Back from PA

[twyatt]

Another great PA trip in the books.  One of my favorite times of the year is getting to go up and hunt with my buddies ZSully and A_Jabbo.   Z and his family are always great hosts.  I get to watch his boys play baseball, enjoy great food, and the hunting is always good.
Day 1 of 3 the weather was the worst but the hunting ended up being the best.  Cold, cloudy, and windy. Got set up in an area we had seen 2 gobblers and 2 hens the evening before, and about an hour into daylight, we watch them come across the road onto our side, 2 gobblers and 2 hens, and proceed to pay us no attention and work up a ridge towards another bird we had heard gobbling WAY in the distance.   
A_Jab has to go to work, but Z and I decide to drive around the big block of land and see if we can put eyes on these birds and come up with another plan.  We end up seeing them and they're working back down this hillside near where we had started the morning.  We quickly get back around, and get set back up at the bottom of this hillside and soon the 2 gobblers start to work back down behind us.  We have a big line of thicket and creek to our backs, and are thinking the birds will just come around that and right into the little field we're facing, but to our surprise, they try to take a deer trail through the thicket and they end up about 5 yards behind us, and start clucking.  At this point we thing the gig is up and the game is over.  They were so close, I was just sure they had spotted us.   They don't seem to alarmed and don't seem to really leave, just cluck a little and back up.   A short while later, they DO end up coming around the corner like we hoped, and still clucking up a storm, they walk in to the decoys at about 15 yards.   As soon as they stop, I shoot the one on my side, and the other one runs about 10 yards and made the fatal mistake of stopping for a second to look back, and Z drops him.  It was the first double I've been a part of, and just an amazing experience.  A_Jab hadn't quite made it to work yet, so he turned around and came back and was able to join us for the celebration.
Day 2 we marched up a hill comparable to a black diamond ski slope, and get set up where we had seen a lone gobbler the night before.  We end up sitting about 30 yards away from a roosted hen, which was quite fun having her pitch down and walk in to about 10 yards making all sorts of racket, but that ended up being the only excitement for the morning.  We drive around looking for another bird and spot a hen and a longbeard that we can make a move on.  We use the terrain, get set up about 150 yards away, and call and sit til almost noon with no action. 
Day 3 at first light we find ourselves set up within about 100 yards of 2 birds gobbling pretty good.  Despite A_jab and Z throwing everything at them, (and a raccoon trying to get in AJab's lap) they work off the opposite direction.  We leave to go try another spot.  As we turn onto the road going into the property, there's a gobbler in full strut at the end of the road, with a jake and a hen.  We watch them in the binoculars for a while trying to come up with a plan, but there really just wasn't one, and I had to hit the road back to VA, so we called it a day.   As usual, another excellent time with my buddies in PA. 

[RutnNStrutn]

Another great PA trip in the books.  One of my favorite times of the year is getting to go up and hunt with my buddies ZSully and A_Jabbo.   Z and his family are always great hosts.  I get to watch his boys play baseball, enjoy great food, and the hunting is always good.
Day 1 of 3 the weather was the worst but the hunting ended up being the best.  Cold, cloudy, and windy. Got set up in an area we had seen 2 gobblers and 2 hens the evening before, and about an hour into daylight, we watch them come across the road onto our side, 2 gobblers and 2 hens, and proceed to pay us no attention and work up a ridge towards another bird we had heard gobbling WAY in the distance.   
A_Jab has to go to work, but Z and I decide to drive around the big block of land and see if we can put eyes on these birds and come up with another plan.  We end up seeing them and they're working back down this hillside near where we had started the morning.  We quickly get back around, and get set back up at the bottom of this hillside and soon the 2 gobblers start to work back down behind us.  We have a big line of thicket and creek to our backs, and are thinking the birds will just come around that and right into the little field we're facing, but to our surprise, they try to take a deer trail through the thicket and they end up about 5 yards behind us, and start clucking.  At this point we thing the gig is up and the game is over.  They were so close, I was just sure they had spotted us.   They don't seem to alarmed and don't seem to really leave, just cluck a little and back up.   A short while later, they DO end up coming around the corner like we hoped, and still clucking up a storm, they walk in to the decoys at about 15 yards.   As soon as they stop, I shoot the one on my side, and the other one runs about 10 yards and made the fatal mistake of stopping for a second to look back, and Z drops him.  It was the first double I've been a part of, and just an amazing experience.  A_Jab hadn't quite made it to work yet, so he turned around and came back and was able to join us for the celebration.
Day 2 we marched up a hill comparable to a black diamond ski slope, and get set up where we had seen a lone gobbler the night before.  We end up sitting about 30 yards away from a roosted hen, which was quite fun having her pitch down and walk in to about 10 yards making all sorts of racket, but that ended up being the only excitement for the morning.  We drive around looking for another bird and spot a hen and a longbeard that we can make a move on.  We use the terrain, get set up about 150 yards away, and call and sit til almost noon with no action. 
Day 3 at first light we find ourselves set up within about 100 yards of 2 birds gobbling pretty good.  Despite A_jab and Z throwing everything at them, (and a raccoon trying to get in AJab's lap) they work off the opposite direction.  We leave to go try another spot.  As we turn onto the road going into the property, there's a gobbler in full strut at the end of the road, with a jake and a hen.  We watch them in the binoculars for a while trying to come up with a plan, but there really just wasn't one, and I had to hit the road back to VA, so we called it a day.   As usual, another excellent time with my buddies in PA. 

Awesome!! Sounds like a good time!!!

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[JeffC]

Congrats to both of you, great memories made sharing Turkey Camp!

[Tom007]

Nice job, congrats!

[a_jabbo]

Always love having ya here my friend, making great memories.