gunrunr
Life Member
What a gorgeous morning!
I'd left my blind and chair out in a new spot on one of my farms yesterday after I failed to get any birds close enough. Had them within Benelli range but not within broadhead range. This new spot seemed like the ultimate ambush area - down the hill tucked into the fence line below a gateway on an interior line fence I knew the birds walk through. Set the Dave Smith decoy so they could see it from the other side and at a perfect 18 yards from the blind. I hoped they would come off roost into the field below, see the decoy through the gate and strutt on though with full attention on my decoy hen and not even notice me in the Double Bull. Worked out perfectly!
A single jake flew down right on top of my decoy at only 6:05 - too early to shoot but there was a ton of gobbling below me. I was really enjoying listening to them gobble below me, and they answered my calls all too readily - I knew it would be getting good soon. Finally a nice gobbler was working its way to the top of the ridge and sure enough, he popped into full strut when he noticed my decoy. I picked out a perfect feather to aim at as he strutted through the gate and gave him a Muzzy moment! He tetered off about 20 yds and went down - 27.25#, 1 1/4 and 1 5/16" spurs and 10.25" beard for a 73.375 score.
On my way back home to get back by work by shortly after 7 AM - what an awesome morning!
I'd left my blind and chair out in a new spot on one of my farms yesterday after I failed to get any birds close enough. Had them within Benelli range but not within broadhead range. This new spot seemed like the ultimate ambush area - down the hill tucked into the fence line below a gateway on an interior line fence I knew the birds walk through. Set the Dave Smith decoy so they could see it from the other side and at a perfect 18 yards from the blind. I hoped they would come off roost into the field below, see the decoy through the gate and strutt on though with full attention on my decoy hen and not even notice me in the Double Bull. Worked out perfectly!
A single jake flew down right on top of my decoy at only 6:05 - too early to shoot but there was a ton of gobbling below me. I was really enjoying listening to them gobble below me, and they answered my calls all too readily - I knew it would be getting good soon. Finally a nice gobbler was working its way to the top of the ridge and sure enough, he popped into full strut when he noticed my decoy. I picked out a perfect feather to aim at as he strutted through the gate and gave him a Muzzy moment! He tetered off about 20 yds and went down - 27.25#, 1 1/4 and 1 5/16" spurs and 10.25" beard for a 73.375 score.
On my way back home to get back by work by shortly after 7 AM - what an awesome morning!
