I had to be at training today starting at 8:30 this morning so I asked my dad if he wanted to give it a try at a farm we have in Prince William County. Well we went to an area I had heard a couple birds before the season, I knew we would be tight on time so I decided to try and get one to gobble early with an owl hoot. Well after a couple rounds of hoots and firing up the resident owls we still had yet to hear a gobble. I decided to push a little further into the woods and stopped to listen, I then heard a bird gobble but it sounded faint and I couldn't determine the direction. Deciding to continue to push a little farther in I again heard the bird and knew exactly where he was and he was already on the ground. As we got to within 250 yards he started rolling the gobbles off, we set up in some open hardwoods that were absolutely tore up with scratchings. My first set of calls were cut off by the bird and with him gobbling he got about 4-5 more birds going also in the same direction. As he gobbled at everything I was giving him I heard a hen start up to our right and she was headed right to him. Both the hen and gobbler were heading for each other and ended up getting together but he continued to gobble and seemed to be heading in our direction. I gave him about 2 minutes and gave out a loud yelp and to our surprise another bird gobbled to our right about 60 yards out. We both clicked our red dots on and about that time I tell my dad I see him coming, and he had a couple buddies with him. The 2 buddies led the way with a strutter brining up the rear, when the birds got to 25 yards my dad said he had one and I told him to go and and kill him. Unfortunately his buddies flew away at the shot, but the original group of birds we were working gobbled at the shot so we have plans for them later this week.
You couldn't ask for a better morning, I was able to call a bird in to my dad and we were done by 6:50am, well before I had to be at training.
17lbs, 9 1/2 inch beard, inch spurs
(http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z429/booth21/Attachment-1.jpeg)] (http://[url=http://s1189.photobucket.com/user/booth21/media/Attachment-1.jpeg.html)
Congrats!
Congrats!
Congrats to you both!!
Awesome, congrats! Man that bird has a lot of white on his wings. Is that common of Va. birds?
Good job, I also noticed the white.
pretty gobbler, congrats!
congrats
Good job!! Congrats!!