Finally!!

[mightyjoeyoung]

Well this season, like the last 2 have been rough, hardly having any time to hunt.  This morning found me on a previously only scouted piece of property just inside the woods edge butting up against a 30 acre corn field.  A front had moved in from the night's mostly clear full moon sky and the clouds threatened rain.  In my haste to get out to the woods early enough, I forgot my mouth calls in the truck, but luckilly I still had my 3 trusty pot calls and my Primos wet box.  I was against a nice soft maple by 0505 and waited for the woods to wake up.  At bout 0530, right at the time I could make out my 2 hen decoys about 20 yards away, I heard a single treed gobble about 125 yards directly in front.  I made some soft purrs and tree calls and then a series of quick fly down cackles followed by some loud, hard yelps and instantly got three gobbles in return.  I made two more series of calls, getting heated, multiple gobbles in answer.  Five minutes later the birds were on the ground and headed my way.  At about 80 yards I could see two black, feathery "bowling balls" shuffling slowly straight towards me.  Right as they were about to commit the last 40 or so yards and put themselves in real danger, a hen cackled from a tree about 100 yards to my left, front and then pitches down away from me.  The gobblers turned and headed straight for her, shutting up like their months were taped shut.  Five minutes...silence.  Ten minutes...nothing.  I just knew I was beaten.  Suddenly to my left, front two gobbles shatter the silence not 80 yards from me over the edge of a little drop.  I answered back with a series of fast cuts and purrs on my Primos glass pot and got cut off by a double gobble, this time louder and closer sounding.  Something was working!  Right then the skies opened up and the rain began to pattern down. Within moments the skies began to DUMP the rain down on me.  The birds simply stopped gobbling altogether.  It seemed like every branch on the maple tree I was sitting against was dripping streams of cold water on me, down my neck and back, drenching me in mere minutes.  After 15 minutes of this I was seriously thinking of packing up and heading to the truck.  Just then, I caught a flash of black, white and blue to my right, front only 45 yards out!  A gobbler had somehow snuck in during the downpour and spotted my decoys and popped into full strut almost in my lap!  I was pinned down with my shotgun pointed the opposite direction under my extra camo foam seat pad as I tried to keep the red dot sight dry.  He slowly strutted in towards my "girls" and as he went behind another big maple I dropped the pad and quickly switched directions as smoothly as I could and mounted my shotgun, but as I raised my 870 20 gauge, my heart sank as I tried in vain to see through a badly fogged red dot sight.  Slowly, painfully slowly, I lifted my hand and tried to get some visibility through my sight by squeegeeing the lens off with my gloved thumb only seeming to make it worse.  Finally in desperation, and hoping before the gobbler came out from behind the tree and busted me, I snuck my thumb out of my glove and used my bare skin instead of the soaked glove material to clean the lense.  It worked...sort of.  I could see well enough that I hoped to make him out in the sight before it fogged up again.  He stood there strutting behind that tree for what seemed like forever until he finally came into view. The bird's head, though foggy and distorted popped into view right under my red dot!  As he strutted 30 yards away I clucked with my mouth and as he lifted his head to see what the noise was I gave him some heavyweight 7 love.  I have shot birds AFTER a rain, but never DURING a rain, especially a torrential downpour like this.  21 1/2 pounds, 1" spurs and a 9" beard.  Finally!!

[jakesdad]

NICE!!! Congrats on a fine bird!

[FullChoke]

Man, what a great hunt! Patience should be rewarded, not tried! Congratulations.

[surehuntsalot]

congrats on a great looking bird

[xarcher]

Great story. Just goes to show you how persistence can pay off. So is 20.5 pounds wet or dry!!!   

[Hooter]

Congrats on a great hunt, wet or dry!!!

[gophert]

 

[Spring_Woods]

Nice bird and great story!