I've been chasing this bird for over 2 weeks. He would gobble off the roost (forever) and then fly down and strut without ever offering to come to a call. Saturday we played cat and mouse for about 6 1/2 hrs before I gave up and declared him the winner. After a couple of days to think about it I decided to go in this morning with a different approach. When he gobbled off the roost before daylight I called softly twice to make sure he knew where I (the hens) were and then shut up (probably tried to call too much Saturday). He continued to gobble and then did what he did Saturday, flew down and wouldn't move. I decided if the mountain won't come to Mohamad then, well you know the rest. I moved across the powerline I was set up on to an old logging road that I knew circled behind where he was strutting. I would move a few yards then wait for him to gobble again to verify his position. It took about an hour to cover the 300 yards separating us but I finally got to within 70 yards of where he was. I called softly once and he moved into sight on a rise about 50 yards away. He seemed nervous even then so I decided it was now or never. Drew a fine bead and fired a load of 3.5in Hevi 7's at him. He flopped and after a little foot to neck desuscication it was over. Best spurs I have ever taken. He is really underweight but it could be from chasing the ladies. Feels good to fool one at his own game.
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Like them HOOKS !!!
Congrats, nothing like a set of BigHooks!!!!!!!!!
Congrats on a FINE bird
Awesome on two levels!! Thinking about what you did wrong and changing it and knowing your gun to have the confidence at 50yds.
Congrats on a well earned bird and a dandy at that!
Neal
Wow. That ol boy's got some daggers! Nice job
Those spurs probably give an indication of why he was acting the way he did. They don't grow them like that by being easy to fool. Congrats on a hard earned trophy.
Way to go! Nice Hooks! Sneaking intothe birds strut zoneand minimal calling seem to be the way to go with old birds you may get busted once in a while but its worth the risk when you dont. I killed one closing day last year with a 1" 5/8 and a 1 3/4 spur practically doing the same thing, its really a challenge to get within a hundred yards with no hills to help
Great spurs!
Those are some hooks - congrats! :icon_thumright:
A fine gobbler .... good job !!!
:you_rock:
Very nice,congrats!!
He's a P90X bird....lean and mean. Great story and nice bird!
Congrats!!!
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Congrats on a great bird. :you_rock:
Thanks for the attaboys guys. Obviously I was aided by the terrain and the fact that we are in full green up in MS. It makes it hard to determine how far a bird is gobbling from you but when you move on them it also keeps you concealed. Anyone have a guess as to how old this bird might be? His low weight has just got me stumped. I had to weigh him about 5 times because I just couldn't believe a bird with those spurs/beard was so light.
Great job, love those kind of hunts sometimes there the most exiting when your not sure exactly were he is. You have to.use your woodsmandhip along with your hunting skill. And the weight doesn't suprise me some of my crews biggest birds ( beards,spurs) were also the lightest. Can never understand it since all they do is stand in one spot I guess all that spinning in circles burns a lot of calories, maybe I should try it. I think the dominant bird has more on his mind then eating.
The low weight might of just meant he has been getting lucky a lot working that fat off.
Congrats, that's a nice one.
Congrats on an awesome hunt and a real trophy. Two and three yr olds are the fat boys. Those old wicked birds seem to always run a little lighter. Still a champ, though. Randy Couture weighs alot less than me, but i aint getting in a ring with him, and i doubt your ol gobbler had very many worthy opponents with a set of hooks like that, my friend!
Nice bird congratulations
I like the hooks for sure. Congrats
Nice bird!
congrats
Long spurs were worth the wait ... congrats
Jake you are exactly right. Never heard another gobble within earshot the mornings this old boy sounded off. He had a broken gobble occasionally which helped me identify him, especially early when he first started up. I know I wouldn't pick a fight w/ him with those spurs and I weigh slightly more than he does :camohat:
Congrats!! he is a good one. with a 1/14" spur i would say he was a good 4 maybe 5 years old.
Thats a beauty congrats :icon_thumright: I shot a nice tom last year in florida and he only weighed 15 lbs but had great hooks and a long beard. The biologist said he was at least a 4 year old and by the looks of his worn breast feathers he had been breeding alot and not eating much. He figured he would have gone at least 20 lbs earlier in the season. Like others have said them old long spurred birds are lean and mean.
Timbr, this bird had a bare spot on the point of his breastbone. I just assumed it was from where he rested when roosted. Never thought about the possibility of breeding being the cause. Thanks for the insight.
Great bird, congratulations!!!
Congrats! That bird has some good looking hooks.
Awesome bird,Congrats.