Bitter Sweet

[3seasons]

To start off our season here in MS has been one of the strangest and hardest seasons to date.(for me and a lot of others that I know) The turkeys are not acting right at all. Some places they are gobbling most they are not for some reason. My dad quit hunting and started playing golf after 3 weeks of straight hunting without sitting down on a bird. Another guy I work with has hunted everyday this season and also gone to TX and still doesn’t have a bird to show for it and he is a dang good turkey hunter. That’s the season we have been having.

Needless to say I have been in a small state of depression with the way the season has been going. Everywhere i hunt that is private I’m having to deal with poachers which doesn’t help matters.

I get up sat morning (April 10) and wind up calling up 5 jakes, that’s been the highlight of my season, I was so happy that I called in a bird even though they weren’t legal.

Seems like I’ve have things to do the whole season so I haven’t got to hunt like I normally do, I had to leave early on this day also. So sat night my wife said to go hunting Sunday morning and to stay. So I said I would think about it but I would be home for Church if I did go.

This may sound crazy but I’m telling it anyway. Sat night I dreamed that I flipped a coin and it landed on tails twice which meant I was going to my south property. Not the north where I saw all the jakes. I turned the alarm clock off Sunday morning, basically sick of going with not even hearing a bird. I wake up a few minutes later and figured what the heck its a beautiful morning I’m going to give it a try.

I get to a place where a bird has been roosting in the prior weeks well before daybreak, while sitting there in the dark I start to hear someone hooting on the east side of the property. As day breaks (6am) I’m still hearing him hoot and i hear a faint gobble as far as I can hear. While this is going on I haven’t heard a sound around me. This goes on till about 6:45 and I cant stand it any more, so I break and run to the east end of our land to see if I can hear the poacher or hear the bird gobbling. It was about 5min later the bird gobbled down in a bottom from me. So if figured what the heck I’m going after him. I made a semicircle and got on a ridge to the side of where I thought he was. I called and he gobbled. I hit the deck and got ready, I called again and then i heard another call to my left. It want a hen but it was another hunter that was set up about 70yds to my left. I was the only person that day hunting so i knew he was poaching. The bird kept gobbling and I started to cut, the other hunter called back, this goes on for 30min until I see the bird fly down off the roost at 4:40( he was roosted in a tree that was in the bottom so it sounded like he was on the next ridge) He lit 40yds from me, when he hit the ground the other hunter started to call more, i just started purring, the bird walked on a line to me and started to go into strut. I wanted to watch him for a little while but I didn’t want my intruder to mess me up either so I shot the bird.

I broke and ran on the shot and as I ran up the next ridge I see a decoy and a hunter sitting beside a tree. BUSTED again. I caught him last year also. Some people. We had a nice long talk and I finally got him to understand that it is not a good thing to keep poaching. We will see, I don’t know what all the land owner is going to do to him.

I got him to take a pic of me with the bird, that’s why it is a little blurry, he was shaking a little.

The bitter sweet part is, While I was able to call in and take a truly beautiful Red barred bird First I’ve ever taken with these colors. My taxidermist said the colors were rare. Ill get some better pics with more detail later. I wasn’t able to fully enjoy the hunt because of some bonehead that crossed the line. And on the other hand I know that’s one less bird that ill be able to chase in the future. I love hunting these birds but they are getting harder and harder to find.

God blessed me on this hunt and I am forever grateful I said my prayers and got home in time for Sunday School.

HAHA after it was all said and done, the poacher asked if I thought he could get in our club. Yea right.

18lbs 9.5'beard 1"spurs bronze fan, red bars on half of his wing feathers. Ill get some more pics when i can.

[Rhino]

Congrats Scott...awesome rare color phase gobbler. Fine trophy there!

Sorry to hear you're still dealing with trespassers. Hope you cured that one's problem for good.

[PA_Spike_King]

Good for you 3seasons!!

I to hope that trespasser learned his lesson!

[Diamond Archer 01]

Congrats on the bird.

[pointing_dogs_rule]

congrats!!!

good luck to all

the dog

[redbeard]

Definately one of the prettiest birds I've ever seen. Congrats. Don't feel alone in this year being different, everything was late in Georgia too. Far as the poacher, got a couple of them myself. Found thier face mask on our gasline, went and took it back to them and he nearly peed himself all the while showing me every mask he ever owned.

[Goinghuntin]

Love the color on your bird. Great job! And sorry to hear about all the poachers. I've only ever had one run-in with them.

Nathan

[BBR12]

Congrats on the double man. I knew that bird had some different coloring from the email that is cool.

I'm glad you FINALLY got one now I don't have to feel bad every time I send you a pic of another one that I killed.

[3seasons]

Yea BBR i know you were feeling bad everytime you pulled the trigger and pushed send on your phone.LOL Ill have more time next year and we will have to stack a few up on a road trip or two.

[Strut10]

Beautiful phase bird!!

Congrats!!

[WHISKEYSWAMP]

nicely done... congrats on a dandy of a bird!