Typhoon Tommy

[Bukmastr]

Typhoon Tommy
By Dan Infalt

With Dan Jr. and Buddy Dave Dockstader getting there turkey permits both this 2nd from last week of the 2006 season, I knew it would be tough to get them each a bird while filming. Then the weather man threw us a curve ball when he predicted rain all week and heavy winds for Thursday.

By the time Thursday evening arrived, I had to have a pep talk with Dave & Danny who were both down about the weather predictions and the lack of birds. I reminded them to keep a chin up, and be happy, cause the birds were not responding to calls well either, even if you could get them to hear them through the pounding 40 M.P.H. winds. Heck, I said, We might get to hunt all week if conditions stay like this. Besides we are not seeing any other hunters.... So lets have some fun and chase some impossible to kill birds and charish the time afeild.

I got out of work at 2:00PM then headed to meet up with the hunters and another Buddie, Lee Gatzke, for some aggressive turkey tactics. When I arrived at the meeting spot near Concord Wisconsin, they were waiting. It was pouring rain and pretty darn cold for mid-May, but you don't shoot turkeys waiting on the couch for the weather to change.

We decided to drive around all the propertys in two trucks and find a bird to go after useing our binoculars. The 1st farm produced only one lone hen that had vetured out into the weather that reminded me of a typhoon. With wind wipping against the side of the truck with gail force and vertical sheets of rain, we realized quick that all the birds would be on the side of the woodlots that blocked the wind with trees.

We traveled around several other farms without seeing another turkey and had to resort to checking out the public lands around the marsh. For some reason there were no other hunters parked at any of the public grounds. What luck!

We drove over a big hill that has provided a good look out for gobblers cruising the swamp edge in the past. I stopped the truck to glass the swamp edge 3/4 of a mile down the hill. With the wind and rain hitting the truck like a fire hose it was hard to see the swamp edge. Then God shined down on me, with a slight momentary let up in the Jefforson county typhoon, I spotted a dark blob on the edge in the turkey travel corridor, I got the glass's adjusted for just long enough to focus on a big Tom standing in a wind blocked pocket of the feild. I drove the truck out of veiw of "Typhoon Tom's" veiw and went over to Lee's truck to discuss a game plan.

Lee had seen Typhoon Tom too. We decided since the bird was located 1/2 way between each public entrance, I would go in from one way with Dan Jr. and Lee would go in from the other way with Dave. We would each sneak to the turkeys feild edge and try to call loud enough to get the bird interested. If either of us spooked ol' Typhoon Tommy he would likly run right to the other hunter. It was nasty swamp with waist high muck behind the bird, and open wind swept field the other way, so our treelines were almost a sure bet.

Dan Junior and I, raced over to our public entrance that was nearly a mile from the bird and jumped out into the a wind that nearly took me off my feet. We traveld quikly for the 1st 400 yards trying to run into the gail force. as we got to the swamp woods we realized it was flooded and we were going to practically have to swim to our turkey. No time to whine about it. We had to beat Lee and Dave to Typhoon Tom. We were really slowed down going through the water and muck. My rubber boots were filled to the rim with slimy swamp muck. To make matters worse, tree limbs were breaking loose and crashing down near us. Then out of no where it starts to hail little bb sized pellets of ice that were flying through the air vertically like ice cold shotgun blast's to the face. This had to be the most extreme weather, I had ever chased turkeys in.

As we got back to dry land in veiw of the feild with Typhoon Tommy, we started the crawling sneak so as not to spook the bird after all the work involved. We crawled useing tree's and other woodland objects to block our veiw as we crept up to the feild. When we finally ran out of adiquate cover we slithered through the mud to the last two big trees before the feild that held Tommy.

We each got our backs to our tree's and got ready. As I got my waterproof box call out of my pocket I reflected on how much we deserved this bird. This was the most effort we had ever put into a single stalk. It no longer mattered whether Lee and Dave, or Me and Danny got this bird. It was a team effort and everyone was responsible for Typhoon Tommy, the king of public land turkeys being taken down.

I tryed a soft yelp, but I could barly hear it myself through the wind and the ice pellets making such a racket. So I aggressively called very loud, and waited, and waited. Again, YELP!!! YELP!!! nothing! We waited about 15 more minutes without anything happening and the 5:00PM buzzer getting closer.

Finally, I decided to slither up to the grass on the edge of the feild and see if Typhoon Tom was still there. Based on where he was from the road he would likly be within range, so Dan Junior slithered along side with the gun.

We finally got to the feild edge, both of us covered from head to toe in mud. I eased an opening into the grass ever so slowly to peek into the feild. There was only 40 yards from us! The big Tom looked even bigger up close, almost bigger than possible through the haze of rain and hail. Junior got his gun up and drew a bead on TYphoon Tommy. I wispered wait till I get the camera on him.

I pulled my video camera out of its protective plastic bag and zoomed in on Typhoon. I can't discribe the feeling that came over me as I realized the increadable stalk we had just made in conjunction with two other hunters on the other side of the feild only to find out we had stalked a peice of black swamp muck shaped like a turkey.

Oh well its 5:00, time to go home. There is always tomorrow.