Turkey in the Arikaree Breaks

As we took our first steps down the hillside to the river bottom, I was blown away by what I saw. The land was dotted with cattle, river full of blue-winged teal, and the old farm house- the landscape alone made the trip worth it. Turkey isn't my first choice when it comes to hunting, but Patrick knew exactly what to do. As we crept along the river, we were spotted by a few hen turkeys who quickly made their getaway, alerting the young Jakes of our presence. We slowly made our way to the old farmhouse when we spotted a large flock of turkeys in the corn field on the opposite side of a dry creek bottom.

After a few minutes of deliberation, we chose the best strategy to get the large Tom within range. We belly-crawled for fifteen minutes from the farmhouse to the old wooden fence. I got into a firing position while Patrick planted a single hen decoy and started to hit the turkey call. We watched in anticipation as the old Tom led his flock from the cornfield down into the dry creek bottom. We saw a few hens off to our left and shifted position to wait for the Tom to crest the hillside. After what seemed like a lifetime and no birds, I glanced to my right and saw him. The Tom had snuck to our blind spot and was standing in full strut no more than 50 yards from the fence line.