Following a night of heavy rain, I questioned heading out on opening day. But I hadn’t missed a turkey opener in years and wasn’t going to let wet conditions stop me.
By the time I made it into the foothills, it was windy, cold and raining hard. I pushed on. My first two setups didn’t get a gobble. Contemplating heading home as the wind picked up, I decided to hop across the draw and over the ridge I’d been calling to. When I reached the other side, it was still raining, but calm.
I hiked lower into the ravine to escape the wind, then set up a decoy. Nestled against the base of a fat fir tree, I got multiple gobbles before finishing my first calling sequence. Instantly, three toms were sprinting to the decoy. The shot was easy, and suddenly the hunt seemed simple.
Conditions were extreme, and since birds were
