I came here to get some advice on hunting public land birds a couple weeks back. I have hunted 11x between this season and last season and never even taken the safety off my gun!
Granted, I'm hunting some heavily pressured public land birds, who seem to hear my calls and sprint the other way. I was getting very frustrated. So I called a buddy out in Garrett County, MD (extreme western MD) and he told me he had been walking his dogs across the street in the state forest and seen "a million" birds the last few weeks.
So I headed out there, and scouted for all of 45 minutes on a fire road on Friday night, before dark. Didn't hear or see a thing.
Next morning, I'm out following the full moon on the fire road into the forest. I set up about 80 yards off a field, in a decent hardwood clearing. I'm sitting in a stand of pines overlooking the clearing, about 22 yards away from my jake and hen deeks.
Start calling, hear nothing, call again, hear a distant gobble. Very distant, wayyy across the field. But I've been down that path before - everytime I've heard a gobble it never likes me. But I keep trying, and I mix in a jake shaker call as well. Throw some soft yelps, a few clucks, a jake shaker.
BAM! The gobble was much closer this time. I wait patiently for 10 min, then throw a couple soft clucks. BAM! He's on the edge of the field, looking down on my spot, 80 yards off through the trees. Not one, but 3 birds! Two jakes and a tom.
Heart racing, barely breathing, no idea what to do, I slowly put down my lynch box call and grab my gun with two hands. I wait as they look for my decoys, and then they snake down the hill, the two jakes in front, the tom keeping up with them, they're zeroed-in on my deeks.
They come in hot, the two jakes first, not sure if they're going to fight my jake or starting breeding the hen. The two jakes move away, the big Tom comes strutting right in between. No time to think, my site is on his throat, I have the shot, I take the shot, and.......dead bird!!!
FUnny....the two jakes did nothing. Just stood there. I actually had a bead on one. But decided, "hey man, don't get greedy on your first kill!"
I'd say about 20 pounds, with a 10" beard, and 1" spurs. Very happy! Thank you guys for your advice.
