The beauty of the hunt
DNR Director Kyle Hupfer (second from right) joined DNR Conservation Officer
Sgt. John Cannarella (left), Law Enforcement Director Rob Carter, and Conservation
Officer Dan Sprinkle on a spring turkey hunt in Franklin County.
As the next several issues of Outdoor Indiana are published, you will see some gradual shifts in content and layout. To begin that process, I am reintroducing in this issue one area of the DNR that has long been absent in the magazine -- hunting.
I don’t want anyone to think that this publication will become exclusively a hunting and fishing magazine, but these time-honored Hoosier pursuits will find their way into our pages. Hunting and fishing deserve their rightful place in the spotlight, along with the other great opportunities available here in Indiana.
The first Thursday of turkey season found Rob Carter, the new director of DNR law enforcement, with me in Franklin County for a spring turkey hunt. Our guides on this outing were two Indiana Conservation Officers, Dan Sprinkle and John Cannarella.
John and Dan had invited us down for a lesson in turkey hunting, since neither of us has had much turkey hunting experience.
We could not have picked a more perfect morning. After about a mile hike, Dan and I slipped into a blind that he had set up on top of a ridge along a grassy logging road. Dan said this path is a popular travel route for the toms as they look for receptive hens.
Just after daybreak, Dan began to do some very soft calling. At least three different gobblers responded at one time or another, but none proved interested in a prolonged interaction.
As the sun continued to rise, Dan maintained a fairly steady pattern of calling about every fifteen minutes or so. A little after 7 a.m., I heard (but could not see) some birds walking through the woods off to my right. About ten minutes later, Dan spotted three birds as they made their way toward our single hen decoy.
As I spotted the birds moving through the undergrowth, I took the safety off my shotgun and aimed in the direction they were traveling. All three birds were jakes, but Dan’s level of excitement let me know this was not an opportunity to let pass. I picked out the biggest bird of the three and fired.
As the bird fell, one of the others took the opportunity to attack in a display of dominance. It was one of the most exciting scenes that I had ever witnessed in the field. To see such a wary animal overcome by its instincts is something that I will not soon forget.
John also helped Rob harvest his first turkey ever. Both Rob and I left Franklin County excited about our successful hunts, but probably just as happy to have gotten to know Dan and John a little during the hunt. They are great examples of the types of people who dedicate their lives to the natural resources of Indiana.
I am very proud to be working with individuals of this caliber, and I look forward to meeting many more like them.
