Early season tough but some success


Rhino

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Been out in the woods mostly since opening day (3/15). Here's how it's been so far.

Opening morning I set up where I'd heard one roosting before and got him to gobble on the roost the evening before the season opener. At dawn I was set up waiting for the game to begin. He gobbles where I left him the prior evening and continues to gobble ~25 times on the roost. Heard a few others in the distance too. About flydown time I dish out a couple of light clucks. That's all it took. Maybe a minute later I see a bird pitching down toward me and lands out of sight off the side of the ridge i'm on. Within seconds here he comes in full strut. At the 25 yard line I flip him over at 7:02...2 year old bird with a 8 1/2" beard & 9/16" spurs. Sorry no pics...had a senior moment and cleaned him.

The next 2 mornings I'm on birds at dawn but they shut up when they hit the ground. The 2nd afternoon I get a bird to respond gobbling at ~3:30. After 5 gobbles I begin the hear the faint sound of drumming. His drumming gets louder and louder to the point I know I should see this bird. I slowly turn my head and there he is at ~70 yards behind my right shoulder...strutting & drumming. Another 2 year old with a beard in the 8" to 9" range. He never got any closer...that was his mark. Several minutes later he moves behind me. I could hear him drumming for another 30 minutes before he left. About 5:00 I got another bird to gobble once in the distance. That was the only warning I had he was around until he shows up ~40 yards behind me. Older bird this time with a beard over 10". By the time I can manage to get my gun in position for a shot, he's out of range...bummer.

After a short day or so of rest to recover I return to the woods in the role as a guide for 2 different hunters last week. One from Sunday afternoon through Thursday. The other from Friday afternoon through Saturday & Monday morning. The 1st rookie hunter I guided was...well unlucky. Monday morning we are in the middle of an area where 7 birds are gobbling. We manage to coax 4 strutting long beards in with a hen but the only time they were in range...no clear shot. They eased off with the hen. That afternoon I called in the same 2 year old I'd called in a few afternoons earlier only to have him pass by just outside his effective killing range with a jake behind him. Another morning we set up in the dark near where we'd heard one roosted the prior day. I misjudged the tree he was in. When he gobbled on the roost he was only 35 yards from us. Obviously...we couldn't move at all! He pitched down to hens going the other way. We continued to chase them but that was as close as we got.

Friday afternoon my young buddy Scott arrives late (~3:15). We head out to the woods and decided to set up off the edge of a field and set out 2 hen decoys ~4:30. I never got a verbal response to any of my calling. At 6:00 a gobbler appears at ~80 yards...no clue where he came from. He's a full alert. I slowly grab my Strut10 slate call (yep...one Don made fro me several years ago). I dish out nothing but soft purrs. That did the trick...the gobbler relaxes and begins easing in toward the decoys. At ~35 yards Scott drops the hammer on him & flips him over...never flopped. We discover Scott's 1st ever gobbler is a double beard with 9 3/4" & 6 3/4" beards...both spurs 3/4".

Scott_s_double_beard.jpg

Saturday & Monday morning we were back to dealing with more henned up birds so no more close encounters. Heading back to the camp late today to meet Scott again and see if I can't get him to call one in on his own. I hope to do the same too! See y'all next week!

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