Liv4Rut
Active Member
Well I managed to fill my 4th season tag yesterday. The day started out being set up within 75 yards of two birds on each side of me. I thought for sure it would be a slam dunk but as luck would have it, bird #1 landed 25 yards away and strutted behind a multiflora rose bush for 20 minutes with no shot. He eventually ducked over the ridge with a hen and out of my life. Bird #2 stayed up in the tree until 7:30 gobbling at everything I threw at him. I finally thought well, if he isn't going to come out of the tree, I am going to blast him out of the tree. For some reason, it didn't seem that bad to blast one out of the tree 2 hours after shooting light. As always, he saw me before I saw him and he was gone. It finally started to rain lightly so I thought I would head back to the truck and head over to another spot.
When I got to the truck I looked out in the field and saw a bird strutting. I walked past the truck and kept walking down the gravel road knowing they would see me. I walked as fast as I could and never stopped. The birds didn't spook which was suprising. I then came to a level B road and knew I had to sneak down it and make it to this point. The problem was I couldn't just walk down it because the birds would spook. There was a little burm along the road so I crawled about 300 yards and made it to the point in the field. I was soaked from the waste down and was covered in mud. I don't know why I didn't slip into my goretex bibs that were in my pack.
When I got to the tree on the point in the field I was pleasantly suprised to see 7 long beards and 3 hens out in it. I stood behind the tree that had a crotch about 4ft up and a bunch of logs laying around it. It was a perfect blind. I was watching the long beards when another long beard, the one I ended up shooting, and two hens came out to the left of me. The gobbler walked out in the middle of the field where two toms ran up to him and beat the crap out of him. For 5 minutes they were up in the air duking it out. I couldn't believe it. The two gobblers chased mine from about 300 yards out to just inside 100 yards. The two dominant birds went back to the flock and mine just milled around.
For two hours I watched him slowly make his way towards me. He would take 5 steps forward 4 steps to the side and 3 steps back. It felt like an eternity and I was freezing from being soaked and sitting in the wind. Finally I decided that he was within 60 yards so it was time to shoot. I propped my gun up on the log and when he had his head up looking around I touched off a round of 3.5 #6 hevi shot his way. The bird hit the ground without a flop. I walked it off at 55 yards. All in all it was a great hunt and way to end the season. :way:
18lbs 12 oz
1 1/4 inch spurs
10 1/4 inch beard
When I got to the truck I looked out in the field and saw a bird strutting. I walked past the truck and kept walking down the gravel road knowing they would see me. I walked as fast as I could and never stopped. The birds didn't spook which was suprising. I then came to a level B road and knew I had to sneak down it and make it to this point. The problem was I couldn't just walk down it because the birds would spook. There was a little burm along the road so I crawled about 300 yards and made it to the point in the field. I was soaked from the waste down and was covered in mud. I don't know why I didn't slip into my goretex bibs that were in my pack.
When I got to the tree on the point in the field I was pleasantly suprised to see 7 long beards and 3 hens out in it. I stood behind the tree that had a crotch about 4ft up and a bunch of logs laying around it. It was a perfect blind. I was watching the long beards when another long beard, the one I ended up shooting, and two hens came out to the left of me. The gobbler walked out in the middle of the field where two toms ran up to him and beat the crap out of him. For 5 minutes they were up in the air duking it out. I couldn't believe it. The two gobblers chased mine from about 300 yards out to just inside 100 yards. The two dominant birds went back to the flock and mine just milled around.
For two hours I watched him slowly make his way towards me. He would take 5 steps forward 4 steps to the side and 3 steps back. It felt like an eternity and I was freezing from being soaked and sitting in the wind. Finally I decided that he was within 60 yards so it was time to shoot. I propped my gun up on the log and when he had his head up looking around I touched off a round of 3.5 #6 hevi shot his way. The bird hit the ground without a flop. I walked it off at 55 yards. All in all it was a great hunt and way to end the season. :way:
18lbs 12 oz
1 1/4 inch spurs
10 1/4 inch beard
