What a beautiful textbook hunt to finish out my season.
At the end of the work day on Thursday, as Zsully, was heading home. He and I chatted, and I told him I was trying to figure out where I'd be hunting the next couple days while he was out of town. He said on Tuesday morning, and on his way into the office he had seen a gobbler in a field he and I can hunt. I took that info with me, and pondered it the rest of the day. I've had a hectic schedule after work lately, so I was dragging a bit. With the forecast showing rain coming through, I contemplated just sleeping in and catching up on some much needed rest. Well, Thursday night around 11:15, I checked the weather, and the weather changed. I felt it would be too good of a morning to pass up. I was going. 4:20 comes and I'm ready to rock. I get to the property, and make the hike up the hill and get about 1/2 way up to where I needed to be. There's a massive maple tree on the edge of a the wood line that is the perfect tree to sit against. Huge base with a split that you can tuck into. Now I wait for daylight. Daylight comes and I hear nothing. At 5:50, the first gobble rings out, and I am perfectly level with this bird. He's about 220 yards across the field from me. I have a jake and a hen out in the field. Let out a few soft yelps, and he immediately responds. So I wait. Now, I know he is roosted right on the opposite tree line, and I was hoping I would catch him pitch out. Two other birds start going off and they sound like they are on the ground, but on the other side of this patch of woods where my target is at. I start getting mouthy with them, and all 3 birds are responding. This goes on for about 40 minutes, and I finally catch a glimpse of a bird pitch out. GAME ON! There's a big roll in the field, and the gobbler flew out to the other side of it. I'm yelping and he's responding to everything. I'm positioned to exactly where the gobbles are coming from, and about 125 yards out, I see a head periscope at the crest of the hill through the tall grass. I yelp one more time, just to pull him over the hill a little further, and he hammers and starts walking. From a 12o yards out, he pops strut, walks two steps, and struts again. He did this the whole way in to 15 yards, as the sun was rising over the tree tops behind me. It was picture perfect.
