I decided to try to get into the field just across the creek and as we started to move some crows flew over after the marsh hawk and there was a lot of cawing and shock gobbling but because of the near 30 mph wind, it was hard to judge where the birds where. We half duck walked and belly crawled up to the golden rod and weeds near the SE corner of the field and I slowly raised up to see if I could see the birds only to have them about 60 yds straight east of me. With only low weeds to hide behind, we decided to try to get the blind up and did but from it we couldn't see over the weeds and the set up was on spongy ground and not too stable and with the wind blowing, the blind was fluttering (luffing for you sailors) pretty badly. After a few minutes, we heard a gobble that sounded like it was nearly down to the evergreens by the swamp and we thought we were beaten again. We were sitting side by side in the blind facing east with Bruce on the north side and when the two gobblers and single hen popped out of a gap in the weeds about 40 yds straight north of us, Bruce couldn't immediately get the gun out the blind and a huge gust of wind nearly blew the blind over so the birds saw movement. They didn't panic but kind of grouped up and milled around and slowly moved west. They never separated enough to dare a shot. We watched them march across the lane, past the horses, the back yard and into my woods. That was it for the day. We both went to work.

On Saturday morning, we figured we'd use the same strategy-go to the woods where we last saw them on Friday and move to the first gobbles. The first gobble was way to the west, perhaps in Vilas' land or maybe across the Norwegian road but as we moved to west, one gobbled in trees just west of deer farm field and about half way to swamp. We were right where the runway crosses the south deer farm line so we set up right there and realized we probably were within 60 yards of the gobbler. It sounded like only one so I don't know where the other one went or if this is the one that has been hanging around my land for 3 weeks. He answered any call I made and usually cut me off after one yelp. We sat for nearly 45 minutes and I'd let him gobble 5-10 times between calls. He finally started sounding mad and then gobbled about 5 times and flew down and it sounded like he came our way but landed just over the hill. He gobbled once on the ground and we never saw or heard anything for the next hour. We quit and Bruce went to work and I went home to nurse my back for the rest of the day.

On Sunday, we figured we try the same thing but the first gobbles were from Tockley's pines so we went back to house and drove down to 80 gate and hurried to the little balsam plantation and got set up. He was still bobbling from the trees but answered my first calls. When he flew down, he landed east of the big pine in Iwen's field but we could see him display and Bruce said he could see him gobble every time I called. The bird then came on the dead run (well not quite "dead" but fast any way). He came right up the edge of Iwen's woods and we couldn't see after he got by the deer stand but he gobbled by the NE corner of the 80 woods and about half way too us but then things got quiet for about 15 minutes. We then heard several clucks and purrs on the south side of the plantation and three hens came into our decoys which were to the south of us on the edge of the trail. I wanted the bird coming out of the field to be with in range when he saw the decoys. I didn't plan for him to come form the south but after about 5 minutes, we could see him displaying on the trail about 30 yds south of the decoys. The hens gradually fed to the NW and he angled west of the road towards them but when he got even with the decoys, he saw them and really put on a display, even coming a little closer (to 35 yds). When he dropped out of display and stuck his head up to one of my purrs, Bruce shot, rolled him, but to our amazement, he got up and ran south behind the evergreens before Bruce could get a second shot. Neither of us could believe it. No joy in the turkey woods.

After looking for a while, we picked up and Bruce went to feed the horses. We decided to try up in the deer farm so walked across the field and out the SW corner. As we hit the trail, we could see a deer looking our way about 80 yds to the west. As I glassed it, I notice that the deer was looking at a gobbler which was half way between us. We ducked down and set up the blind. After my second call, Bruce could see the bird but it crossed north into the evergreen trees about where we had been sitting on Saturday and disappeared. After an hour we moved to NW corner for and hour and then to SW corner for an hour but I was hurting too bad to hunt any more and so Bruce had his 6 year string broken.

I dosed up pretty heavily last night on the pain killers and am good enough to be at work today. I will se my Dr. and the chiropractor today and hopefully will be ready for my season on Wed. Mike has read my MRI and found a couple of things the radiologist didn't see and gave me a few ideas to suggest to the Dr. I am using my prepaid medical advice pretty heavily. Bruce is feeling pretty bad too but medicine won't help that, he will have to wait until next year.

Phillip Schaefer

This morning I didn't hear a gobble as it got light. I was west of the buildings in the deer farm where we talked to the one last Saturday. When nothing happened, I decided to go to change the card in my game camera on the town road and set up along it near Norwegian road as I had heard one gobbling across the road and to the south on Monday. As soon as I called, I got two gobbles. One to the south in the chicken farm field and one to the north in Vilas' woods. The one in the filed was about a quarter mile away when he first gobbled and about 200 yds when he topped the rise where I could see him. He came right by the platform we have on the north field. He was nice but the one in the woods was probably larger. Every time I called, the one in the field gobbled and strutted until the one in the woods gobbled and then the one in the field dropped out of strut and came closer only to repeat. When he got to about 70 yds, the one in the woods seemed much closer but I couldn't see it because the under brush is greening out due to our early spring. Then the people in the house across the road started their car and it spooked the one in the field and he turned around and ran south across the field towards the road and crossed right behind the car. The bird in the woods continued to gobble but went across the road to the north of the house and out into the field.

I circled around to the north tot try to set up on the filed and Bruce went buy with the fertilizer spreader. (When talking to him a lunch, he said the bird in the field dwarfed the one he missed on Sunday and was all by himself.) When I got set up, I called and the bird answered but moved further northwest into Pikilla's pine plantation so I gave up on him. Maybe tomorrow.

Well, to make a long story short, there will not be a wild turkey in our freezer this year.

Well, another season has come and gone. I worked with Ryan in Newwood the three days he was here. We spotted a gobbler just before dark on Tuesday crossing Newwood road just south of the Averill Creek fire lane. We set up on them first thing Wed. morning only to have two hens fly down to the road and run to the north and then feed slowly back south. After waiting in vain for an hour for a gobble, we started to run and gun down the fire lane. We worked about half way to the creek and then turned around and heard nothing until we got near Newwood road again and there was a gobble south of the fire lane. The bird from the previous night must have been there all along and he responded often but wouldn't come in. We worked south in the brush to him only to have him pass to the east of us at about 30-40 yards-too thick to see. The next gobble we heard was about a quarter mile down the fire lane to the east so we figured he gave us the slip and we moved quickly back to the fire lane only to have him gobble right where we left. Then we realized there was a second bird down the fire lane to the east and the two got to gobbling at each other. The one closest to us went to the other bird and it sounded like quite a fight. Then a car drove down the fire lane so things were over for the morning. We worked the road up to the hunters club that roughly parallels the fire lane and saw a lot of sign but no birds. We chose a spot where we could watch both roads to set up for morning.

On the way in on Thursday, one bird flushed over the car as we were getting ready to park and the second bird flushed right where we were going to put up our blind. So much for plans. After about two hours, we did some running and gunning, up to hunters' club cabin, down the creek to the fire lane and back to car-nothing. We drove around and saw deer, bear, and hens crossing in numerous places. After lunch and a nap we went out in the after noon and saw one jake near dark but couldn’t call him away from the hens.

Friday saw us set up between fire lane and hunt club road but heard nothing. We moved over to conservation avenue where I got my bird last year and called and heard a gobble across the creek. We moved up the other side and called and got a closer answer and that was it-silence for the rest of the morning. My season in Newwood starts on Wed. so I have a few leads.

Justin was on his own at the farm. I figured Bruce could set him up on one the two spots where he and Janet had seen gobblers cross two or three times per day from the end of my season until Tuesday. Justin started Wed. afternoon and no gobbler was seen all day Wed or Thursday until after lunch, Bruce thought he saw one in the east woods between the two fields. He set Justin up there for Friday morning and in the high wind, Justin heard nothing but at 8 one came in and he filled his tag with nice gobbler. (I still need pictures and beard length. I saw them on Face book but would like a copy.)

Erik hunted the land on Saturday and had the huge gobbler roosted between Vilas shed and the Norwegian road. He moved down to a deer trail and a hen and the gobbler flew down his way and the huge gobbler stopped at 15 yards with out stretched neck to hear a "click" and the Benelli which was miss loaded or miss fired. Erik manually ejected and tried a another shot and got another click and "then there he was, gone!" He quickly moved to the trail which is between Vilas and my land hoping to head off the bird but Erik figures it went north in the little green swamp on North side of Vilas land. Several yelps later produced a gobble in my forty and the second gobbler came on the dead run, well , it wasn't the dead run, it was just a run to get shot at and missed when a panic shot at 30 yards hit a tree and thick brush in front of bird. O for two by 7 am. He did get a bird later in morning on Davey Wendorf's forty in pine river. He also got one near Wausau on Sunday. There he was forced into a 50 yard shot and bird flushed only to collapse out of sky after about 40 yards. He has 3 permits for three zones this week too.

I got a new bear bait dug in for Chris down by river yesterday afternoon and chocolate cookie dough smeared on trees all around and some in the bait log. No licking the trees while trout fishing. I also finally got out two poles and took Jean out fishing. We anchored at 4:05 yesterday and decided to fish until 5:00 so it wouldn't get too late for dinner. We got 3 dozen nice crappies. She had 4 in the boat before I got my pole rigged. All the action at one stump. Bruce and Janet will try tonight and Perch tomorrow.

Phil's 2nd Season May 19-23

Score is turkeys 2, Phil 0. I set up yesterday across camp 36 creek which creates quite a valley just north of Conservation avenue. That is where Ryan and I had heard a bird last Friday and about a quarter mile north of where I got my bird last year. The gobbler was on the south side of the creek and with my sore back, I was too lazy to move and thought maybe he would come up there since he had been there last week. After he flew down, he was quiet and after about two hours, I decided to run and gun to the north up the road. Had no luck but heard grouse drumming in three more places. When I got back to the blind and called, the bird answered from about the spot where I got my bird last year. I moved across the creek and worked for another half hour and nothing so I quit and went to work.

This morning, I set up where I last heard him yesterday and when it got light, I was between two really vocal hens. I didn't see them when they flew down but I figured they'd help to bring in a bird. No such luck. He continued to gobble across the creek for about an hour. I thought there was a second bird on my side of the creek so I held in the same spot. Finally, I tried to move down to the creek and east toward the bird but got nothing going. When I got back to the blind to quit, I got an answer and he was just about where I had my blind yesterday. So goes the turkey season this year. I think I'll take tomorrow off and hit it hard on Saturday and really be prepared to move on this bird. I did hear a second bird and it may be a jake because he didn't sound to aggressive.

Phil's final days for this season:

Final day in turkey woods was fruitless. Didn't hear a gobble and called one hen into the decoys. During a run and gun effort, I flushed what I think was a large hen. On my way home, I stopped by the parking spot off of Averill Creek fire lane to pickup the mess of aluminum cans I'd seen when Ryan and I were set up there working the gobbler two weeks ago. While I was picking up the cans, I noted fresh gobbler droppings right where Ryan and I had been set up. Sort of the story of my season.