06/01/2026
🦃🔥 And That's a Wrap on Turkey Season 2026! 🔥🦃
What a season it was.
If there was one word to describe this year's Maryland turkey season, it would be challenging. From the first week on, the gobblers seemed determined to stay glued to their hens. They were quiet, stubborn, and often made us work the ladies before we'd ever get a chance at the longbeards.
Some mornings the woods would erupt with gobbles. Other mornings you'd swear every turkey in the county had taken the day off.
Over the course of the season, we enjoyed several exciting hunts, put hunters on birds, celebrated gobblers harvested, and witnessed two heart-pounding swing-and-a-miss opportunities on birds that still get talked about around camp.
But the final day of the season? That one deserves its own chapter.
The morning began with miserable conditions. Rain. Wind. Temperatures that felt more like March than late spring. Our final scheduled hunter looked at the forecast and decided he'd rather stay dry.
With no time to find a replacement, John and Meredith decided to do what hunters do — make the best of it and head out on a little run-and-gun mission of their own.
Then something changed.
The rain stopped. The clouds parted. The wind settled down just enough. It felt like someone upstairs decided to give us one last opportunity.
John picked what he believed would be the perfect setup and the two settled into a briar patch to wait.
And wait.
And wait.
For nearly two hours they sat quietly, counting on one thing: that the hens would eventually make their way back toward the roost area before evening.
With just two hours left in the entire turkey season, the hens finally appeared.
Heads tilted down. Eyes closed. No movement.
The hens passed right by.
Then came the surprise.
About 50 yards behind them was exactly what John hoped for — a mature gobbler following the parade.
Of course, he didn't read the script.
Instead of following the hens along the field edge, he decided to stroll right through the middle of the field. That gave Meredith one brief opportunity at 42 yards before he would disappear down the hill out of range.
John gave a few soft calls.
"Bock... bock... bock..."
The gobbler stopped.
Raised his head.
One...
Two...
BOOM.
Perfect head shot.
Only a single pellet found its way into the breast meat.
Just like that, the curtain closed on another turkey season.
A huge thank you to all of our returning clients and the many new hunters who joined us this spring. Whether you harvested a bird, missed a bird, or simply watched one strut and gobble his way out of your life, every hunt added another story to the season.
Now it's time to put the turkey calls away, relive the memories, and start looking ahead to what comes next.
Until next season, longbeards. 🦃
