WOW! This morning was exciting! I got to where I killed the jake yesterday, because I knew there was another gobbler around that was not a jake. I got to the farm just as day was breaking and made it a few hundred yards into the pasture when I hooted. He gobbled from about 125 yards away! There I am like a moron in the middle of a pasture with the closest trees about 80 yards away! I made to to the trees, a patch of cedars. If you have been in a pasture with a patch of cedars, you understand that cattle like to hang out there a lot. All the branches from chest high and down were dead, making clipping them rather noisy.
I set up a strutting jake and hen decoys about 25 steps and went back to the cedars, he was gobbling the whole time. I pulled out my saw and started trimming branches to make myself a place to sit and shoot. Everytime a branch would pop, he gobbled. I guess he thought I was a hen moving in the trees, because at 6:30 he flew down!
Now, I am sitting there trying to trim branches, gun in the dirt, and I have been trying to film hunts. I was NOT ready for this! Well, I get the camera on the tripod and focused on the decoys, then I see him about 90 yards away, strutting. Mind you, I have not called yet. So I wait until he turns, hit record, get my gun up and give a couple soft yelps. He turns and runs at me! He gets to the fence/gate that separates the two pastures and struts! I thought he would hang up and not cross the fence, but he dropped strut and snuck under the gate!
At this point, I look over and realize the camera is not on him very well. I somehow manage to get the camera turned as he strutted to the jake. I see that the camera is on him, and let him have it! He was about 19 steps away and the 3 1/2 inch Winchester XX 6s met their mark and he barely flopped!
He is my best Rio Grande, and one of the better ones I have ever tagged. He weighed 18 lbs 11 oz, had a 9.5 inch beard, the long spur was 1 1/4 and the other 1 1/8 inches. It was a lightning fast, but great hunt!
(http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/UKturkeyhunter/hanging.jpg)
(http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/UKturkeyhunter/April18_Tom2.jpg)
(http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/UKturkeyhunter/champcall.jpg)
Congrats!!!! I love those fast ones!
Congrats!! I like them fast, as well..
Congratulations, fast is good.
Congrats!!!
I tried hunting western OK some last weekend, but had some tough luck. Might try to go back next weekend.
Congrats!
Congrats on your limbhanger!! :icon_thumright:
BLT!
Beacon, Lead, & Turkey!
Congrats!