2008 Nebraska Turkey Hunt

Another year on the ground

By Lew Claspell

The last Wednesday in March, found me scrambling to get all of our gear in order for the Nebraska turkey hunt we had planned with our good friends Kerry and Mike.  We had been on “Spring Break” in Wyoming and South Dakota for the last couple of 5 days, and getting home I had several last minute preparations to taken care of.  One of those was downloading and printing our licenses from the Nebraska DNR website. Unfortunately we discovered they needed some additional information we didn’t have with us.

We had stopped at the Sidney, NE. Cabela’s store on the way home from our family excursion where we picked up some new broadheads and calls for this hunt.  Once home we unpacked the 4Runner and our bags, then packed our hunting gear up.  The only thing left to do in the morning was to call the DNR with the additional information and have them email our licenses to us so we could print them out before hitting the road for our five hour trip. At 11:00 we had everything ready and were off to Nebraska for the weekend hunt.

This year my youngest son Josh was coming along to hunt.  The state of Nebraska had dropped the BH Education and age limit for turkey hunting and this would be his first bow hunt, he was extremely excited about the prospects of arrowing a huge tom turkey!  On the drive out I looked for birds in Kansas where we normally see them without spotting any, then entering Nebraska we did not spot any birds all the way to the town where Kerry lives.  This was the earliest we had ever ventured out, and the birds must have all been grouped up in their winter areas still. 

After we arrived in the town of Arapahoe and checked into our motel room, I gave Kerry a call to let him know we were in town.  Kerry said we should come over as Mike had made a huge pot of chili up and dinner was going to be served in about an hour.  We drove over to the Scott house and Mike came out to greet us.  That night we had a good time catching up with our friends and eating some of the infamous venison chili that Mike had cooked up.  At around 10:00 we decided to head to the motel and get some sleep, as the morning would be here much too soon. 

Kerry and Mike picked us up at 6:20 on Friday morning and we had decided the best place for today would be on the same field where we had a bunch of action last year.  As Kerry parked his truck on the edge of the field and we gathered our gear, the gobble of turkeys could be heard from their roost!  The sound of more than a dozen tom turkeys gobbling can get your heart to racing, and it is a sound I love to hear, and has the same effect on me as the sound of a bull elk bugle.  We made the short walk in and split up, Kerry and Mike would put their setup was about 200 yards from where we would setup.  The lay of the land prevents us from seeing each other’s setup, and at that distance we could not hear each other calling.  As the day began to unfold, it wasn’t long before we spotted our first turkeys on the ground across from where we sat in the blind.  These birds looked to be toms and they started to strut and fight on the hillside, putting on a good show for us.  Shortly other birds could be seen and in all there were close to 200 turkeys on the opposite hillside, chasing each other, strutting, and fighting, I hoped that a few would make their way over to our side but they seemed to be heading to the west and another wheat field.  Matt had been dozing and Josh was hunched over the little propane heater that I had brought with us, when I looked in the direction of where Kerry and Mike were setup.  A turkey head could be seen looking in our direction!  I told Josh that there were turkeys near the fence and to drop the shooting window next to him.  In just a few seconds we could see about 35 birds coming towards us, and a group of five jakes saw the decoys and started to run towards them.  As the jakes approached, I had Josh nock and arrow and move his chair out of the way.  In less than a minute the jakes were standing on our side of the decoys, putting them about 7 yards from the blind.  Josh was at full draw and he told me he couldn’t stop shaking, the turkey fever was upon him!!  I told him to try and calm down and get his top pin on the nearest bird.  He was aiming at the jake and I could see him shake, then his bow went off and the arrow sailed over the top of the bird.  The look of disappointment on his face showed he was crushed.  Matt told Josh to move over and he would shoot next.  The jakes had run off and were standing at 30 yards when Matt took his shot and missed high too.  I told them to calm down as more birds were coming in, including a couple of mature toms that were slowly strutting towards us.  Glancing out the window nearest me, I could see two fans coming in at about 15 yards and told the boys that I would shoot at the lead tom.  Getting my chair folded up and out of the way, I nocked an arrow and looked out the window.  The lead bird was now about 10 yards away, and closing the distance.  As he came closer his body was behind the tall dried out grass, and all I could see was his head.  I let out with a soft yelp, and the bird extended his head and I carefully aimed at the blue target and released my arrow.  The tom went down in a heap, and the second tom jumped on him.  I told Josh to look out and get a good shot at this bird.  Josh came to full draw and I could see his arrow was lower than the window, so we had to reposition him for a clear shot.  He drew and shot but missed again, and the tom ran down the hill then started back up towards us again.  Matt had moved Josh out of the way and as the tom came in he drew his bow and shot.  Feathers went flying in the air, and Matt exclaimed that he had got the bird.  He than said the other tom was flopping around and he though he should shoot it and anchor it.  He shot and missed as the bird I had shot flopped on the ground.  After that shot I told both boys to calm down, and get ready for any others that may be coming into range.  The turkeys that had been coming towards us had all gone under a fence and were leaving, but there were still over 100 birds standing on the hillside.  The boys wanted to go out and pickup their arrows, but I said we should stay in the blind until all the birds were gone.  At 10:30 the turkeys on the hillside had made their way up into the wheat field, and we could no longer see them or them us, so I went out and grabbed the tom I had shot and looked around for the bird Matt thought he had killed.   Matt went out and looked for arrows, and found the first arrow that Josh had shot about 20 yards away.  I found my arrow and the arrow that Josh had shot, then found one of the arrows Matt had shot.  I showed him the arrow and pointed out the lack of blood on it, a sign of a miss or in this case a feather hit.  We walked around in the tall dried out grass just to make sure that the bird Matt had shot at wasn’t laying in there and then Josh and I walked up the hill to where Kerry and Mike were at. 

As we topped the little hill and came into view of their setup, I could see a dead bird lying in the middle of their decoys!  When the guys saw us walking towards them they came out of the blind.  Mike had anchored the dead bird with one shot from his new Mathews DXT, and Kerry had gotten a couple of shots off.  They told us of how they had been overrun with turkeys that morning! 

Then I mentioned that I had killed a tom too!  After the high fives were done, we went over and picked up their arrows.  Kerry had hit a bird good and there was a blood trail leading back down the hill.  Matt caught up with us and it was decided that Kerry and my boys would follow the blood in hopes of finding the bird.  Mike and I were going to look for a couple of other arrows that were in the field.  As we looked for the arrows I heard Matt yell, and looked over in time to see a bird run down the hill trying to get air under it, but not really getting airborne at all.  They didn’t have their bows with them, and came back up and grabbed them before taking up the trail again.  I had found the arrow Matt shot at the first jakes and we had crossed the fence to look for the other one that was still missing.  We searched for that arrow and could not find it, so we headed over to see if Kerry had recovered the tom.  Kerry had not been able to find the bird so we decided to pack it up and take care of the two we had.  I had already bagged my blind so we packed my gear over to where Kerry had his blind.  I also had left my camera in the 4Runner, and luckily Mike had his to take pictures with. 

The remaining time spent on this hunt flew by.  Friday afternoon we hunted in the canyon and setup in a spot that we’ve seen turkey in during the past seasons.  After setting up, Mike and Kerry left us to setup in a corner area where birds come in to strut before flying up to their roost for the night.  As we setup the blind I spotted a tom working his way down one of the ridges in the area, and we could hear others gobbling in the distance.  At one point we had a bird that was very close, but we never could see it.  As the sunset we packed our gear and hiked out to the truck.   Saturday morning found us in the same location we had hunted on Friday.  The wind was blowing and I could only hope that the birds would come in and not stay in the bottoms.  We sat in the blind until 10:30 and never had a bird within shooting distance, but could see several groups working the far hillside on their way to the west wheat field.  We packed our gear up and headed over to collect Kerry and Mike. 

After all of their gear was ready we hiked out towards the truck.  Moving about 30 yards I could spot turkeys running across the little gully where Kerry and Mike had set their blind on the edge of.  These birds had been down in the bottom seeking shelter from the winds.  Close to the truck we saw another small group on the edge of the wheat that took off running when they saw us approaching.  That afternoon we hunted an area close to the Republican River where Kerry had missed a big tom on Thursday morning.  After getting setup I let loose with a series of yelps from my box call and a tom answered back from near a small pond.  The tom sounded like he was moving towards us, so I had the boys’ position themselves on that side of the blind.  Looking out the window we could hear the tom gobble and another bird had joined to the south.  We couldn’t see them but they were close!  I looked back towards the east and could see about 7 jakes coming towards us on the old road we were setup next too.  Quickly I had the boys switch positions and ready themselves for the birds that were now less than 25 yards from us.  As the jakes topped out on the road, they froze at the sight of the decoys and started acting real nervous. I told Matt to take aim and shoot.  Matt came to full draw and asked me for the yardage, which I replied was 20 yards.  At the shot I could see the arrow knock the feathers off the birds’ side but not getting any penetration on the body.  Feathers were raining down and the jakes took off to the north, but 3 of them were on the road and standing 15 yards from the blind.  I dropped the window and positioned Josh for a shot.  Josh was at full draw and at the release of the arrow I followed the flight as the arrow took the feathers off the nearest jakes back.  Another feather hit!  The birds ran off to the side and I started yelping with my mouth reed, which brought 3 of them back to the road.  Matt took aim but the birds were moving around and not giving him the best shot.  At the shot the bird ran towards the river and feathers were floating in the air.  I looked out and saw all of the birds run across the road about 30 yards away heading towards the roosting area. 

We climbed out and looked for arrows and birds then got back into the blind and called some more.  The gobbling had died down and I had a feeling that there wasn’t going to be any more action tonight.  Both Matt and Josh were upset that they hadn’t made good hits on the birds and they also knew the hunt was coming to an end with the setting sun.  As the sunset we packed up and hiked out to where Kerry and Mike would pick us up.  We could hear several toms roosted in the trees on the other side of the pond, and I told the boys to listen and enjoy the moment. 

We owe a lot to our friends Kerry and Mike for taking us on these hunts.  Kerry and his family share their dinners with us while we are out there and we have never left the Scott house hungry.  Mike drives over from his home in Kearney and takes time away from his family to hunt with us.  Both of these guys are very special friends and I consider myself lucky to have met the two of them and look forward to sharing many more hunts with each.

This was my first turkey!  It had taken about 30 years to achieve this accomplishment.  As I remembered the hunts from my past, starting when I was about 12, all I could think of is how much fun this trip had been.  The hunts of my youth were done with my dad in Colorado, and while we never did see an actual turkey it was always fun being out with my brother Bill and my dad.  When I started bowhunting exclusively, turkey seemed like the idea game animal to pursue with archery equipment.  Bill and I went on a few hunts along the front range of Colorado Springs a couple of times and we never saw any birds, but did see tracks in the snow several times.  After meeting my friend Jeff Bradley, we hunted the Wet Mountains for birds and actually saw a few and had toms gobble at our calling efforts.  About 4 years ago, I had an invitation to hunt on private property in Ignacio, CO.  Matt, Jeff, and I made the trip and hunted on my friend Jim Finn’ place.  That trip was an eye opener for me, not only did we see birds, but I actually shot a tom.  After the shot the tom flew across a little gully, and ran up the hill.  Matt and I blood trailed it in the snow, and soon we could see bobcat tracks in with the turkey tracks and blood.  We followed these up the hill to a pile of feathers and blood!  The cat had stolen my first tom!    The opportunity to hunt the private with a bow without having a shotgun hunter ruining our setup was the eye opener.  When I first started communications with Kerry, it was for a trade a hunt. Kerry and Mike were looking for an elk hunt in exchange for turkey hunting in Nebraska.  Matt and I would make the trip to Arapahoe that first year without any expectations.  From the first day of our first NE. hunt it was clear that these guys knew turkey and had access to great hunting areas.  The only problem we have had with our trips out there have been the weather, we were never able to get it right until this year. 
The cost of a NE. turkey license is 86.00 plus there is a habitat stamp required which will run you an additional 16.00, for us we choose to stay in a local area motel which runs 68.00 a night.  For some that seems a bit excessive, but I can easily spend that much in Colorado chasing birds without ever getting a chance at a bird.  The trip normally takes a tank of gas each way, so that needs to be figured in to cost if you are planning a hunt.  There is state land available and with the Nebraska archery only turkey season, these can be very good areas with little to no pressure.

Now that I have my first turkey under my belt, I look forward to many more season of bowhunting these crafty birds with Matt and Josh.  The times spent in the blind are priceless and special for a father and his sons.  I just hope it doesn’t take another 30 years to bag the next one.

Wild turkey is delicious table fare if not over cooked.  These are not your butterball variety of turkey and they can be over cooked, which will turn the bird into something that resembles boot leather.  I like to use a baking bag, which I fill with 2 cups of chicken broth, 2 peeled apples that are cut in slices, garlic, pepper, and a pinch of sage.  Set the oven for 350 and bake the whole bird for 2 hours, then check for doneness. 

Having the bird plucked is also my preferred way of preparing it for the oven.  This will make the bird look more like the store bought variety, with the exception of the skid plate or breastbone.   Mike had shown me how to pluck and clean a turkey the last two years.  We used a turkey fryer pot for boiling water, once the water gets to a slow boil kill the burner, then using a 5 gallon bucket, pour about 2 gallons of water in and start dunking and plucking.  You can start at either end of the bird and once the feathers start to get harder to pluck, redunk the bird adding hot water as needed.  Once all the feathers have been removed use a propane torch to remove the finer hairs on the skin.  Clean the bird well removing the lungs, testicles and innards.  If you like giblets open the gizzard and remove the stones and ground food as well as the outer skin.   The gizzard is filleted which will open it up.  We are not big on saving the giblets so Mike normally takes them home. 

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