Well this morning I slipped into one of my favorite spots to chase some turkeys around. At about 6:15 or so I get to a spot I like to listen and then about 6:25 or so one sounds off across the ridge. While he is gobbling his fool head off I slip across the holler and set up on him. This thing is going nuts......... I worked him for almost an hour and he is gobbling at everything. I got him within 50 yards or so once, but he was just over the crest in the hill and not visible. During the whole ordeal 1 hen and 4 jakes slip up behind me to my right and they are making a racket of their own. Ole Tom is still going nuts at every sounds they make as well as me..... A hen goes to him and they go straight away from me....so I get up and make a big circle around them and set up again. He still gobbles hard but isn't leaving that hen and they walk away up another ridge. So I circle back around them again and get the same result..... good gobbling but he ain't gonna budge. At this point I say the heck with it and leave him be...... for now. So I sip out the old logging road just "trolling" and about a 1/4 mile away I bump a hen out of the road. I'm not visible to the woods because the road is down in a gulley. She didn't bugger to bad, but when she started clucking a gobbler cut her off up the ridge to my left. Here we go again......
The spot I was in just wasn't going to work because he was way above me and across a big gully. So I backed out and made a big circle around this guy too. After some slipping and belly crawling I set up on him and let out a few soft yelps........ nothing, a little louder...... nothing. Then a hen gets mad and starts cutting back at me and he starts going off. He gets fired up now and I called him within easy gun range, but just as before he is over the crest of the hill and won't come where I can see him. 
A hen must have spotted me because they started slipping away and she wasn't happy. So it's time to move again. I crawled back down the hill and out of sight to slip up over the top of the mountain and get around them again...... Well I get up on top mountain and the bird from earlier is going ballistic about 400yards away. I decided to try and get the "gobbling" bird and take off in his direction. This thing is gobbling every 20-30 seconds at everything(mind you it's almost 10am).........
I slipped as close as I dare and set up.......... a few soft yelps and thats it. The ole boy shut up and wouldn't say a thing.........
I sat there for almost 40 minutes and nothing. So back up the hill to see if the other bird is ready to tangle.......Well on my way up I just happen to look down and find a shed off of a young 6pt buck, a rare find in these parts....at least for me it is. Once at the top of the mountain I cutt real hard and he cut me off.... Then the hen gets peeved and starts cutting again and the gobbler just can't stand it. I cutt back at her and then shut up............. about 10 minutes later I look up and there he stands at about 45 yards. He slips behind a tree and up comes the gun and off goes the safety. He is walking away from me behind the brush, but when he stepped out I dropped the hammer..........
He hits the ground and it's all done....... This was set-up #5 and it was now 10:45........ He was a 2 year old tom and weighed 18lbs and had 1" spurs and a 9" beard. Well on the way back out I had to walk right through the area the other bird was in, I got down there in the general area and stopped and cut at him............ you guessed it, he hammers again........ I drop my things and try one more set up on him...... but after 30 minutes he only gobbled twice and was going away. O'well I got his area code wrote down........and a new good luck charm......
The spot I was in just wasn't going to work because he was way above me and across a big gully. So I backed out and made a big circle around this guy too. After some slipping and belly crawling I set up on him and let out a few soft yelps........ nothing, a little louder...... nothing. Then a hen gets mad and starts cutting back at me and he starts going off. He gets fired up now and I called him within easy gun range, but just as before he is over the crest of the hill and won't come where I can see him. A hen must have spotted me because they started slipping away and she wasn't happy. So it's time to move again. I crawled back down the hill and out of sight to slip up over the top of the mountain and get around them again...... Well I get up on top mountain and the bird from earlier is going ballistic about 400yards away. I decided to try and get the "gobbling" bird and take off in his direction. This thing is gobbling every 20-30 seconds at everything(mind you it's almost 10am)......... I slipped as close as I dare and set up.......... a few soft yelps and thats it. The ole boy shut up and wouldn't say a thing......... I sat there for almost 40 minutes and nothing. So back up the hill to see if the other bird is ready to tangle.......Well on my way up I just happen to look down and find a shed off of a young 6pt buck, a rare find in these parts....at least for me it is. Once at the top of the mountain I cutt real hard and he cut me off.... Then the hen gets peeved and starts cutting again and the gobbler just can't stand it. I cutt back at her and then shut up............. about 10 minutes later I look up and there he stands at about 45 yards. He slips behind a tree and up comes the gun and off goes the safety. He is walking away from me behind the brush, but when he stepped out I dropped the hammer.......... He hits the ground and it's all done....... This was set-up #5 and it was now 10:45........ He was a 2 year old tom and weighed 18lbs and had 1" spurs and a 9" beard. Well on the way back out I had to walk right through the area the other bird was in, I got down there in the general area and stopped and cut at him............ you guessed it, he hammers again........ I drop my things and try one more set up on him...... but after 30 minutes he only gobbled twice and was going away. O'well I got his area code wrote down........and a new good luck charm......
