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Category: Turkey

Published: Thursday, 23 April 2026 13:15

Written by Greg

Going Solo but not Alone

No one else was available to go to Idaho with me for the general turkey season opener, but luckily I wouldn't be alone – there'd be turkeys to keep me company!

My alarm was set for 5:20 a.m. on opening morning, but my internal clock woke me up at 5:15 a.m. Apparently that was my subconscious telling me to get up and get going! As I popped out of my tent, the brisk morning air was invigorating and noticeably cooler than the week before; a couple degrees below freezing. The same hunting plan we opted for last week still seemed like a solid choice for me on this morning. Only days ago we had heard several additional gobblers sounding off in the same area where my grandson shot his two birds, so off I went.

Before I could finish setting up my blind and my jake decoy, gobbles rang out from the same pocket of trees as the week before! Standing there alone my thoughts were focused on the company that I hoped to invite to my secluded spot here in the predawn foothills. My adrenaline was already coursing through my veins, yet I had a bit of work to do before any visitors would be on my doorstep. I plopped down in the frosty dew-soaked grass and began chatting back at the turkeys.

   Predawn gobbling up in the pocket of trees                   Got one coming across the opening

It took 40 minutes of coaxing before a visitor finally came a-calling. In fact, there were two visitors but I was so fixated on the strutting tom 120 yards away that I didn’t notice the turkey that sneaked in until it let out a booming gobble 25 yards to my side! The problem was that the tom was directly to my side so my blind no longer concealed me. In an attempt to move my gun into position, the turkey noticed the movement and started to slink away. Within seconds the tom would disappear into the oak brush. I literally rolled onto my side with my gun barrel now rotated to a 90 degree angle and took a shot underneath some branches that partially concealed the bird. As I aimed, I figured I only had a 50/50 chance but greed got the best of me and I pulled the trigger.

My unorthodox shooting position worked! Quickly I grabbed my calls and tried to get the other gobbler to commit, no luck. The other turkey slowly made its way back uphill and into the trees. As I sat there reliving the moment, a huge smile spread across my face...I was thrilled with how the morning hunt had turned out! I gathered my gear and headed back to camp. My plan was to come back later in the afternoon to try again.

   Shot under branches, turkey down                  8 ½ inch beard, ¾ inch spurs

By 5:15 p.m. I was back. Could I entice the tom from this morning to once again work out of the trees from the south and into my setup…that was the question. Using my box call I let out a string of three short yelps. Much to my surprise a couple of gobbles resounded directly west of me. In no time two long beards were in sight and waddling across the clearing. Finally, out front at a very close distance of 20 yards, they separated just enough to give me a clear shot. The blast from my 12 gauge dropped tom number one! Then tom number two whirled in curiosity to check out his buddy that lay in a heap of feathers. It took another 15 minutes before turkey number two finally moseyed off.

             Tom #2 curiously examining his buddy                          Strutting at the pile of # 1's feathers

However, tom number two was still lurking around the 110 yard mark. And since I was anxious to get my bird and head for home, I decided to army-crawl to retrieve my turkey; hoping I wouldn’t completely spook/educate the tom. Only 10 yards into my retrieve, tom number two noticed my movement and curiosity got the best of him as he came right back to within 35 yards of my decoy! Fortunately he didn’t hang around long and finally wandered off into the oak brush, strutting as he went.

          Morning hunt turned out perfectly                              Identical, both had 8 ½ inch beard, ¾ inch spurs

With my final turkey tag notched, my time in Idaho came to a close. I don’t think I could have asked for a more exciting and productive hunt. Luckily for me, I’ll have the opportunity to tag along with my boys in a couple of weeks as they try to fill their Utah general season turkey tags.