I value any time I get the opportunity to step outside. And I don’t mean my backyard. Throw in hunting and I’ve hit the jackpot. That’s what happened to me just the other day and it was like medicine for my cabin fever-flooded soul. I woke up especially early, made coffee, and loaded my shotgun and other gear in the truck. The coffee fulfilled its purpose as I made the twists and turns of the Texas hill country highways and country roads. The first hint of sunlight gave me a sneak peek of what would be a sun-splashed day of turkey hunting. While I love hunting with any number of hunting buddies, I also enjoy the solitude of hunting alone. And almost a month into the COVID-19 pandemic, this was exactly the kind of social-distancing this simple guy needed. I couldn’t wait to put my box call to work.
After the short one-hour drive, I eased through the gate of the hunting property. The plan I had so thoughtfully concocted the previous evening had vanished though. Before I knew it, I was three-quarters of the way to my usual parking spot near my favorite deer blind. I hadn’t seen it in over 2 months. “Why not park in my usual spot”, I seamlessly told myself. After all, there were a couple of minor repairs the blind needed. And “maybe I ought to move it over about 20-yards to the right and further into the brush”. After all, I had pondered this earth-shattering decision for half of the last deer season.
Snapped into Reality
My parking area is cloaked in cedars, oaks, and underbrush and despite all the vibrant spring vegetation, it took me back to deer season. I carefully opened the door and started to put on my snake boots, grab my shotgun, seat, and decoy. As the cool breeze hit my face, it all came back to me. I was here in search of a Texas gobbler. After walking a few yards, I worked my box call. A gobbler immediately responded. Honestly, that’s not the norm for this mediocre at best turkey hunter. My thoughts went from antlers to long beards. Temporarily.
The Search for Thunder Chickens
The response of the gobbler had me pretty jacked and I worked my way in that direction, intermittently stopping and calling. On my third calling session, I knew I was close and set up the decoy and retreated into the brush. The two next series of calls had 2 jakes appearing 60-yards out and closing the distance on my rubber hen decoy 40-yards out. It turns out I wasn’t particularly mad at him and my gun never entered the shooting position – still, the turn 
of events was priceless. My favorite part of turkey hunting. A similar encounter with another jake on another part of the property ended the same way. It was a little past 11:00 and I knew that my chance at a gobbler was within reach. It didn’t matter though. The two encounters were alone worth my trip but I continued my trek toward another promising spot. However, I couldn’t escape the allure of shed hunting and the deer chores that had accumulated and permeated my one-tracked mind.
I would get back to chasing the birds later.
Sidetracked
I spent the next three hours working the known areas around some of the deer trails, funnels and bedding areas of the 245-acre ranch. I had sweat through my clothes a couple of times over. Not ideal for shed hunting, the wildflowers and other spring vegetation made the task difficult. But the constant walking had me motivated – unlike any of my designed workout sessions. Sweaty, itchy, and growing weary, this was not getting old.
Then, there it was.
The pop-up blind I had left up for the last two years. Sitting near the intersection of two trails, this was one of my favorite early season whitetail bowhunting setups. The faded popup blind’s ripped roof flapped in the breeze. The old saying, “this is why you can’t have nice things” came to mind. Or something like that… It didn’t matter though because my very next thought was, “I can easily replace that roof with black weed cloth” followed by “I think I know an even better place for this blind”. I realized my turkey hunt had long since ended and probably wouldn’t be resumed on this day. If only I was this determined with household chores at home…
Next thing I know, the blind was precariously perched in the bed of my truck, nearly taking flight with each burst of wind. I spent a couple more hours scouting fence lines, potential new tree 
stand locations, and shed hunting – all before eventually taking the tattered and faded tent blind (with a unique brownish-pink camo pattern) to its new home. What a beaut – nothing a combo of spray paint, camo cloth, and cut brush couldn’t fix.
The fact is I love turkey hunting. For that matter, I love dove hunting, quail hunting, hog hunting, and predator hunting (just to name a few). However, there is nothing that comes even close to deer hunting for this 365-day whitetailer (yes, that’s a word in my mind). Strategizing for , studying them – basically, obsessing over them.
I also went on the recharge a couple of mineral sites and cut brush along roads and lanes that day. And I couldn’t wait to get home to check the camera cards I pulled; ones that had been loaded since early January.
It was a good day.
And I realized the obvious; I’ll trade turkey breasts, spurs, and beards for backstraps, antlers, and rub lines any day. Indeed, I went spring turkey hunting and a whitetail workday broke out. It wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last for this hunter cursed with deer on the brain syndrome.
