ARKANSAS SPORTSMAN: Turkey season exciting across state

— So far, it's been a killer turkey season.

On Saturday, I took my son Daniel out for another try. We went to our usual spot, but this time we set up on the other side of the field, between two log piles at the edge of a clear-cutting. As usual, we arrived late, and it took a couple of minutes to erect our Ameristep Brickhouse blind, an excellent two-man blind I bought at the recommendation of Louis Janski, assistant manager at Fort Thompson Sporting Goods. Unlike my Ground Max "Coffin Blind," which only holds one person, the Brickhouse (it's very tempting to call it something else) has ample room for two people to sit side by side. The windows are also perfectly suited for shooting from a low position.

We planted a decoy just under the hillcrest about 20 yards away, in a place where it could be seen for nearly half a mile to the east.

We barely had zipped the door closed when a hen answered my calls from the clear-cutting behind us. She didn't come out, but Daniel was on full alert.

To my great surprise, an alpha hen cackled and cut from a very dense pine thicket across the field. I'm certain it was the samealpha hen that flummoxed me last Monday, and she was every bit as aggressive. I cackled and cutt at her, and it really ticked her off when I interrupted her. Closer and closer she came, getting louder and more impatient with every step.

"When she sees that decoy, she's going to run out and flog the daylights out of it," I said. "She's probably got a gobbler with her, and he'll come right out behind her, so get ready. Keep your safety on, and don't shoot 'til I tell you."

Dan was wound tighter than an eight-day clock, and his eyes glittered with anticipation. Just like she did the first time I met her, the hen veered off at the last second and never came into the open. It got quiet, and I knew the birds were gone. Daniel practically quivered, and I knew he'dbeen bitten by turkey fever.

"Was that cool, or what?" I asked with an exhausted sigh. He nodded vigorously. We moved the blind over to our napping spot and hunted until about 11 a.m., when the wind got fierce.

I learned yet another lesson from that experience. I have never known turkeys to come through such a young pine thicket. I figured they avoided such dense cover because maneuvering room was so tight, making it difficult for a turkey to escape from bobcats or other predators.

Later, Daniel and I ventured into the thicket ourselves and were amazed to discover how roomy it was once we got away from the boundaries. Sight lines were open, and there was plenty of room for turkeys to run. Judging from the sign we found, they run through it frequently. I added that to a mental notebook that never seems to run short on blank paper.

On Sunday, I took my daughter Amy to a new spot. Amy can't seem to get up at 6:45 a.m. to go to school, but she was eager and ready at 4 a.m. to go turkey hunting. We erected our blind at the edge of a clearing just before sunrise. We didn't hear a single hen, but we did hear five gobblers, including one that worked to within 100 yards or so.

Just when I thought things were about to get really interesting, that bird got quiet and never showed. I'm sure a hen picked him off, but I was thrilled. If you hear gobblers, you always feel like you have a chance, and I have never heard that many at one time in Arkansas.

Frank Bombino of Redfield said the turkeys are gobbling hard in the Ouachita Mountains around Danville, too, and Rev. Mike Stanley, pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Highland, said they're gobbling well in north Arkansas, near Harold Alexander WMA. Alan Thomas of Russellville said they have started gobbling well in that part of the Arkansas River Valley, too.

Admittedly, that is only anecdotal evidence from a few scattered locations, but I can say for certain that this is my most exciting spring turkey season since I returned home in 2005.

Our conservative spring turkey hunting regulations seem to be reaping good results. I hope the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission continues on this successful path and helps bring our turkey flock back to prominence.

Sports, Pages 26 on 04/24/2008

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