Editor’s Note: Financial advisor Trey Dorman of Birmingham, Alabama, has hunted turkeys since he was 12-years old and guided for 24 years at the Lakes of Leavellwood in West Greene, Alabama (https://leavellwood.com/ – 205-372-2323). Leavellwood offers outstanding turkey hunting, trophy deer hunting and trophy bass fishing.

One of the toughest turkeys I can remember hunting was when I was guiding Katlyn Hines, who’s been hunting with me at Leavellwood lodge for about 10 years. The Hines family has hunted with us at Leavellwood Lodge for 20+ years. I’ve actually guided for two generations of the Hines family. I’ve guided first turkeys killed by some in this family as well as last turkeys taken by other family members. These people have become friends of ours and aren’t just people we guide turkey hunting.

On this hunt with Katlyn, we had very-pretty weather when we left the lodge. Once we reached the woods, we heard a turkey gobble two or three times. We decided to try and set-up on him. But about 30 minutes after daylight, the bottom fell out of the sky, and the rain poured down. We were too far away from the truck to run back and find shelter, and we were already wet. So, I told Katlyn that I knew where there was an old particle-board shooting house that didn’t have any legs on it. Although the floor was rotted, it did have a tin roof, which would allow us to get out of the storm. There were two old folding chairs in the shooting house. We got to the shooting house, as the rain continued to tap out a song on that tin roof.

Suddenly, I heard a huge clap of thunder. Immediately, I heard a turkey gobble, but I couldn’t really tell from which direction the gobble had come. I told Katlyn, “We may be in business here. I’m going to try and call the tom we’ve heard after that clap of thunder.” I decided to take the turkey decoy I’d brought with us out of my vest and go out of the old shooting house to set that decoy up right on the edge of the green field. The decoy would be about 20 or 30 yards from the shooting house and hopefully would lure the gobbler in, if he could hear me calling. I arrived back at the shooting house dripping wet. I didn’t call to that turkey because the rain was so loud, and the tin roof was even louder. I didn’t think I could have heard myself calling.

Before long, we spotted a red head coming out of the woods and into the green field. That gobbler saw the decoy and started strutting in the rain. “Shoot,” I told Katlyn. About the same time I said “Shoot,” that gobbler dropped his strut and took about three quick steps away from the decoy. Katlyn shot. The gobbler dropped and didn’t even flop. I ran out of the shooting house, grabbed the gobbler and brought him back into the shooting house. We stayed in that shooting house until the rain slacked off some, and then we headed to the truck.

What This No-Call Shooting House Gobbler Taught Me:

* The meaning of turkey hunting is, “It ain’t over, till it’s over.” Even though the weather was horrible, the chances of hitting a turkey were terrible, and there was no way I thought I could call and get a bird to come in, that’s exactly what happened.

* Many times, when rain is falling, if you hear thunder, you need to listen for a turkey to gobble.

* You always need a turkey decoy in your turkey vest – even if you don’t believe in the drawing power of a turkey decoy.

* You may not believe a turkey can hear you call when the weather’s so bad. But he may be able to see a decoy on the edge of a field because, during a rain, a turkey has to go to open places where he can see at long distances, since he can’t see or hear danger coming in the woods.

To learn more about turkey hunting, check out John E. Phillips’s book, “Turkey Hunting Tactics,” at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PK9B2G/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p2_i9
that’s available in Kindle, print and Audible versions. You may have to cut and paste this link into your browser. (When you click on this book, notice on the left where Amazon says you can read 10% of this book for free and hear 10% for free). To learn more about other turkey books by John E. Phillips, go to www.amazon.com/author/johnephillips.

Tomorrow: Trey Dorman Hunts the Peanut Field Turkeys