I'm in SW Missouri. Rain was over here Sunday evening. Wind was blowing a bit, but that really doesn't bother me. I didn't hear a gobble from the roost, so sat up over decoys near where I expected the birds to be until 8:30. I heard a bird to my west a few times, even got him to respond to some cutting, but I was relatively sure he was on another property. I finally decided to relocate close to the fenceline, in hopes of calling him across, and while in the process, heard another bird gobble to the east, across the road. He didn't sound that far away, so I decided to check him out instead.
He was just across the road maybe 50 yards, and really hammering on his own. I set up about 50 yards from the road on my side (don't have permission to hunt across the road), and gave some clucks and a yelp. He gobbles. About then, I hear a vehicle coming. First one down the road the entire morning! Guy drives by in a pickup, but he doesn't slow down, so I'm hoping the bird is still in the timber. About a minute goes by, and he gobbles again! Game on!
I do a few clucks on my Perfection glass and get ready. Within 30 seconds I see him cross the road heading right for me. He pops up out of the ditch, steps through the barbed wire fence, and keeps coming. At 23 yards, he stops and looks, and I drop the hammer. He had a 10 1/2 inch main beard, with a couple of strands about 12, 1 3/16 inch spurs, and weighed 23.2 pounds, one of the heavier birds I've killed. Now, I just have to wait until next Monday to do it again!
