I met a friend who invited me along on a hunt on the edge of the Flint Hills.  We bundled up like we were deer hunting in the winter, rather than turkey hunting in the spring.  Coveralls, stocking hats, gloves and the works weren't too much.  As we readied our clothes and gear we heard the first gobble of the morning.

And it wouldn't be the last gobble, either.  The creek bottom had no fewer than a dozen different gobblers and they were hammering as it got light.  Two pairs of geese cruised low at different times, honking the whole way and it was a natural-sounding symphony some would pay money to hear.  A handful of deer had a front-row seat and listened intently.

We'd call occasionally and the birds would answer.  But the gobblers had plenty of female company and when they hit the ground they went three different directions.  Unfortunately, none of them were our way but we could still keep tabs on them with their occasional calls.

We kept calling and started to get a couple gobbles that sounded as if they were moving our way.  It wasn't long and a half-dozen black spots emerged down and across the bean field from where we sat at the far edge. 

"I think they're jakes," my buddy whispered as he got his binoculars up.  "Yep."

I'm not opposed to shooting a jake but I like for them to put on a show.  If a young tom acts like he owns the joint and comes in strutting and gobbling then that's what I pay to see and I'll punch one of my tags.  These jakes were like the 3 Stooges times two.

They would run towards our decoys in stages and stop.  As another eased by the entire group would take off like a bunch of kids heading towards the lunch line.  It didn't take them long and they eased up to our decoys only 15 yards away.  Blankly and blinking, they stared at our decoys, several of them displaying a weak attempt at a half-strut. They reminded me of a bunch of teenage boys at a middle school dance staring across the gym at a cute girl trying to get up the nerve to go talk to her. 

We let the jakes ease back off in the direction they came and started calling again.  Several series later our calls were met by a short, but thunderous and deep gobble.  It was getting closer and he popped out near where the jakes first entered the field.

"Now we're talking," said my buddy looking through his optics.  "That's a big ol' bird."    

He strutted and gobbled and started our way.  He was about halfway across the field to our location when three hens entered the field straight across from us.  They had the six jakes in tow now and the king of spring was having none of that and took off after the hens.  Our optimism turned to pessimism and bad words to boot. 

A  north wind made our seated location a bit chilly, but we stayed put as we still heard birds and the others were still within sight.  Deer passed within easy rifle range and a few even got into bow range before smelling us.  We called in two more jakes who acted as squirrely as the first bunch and they, too, got a free pass. 

We decided to get up and chase a distant gobble we'd heard earlier.  Trying several more locations to no avail we made one last stand on a creek bottom.  Although we could hear hens calling in the timber we never heard another gobble.  As I walked out to get my decoy, my buddy got my attention and pointed behind us across the creek.  Two toms, one in full strut, and two hens were less than 150 yards away and they never made a sound as they walked behind us heading away.  We watched as a coyote had the same dinner ticket idea we had and circled them.  The birds never moved an inch and simply watched the curious canine with heads stretched high.

We tried to get ahead of these birds but when they finally saw us they had a much different response to a two-legged threat.  They got the heck out of Dodge.  We decided it was time we do the same and called it a day shortly after lunch.

The only thing I returned home with was a bleached-white deer skull (I'll use it for coyote trapping this fall), an antler tip I picked up hoping it was lucky (it was not) and a fuzzy, slightly out-of-focus picture of a nearby doe. 

Despite not filling a tag the morning was a success and I can't wait to do it again.  I'm just hoping spring actually does arrive and I can dress accordingly.