When you do everything right.....

[Gobble!]

but wait 5 more minutes.

Heard my first gobble at 630. Put a move on him based on where I saw some birds work Saturday. Started with some light calling for about 20 minutes and it sounded like he was working away on land I couldn't hunt. Decided to pick it up and throw in some gobbles. He closed the distance but after 15 minutes went back into lock down mode. Gave him one last round of calls and decided to shut up. He gobbled twice more within 10 minutes and sounded like he was getting closer. 30 minutes go by with nothing. Tried a crow call, nothing. Thought he must have worked away so I called again and he was at 80 yards. He gobbled twice but immediately went into alert mode because he couldn't see a hen. Got to maybe 65-70 and headed off.

Good chance if I would have been silent another 5 minutes he would have walked into my lap. You'd think I would have learned that lesson by now.

[Happy]

Don't feel bad. Told my boy to play hooky this morn and hunt with me. Walked directly under a gobbler and hen. And didn't hear a gobble all day. Guess the Tom's have gotten tired of dodging rifle bullets up here when they are in the trees

[spurman]

We never learn, its just going to happen sometimes.