Squirrelhunter91 Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Well.. Of course the title of this thread has gotten your attention so allow me to explain... Last weekend proved to be very good for us, with me calling in a tom for my dad on our buddy's farm. This past weekend was no different. We made our weekly trip upstate on Friday afternoon, as soon as my dad got home from work. The weather wasn't expected to cooperate much, but we figured we would be able to get up there and ride for a little while, at the very least. Forecast said thunderstorms starting Friday night and into Monday evening. I set the clock for 4:15 AM anyway on friday night. We got up on Saturday and the skies were a little cloudy and the ground was dry. We headed to the same spot where my dad shot the bird last week. After standing around for a few minutes, two birds gobbled about 400 yards away on the other side of the field. We walked all the way over to the other end of the field and set up. The birds were hot until flydown time and about 10 minutes after flydown, they stopped gobbling all together. So we backed out and didn't hunt the rest of the day. It ended up raining for a few hours and then all thru Saturday night. But while we were in town, I called my girlfriend to see if the weather forecast had changed at all, but no, it was expected to rain all day Sunday. I didn't set the alarm that night. My dad ended waking me up anyway at 4:30 AM and he told me that the sky looked clear and it was fairly warm out. I told him that it was gonna rain anyway and we should sleep in. So we did. We slept in til 8:00 and woke up to sunny, clear skies. Incredible. Them friggin weathermen need to find something better to do. LOL So we got up and ate breakfast. While we were eating breakfast we discussed going hunting after we were done, but assumed it would be the morning lull, with birds henned up all around. So 9:00 AM rolls around and we couldn't take it anymore. We hike up the mountain and get up to a field with a bunch of dirtbike jumps. I let out a bunch of yelps on my mouth call and two birds gobble back, one ridge lower than us. We drop down to that ridge and start easing along the ridge, very slowly. Calling every 50 yards or so. Obviously the gobblers weren't on that ridge, because we never bumped them. Now, where it sounded like these birds were, they weren't. But I had an idea as to where they were headed. Along this border of the hunting camps land we were on, there is a horse farm that we don't have permission to hunt on. The properties are separated by old rock walls. The last weekend in April, there were 5 or 6 toms in the field of this horse farm strutting and gobbling at 9:30 AM. I have always seen that farm as a good place to hunt, but we never asked for permission. So I told my dad to sit low on the ridge, about 100 yards away, in case they followed this one path out of the field. So I set up at the next point where I expected them to come out. So I plop my keester against a tree a few feet off the trail and let out a sequence of purrs, yelps and cutts on my Purdy's Custom Calls slate/glass call. On a side note, let me tell you folks, this call can talk turkey, as can the other three calls I have of Bill's. If you guys are into custom calls, check out Bill Purdy's calls.. www.purdyscustomturkeycalls.com Tell him Joe Pic sent ya. One bird hammers back this time, close. Real close. I give him a couple more yelps and cutts with some soft purrs and then I see him. He jumped up on top of the rock wall and was looking around for the hen he just heard about 60 yards away. I put the call down and got my gun up and began to prepare myself for the shot. I looked through the trees and found a clearing I liked. I said to myself that if he came into this certain clearing, I would take him. So now, this tom jumps off the rock wall and is now on my side. He begins to strut right down the four wheeler path, right to me. So, as fate would have it, he stopped right in the clearing I thought about just a minute earlier and broke strut. At 34 yards, I let him have it. The 835 barked and the bird went down. So back to the title of this thread.. I don't need no permission for that farm, because I'm so darn good, I can call 'em across the property line!! Hehehe Also folks.. don't hesitate to get out there during the late morning. Alot of people give up after the first two hours of hunting and then stop. The hens are starting to nest all day now and they aren't hot anymore so that leaves the toms all lonely. Time to take advantage of this folks. I shot this bird at 10:00 AM. It turned out to be a pretty nice bird. 22lbs 9" beard R spur : 3/4" and L spur : 7/8" Probably a three year old bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Covehnter Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Congrats on the bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Congrats...way to hang in there with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddyboman Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Nice bird JOE!! That 10 oclock time is a great time to kill a gobbler. Just like you stated most of the hens have gone to nest so the ol gobblers are lonely and loooking for love! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redbeard Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Congrats on the fine hunt........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest raylandarcher Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 Nice bird JOE!! That 10 oclock time is a great time to kill a gobbler. Just like you stated most of the hens have gone to nest so the ol gobblers are lonely and loooking for love! You are right about that.Out of the 37 Gobblers I killed.Probably 20 or more of them were shot after 10 AM.The first one I shot this year was right at 11:30 AM and the second one was at 11:50 AM.We can only hunt until noon in Ohio so I was cutting it close on the second bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maytom Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 WTG on a fine bird!! Congrats!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 Nice bird there Joe. Congratulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardwood_HD Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 congrats.. thats a good one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccwhitey Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 Nice story and bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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