Turkey hunting 2010

Having never Turkey hunted before, I have to admit I learned quite a lot on our trip. Probably the most important thing I learned was that sometimes, it pays NOT to pack light.

I typically am a light packer. I take what I need and nothing more. I coordinate my wardrobe so that I can get buy with one or 2 pair of shoes. I do not take an extra make-up bag simply because most of the time, what I need is just a hair brush, a pony tail holder and a toothbrush. Now, sometimes I will throw in mascara and eyeliner, it just depends on what I'm doing on the trip.

So, this time, I packed both camo pants, two long sleeved shirts, a sweatshirt and my light camo coat. I took my light weight boots and one extra pair of sandals. I had a pair of jeans and sweats and a tee shirt and 3 pair of socks. That's primarily it. Unfortunately...it rained 2 inches before our arrival, and 2 inches on Thursday. Which is an insane amount for NW Kansas!

So, sandals weren't a very practical choice. And, my boots weren't waterproof and rapidly became soaked. Nothing is more uncomfortable than feet in wet, cold boots and soggy socks. And, since it kept raining, nothing could dry out. Fortunately, Lynn had brought extra boots and fortunately for me, he has little feet (for a guy) and I could wear his extra boots (since I have big feet for a girl.)

Lesson learned? No matter what the forecast, take the waterproof boots when turkey hunting!

I also learned that Turkey really rely on their sharp vision to keep them safe. Noise doesn't bother them. So, while we were sitting there, waiting for our turkeys to come in, we could talk to each other. In fact, the sound of the gun going off didn't scare off the other two Toms that came in with my Tom. And, as my Tom was dying and flopping around, the other two toms were rushing in to see if he was mounting a hen. If so, they wanted some action too!

Lesson learned? That all men have a one track mind... no, seriously, I learned that you can make noise and not bother your prey.

On Thursday afternoon, we did have a nice sunny afternoon. After lunch, the guys took a short nap while I sat outside in our camping chair, and read a book. I also texted Andy some pictures of my Turkey. When we went back out to hunt, I just left my book, a library book, sitting in my chair with my phone. Less than an hour later, it was pouring rain and thundering continuously. When we got back to camp, I found my library book and my cell phone sitting in 2 inches of water. Ugg. The phone still works (miracle of miracles!) but the book was ruined.

Lesson leaned? To always put "perishables" back in the camper when leaving camp. I now have to buy a new book for the library to replace the one I ruined.

It was a great trip. Besides seeing the turkey, Kev found the carcass of a deer with a beautiful set of antlers. He broke the spine, and brought the head home so he can have a "European" Mount. He's still a little smelly, and doesn't look very pretty, but still, it was neat to find him. And, we also saw several deer--more than a dozen. I got out my grunt tube, but they wouldn't talk to me...typical.

We also realized how much we missed hunting in that area and probably most importantly, we miss hunting with Lynn. It was a great trip, and I'm very glad that Kev asked me to spend our anniversary with him and go turkey hunting. :)