My Hunt....I just wanted to share it with yall....

Griz · April 24, 2005

I know this is a little long, but I wanted to share some of my season with yall....

My Hunt.....

Well I will start out telling you that it has been tough from day one....

Before the season opened I have had several birds that I was watching and figured that as soon as season opens I would have my bird tagged....

Man was I wrong. Those danged ole turkey's kept me on the move and guessing the whole time.

I would head out in the evenings and roost the birds thinking that in the morning I could sneak in and set up and wait for the games to begin.

Those crazy birds would never be in the same tree come morning. They were always 3 to 500 yards from where I saw them last.....

They also were real slow to responding to the calls. Some days "Nothing!" and some days they would gobble there heads off. They would go as far as getting real close but the under brush is so thick you couldn't see them.

I guess it was there way of playing Hide and Seek...

On the morning of April 16th. I decided to hunt in a different place. I got all set up, got my decoys all out and my calls laid out. I was ready!

6:30am. rolls around and there is a gobble. Pretty soon another one. At this time I'm thinking this is going to be the day. The turkey's were so close to were I was at, that about 7am. I could here them flying down. It sounded like I was sitting in some farmers hut with a bunch of turkeys. There was that many....

I started making some yelps and sure enough here they come. All of a sudden "BAM!" there they are...

2 Jakes.....

One of the jakes was very young, but from the way he was acting you would have thought he was the biggest one in the woods. The other Jake had about a 5 - 5 1/2" beard. I had him so fired up it wasn't even funny. At this time I'm thinking, what a better decoy then 2 live Jakes and my 2 hen decoys...

I kept working the birds and messing with them. I called those 2 Jakes 5 yards from me. Like I said they were so fired up that the oldest Jake tried to breed my decoy...LOL

Well folks let me tell you. At that time I lost it. I started laughing and I couldn't quit. I figured I was going to spook the 2 Jakes off. Well there was no way. When he finally knocked the hen decoy over, he would stand there looking at it. It was the crazies site I have ever saw....

After 2 hours of messing with the 2 Jakes, they left. I decided to get up and move. When I got up and topped the small hill I see a fan about 500 yards away. Strutting by a pecan tree. I dropped to the ground and set back up once again. I glassed his way and sure enough it's a long beard.....

I pull out my box call and start hammering down on it at him. After about a min. or so, here he comes. I called him with in 50 yards of me. I kept working him softing my calls down a bunch thinking he would get closer. Well about that time I start hearing 4 hens in the woods start yelping and purring. This drove the mature tom to them. In less then a min. he was 20 yards from me strutting back and forth. No Shot....

I had to much brush between me and him. All I could do is sit there and watch the show....

That turkey ever made a sound. Not one gobble....

After 6 hours of sitting in one place I decided to pick up and head home to get me something to eat....

I was so disappointed that I decided to wait and go again Sunday morning.

Now grant you the weather here has been terrible the whole time. We have had winds any where from 20 to 30mph. I think everyday.

Sunday morning rolls around and I'm up and ready. I head back over there once again. This time I walked down into a pecan grove, thinking that the birds are going to be roosted along a creek. Which they have in the past. So anyway I get set up and I'm ready. 6:30 comes around and "Nothing!" No gobbles....

7am. still the same. At this time I'm thinking about maybe doing some run and gun. After thinking about getting up "BAM!" there's a distance gobble. Well on the other side of this creek that I had mentioned about is another big open field and that's were the turkey was at. Well I can't hunt there so I thought I would try and get him to come to me. I started in calling and getting more aggressive each time with the calling. About that time here come those 2 Jakes again. This time they have a hen with them...

Well I set there and messed with them thinking if I can get these two fired up they just may bring in a long beard....

No such luck.....

As the day went on the turkey's like faded away....

April 23rd. Sat. morning....

I'm up by 2:52am. I couldn't sleep from thinking about hunting. But hey that's just the way I am when it comes to hunting.....

As I started out the door I was met with one heck of a surprise. Cold and the wind blowing out of the North 30 to 40 mph.....

I came so close in not going to the woods but I thought what the hay. I'll try it.....

I walked in, got set up, freezing my tail end off, but still hanging in there. When 6:30am. rolls around I made a soft tree yelp. It was a no go.

About 7am. I caught movement off to my right. When looked it was a Bobcat stocking my decoys. He was about 30 yards from. It was pretty awesome to sit there watch him. All of a sudden he caught a nose full of me and was gone in a flash....

I sat out there for a good 5 hours and all I heard was 1 gobble. He was so far away I knew that there was no way to get him to me. Because the wind is blowing like crazy at my back and this turkey was way off in front of me.....

The day to remember.....

April 24th. 2005 Sunday.....

I'm up again very early and ready to hit the woods.

As 5:30 rolls around and I head out the door the weather was perfect. It was calm and cold. But we did have a full moon. Which I was thinking I may get busted going in.

When I got to my hunting spot. I hurried and set the decoys up out about 20 yards from me. I only put 1 hen and 1 Jake out this time, thinking this might be a better set up...

I am hunting the same pecan grove I told you about earlier.

Well here we go again....

6:30am comes rolling around once again. I picked up the call and made a tree yelp. Before I could even finish "BAM!" There's a gobble, This turkey is like in the 2nd. or 3rd. from me. He is so close it sounded like he was roosted on my shoulder....

At 6:40am. I can here him flying down....

I'm thinking man this is it....

Can you believe it was the same 2 Jakes that I have been messing with.....

I couldn't believe it...I just couldn't believe it....

Anyway here they come, straight to my decoys.The youngest Jake never said a word but the older one was fired up. I had my gun rested on my knee and was working the call at the same time.

The grass was so tall under the tree and with me up against the base of the tree, my Realtree Hardwoods blended me in perfect. Those turkey's didn't even know I was even there.

After messing with these 2 Jakes again for about 25 min. Way off to my right I can hear a gobble. I mean this bird was a long, long ways off. Every time I would hit the call that turkey would gobble and he was getting closer....

At 7:10am. I looked back to my right to see 3 turkey's come through the fence out of some woods at a dead run coming straight to me....

At first I thought dang 3 more Jakes. As they were closing the distance I saw that all 3 birds had long beards.

They ran up and came to full strut no more then 15 yards from me. I noticed the bird in the back was the biggest one, so I had to sit wait for a shot.

I picked up the call and started making some soft purrs and that's what made the biggest one jump out in front, away from the other two.

When he did that, I whistled at him, his head popped up and "KABAM!" my turkey was down.

I sat there for a bit until the other ones left. then I jumped up and ran to him with joy. I was so pumped up that I stopped for a moment so that I could thank God for letting me harvest a fine bird....

He weighed in at 24lbs. and had a 11 7/8" beard....

VtBowhunter · April 25, 2005