GTHunter007
Senior Member
Dad and myself rolled into camp about 1:30 on Monday afternoon. After a quick unload we decided to go check trail cams and get our bearings for the evening adventures. We saw 5 gobblers on the golf cart and promptly backed out and returned to camp to suit up and get back out for the evening.
Dad went to a known area where a gobbler has been known to give us all the slip for the past 2 seasons. It was a promising spot where he would have a high chance to cross paths with a willing gobbler and not need to move and chase one. It paid off. About 5:15 I hear him shoot and sure enough, he laid down a heavy 3 yr old gobbler. Came in dead silent. Never strutted. Bird was over 19lbs, had a 10 1/2" beard and 1 1/8" spurs. My evening was full of silence and no signs of life.
The next morning I tried a new section of dirt just to see if I could hear anything new. I was promptly met with a roosted gobbler not far away from a very accessible pine flat. I sneaked in, set up about 60 yds from him and anxiously awaited go time. I gave a few soft yelps to let him know I was there and he eagerly responded...enough. I'm good to go. As I sat awaiting that black gliding body to come flying into this flat, I hear wing flaps from his direction, see glimpses of a black dart going the other way...30 seconds later he is gobbling 300 yards away, across the bay, property line and in the cow pasture. Are you kidding me?
By 7:40 the woods were once again silent. And the wind picked up. And there was no more action to be had until after 6 PM.
By 5 I had snuck back into this flat awaiting my early morning nemisis to return to his roost. About 6 I hear a faint gobble back out into the pines. A looong way off. I give off some serious loud yelps and he responds. So I ease his direction to see if I can figure him out. Booom, he hammers again..this time he's 200 yards or less. I back up and grab a tree and get ready. Holy smokes could it be? I let out one last set of yelps once prepared and get no response. Yep...too good to be true. 2 mins later...boooom, he hammers at 60 yards. Game on. I square up ready to bust him when he emerges then I see him, way left of where that last gobble was. I'm frozen but he still appears to be taking a line that will walk him to 30 yards directly in front of my gun without me needing to move. From the corner of my eye, I watch this bird strut...stand back up and start walking across in front. As he is behind a large wall of bushes, just 5-7 steps from getting to the clear and right in front of my gun barrel...I hear 2 putts.
??? I can't even see him, no way he sees me? 2 mins go by...nothing. I soft call...silence. A few more mins go by....I call aggressive...silence. So I lean up and look around, this bird has vanished. Pooof, gone. I was sick. Just then I heard a gobble 300+ yards behind me. Then another. Screw it, I'm up and running to get a bead on him before dark. That's when I find the man from that morning and apparently, he shares his roosting spot with two younger birds. I got video of them on the roost. I tucked them in nicely and put them to bed with some soft tree yelps as light faded to dark. I had high hopes for the following morning. I would be in this exact spot before daylight.
Yesterday morning I was standing out in the pines 100 yards above these birds very close to where I tucked them in the night before when they cut loose the first time. All 3 let out a gobble but the man in the group took over and became the lone noise maker. I let the old boy know I was still there from the night before and prepared myself. Like the morning before, I heard flaps and 60 seconds later he was gobbling 250 yards at an angle to my right...sounded like he either made it to, or was angling to the cow pasture. UGH!!! I jumped up and made the desperate run to attempt to beat him to the corner of the field. As I approached, he let out a gobble 100+ yards out in the pasture...crap. He beat me out there. But just then, the other two birds from the roosting spot cut loose...back to my left...on my side of the water, on the ground. Game still on, just not with the man!! I dropped my jacket and sweatshirt here and proceeded to stalk back down to these birds. They were gobbling at will now that big boy had left them alone. 3 sit downs later, with futile attempts to draw these two off the drain and into the pines, I went for a belly crawl to the firebreak, and proceeded to ease up beside them. Inside 40 yards but around a bend in the break, I leaned up on a pine and let out a cluck purr...they hammered and 15 seconds later they both strutted into the cut at 35 yards. These birds were twins. I let it rip and stoned the lead bird. 14.3 lbs, 3/4" spurs and 9 1/2" beard.
As I am celebrating and packing up here I hear the big boy from early let off...no way? Did he cross the road back to our property?? I snatched up my stuff and ran back up the hill to attempt to get a bearing on that gobble. The crows gave him away. 300 yards down, across the road from the cow pasture he flew to earlier, I hear him letting it rip. And he's now on fire. I drop everything but my gun, mask, gloves and mouth call. Lets do this.
I cross the road and start angling into the thickest brier thicket I think I have ever tried to traverse chasing a turkey. Belly crawling through deer trails, under vines, it was nasty. I ease down and feel like I am within gun range of this bird...just can't see him. He's gobbling every 3-4 mins and just guiding me right to him. I get where I can see an open drain in front of me and down my right side and decide its time. To test his willingness and his true distance from me I did a super soft 3 yelps. Booom, he cuts me off. I scratch the ground, cluck purr softly and flip my safety off. He is close. 2 mins later I hear him spit off my left shoulder!
I just crawled through this crap, how and why is he coming through there? I turn my head left and all I see is tip of his fan, stuck in the briers as he is trying to sneak in. I swing...cluck 3 times and his head just stands right up through the thick. The heavy 7s mashed his face at about 20 yards and cleared the vines right out of the way. Wow!! Absolutely amazing two hours. Two awesome hunts rolled into one.
2nd bird was the man. 20.3 lbs, 1 1/2 & 1 3/8 spurs and 11 1/4 beard.
This is the stuff he strutted through.
Dad went to a known area where a gobbler has been known to give us all the slip for the past 2 seasons. It was a promising spot where he would have a high chance to cross paths with a willing gobbler and not need to move and chase one. It paid off. About 5:15 I hear him shoot and sure enough, he laid down a heavy 3 yr old gobbler. Came in dead silent. Never strutted. Bird was over 19lbs, had a 10 1/2" beard and 1 1/8" spurs. My evening was full of silence and no signs of life.
The next morning I tried a new section of dirt just to see if I could hear anything new. I was promptly met with a roosted gobbler not far away from a very accessible pine flat. I sneaked in, set up about 60 yds from him and anxiously awaited go time. I gave a few soft yelps to let him know I was there and he eagerly responded...enough. I'm good to go. As I sat awaiting that black gliding body to come flying into this flat, I hear wing flaps from his direction, see glimpses of a black dart going the other way...30 seconds later he is gobbling 300 yards away, across the bay, property line and in the cow pasture. Are you kidding me?
By 7:40 the woods were once again silent. And the wind picked up. And there was no more action to be had until after 6 PM. By 5 I had snuck back into this flat awaiting my early morning nemisis to return to his roost. About 6 I hear a faint gobble back out into the pines. A looong way off. I give off some serious loud yelps and he responds. So I ease his direction to see if I can figure him out. Booom, he hammers again..this time he's 200 yards or less. I back up and grab a tree and get ready. Holy smokes could it be? I let out one last set of yelps once prepared and get no response. Yep...too good to be true. 2 mins later...boooom, he hammers at 60 yards. Game on. I square up ready to bust him when he emerges then I see him, way left of where that last gobble was. I'm frozen but he still appears to be taking a line that will walk him to 30 yards directly in front of my gun without me needing to move. From the corner of my eye, I watch this bird strut...stand back up and start walking across in front. As he is behind a large wall of bushes, just 5-7 steps from getting to the clear and right in front of my gun barrel...I hear 2 putts.
??? I can't even see him, no way he sees me? 2 mins go by...nothing. I soft call...silence. A few more mins go by....I call aggressive...silence. So I lean up and look around, this bird has vanished. Pooof, gone. I was sick. Just then I heard a gobble 300+ yards behind me. Then another. Screw it, I'm up and running to get a bead on him before dark. That's when I find the man from that morning and apparently, he shares his roosting spot with two younger birds. I got video of them on the roost. I tucked them in nicely and put them to bed with some soft tree yelps as light faded to dark. I had high hopes for the following morning. I would be in this exact spot before daylight.
Yesterday morning I was standing out in the pines 100 yards above these birds very close to where I tucked them in the night before when they cut loose the first time. All 3 let out a gobble but the man in the group took over and became the lone noise maker. I let the old boy know I was still there from the night before and prepared myself. Like the morning before, I heard flaps and 60 seconds later he was gobbling 250 yards at an angle to my right...sounded like he either made it to, or was angling to the cow pasture. UGH!!! I jumped up and made the desperate run to attempt to beat him to the corner of the field. As I approached, he let out a gobble 100+ yards out in the pasture...crap. He beat me out there. But just then, the other two birds from the roosting spot cut loose...back to my left...on my side of the water, on the ground. Game still on, just not with the man!! I dropped my jacket and sweatshirt here and proceeded to stalk back down to these birds. They were gobbling at will now that big boy had left them alone. 3 sit downs later, with futile attempts to draw these two off the drain and into the pines, I went for a belly crawl to the firebreak, and proceeded to ease up beside them. Inside 40 yards but around a bend in the break, I leaned up on a pine and let out a cluck purr...they hammered and 15 seconds later they both strutted into the cut at 35 yards. These birds were twins. I let it rip and stoned the lead bird. 14.3 lbs, 3/4" spurs and 9 1/2" beard.
As I am celebrating and packing up here I hear the big boy from early let off...no way? Did he cross the road back to our property?? I snatched up my stuff and ran back up the hill to attempt to get a bearing on that gobble. The crows gave him away. 300 yards down, across the road from the cow pasture he flew to earlier, I hear him letting it rip. And he's now on fire. I drop everything but my gun, mask, gloves and mouth call. Lets do this.
I cross the road and start angling into the thickest brier thicket I think I have ever tried to traverse chasing a turkey. Belly crawling through deer trails, under vines, it was nasty. I ease down and feel like I am within gun range of this bird...just can't see him. He's gobbling every 3-4 mins and just guiding me right to him. I get where I can see an open drain in front of me and down my right side and decide its time. To test his willingness and his true distance from me I did a super soft 3 yelps. Booom, he cuts me off. I scratch the ground, cluck purr softly and flip my safety off. He is close. 2 mins later I hear him spit off my left shoulder!
I just crawled through this crap, how and why is he coming through there? I turn my head left and all I see is tip of his fan, stuck in the briers as he is trying to sneak in. I swing...cluck 3 times and his head just stands right up through the thick. The heavy 7s mashed his face at about 20 yards and cleared the vines right out of the way. Wow!! Absolutely amazing two hours. Two awesome hunts rolled into one. 2nd bird was the man. 20.3 lbs, 1 1/2 & 1 3/8 spurs and 11 1/4 beard.
This is the stuff he strutted through.
