nchunterga19
Member
The title is exactly what I felt the morning I got this bird. After over sleeping 30 mins I rushed to the piece of property and started my walk to the spot I had planned to hunt all week. The 1st time I ever hunted this property, I walked to the highest point on this ridge and realized I was in the money spot. I set up watched them fly down and come my way, gobbling there heads off. Only to go under a old fence and strut in the neighboring fields and meet up with there hens. The past 4 times of hunting this particular piece of land, I had got my butt whipped. I would get to the top of the ridge and they'd either fly to the neighbors land, fly to my right or fly to the bottom of the ridge and cut over to the other neighbors land, but they would never fly down and come to me or even near me. So after realizing They had there minds made up, "Or thinking, they had there minds made up" I decided to go to where they had flown the last two times I had hunted them. A Huge green field that bordered a hardwood bottom, that a road bed led to from the top of the ridge. They would fly over a small swamp like area an peck around and strut to the field with there ladies day in and day out.
I make the walk and get to an old oak that looked like two tree's in one and sat down and listened to the woods wake up. Now this particular Gobbler that I shot, had a very strong gobble but the ending of his gobble was funny and odd. I had never heard a Bird gobble like he did. As the woods are coming alive I hear this distinctive gobble and say to myself, this has to be a super Jake. I found out shortly it was not a super jake. I let out a few soft tree yelps and the woods absolutely exploded it seemed. I couldn't believe the amount of gobbles i heard. I start getting super excited and am trying my best not to over call. I see a few hens fly down to the neighboring property and had a few hens fly down my way. Once the hens hit the ground near me the gobblers do the complete opposite and fly down to the ridge i usually walk to.... oh and the gobbling stops. Shortly after fly down I let out some yelps and putts and get semi-aggressive. As I sat there I had a hen come straight in and pick a fight. Thinking that a gobbler is behind her I start getting aggressive and before you know it we are copying each other and i see 3 jakes following her. So i shut up and get to watch the Jakes do there little dance and the hen look for me.
After about a hour i realize my morning seems shot. I get up and walk to the opposite side of the field and wood line I'm on and let out a few loud clucks and try to locate some birds with my fingers crossed. Silence.
I decide to walk to road bed that is at the bottom of the ridge and tell myself I'm going to yelp 3 times and if I don't hear anything my mornings done. I had till 9:30 to hunt and than i had to get to the house so the wife could go to work. I get to road bed and start to yelp only to have my first yelp cut off from one of the strongest and loudest gobbles I have heard. The tail end of the gobble let me know it was the bird I had heard before. I quickly step off the road bed and listen and he gobbles again this time followed by another gobble of a different bird. Realizing they were on top i started crawling up the ridge. I stopped and literally hopped in a bush when i saw the tail fans from a distance. I let out a few yelps and was cut off by the duo above me. That's when i saw them real good and got to see the bird gobble and end his gobble with what seemed like a triple chuckle like laugh? When he would gobble his buddy would gobble and than he'd beat his buddy up. His buddy would than walk out of sight. Before I knew it i was fighting with what I assume was the Gobblers hen for the morning. after going back and forth she ran straight down the road bed and ran right past me. I looked and realized she may be out of the picture now and this might actually happen this morning.
3 or 4 mins go by and it felt like 3-4 hours, and I move my leg and moving my leg rustled some leaves and the Two gobblers start gobbling. Than the gobbler with the funny gobble appears in the road bed with his buddy at what I thought had to be 50-55 yards. However i have my gun in my lap stuck in an awkward position and cannot move. I watch the Funny Gobbling Gobbler freeze and look right down the road bed and spot my daggum toe-end of my boot. I'm 6'4 so it was hard to get all of my body in this bush/brush. He stands straight up and my jaw dropped realizing he's a man of a turkey. when he turned around I put the Red dot on the back of his head and squeezed the trigger.
He dropped. I soon was come over with just raw emotion. if you've Turkey hunted a time or two than you know what i mean. Once I got to him I realized it was further than 50-55 yards. It was 67 steps. I don't have small strides either. I was shocked because had i known that for sure i may not have taken the shot.
This ole bird was the king of that ridge. When he gobbled at me on that road bed I could feel it in my chest. He was a hard gobbling bird, like I said in the caption, he gobbled Fire.
I shot him with my Stevens 301 20 gauge using Apex #9's. topped with an Indian Creek .555 choke.
Weighed 17.15 on one scale and 20.17 on the other scale
Beard was 11 3/4
Spurs were 1 1/4 and 1 3/4------ 1 7/8 if you bend the tape a little lol.
My biggest bird. If you don't turkey hunt I don't Trust you.
I make the walk and get to an old oak that looked like two tree's in one and sat down and listened to the woods wake up. Now this particular Gobbler that I shot, had a very strong gobble but the ending of his gobble was funny and odd. I had never heard a Bird gobble like he did. As the woods are coming alive I hear this distinctive gobble and say to myself, this has to be a super Jake. I found out shortly it was not a super jake. I let out a few soft tree yelps and the woods absolutely exploded it seemed. I couldn't believe the amount of gobbles i heard. I start getting super excited and am trying my best not to over call. I see a few hens fly down to the neighboring property and had a few hens fly down my way. Once the hens hit the ground near me the gobblers do the complete opposite and fly down to the ridge i usually walk to.... oh and the gobbling stops. Shortly after fly down I let out some yelps and putts and get semi-aggressive. As I sat there I had a hen come straight in and pick a fight. Thinking that a gobbler is behind her I start getting aggressive and before you know it we are copying each other and i see 3 jakes following her. So i shut up and get to watch the Jakes do there little dance and the hen look for me.
After about a hour i realize my morning seems shot. I get up and walk to the opposite side of the field and wood line I'm on and let out a few loud clucks and try to locate some birds with my fingers crossed. Silence.
I decide to walk to road bed that is at the bottom of the ridge and tell myself I'm going to yelp 3 times and if I don't hear anything my mornings done. I had till 9:30 to hunt and than i had to get to the house so the wife could go to work. I get to road bed and start to yelp only to have my first yelp cut off from one of the strongest and loudest gobbles I have heard. The tail end of the gobble let me know it was the bird I had heard before. I quickly step off the road bed and listen and he gobbles again this time followed by another gobble of a different bird. Realizing they were on top i started crawling up the ridge. I stopped and literally hopped in a bush when i saw the tail fans from a distance. I let out a few yelps and was cut off by the duo above me. That's when i saw them real good and got to see the bird gobble and end his gobble with what seemed like a triple chuckle like laugh? When he would gobble his buddy would gobble and than he'd beat his buddy up. His buddy would than walk out of sight. Before I knew it i was fighting with what I assume was the Gobblers hen for the morning. after going back and forth she ran straight down the road bed and ran right past me. I looked and realized she may be out of the picture now and this might actually happen this morning.
3 or 4 mins go by and it felt like 3-4 hours, and I move my leg and moving my leg rustled some leaves and the Two gobblers start gobbling. Than the gobbler with the funny gobble appears in the road bed with his buddy at what I thought had to be 50-55 yards. However i have my gun in my lap stuck in an awkward position and cannot move. I watch the Funny Gobbling Gobbler freeze and look right down the road bed and spot my daggum toe-end of my boot. I'm 6'4 so it was hard to get all of my body in this bush/brush. He stands straight up and my jaw dropped realizing he's a man of a turkey. when he turned around I put the Red dot on the back of his head and squeezed the trigger.
He dropped. I soon was come over with just raw emotion. if you've Turkey hunted a time or two than you know what i mean. Once I got to him I realized it was further than 50-55 yards. It was 67 steps. I don't have small strides either. I was shocked because had i known that for sure i may not have taken the shot.
This ole bird was the king of that ridge. When he gobbled at me on that road bed I could feel it in my chest. He was a hard gobbling bird, like I said in the caption, he gobbled Fire.
I shot him with my Stevens 301 20 gauge using Apex #9's. topped with an Indian Creek .555 choke.
Weighed 17.15 on one scale and 20.17 on the other scale
Beard was 11 3/4
Spurs were 1 1/4 and 1 3/4------ 1 7/8 if you bend the tape a little lol.
My biggest bird. If you don't turkey hunt I don't Trust you.
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