Blind Love

14 hours in a blind is true love.… for turkey hunting that is.  It was a soggy, humid weekend in SC, but no passionate turkey hunter such as myself would let that bother them.   My morning guided hunt started out with great anticipation.  Walking the long dark trek down the power line to the blind was a welcomed stretch of the legs considering the long hours I would spend in the blind.   I learned what coyote stink is as we walked through a downright disgusting patch along the way.  “Coyotes must have bedded down here at some point leaving their distinct stench”, my guide explained.  I immediately started turning and looking behind to make sure no coyotes where anywhere near.

We settled in the blind and at daybreak, my guide got the attention of a huge gobbler with his expert calling.  He was strutting about 15 yards in the woods and this Tom would not come out!  Must have been a old and very experienced bird.  Not much time went by when a very willing hen appeared on the scene and stole the show.  She was super aggressive calling to him and after 20 minutes of being ignored, she goes to him in the woods.  What goes on from there I can only guess.  A bit later, she appears and lays down on her tummy  at the edge of the woods and literally fluffs her tail feathers signaling her desires!  This went on for at least a half hour.  Again, the wise old Tom did not walk out.  Finally, the hen gets up and proceeds to walk up the power line and surely, he is following never leaving his protection of the wood line.   The morning hunt was over, but not without a lot of great of drama with our happy hen.

That afternoon,  I went back to the blind solo hoping to have an opportunity to call in that  Tom.  I heard some gobbling deep in the woods throughout the afternoon but no luck calling him in.  For me, just being out in the woods was a big reward.  After all, I learned from a hen what the meaning of fluffing your tail feathers really meant.  Sure I would have loved to have harvested a big Tom that hunt, but there will be other hunts and other lessons learned!