Bodeen
New Member
Well I took it down to the last weekend this year to fill my second tag, and with the exception of wounding a huge bird with an arrow, I really enjoyed my time afield. Most of my hunts were before work affairs using my bow and limited to about 1 1/2 hours at a time. This combinaton made for some fast and exciting but somewhat frustating hunts. Having to pack up and go to work with birds strutting and sometimes still gobbling in the area is really difficult to do, and it's probably a good thing I don't have a cell phone as I may have missed some work.
Friday evening I went to two different farms trying to roost some birds for Saturday mornings hunt. The first farm provided no sightings or gobbles. I arrived at the second and it was already dark, on this farm I pretty much know where the birds roost so it's just a matter of me walking in and checking them out. Sure enough I spotted at least 6 birds in one of their roost spots along a creek bottom. This would be where I hunt in the morning.
Saturday morning came and I made my way back to the edge of the hay field at around 5am. As it started to get light I could see some of the birds had moved to different trees or left the area. I decided to stick with my plan and set up as close as possible, about thirty yards from three I could see in a tree. As it started to get light a Tom gobbled about 60 yards away and I realized I was in the wrong spot. There was a brushy drainage ditch that jutted out into the field 30 yards and it was between me and the gobbler. He pitched off the limb into the field around 5:30 along with another Tom, both strutting and gobbling of course he was on the opposite side of the brushy ditch. He would strut up the hill and back all the while gobbling, eventually the hens flew out into the field to join both gobblers. I was afraid the hens would take him up the hill and away so I hit him with some more tree yelps, this seemed to get him more excited but not enough to bring him around the end of the ditch. Both gobblers would strut toward my position to about thirty yards away stopping just short of clearing the brush to offer me a shot. Then they would turn and go back up the hill, gobbling and strutting. After the second time they did this I belly crawled through the foot high grass out close to the edge of the drainage ditch. I hit him with the same yelps and both Toms cut me off with gobbles and spun around strutting back down the hill. I already had my gun up so I just had to lay there and wait, when they got to where I figured twenty yards was I let the dominant bird have it with a load of 5s.
Here is the specs on the bird, 22lb. 10.5" beard 1"spurs.
Friday evening I went to two different farms trying to roost some birds for Saturday mornings hunt. The first farm provided no sightings or gobbles. I arrived at the second and it was already dark, on this farm I pretty much know where the birds roost so it's just a matter of me walking in and checking them out. Sure enough I spotted at least 6 birds in one of their roost spots along a creek bottom. This would be where I hunt in the morning.
Saturday morning came and I made my way back to the edge of the hay field at around 5am. As it started to get light I could see some of the birds had moved to different trees or left the area. I decided to stick with my plan and set up as close as possible, about thirty yards from three I could see in a tree. As it started to get light a Tom gobbled about 60 yards away and I realized I was in the wrong spot. There was a brushy drainage ditch that jutted out into the field 30 yards and it was between me and the gobbler. He pitched off the limb into the field around 5:30 along with another Tom, both strutting and gobbling of course he was on the opposite side of the brushy ditch. He would strut up the hill and back all the while gobbling, eventually the hens flew out into the field to join both gobblers. I was afraid the hens would take him up the hill and away so I hit him with some more tree yelps, this seemed to get him more excited but not enough to bring him around the end of the ditch. Both gobblers would strut toward my position to about thirty yards away stopping just short of clearing the brush to offer me a shot. Then they would turn and go back up the hill, gobbling and strutting. After the second time they did this I belly crawled through the foot high grass out close to the edge of the drainage ditch. I hit him with the same yelps and both Toms cut me off with gobbles and spun around strutting back down the hill. I already had my gun up so I just had to lay there and wait, when they got to where I figured twenty yards was I let the dominant bird have it with a load of 5s.
Here is the specs on the bird, 22lb. 10.5" beard 1"spurs.
