The Zone

[Smokey Pokey]

What a season so far. Went out listening the morning (can't hunt on Sundays) and had the same thing happen that happened to me last Saturday (the weekend before season came in). I had to abandon my listening post because I had a gobbling bird coming to me. (No I wasn't calling, just listening, but in both cased that's where the bird wanted to be.) Go figure.

Opening day was a blizzard and two other mornings were monsoons. (Hey I at least got to hear a few gobbles on one of the monsoon mornings as opposed to the blizzard and all morning long monsoon days which were gobble-less days.)

But the real killer was the one day that was halfway decent to hunt. This year I've been hunting a slightly different place than where I usually hunt. I've been hunting at a road intersection just past where I usually park the truck. That is where I ran into the bird on the Saturday before the season opened. Well on Thursday of this week, which was the only decent morning so far, I was set up here first thing. A couple of birds gobbled just down the road so I had high hopes. They gobbled a little bit after hitting the ground, but just enough to tell that they were going away from me. I had called to them a little bit after flydown but they never showed any real interest. I sat around for a good while with nothing but a couple of hens showing up for my efforts. Meanwhile back in the opposite direction across the reclaimed slate pile a bird opened up. This was one of those gobble about every 10 seconds birds. It was a basically level walk for several hundred yards with good cover over to the vicinity of this bird so I figured I give it a try. Needless to say by the time I got over there the bird quit gobbling but that was fine. I was now over in the area I usually hunt and I was looking forward to checking out this area some, although with some trepidation. I thought that the tree cover on the ridge was kind of thin this year and I was fearful they might have timbered. My fears were correct. They timbered the ridge and the sides of the hill all the way down to the river. It was only selectively cut, as opposed to a clear cut, but it was still devastation.

This place was my all time favorite turkey hang-out. Over the years, many of the photos and stories that I've posted to the Zone have been from this area. It is now sadly, missing its big trees, with rows of tree tops laid down on either sides of ridges that the turkeys used to like to come up on and a maze of muddy roads.

I started to take pictures of the mess and said "No", I'm just gonna remember it this way:

[Oromë]

That's heartbreaking. Had one of my best hunting spots get slashed several years ago. I know that feeling when your heart doubles over and drops out of your chest, leaving a vacuum. I'm sorry for you.
_________________
BRING ME MY HASENPHEFFER!

[RutnNStrutn]

Now you probably know why the birds have been gobbling from the new spot instead of the old one.
I've been there before too. It really stinks when that happens.
The property Fyre & I hunt in Carolina is prime for cutting. Lots of mature pines. One of these days I know I'm gonna be heartbroken there too.
_________________
All we need to do is call those hens across this field.

[Smokey Pokey]

[Turkey Beard]

Good luck with the new spot. I still remember when I lost the opportunity to hunt on the land where I took my first turkey... making changes are hard...
_________________
1Up Game Calls: "The calls that put 'em on the wall."

[firedup]

The sacred ground has been disturbed.. I truely feel your pain ole friend. May they be haunted forever by the ghosts of gobblers past.