KYLimbHanger gets the big one.

KYLimbHanger · April 20, 2005

Well, let me start off by saying we owe it all to the landowners. Without them, some people (me) would have to drive a long way to turkey hunt.

Opening morning I filmed my brother and uncle take a double with two jakes. Later that morning we glassed a nice gobbler strutting for his 4 hens. Never could get him though. I just couldn't stop thinking about him.......

I got off work today at 5:00pm and hammered down to get out to the field. I hit my crow call at 5:30 and heard one gobble on the next ridge over. It came from the exact place where the tom had been strutting four days ago. Well, I had a hike in front of me so I took off. I topped where I thought he would be and let out a 5 note old boss hen yelp. He thundered back. But, I had misjudged him and he was another ridge over. As I looked over the thick bank contemplating whether to go down, he gobbled again. At that time I decided to just setup shop for a while and try to call him over. I know calling a tom over drains and rivers is difficult but I have done it before. If he never came in, I knew where he would be in the morning. So, I set my Renzo decoys out and starting yelping on my Primos Box Cutter. I didn't get too agressive though. Again he kept gobbling. After he started gobbling on his own for a while, I just stopped yelping and only purred softly with my Crystal Freak ever so often. A crow shocked him and he gobbled on my side of the ridge about 75 yards below me. He either flew over or ran; whichever it was, it was fast. I gave a few soft clucks but he never gobbled back. I knew this bird was probably gonna come on in silent. So I readied my shotgun. Then, while I was staring ahead at the treeline he gobbled and almost blew my hat from my head. He was right on top of me but I couldn't see him. I slowly turned my head to look behind me and there he stood like a Greek statue, without hens and nothing between us but clean KY air. His face was as red as my Federals. I set my beads on his wattles and squeezed. My 870 roared and he fell at 6:00pm. Awesome! He was actually angled away from me when I shot, so I had no idea what kind of beard he had. I ran up to get him and was astonished at his beard. Finally I got a paintbrush, finally. It was a great hunt that only lasted 30 minutes or so but felt like a whole day. This has to be the bird I saw 4 days ago strutting with his hens. Great first bird for the season: 25 pounds, 1 inch spurs, and a thick 10 3/4 inch beard.

This stuff never gets old. Those who don't hunt turkey have no idea what they are missing.

PAbowhunter4life · April 20, 2005