messed up

Saturday had to work, got to the lease about 4 p.m. just hunted until dark trying to find one or maybe find a place to set up for the a.m. I found an area next to a new clear cut with a good bit of strutting sign that was not there last weekend so i decided that was where i would be in the morning. Sunday mornin i was at my spot waiting on the woods to wake up and all of a sudden a hen that was in the tree above me busted out of there, and then another and another. This turned out to be agood thing although I didnt like it at the time. About five minutes later he let rip about 150 yards away. I soft called and he answered so i put the call down and waited, he gobbled about two more times in the tree, and then the normal silence that happens when they are about to fly down. Then he gobbles and I can tell he is on the ground. I yelp to him to let him know im there and he answers and another one is with him. I wait about five minutes and yelp again and they cut me off but they are in the same spot so I tell myself to just wait and not call too much. Then they start gobbling at crows and everything else. After fifteen minutes of not calling I wanted to remind them I was there and yelped and they cut me off I cut back at them cut me off again so I just put the calls down and didnt say another thing. Five minutes later he gobbles on his own alot closer, hes commited. Then I see them classic looker and strutter. They were in some pretty thick pines but apen enough to see them. The looker comes into the open at about thirty yards, but I get greedy and want the strutter who is in the pines about ten yards further. At this time I cant breathe and shaking uncontrollably. Iguess the looker didnt see what he wanted and turned to leave as did the strutter who broke strut and started to turn and i panicked and shot and killed a tree. I still consider it a succesful hunt but I just whish I hadnt educated them so much but it just reminds me why I keep getting up and going whithout sleep and pushing on. You just cant beat the feeling of that gobbler in full strut gobbling in your face. If everyone did it there wouldnt be anymore drug addicts. sorry its so long but I had to share my hunt whith you.

Sweet hunt and great story! Good luck going back and busting one of them! Your right there is nothing like a strutting tom trying to blow your hat off!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome read! Thanks!!!

hey, at least you'll get to enjoy the show out there another day. i killed 2 off of the same property last year and after that didn't hear another gobble.

Great story! I had a similar experience Sunday am.

great post have not had a chance to go yet this season but hope to next week

Brad

You played it perfectly...you'll kill em. Very few hunters know when to shut up. Nice work. Don't worry about educating them, They just heard a loud noise...they were probably like "holy crap what was that!! That was really loud..........hey look, a grasshopper"