Time was not my friend this year and was only able to hunt 5 days total. Lost my private land spot right before the season, etc. Saturday I go out to hunt a bird I know of on public. He is hammering on the limb, I get nice and comfortable 140 yards away and do some soft calling just to make sure he knows where I am. He gobbled once after fly down, so I knew he was on the ground and somewhat coming my direction. Therefore I shut up.
I hear and see nothing for 45 mins until a gobble explodes behind a large oak tree 18 yards away. That gobble almost blew my hat off because, after 45 mins of silence I had assumed he was not coming. I saw half of his head stick out from behind the tree for a split second, then never saw him again. Quite the slip! It was wet so I never heard footsteps and I am pretty sure I cannot hear drumming. Anyways, I am trying not to be bitter about it. I am relatively new to turkey hunting and I guess the point of the post is that we are extremely fortunate to be able to experience turkey hunting for all that its worth, and it is a crying shame that 99% of the population will never see what we see in the turkey woods. Good luck to those still getting after it.
