San Carlos (second season) Success!

[Don Martin]

Well this was an exciting year for a group of us on the second season of the 2013 San Carlos turkey hunt.

 

Our group consisted on Eric Hawkinberry, Kensen Lee, Mike Hulsey and myself.

 

Trip started off rough, when Mike who a chief pilot for a millionaire, and flies out of Las Vegas, got his vacation to the San Carlos CANCELED the day before the hunt by his boss!

 

Then Kensen, who is the operations manager for a huge air conditioning supply place in Vegas was only able to hunt 2 1/2 days.

 

But for Eric and I, we were committed to stay there as long as needed to get a bird. And thankfully, we had the full season to hunt. As the way it was going we might need it!

 

The day before the hunt started we had a fantastic scouting day. We saw 13 longbeards, 26 jakes and 10 hens. We also saw a black bear right at dark.

 

But on opening day things really changed. Birds were gobbling on the roost, but once down on the ground and with the hens, they shut up and wouldn't leave them for anything!

 

That was a pattern we would find for many days.

 

The hunt started Saturday morning and Kensen and I hunted together while Eric, who is a very experienced turkey hunter, went out on his own.

 

We all found birds, but again once the gobblers were on the ground they were NOT leaving the hens.

 

Eric had found a roost tree and on Sunday evening he was waiting for the big gobbler and his four hens to come back to roost. His shotgun was laying on the ground by his feet when he heard a noise behind him. Sure enough here comes the group just 10 FEET from him walking towards the roost tree! Eric couldn't move for fear of being seen, and they walked 60 yards to the tree and flew up!

 

Early Monday morning-- Kensen's last day to hunt- he went with Eric to wait for the roosted bird to fly down but as often happens, the gobbler and his hens flew off in a different direction than they thought they would. And to add insult to injury, they weren't able to work him after he landed. That morning they said they heard 6 different gobblers!

 

I worked another roosted bird but when he went went down, he wouldn't answer either. With time running out Kensen was ready for a "drive by bird" as we headed the 15 miles back to camp but we couldn't even find one of those.

 

In the end, for Kensen, we just couldn't make it happen for him.

 

But as soon as Kensen left on Monday afternoon, we got into more birds.. Eric and I were driving to our evening hunting spot when Eric spotted a group of birds, including two gobblers, just off the road.

 

We were less than 40 yards from them, well within range, but Eric and I didn't want to do a "drive by" so we let them and their hens walk off.

 

We commenced to work birds that evening but once again couldn't close the deal.

 

I had an interesting experience the next day. In the predawn darkness I set up close to a pair of roosted birds and four hens. Of course when they flew down off they went, well out of range. I waited for about an hour, then went to the top of the mountain where I thought they gone.

 

About 8 a.m. I actually hear a bird gobbling-- the first one I had heard on the ground in FOUR days, so in I went.

 

I manged to get within 36 yards of them. I never made one call, as from prior experience I knew they would just take off.

 

As I poked over the edge of a mesa there stood the two gobblers, side by side! When I raised the 10 ga shotgun, all I could see were TWO red heads! I couldn't shoot as I would have smoked 'em both! I waited, they stepped behind a tree and off they went, side-by-side! I could only watch as they ran off with me being unable to take a shot.

 

Tuesday afternoon Eric and I decided that trying to calls the birds in just wasn't going to work. We needed another plan.

 

I suggested that we try and interdict the group of two gobblers and five hens we has seen almost every evening walking towards a roost site.

 

So with that thought in mind, we set up my pop up blind, set out decoys, and waited.

 

Didn't take long for turkeys to show up. But they were hens; singles and in pairs that walked by towards a nearby water. Then about 5 p.m. Eric sees the two gobblers walking towards a nearby meadow near the water. All we could do was video tape them as they were well over a 100 yards away; in the open, and no way to get close to them.

 

I told Eric we would have but one chance to get the birds so it had to be perfect.

 

After they walked up the canyon to roost, Eric suggested we move the blind to the area where they had fed but I said no, we had seen them three times before where we we at, so let's not move.

 

OOPS!

 

Next morning the gobblers and their hens flew down and went right back to the spot they had been the evening before!

 

They actually fed to within 75 yards of us, and we had hens and even four Coues whitetails feed within 10 yards of the blind, but not close enough to slay the mighty birds. We sat in the blind from 0500 till 10:30.

 

Eric at that point said he was taking charge and said we were moving the blind.

 

After lunch we went back, moved our set up of the blind and decoys, and were waiting by 1 p.m. for the afternoon/evening action.

 

Turned out to be a good move.

 

Within 20 minutes a single hen walked by at 40 yards. Then two hours later a pair of hens we nicknamed "The old ladies" came by.

 

It wasn't till about 5 p.m. that Eric saw the pair of longbeards headed our way.

 

They came by Eric at 25 yards, but I had no shot so we waited--and I videotaped the gobblers who were now joined by the rest of there hens.

 

Not one time did they gobble or go into strut! They were all just there together!

 

Finally at 6 p.m. the gobblers saw two of Eric's decoys that they were interested in. The decoys were a gobbler actually covering a hen on the ground, and these two boys wanted to get a closer look.

 

That was a bad career move!

 

When both were at 35 yards, and with the video camera recording the turkeys every move, I quietly said, "1-2-3" and we fired. Eric's bird who we had named "Broken Tail" as he had one tail feather broke, went over immediately, flopped and lay still. My bird went down, got up and actually started to fly off! A second shot with the trusty Remington SP-10 at 50 yards loaded with 2 1/4 ounces of copper plated #4 lead shot anchored him! I was using the last of my old Federal Premium shells with that load combination that I think isn't even made anymore. (If you got some of these shells you want to sell let me know!)

 

Anyway all of this action was on video, so that made it special for us.

 

No, it wasn't the classic call 'em and take 'em situation, but you have to adapt to the situation you are given if you want to eat turkey and not crow!

 

Broken Tail had an 8 1/2 inch beard, while mine had a 7 1/2 inch beard. Both were two year old birds.

 

 

 

 

After the "Grip N Grin" photos were taken, we went back to camp, and Eric field dressed and hung up the birds with a small cotton rope next to the wall tent. We wanted to take more photos in the bright sun the next day.

 

Early the next morning before sunrise Eric got up and went outside to water a tree. I heard him say, "Hey you messing with me?" I say, "No what's up?"

 

"My turkey is gone," he replies. I think he is messing with me so I get out of the sleeping bag, get dressed and go outside.

 

Sure enough, his gobbler that was hanging less than 6 feet from my head in the wall tent was GONE! Only a small pile of feathers was on the ground under where the bird had been hanging.

 

 

We start looking and I see no drag marks. I surmised there was only one critter up there than can grab and take a 18 lb gobbler out of a tree and walk off with it!

 

BEAR!

 

We start looking at feathers on the ground and 250 yards from camp up on the side of a hill we find what is left of Eric's gobbler. Yep,a bear had grabbed it, ran off with it and ate everything but one leg. (Oh the beard was still there too!)

 

 

Now that turkey had a tag and a small rope on the leg that was GONE! Sucker ate it! Hope he got indigestion!

 

We also found a pile of smoking hot fresh scat just 20 feet from the carcass!

 

Anyway so ended our 2013 San Carlos adventure.

 

My lady cooked up my bird in a crock pot and he is delicious!

 

Can't wait till 2014, when we are going back. Eric has a first season tag and Kensen and I have a second season permit.

 

Oh we talked to a total of 13 hunters up there, including us, and we were the only two that we know of that got birds! Not an easy hunt for sure!

 

Don Martin

[CouesWhitetail]

Wow, quite the adventures you guys had!! Bummer to finally get a bird and have it stolen by a bear! LOL!

[bowhunter4life]

Great job Don!

[rabidApache]

Wow, quite the adventures you guys had!! Bummer to finally get a bird and have it stolen by a bear! LOL!

Thats what apache bears do. Raid whitemen. lol

[tjhunt2]

Congratulations on the birds Don. Sounds like it was a tough hunt but still alot of action. Glad it finally all came togther for yens. I have always heard them apache bears were smart critters. Thanks for sharing. Great write-up.

 

TJ

[trophyhnter]

Wow, quite the adventures you guys had!! Bummer to finally get a bird and have it stolen by a bear! LOL!

Thats what apache bears do. Raid whitemen. lol

Too funny!

 

Great writeup! Congrats on the two turkeys! Looking at the bright side, lucky the bear only took the turkey coming that close to your sleeping quarters. Funny how a thin sheet of material can make people feel safe when you are sleeping out in the woods! Wouldnt take much for a bear to rip a tent or canvas!