The Cabin - Ohio
Woz's Cabin bird.
Hunter: David Wozniak
Cameraman: David Wozniak
Many of us hunt special places that mean the world to us due to all the great memories they bring. I call mine “The Cabin” and it’s brought some great memories over the years, such as, my sister shooting her first buck, my Dad shooting his first turkey and me shooting my biggest buck ever, a 180-class 10 point with my bow. This story is just the next chapter at “The Cabin” about an ole long spurred gobbler.
I had high hopes going into this year’s Spring turkey season! Starting off with a much anticipated hunt for Danielle and I in Pike County Illinois with our good friends Ted, Tina, and Ella Sprague of Eagle Lakes Outfitters. We had a great time at Eagle Lakes Outfitters but you’ll need to read Danielle’s story for all the details!
We headed back to Ohio for the first day of the Youth season as I was going to film my good friend and taxidermist Mike Cunningham and his son. It ended up being an exciting hunt, with an angry hen that destroyed the hen decoy that Mike had mounted himself, and a big long-beard close by, but the gobbler couldn’t see the decoy or hen, and stayed well out of range.
The next day, was my only day to scout, so I “speed-scouted” the main properties I am able to hunt, including my 60 acres surrounding our cabin. Not far from the cabin, I heard a gobbler on the roost and shortly after, he flew down. I saw him and another long-beard strutting in a field I’ve had a lot success with over the years. The next day was opening day in Ohio. Danielle and I set up in our Choice blind in the field where the birds had been strutting the previous day. We heard some distant gobbling on the roost, but nothing close by.
Over the next 2 weeks, I scouted and hunted a number of different properties a few hours before work almost every day with no luck. I had long-beards within range a couple times, but I was bowhunting and the birds never presented a clean shot. Overall, there just weren’t many birds around. I think we lost a lot of birds in this part of Ohio this winter due to a severe ice storm followed by prolonged cold and deep snow.
On Saturday, May 2, my good friend James Fouts filmed me hunting from an Ameristep Dominator ground blind overlooking a food plot very close to the cabin. I had heard birds gobbling nearby the previous morning, so when the first gobble exploded less than 70 yards behind the blind, we were pumped. We had a hen come in right after flydown and the gobbler moved in within 30 yards of our set up, but stayed in the woods behind the blind. Some hens he was roosted with led him away, and he and another gobbler tortured us all morning with their gobbling within 100 yards.
James couldn’t make it out the next day, so I decided to go and try to film myself. Anyone who has done much filming knows, self filming, at least trying to capture high-quality footage, is basically impossible. But I was determined that if I could get a bird to come into a decoy, especially hunting and filming from a blind, it just might work. At daybreak, I was in the same blind James and I had hunted the day before. Before daybreak, a dog howled and a couple birds sounded off about 200 yards behind me. They continued to gobble frequently for 15 minutes. Finally, a bird gobbled directly behind the blind, less than 70 yards away. Soon after, I heard a couple hens yelping. Would it be a repeat of the previous day?
After flydown, the birds began moving away, despite my calling. But about 5 minutes later, I heard a hen yelp directly to my left, less than 70 yards away. The gobblers had shut up after flydown, so I hoped they were close behind. I yelped back and she replied. We went back and forth and then I saw her walk into the plot. Within seconds two more hens emerged behind her. Suddenly, a booming gobble emanated from the woods the hens had just come from. I grabbed the Hoyt in my left hand and readied the camera with my right hand, focusing it on the lead hen. Two big gobblers strutted into view and I panned over to them. They marched right in, and soon they were both at 25 yards. As if on cue, both gobblers stopped. I zoomed a little bit and then let go of the tripod arm and quickly clipped my release on the loop. I drew my AlphaMax, anchored on the bird that was strutting, and released. Whack!!! The bird jumped straight up and flipped over twice, then started flopping in circles. The other turkeys ran everywhere in confusion. My bird composed himself and then, amazingly, took off on a dead run. Luckily he never left the frame of the camera and I was able to reach over to the camera arm to follow him as he ran off.
After the other birds finally moved off, I reviewed the footage and the shot looked perfect. But turkeys are tough birds and it took me 45 anxious minutes before I finally located him under a blowdown almost 100 yards away. I pulled him out and immediately noticed his needle-sharp, hooked spurs. They measured out at 1-1/2" and 1-7/16". His beard, though 10 inches long, was sparse and part of it looked like it had been broken off at the base, either from fighting or freezing. As I sat there admiring the bird, I was overwhelmed by emotions. It had been an incredible hunt. This gobbler had likely been roaming these woods at “The Cabin” for several years.
I would like to thank all of my friends and family that have helped contribute to and have been part of all the memorable experiences made at “The Cabin”. And I would especially like to thank my Mom and Dad, who introduced me to the outdoor lifestyle I cherished so much all those years ago and still do, and who have supported me in my pursuits ever since.
Remember, keep your eye on the prize and always shoot straight from the heart!
Woz