sep0667
Land of the Whitetail
I had a great hunt this past Sunday the 7th. Got out to the property a little later than I wanted due to the heavy fog and having to drive slow, but that same fog allowed me to slip in unseen. Heard a couple distant gobbles and a hen pitched down near me. I had a single hen deocy out and it checked out the decoy and then spooked off.
About 0900 I was getting a little tired of just sitting and decided I'd move towards that distant gobble I heard earlier in the morning. I was able to call and get him to respond, but he was a ways off on the neighboring property. Shortly after some weather rolled in and it was thundering I decided to start working my way towards the truck in case it would start raining. It never did rain, but the thunder got the birds fired up and they were shock gobbling to it. I had two moving through the timber that I set up on a couple of times and I swear at one point they had to be within 50 yards and thought they were coming to my calls, but never did see them. They kept moving and I'd try to get in front of them, but couldn't.
I moved back towards the original bird I heard gobbling on the neighboring property. I could get him to respond everytime I called, but he wouldn't budge. I could tell exactly what ridge he was on, but he wouldn't move, he was the king of that ridge, and i was already in the corner of the property. I sat for couple hours maybe calling every now and then and he wouldn't move.
I ended up hearing a gobble back on the property I am hunting closer to where I was originally set up to start the morning. The way the property lays and where I heard the gobble I had an idea on the direction the bird would likely travel. There's a big bluff that's to steep to go up/down on one end of the timber and an open area on the other end so I moved up and hunkered down about in the middle of the timber between the steep bluff and the open field. I got the bird to gobble a couple of times. Finally I had a really close gobble, probably 60 or so yards. Then to my left down an old driving path through the timber I catch a glimpse of him and his beard hanging down..then another..and another. I had three long beards coming my way. Unfortunately instead of coming right in front of me they cut up to my left. It was crunch time, i had to decide really quick if they are in range or not and to try and find a gap in the brush ahead of them to make a shot. That was not easy to do with 3 of them and their heads bobbing back and forth. Luckily I found a nice size gap and waited for one of them to hit the gap and was able to squeeze off a shot. I'd guess around 35 yards. It was 1210pm.
Not a real big tom, weighed just 19 pounds, 9.75 inch beard, and 3/4 inch spurs. Was super pumped to get this tom after not having a single tom in range last year. Such an awesome hunt, amazing when it all comes together.
About 0900 I was getting a little tired of just sitting and decided I'd move towards that distant gobble I heard earlier in the morning. I was able to call and get him to respond, but he was a ways off on the neighboring property. Shortly after some weather rolled in and it was thundering I decided to start working my way towards the truck in case it would start raining. It never did rain, but the thunder got the birds fired up and they were shock gobbling to it. I had two moving through the timber that I set up on a couple of times and I swear at one point they had to be within 50 yards and thought they were coming to my calls, but never did see them. They kept moving and I'd try to get in front of them, but couldn't.
I moved back towards the original bird I heard gobbling on the neighboring property. I could get him to respond everytime I called, but he wouldn't budge. I could tell exactly what ridge he was on, but he wouldn't move, he was the king of that ridge, and i was already in the corner of the property. I sat for couple hours maybe calling every now and then and he wouldn't move.
I ended up hearing a gobble back on the property I am hunting closer to where I was originally set up to start the morning. The way the property lays and where I heard the gobble I had an idea on the direction the bird would likely travel. There's a big bluff that's to steep to go up/down on one end of the timber and an open area on the other end so I moved up and hunkered down about in the middle of the timber between the steep bluff and the open field. I got the bird to gobble a couple of times. Finally I had a really close gobble, probably 60 or so yards. Then to my left down an old driving path through the timber I catch a glimpse of him and his beard hanging down..then another..and another. I had three long beards coming my way. Unfortunately instead of coming right in front of me they cut up to my left. It was crunch time, i had to decide really quick if they are in range or not and to try and find a gap in the brush ahead of them to make a shot. That was not easy to do with 3 of them and their heads bobbing back and forth. Luckily I found a nice size gap and waited for one of them to hit the gap and was able to squeeze off a shot. I'd guess around 35 yards. It was 1210pm.
Not a real big tom, weighed just 19 pounds, 9.75 inch beard, and 3/4 inch spurs. Was super pumped to get this tom after not having a single tom in range last year. Such an awesome hunt, amazing when it all comes together.
