All Summer and Fall there had been sightings of a fair amount of Turkeys at "Gobbler's Roost". Then as we got closer to the season they seemed to disappear! OH WELL ... They are still there it's just that the Golden Rod and such is so high that spotting them is hard! OR SO I THOUGHT!
George , my Son and Great Grand Son showed up and we had a "Nice Long Quiet Walk" in the woods the first day!
Walt and Earl showed up and it was over to the Old Farm to see what was around! Jinger Lou and I went to the upper end and started through the woods with a LITTLE SIGN being seen! Some of the Guys heard Birds in the woods and we headed that way to do a Break! Just as we got into the Beech woods there was LOTS of scratching and Jinger Lou was on the scent! NOW .. It was about 75 and super dry and she NEVER got a break!
They made a Hard Left and passed just out of range of Walt! He said it was a Large group and I got Jinger Lou back on the trail which led to a House woods that is off LIMITS! Sunday Morning was a REPEAT of the "Nice Long Quiet Walk" in the Woods! WHERE DID THAT LARGE FLOCK GO????
Grand Son Evan had a Football Game that afternoon and I went to see him be a Co-Captain!
Two more hunters replaced Walt and Earl that afternoon. Al and Ken went to the Small Meadow Woods and were treated to some Fall Gobbling!
Next Morning we were greeted to Gobbling 70 Yards from the cabin!
NOW -- I DO NOT KNOW if that was Wild Turkeys or those Tame Ones that George Harassed later that day! ANY HOW we didn't find any sign of the other 40 and the Gobblers seemed to Disappear also! George got lucky and scored on a bird while I was Digging A Hole at Work! He also had FUN WITH THE TAME TURKEYS!!!!! Next day we STILL could not find the Large Flock or Gobblers that had been seen or heard earlier in the week! REMEMBER ... HUNTING WITH A DOG IS EASY!
Finally, We headed for my Gun Club woods! 144 acres of PRIME Turkey Woods! BTW .. I had to be there at 8 in the morning to pick up some Deer Hides and the Turkeys were Roosted Right Behind the Pistol Range! So it was hoped they had made it to the Ridge Trails by Noon!
As we worked along the Trail all of the sudden Jinger Lou took off down the Ridge like Shot out of a Cannon! This is the BEST FEW SECONDS OF TURKEY DAWG'N ... ANTICIPATION OF THE BREAK! Ken Hears Putting and the Break is on! CLOSE!!!! Two large Hens come RACING across the trail with Jinger Lou in Hot Pursuit!
Break Over and we set upfor the call back! 20 - 30 minutes later I hear Soft Yelping below and it's on! After about 20 minutes of Banter back and forth we have a couple of Birds REALLY CLOSE!!!! THEN SOMETHING SPOOKED THEM and they Flew Off! REMEMBER ... HUNTING WITH A DOG IS EASY! Next day Job and Gunner arrived and IT WAS A GOOD THING as Jinger Lou was TIRED!!!!!
STILL NO SIGN of the Large Flock or Gobblers so it was back to the Gun Club! At the Club we Find the Birds in the SAME PLACE and a Break is on! We spot a Couple of birds flying and we split up to call back! Meanwhile the WIND was so Hard that it was almost impossible to hear and Gunner had continued down the ridge and Job saw on his tracking device that a Secondary Break was being done! WELL ... WE SCREWED UP and didn't get on them! REMEMBER ... HUNTING WITH A DOG IS EASY!
George had left Al and Ken left at dawn to get back to Pa. Job and I had the Woods to our selves and it was off to the woods we went! Jinger Lou was rested so Gunner and her were working WELL together! STILL NO LARGE FLOCK OR GOBBLERS! Where they have gone is beyond me! Back to the Club and BOTH DOGS are Birdy! Gunner gets a Good Break JUST ABOVE THE SAFETY AREA of the Gun Range and we set up to Call Back! Job gets a Responce from a Bird . It is a LOW TREE YELP and he spots the Bird about 70 yards away in a Hemlock! He sends EVERY CALL he knows at this bird and it seems like it would NEVER pitch out! SUDDENLY THERE IS TARGET FIRE AT THE GUN RANGE!!!
Turkey Pitches out and walks right in front of Job! BANG BIRD DOWN! I come down to Job and assure him that we are Far Enough away from the range and we decide to keep at it and try to call up another bird! Whoever was praticing at the Range put in a GOOD SESSION with about 40 Shots! Job had a Hen Fly down in the all the Gun fire and has a Great Video of the bird doing a KEE! KEE! RUN at 20 yards! Gun Fire and Turkey TALK!! COOL! We pick up and start back up the Ridge when BOTH Dogs hit Scent! Jinger Lou stayed out longer that Gunner and Started Barking!
As sometimes happens we set up and an hour or so later ... NO REPLIES! REMEMBER ... HUNTING WITH A DOG IS EASY! Job and Gunner left and I went home to rest up for a Couple of days! Jinger Lou and I WILL FIND THAT LARGE FLOCK AND GOBBLERS!
My takeaway from this story is hunting with a turkey dog is NOT always easy! 
