Fall Turkey Hunting in West Virginia Mountains (Blog 464)

Saturday, I went fall turkey hunting in Monroe County, West Virginia. I know that the deer activity is intense right now, and I truly love to pursue deer. But my favorite kind of fall hunting is to go after turkeys. The emphasis on sign reading, figuring out what the birds are eating, hearing all the different fall calls that turkeys make, and deciding whether or not to attempt to bust a flock or call it in make this pastime so rich and fulfilling.

I encountered two different fall flocks Saturday and could not call them in. I also couldn't maneuver close enough to the gangs to scatter them. Nevertheless, it was a marvelous day spent in the West Virginia mountains.

Nature Wastes Nothing (Blog 463)

Last week while bow hunting in Botetourt County, Virginia, I decided to set up in a funnel where I had killed a doe five days before. Normally, I like to let a place "rest" for a week or more after killing a deer there. But the spot is so good, and so many deer go through there, that temptation won out against judgement.

While there, I watched individual black vultures, and small groups of this bird, visit over and over the exact spot where I had field dressed a deer earlier in the week. There was nothing at that spot except a  slight greasy slick (as I would describe it) yet the vultures thought it worthwhile to visit and even fight over. When the vultures weren't there, I saw a raven and several crows visit, too. Each creature was apparently trying to extract one little morsel of nourishment from my kill.

I passed on a small buck while hunting that day and should have killed a doe, but it eased by me when I wasn't looking. Two days later, I was back at the spot again and killed another doe there. Interestingly, I field dressed it in almost the same spot as the one I had arrowed earlier. I have no doubt that the vultures, ravens, and crows all found the remains.