As we stepped out of the truck at my farm at 5:00 we got our gear and huddled up to pray before heading up the mountain. We prayed God show his favor on us, and WOW, we had no idea what the morning was about to hold for us!! We made our way up the mountain all the way to the top taking our time so we didnt all have heart attacks, its a pretty good climb. lol. We made it to the top field in perfect timing. I had a pretty good idea of where several gobblers were roosting. About that time some hens started talking a little tree talk and the woods erupted with gobbles. There were turkeys everywhere and they were just off the field from us. We hurried to get set up with the decoys out and get ready for the show, and boy was it ever a show. Words can not describe what happened over the next hour, it was literally the best vocalization I have ever heard in all my times being in the turkey woods. Hens yelping and cutting hard and gobblers answering them as well as our calls. We got real aggresive one time cutting and the turkeys were all double and triple gobbling nonstop, it was unreal!! Literally probably 200-300 gobbles in the first 30 or 40 minutes we sat there. We had about 16 different gobblers all around us, as well as hens and jakes and owl, it was truly one of those mornings you live for! I was calling, my buddy chris was running the camera and other buddy nathan was next to me on the gun (he had never killed a turkey and that was our mission). He looked at me a few times eyes big as baseballs just laughing asking "is this normal?" I said, "this is not the usual, just soak it all in!" It was pretty awesome stuff.
Well after those turkeys flew down and we worked them to within 50 yards of us several times but they never would come up out of the woods and into the field their hens lead them off and they went about their day. A turkey had been gobbling out the ridge behind us and we thought he was by himself so we started to make our move. We had to walk a pretty good ways to get to him but the whole time we were moving we never had to check him because he would just gobble on his own, yup hes all by himself and lonely, the kind we like!! So we get around to the pipeline and I call to check him and he gobbles out a side road, call again and he cuts me off, scramble mode to get set up in the woods, hes coming. We sat down and I call, he answered, called again, he cut me off, then shut up, hes coming to find us. Next thing we knew here he came looking. He popped up and went into full strut, hopped up on a log and his bird just swung side to side like a big ol brush. He hopped down off the log in full strut and came walking right to us, beautiful show!!
So here is where things get interesting lol. He gets to about 25-30 yards and sees something he doesnt like and starts to bugger on us. I had my bead right on his head and could have blasted him but I wanted Nathan to shoot and he had trees in his way so I waited, finally he cleared the trees and Nathan shoots and clips him but the bird takes flight. I let off a shot and so does Nathan about the same time and the bird just folds up and crash landing, bird down!! Nathan goes running down the hill to the flopping bird and the crazy thing gets up to try and run off, Nathan put the finishing shot on the ol bird and that was it. We got some amazing footage, he looked like a little Volkswagon coming through the timber!! We were all so excited about it we just soaked it all in there talking and taking pics for about an hour, Nathan never could get himself to stop shaking!! I was so honored to be able to call in that bird for one of my best buddies for his first one and to be there to share it with my soul brother and have it all on film, doesnt get any better than that!!! It was an awesome 3 year old bird with a 10 1/2 inch thick paint brush beard and 1 1/8 sharp spurs. Its a hunt we will truly never forget for the rest of our lives and we are so thankful that we serve a risen savior Jesus Christ and he lets us enjoy his creation and blesses us with days like we had Saturday!! Sorry for the long read guys but Im still jacked up about it, hope you enjoyed, now time for some pics.
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b416/zach20065/033-3_zps60043002.jpg) (http://s1041.photobucket.com/user/zach20065/media/033-3_zps60043002.jpg.html)
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b416/zach20065/025-2_zpsf4fe946c.jpg) (http://s1041.photobucket.com/user/zach20065/media/025-2_zpsf4fe946c.jpg.html)
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b416/zach20065/019-3_zps9d686c72.jpg) (http://s1041.photobucket.com/user/zach20065/media/019-3_zps9d686c72.jpg.html)
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b416/zach20065/021-3_zps385282c6.jpg) (http://s1041.photobucket.com/user/zach20065/media/021-3_zps385282c6.jpg.html)
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b416/zach20065/027-1_zpsd46772c6.jpg) (http://s1041.photobucket.com/user/zach20065/media/027-1_zpsd46772c6.jpg.html)
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b416/zach20065/028-2_zpse78be8f8.jpg) (http://s1041.photobucket.com/user/zach20065/media/028-2_zpse78be8f8.jpg.html)
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b416/zach20065/030-2_zps944df83f.jpg) (http://s1041.photobucket.com/user/zach20065/media/030-2_zps944df83f.jpg.html)
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b416/zach20065/031_zps50036cc0.jpg) (http://s1041.photobucket.com/user/zach20065/media/031_zps50036cc0.jpg.html)
Here are a few stills from the footage, tooks these pics off my computer screen with my phone so not the best quality but you can see kinda what we saw coming to us.
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b416/zach20065/041_zps281f700e.jpg) (http://s1041.photobucket.com/user/zach20065/media/041_zps281f700e.jpg.html)
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b416/zach20065/040_zpsc384dee5.jpg) (http://s1041.photobucket.com/user/zach20065/media/040_zpsc384dee5.jpg.html)
(http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b416/zach20065/038_zps81efebaa.jpg) (http://s1041.photobucket.com/user/zach20065/media/038_zps81efebaa.jpg.html)
Awesome, mornings like that truly are rare! What state was that?
That's a great story..congrats! I know in that last pic you guys are praying but it looks like ya'll are peeing on the fence.:-):-D
sent from Tim's Tweaked Out Evo
Thats awesome. Congrats,
TRKYHTR
Awesome. Congrats......
Great story and awesome pictures!!!! Beautiful bird!
HAHA thats funny, thats what my wife said too. lol. Oh well, I thought it was kinda cool.
And this was in West Virginia. The Lord has truly blessed me with the farms I have to hunt here. That hunt will forever be in my memory as one of my all time favorites, just being able to share it with my brothers in Christ and have a day like we did, you just cant beat that.
Quote from: gophert on May 06, 2013, 09:42:54 AM
That's a great story..congrats! I know in that last pic you guys are praying but it looks like ya'll are peeing on the fence.:-):-D
sent from Tim's Tweaked Out Evo
Congrats on a great bird! Good pics also... :icon_thumright:
:z-guntootsmiley:Very nice going,congrats!
congrats great bird and pics
Congrats! Great photos!
:icon_thumright: congrats
Nice job! I had one of those days on Sat. too! Got to watch my 12 year old son get his first bird!
great story congrats :turkey2:
Nice! :icon_thumright:
Congrats
:icon_thumright: Congrats on a great hunt, fantastic job on the pictures
Great story and pics! Congrats to all of you.
congrats!
great pics!
Congrats!!
Great Job
Thanks!! Still cant get over how awesome that hunt was!! Looking for repeat performances to close out the season this week.
Your state sure is beautiful. I've been fortunate to ski and hunt up there. Gorgeous!! Congrats to you guys on getting your buddy the bird, and sharing an awesome morning!! :icon_thumright:
Sure is!!! Im very proud to be from WV and love our state. I have been fortunate enough to acquire several beautiful farms here to hunt on, Im very blessed!! Thanks alot for the kind comment, it was an awesome hunt that is forever burned in my brain