Well....a very disappointing end to a frustrating season of hunting Rios (welcome to the world of TX Rios I guess). I had a bead on a tom that came into to my dad calling with a gobble call. This tom was coming to a hen decoy and moving very quickly across an opening and I watched him stretch his neck and look in the opposite direction. I wondered what he was looking at when I could hear a four wheeler coming in close – it was the property owner out riding around just for fun. He didn't even see the bird or know we were within 50 yards of him riding by.
I talked to him about it and he felt horrible but it was heart breaking. He didn't know any better and thought Turkey season was already over. I spent the entire day in the woods / got out in the dark around 4:30am – ate lunch sitting on the ground – and didn't leave until 9pm. Putting that amount of time and effort into a hunt and have the bird do exactly as I wanted only to get busted up by an ATV was sickening.
I seen the bird too – it was one I came back to this property for. He is a very nice size 20+ lbs, with long beard, and the dominate bird. He only needed about 20 more yards and I would have been able to post pics instead of this depressing post.
Thanks for the help, tips, and opinions. I am learning and getting better slowly. I know I need to get my hands on a good jake decoy, some new calls, and a much better seat (and better luck).
I have a lot of research to do on the upcoming season in the fall. I hope everyone else's season ends better than mine did.
Thanks again and Gig'em!
