We watched 5 turkeys strut around a field behind my hunting cabin. All afternoon back in the words back out again. Two hens disappeared leaving a hen and two Tom's. One of them massive. As the sun went down the turkeys disappeared into the corner of the field.
So I discussed my plan with my Dad. I'd goto the center of the field, along the wood line that leads to the corner of the field we saw turkeys in and place a decoy. Then call turkeys from the roost. He'd goto the field on the other side of the woods in case the turkeys went in to the woods deeper then we thought.
So an hour before sunrise I start up over the mountain to my spot. As I pass thought some fields I see deer galore. First four deer, as move along three more. I get to the top of the field and three more deer run out right in front of me. So now I'm not paying attention to the task at hand. I don't look into tree tops for the turkeys. I don't listen for turkey chatter. Suddenly I hear the swooshing of turkeys , I look up and there are two turkeys flushing from their roosts in the tree tops. Damn, I blew it. Now what do I do? But this is the first time I got lucky, the hen flew left into the woods and the Tom flew right out over and down the field to trees at the bottom of the hill.
As I stand there like an idiot I hear the hen calling in the woods. So I quickly go down the field and setup between the hen and where the Tom landed at bottom of the field. Put out decoy on edge of field and wait. The hen is really yelping. Never hear a thing from the Tom. Which I hope is the big ole Tom. Since I didn't see a third turkey flush I have no idea which it is. The hen keeps yelping for like 45 min (I'm guessing) no response from any Tom. Finally the hen has had enough as I hear her going away from me along the ridge line. So I give a yelp and the hen starts making her way back towards me, yelping the whole time. She gets very close but I can't see her. She's yelping and yelping but no Tom. Again she starts making her way away from me along ridge. She sounds faint, I yelp, she comes back again. We do this 3 more times. Over a hour has passed. No Tom, now what do I do. So I turn my setup away from decoy turkey in field and looking into woods in direction of hen. Thinking Tom must have come up behind me in the woods.
Well, after I spin around and position myself behind some cover I take a drink out of my water bottle. Don't I see the Tom coming over the hill in the center of the field behind me. I freeze, damn, blew it again. Tom's looking right at me, water bottle up to my mouth. Gun leaning against tree stump next to me. Turkey caller on fallen tree by my leg. Now what do I do? Well he's headed right for the decoy. As he gets closer the stump gets in his line of vision and I take the water bottle down. The turkey caller isn't in my hand so I can't purr or anything. And I get really lucky a second time.
He breaks off his approach to the decoy, I'm guessing because no turkey calls/sound is coming from me. He heads for the tree line and enters about 20 yds to my right. He goes behind the first tree and I get the gun to the ground. He is really cautious, going real slow. He knows something isn't right. Goes behind two trees side by side. I raise the gun thinking he can't see me. It's a pump and it makes a little rattle noise. Damn, did I blow it again? I have gun raised pointed left of the tree waiting for him to came out. And I'm waiting, guns getting heavy. Finally I'm starting to think he heard me and slipped away. But no there he is, he sticks out his head a little and I take him.
He wasn't the big ole Tom as we saw him later but he had 9 inch beard and weighed 17 lbs.
So I discussed my plan with my Dad. I'd goto the center of the field, along the wood line that leads to the corner of the field we saw turkeys in and place a decoy. Then call turkeys from the roost. He'd goto the field on the other side of the woods in case the turkeys went in to the woods deeper then we thought.
So an hour before sunrise I start up over the mountain to my spot. As I pass thought some fields I see deer galore. First four deer, as move along three more. I get to the top of the field and three more deer run out right in front of me. So now I'm not paying attention to the task at hand. I don't look into tree tops for the turkeys. I don't listen for turkey chatter. Suddenly I hear the swooshing of turkeys , I look up and there are two turkeys flushing from their roosts in the tree tops. Damn, I blew it. Now what do I do? But this is the first time I got lucky, the hen flew left into the woods and the Tom flew right out over and down the field to trees at the bottom of the hill.
As I stand there like an idiot I hear the hen calling in the woods. So I quickly go down the field and setup between the hen and where the Tom landed at bottom of the field. Put out decoy on edge of field and wait. The hen is really yelping. Never hear a thing from the Tom. Which I hope is the big ole Tom. Since I didn't see a third turkey flush I have no idea which it is. The hen keeps yelping for like 45 min (I'm guessing) no response from any Tom. Finally the hen has had enough as I hear her going away from me along the ridge line. So I give a yelp and the hen starts making her way back towards me, yelping the whole time. She gets very close but I can't see her. She's yelping and yelping but no Tom. Again she starts making her way away from me along ridge. She sounds faint, I yelp, she comes back again. We do this 3 more times. Over a hour has passed. No Tom, now what do I do. So I turn my setup away from decoy turkey in field and looking into woods in direction of hen. Thinking Tom must have come up behind me in the woods.
Well, after I spin around and position myself behind some cover I take a drink out of my water bottle. Don't I see the Tom coming over the hill in the center of the field behind me. I freeze, damn, blew it again. Tom's looking right at me, water bottle up to my mouth. Gun leaning against tree stump next to me. Turkey caller on fallen tree by my leg. Now what do I do? Well he's headed right for the decoy. As he gets closer the stump gets in his line of vision and I take the water bottle down. The turkey caller isn't in my hand so I can't purr or anything. And I get really lucky a second time.
He breaks off his approach to the decoy, I'm guessing because no turkey calls/sound is coming from me. He heads for the tree line and enters about 20 yds to my right. He goes behind the first tree and I get the gun to the ground. He is really cautious, going real slow. He knows something isn't right. Goes behind two trees side by side. I raise the gun thinking he can't see me. It's a pump and it makes a little rattle noise. Damn, did I blow it again? I have gun raised pointed left of the tree waiting for him to came out. And I'm waiting, guns getting heavy. Finally I'm starting to think he heard me and slipped away. But no there he is, he sticks out his head a little and I take him.
He wasn't the big ole Tom as we saw him later but he had 9 inch beard and weighed 17 lbs.
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! 
. Bet crghss is hunting in another state.
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