Killed one yesterday on opening day. I posted some of the details in the General Forum but I basically ended up setting right up under their roost along the edge of a field. A little tree yelping and three hens pitched down in the decoys followed shortly by the gobbler who flew down in the woods and walked in. My morning was over twenty minutes after legal shooting time.
I went back out today and got on a flock of 6 hens, 3 jakes, and one tom. Every bird in the flock came within 15 yards, except the tom. The jakes were ganging up bad on him and every time he moved to come to my decoys the jakes would go into strut and walk shoulder to shoulder and drive him off. He never got closer than 35 yards, which was farther than I wanted to shoot with my bow. If NY gave out more than two tags there would have been a dead jake or two.
On my way home I stopped to put out a plot watcher camera on a field where I saw two birds yesterday. It's across the road from my "honey hole", but I rarely see birds there. Anyway, after setting the camera up I yelped a few times and a hen cut back at me. I found a tree near the edge of the field and gave a few more calls. The hen and I went back and forth a few times and she was moving my way. I eventually saw her cross in front of me about 70 yards out. Then a crow called and a gobbler fired back probably 200 yards into the woods. I gave a few calls and then waited several minutes, when I called again he fired back and was much closer. After several more minutes he stepped into view, with two more longbeards following him. They were coming on a string but a couple of deadfalls were pushing them off to my side. The lead bird eventually stepped into a small opening at about thirty yards, but unfortunately I whiffed on the shot. I had to twist pretty far to my off-side and I just wasn't steady enough. These were the first birds I've brought into gun range using just a trumpet with no decoys or anything to entice them, so I was pretty pumped despite the miss. Besides, if I'd killed him that would have been the end of my season only two days in.
Here's the bird from yesterday. 20lbs 12oz, 10" beard, 7/8" spurs.
