The Great Outdoors: Fall Turkey Hunting A Favorite Pastime

Fall turkey hunting has always been a favorite pastime of mine. Catching a glimpse of a group of birds after quietly sneaking through the fall woods in the Great Outdoors region was and continues to be a treat.

The fall hunts were also good opportunities to scout for signs of black bears and white-tailed deer, which I would be soon hunting.

Another bonus was that it’s mating season for deer, and they are as active and careless during daylight hours as they will ever be. One fall hunt in the O’Donnell area of State Game Lands 244 a few decades ago illustrated that.

I wasn’t having any luck finding turkeys when a four-point buck nearly ran me over as it dashed past. A few seconds later, a little bigger buck raced past me. I wasn’t sitting or dressed in camouflage, but those two bucks were totally oblivious to my presence. Many of those fall turkey hunts provided plenty of humility in terms of how a wild critter can outwit a hunter.

One such occurrence happened a year later on a chilly November morning in a small patch of woods between Falls Creek and Reynoldsville. While not a large tract of land in terms of acreage, it provided all the elements that turkeys preferred. Large oak trees, when they produced, had acorns while grapevines were numerous and provided a healthy wild grape crop. Small patches of mountain laurel and scattered hemlock trees were interspersed throughout the area I hunted.

After parking just off the main road, I typically walked up a woods road that ended at a seldom-used hunting camp, which sat at the base of a hill. The road curved up and gradually around the hill. It wasn’t traveled on at that point and small clumps of devils club popped up here and there where large trees had been cut years before, allowing sun to reach the ground, fostering growth.

That morning a bit of snow had fallen before daylight, and I was encouraged even more at my prospects for getting close to some birds. As I crept to the top of the flat, broad hill, I caught sight of movement, which turned out to be a small flock of turkeys. They weren’t in range, and while I could have fired the gun and scattered the flock in an attempt to call one back, I opted to try and get closer. While I attempted that, a shot rang out from below me.

Another hunter had approached from the opposite direction, and he had gotten a crack at a bird that was headed his way. He missed, and the birds scattered. A shot at a bird that flew near me, but missed. Despite two hunters somewhat surrounding that flock of birds, they had managed to escape both of us unscathed.

When we approached each other, we shared a laugh about it. The other guy went in the direction I had come, and I in his. We both had plans to try to call a bird in, so we wanted to put some distance between us. Flocks of fall birds that hunters encounter typically are of hens and their young that hatched in early summer. When they are scattered, a hunter can gain a small advantage in mimicking the sounds of an adult hen while trying to call one of the younger birds. But, it’s not foolproof and that day was a case of “close, but no cigar.”

The hunt did end with a special treat, though. As I made my way back to my vehicle, I could hear loud cracking sounds. I had a suspicion that it was two white-tailed bucks fighting, and I picked up the pace in an attempt to confirm my thought. Before I knew it, I was watching two mature bucks facing off, a doe at each of their sides. They would clash and push each other back and forth before backing off for a break from the battle.

Those deer were in their own little world, and I just continued to creep closer to them, curious to see how close I could get, while awestruck at watching a rarity in nature. I’m not sure how long I watched the spectacle, but it has proven a memory that won’t be forgotten. What a day to not have a camera in hand!

Finally, as I continued to sneak closer and closer to them, they decided I was too near for their comfort and bounded away. Despite the missed opportunity on the turkeys, it was as good a way to end a hunt as I could imagine.

For more information on State Game Lands 244 and other areas in the Great Outdoors Region, including places to stay, places to dine, and other things to do, go to VisitPAGO.com.

“The Great Outdoors,” sponsored by the Pennsylvania Great Outdoors, is a weekly blog by exploreClarion.com’s Scott Shindledecker. Plan your next outdoor adventure at VisitPAGO.com or call (814) 849-5197 for more information.