Well guys, I have been looking around for a Big 10 for next season so a buddy of mine offered me his BPS 24" Stalker for the weekend to try it on so to speak.
Friday evening found me in a hardwood fence line over looking a 60+ acre hay pasture. As I eased up to the tree I wanted to set-up by I saw a fan coming out of one of the little dips in the field. I just dropped the Gobble Lounger in the bushes and set down in it. Three sweet clucks from my Pappy's long box and he hammered down. Every time I touched the call he gobbled and was strutting the whole time. He started out about 180 yards out and within the hour he was strutting at around 80 yards. He had seemingly hung up and I started to cutt hard at him to fire him up to try and bring him on in, but I decide not to. I just to my Lynch's Jet Yelper with the scratch box side and purred a couple times of the slate stick. This set him off. He dropped strut and went in to look out mode! He made a bee line straight to me in half strut and I just let him come! At 6 steps I set him have it with a load of Federal Premium 2.25 oz 6's Pre-FCW! He flipped over backwards and kicked his legs twice and that was that. Sat down at 3:00 PM and had my boot on his neck by 4:30. He had a 9" beard and 1" spurs.
I went back to the truck after I killed the gobbler and put everything up and just set on the tail gate to see what I could hear. Right at dark I owled and a bird gobbled down in the creek behind the field where I had just killed that one. Well I made my plans for Saturday and went on to the house. It was dark when I got home so no pics - sorry.
Saturday morning found me in the back corner of the same field by an ancient oak waiting for God's creation to wake up. Around 6:15 the one I had put to bed hammered twice and I decided to just sit and see what happened. Around 6:30 the red birds and blue jays had started talking and I was sitting there enjoying watching a male red bird woo his lady when a hen cackled and flew down about 80 yards from me. Boy he went crazy - gobbled 5 times back to back and flew down about 100 yards further down. I gave a couple sweet clucks on the Pappy's and the hen answered so she and I started conversing! I hold no illusion that I called up the Tom, but I called the hen in and he followed her the whole way strutting and gobbling! Talk about a beautiful sight - That big tom strutting and gobbling through knee deep red clover! At 20 yards the hen figured something wasn't right and stuck her neck out so I knew the game was up so I swung on the Tom and squeezed one off. He flopped and flapped and I ran out stood on his neck and thanked my Lord for the wonderful morning in the woods! I also laid him out with the Federal Premiums and an old Hastings choke. Shot him at 40 long steps. He had a nice thick 10.5" beard and 1.25" spurs.
Now for the best part! I pulled into my grandparents for our usual after turkey hunt breakfast and I was going to play innocent for a while. I just left the tom on the truck and walked in. I had not got in the door good when my stepdad asked who shot the turkey yesterday evening and this morning in the back pasture. I told him I didn't know what he was talking about. He said well somebody shot a dern cannon off about 4:30 yesterday and then again about 7:30 this morning. I just grinned and told him he just heard it thunder! My granddad broke the joke when he walked in and told me I had somebody shooting a 10 gauge on my back pasture so I needed to go see who was trespassing. I couldn't take it anymore and went and go the Big 10, the Tom, and the beard and spurs of the Friday evening bird and brought them in.
It was a great weekend! It was my last weekend to hunt and I had eaten tag soup up to this point! Just wanted to thank all of you here for giving info on the 10 and especially Gobbler74 for answering so many questions and being so patient! I also want to thank my Lord for allowing me to live in a great country where I can still own firearms and hunt freely!!!
Thanks for reading,
Daman
