I've killed less turkey than some, I'm 26 and this year makes me 20 years at it, I'm completely self taught, I've killed my limit of 2 here in KY for 16 years now, and called in anywhere from 2 to 5 for others every year. I'm saying this as kind of a back story. This has been my first year hunting mountains in eastern ky, I grew up hunting northeastern KY in the hills, I wanted a new challenge so I took to the mountains. This morning on some public land I heard a gobbler with a deep, rattling gobble on the mountain I chose to hunt, across the valley on the other mountain there were 2 or 3 long beards gobbling and a couple jakes. I set up around 200 yards from him on the roost, he was down the side of the mountain and I went to the top above him. I gave a couple soft tree yelps and then stopped calling him. There is a old logging road running up the mountain and I figured he'd use it to come up and strut, so I positioned myself around a bend in it so he'd have to hunt me. In the typical fashion he didn't and came up a ridge to the right of me when I expected him to come to the left and hung up where I couldn't see him. He stood on this ridge at what sounded like 80 to 100 yards and gobbled his head off for around 20 minutes, I turned my head and gave a couple yelps on my Gosey trumpet back behind me. No sooner than I turned around I heard leaves crunching like a herd of squirrels running, I got my gun up and the next thing I knew he was in the road running tight down. I shot him still running to me at 26 yards.
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This is where the back story comes in, I've killed roughly 32 myself and been the one calling on nearly as many and this is the best I've laid hands on, 11 inch beard, 1 1/4" Spurs and weighed a scrawny 16 pounds. He had no feathers on his breast bone at all from doing nothing but breeding those hens, when I skimmed him he had no breast sponge left (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210425/194c0bc5d398298d1a187ff6bb667fcd.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210425/10fa001a6b0dd0b0a621ee5084659f18.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210425/d191373d572a2b89fded7461cf8d97fd.jpg)
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Nice gobbler , congrats
He's been busy! You'll have to hunt his descendants next season.
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Congrats on a great Tom.
Awesome! Congrats! :camohat:
Great bird, great story, thanks for sharing
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Congrats on a Personal best. Great story and a awesome hunt. I've chased gobblers in eastern Ky. when I was a younger man. I'm certain I would be gasping for air trying to get above one to work him now days.
Congrats on a dandy gobbler
That's a good one! Those mountain birds are fun
congrats on the great bird!
Congratulations
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Congratulations Scott. Glad the trumpet live up to expectations
Congrats
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Congrats! Nice bird.
Thanks everyone!
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