As I've probably said before, the turkey population on my home turf is just plain terrible. Each year there is 1 or 2 longbeards and hopefully a few jakes in about a 2 mile radius. Each year, someone (sometimes me), shoots all the LB's and the jakes are passed for the next year. This cycle has continued for about 5 years now.
Well this season started off great. I bagged a couple of LBs in MS very quick and I drove to West AL and shot one there. All the while, I was hunting the lonely longbeard that remained close to my home. He was a 2 year old and had 2 jakes in tow. He had 4-6 hens with him, until the last weekend of the season.
He wasn't bashful and you could almost set your clock by his gobbling. He would crank up around 530 every evening and he would not even think about coming to a call. I had him in range a couple of times on the way to roost, feeding by me but chose to pass. One reason, is as I get older, I like to play the game and don't get excited about an ambush. The other reason, is I really wanted my dad to get him. Fast forward to the last couple weeks of season-
I hunted him hard after work every single day and either saw or heard him in his cow pasture that he stayed in every day. Every day, I asked Dad to go with me but he is busy taking care of my mom and grandkids (my sister moved back in in November -LONG story). Finally on the last weekend, he said he could go. I had roosted him Friday evening and we set up right where I knew he was coming through an open gate. He catches us offguard over the rise in the pasture in full strut, right after flydown. By this time he had gobbled a million times. He was strutting with the jakes on each side and my dad didn't have his gun up. A hen got spooky and left and the gobblers went into the edge of the woods.
We made a move and setup about 75 yards from them, he is gobbling almost every 20 seconds trying to call his hens back up. They start easing our way and his 2 "lookout" jakes lead the way and he is about 40 yards behind. The jakes walk in our laps and get nervous and head back and big boy heads back. This scenario happens twice and he shuts up. Next gobble I hear is about 1/2 a mile away and we take off after him. I spot him on the fenceline strutting/feeding/gobbling and we head straight at him keeping some small trees between us. We get to the trees and i look to my right and there he is walking right at us, in gun range!!! I tell my dad there he is, 1st bird is HIM and I hit the deck because he was going to have to shoot over me. 10 seconds go by and BOOM!!! I asked did you get him? because I heard no flopping. He said "Yeah, go grab him." I did and he was a dandy 2 year old, as expected. He weighed 20 lb 4oz and had 7/8 in spurs with a 9.75 in beard. My TSS handload 9s smashed him at 30 yards.
I couldn't have been any happier. My dad has watched me kill many birds and now I prefer watching him pull the trigger. It's a hunt I will never forget and hope we have many more to come.
It was a great season and I decided due to gas prices and the awful weather lately, I probably won't goto Kansas. Thanks to you guys for picking up the slack on my little skinny southern birds for the contest. And good luck to those who are still hunting.
-Dusty
Congrats to you and your dad on a great season Glen Uh I mean Dusty. ;D
Great hunt to end your season on!
Congrats to your Dad
Congrats to your Dad on a nice turkey.
TRKYHTR
Great season and story. I bet it meant as much or more to your Dad than it did to you.
Congratulations to you both. May you have many more hunts together.
Sounds like a GREAT time with your dad!! Cherish it!
After reading your story, not sure how you got skunked? Doesn't matter if it was your dad who shot, or you, the way I look at it, you BOTH got him!!
Congrats to you both!!
God Bless,
David B.