well here i go i will try to keep it short but to the point.
we left birminham last saturday drove to el reno ok. got up sunday and went to skipout lake, west of chyenne to set up camp and get ready to hunt. while we were setting up my dad went down to the lake to talk to a guy fishing and ask if he knew anyone who would let us hunt. well the guy said yes and he would call him. he wanted to know how much we would pay, dad told him if we had any money we would be staying in town in a hotel not a tent in the middle of no where. the guy shows up and we talk him into showing us the land first then we would let him know. well the first place he shows us is mostly an open field with some trees in a small creek. while he wa showing us how the land layed my dad yepled a few ties with the ONLY call he has a mouth call i gave him 3 years ago (he only goes to be with us, he a coon hunter). well a gobbler answers him and i getting closer i ask the guy how much he hee hawed around and the bird is getting closer told him a price for all of us for the rest of the week he said ok, think he wanted more, but i am hold the bill with my vest on an gun on my shoulder he agrees i hit the woods. he takes dad and cousin to a couple of other places. the bird has done got across the road when i set up. i could see him across the road but he wouldnt come back. dad calls me in a couple of hours later and is going to come pick me up, he heard one gobble but didnt do nothing with him. my cousin didnt see or hear nuthing.
we get up monday morning and all of us go to where dad was at. we get out of the truck and birds are gobbling. we say where we are going and head that way. i ended up getting closer to dad than i would have liked. i set up on the birds gobbling,(i think 5 there). well i called him in and finally see him strutting and as he comes in i get a shot at 40 yrds and my first rio is down. when i get to the ird and put my foot o his neck i hoot, then dad stands up about 100 yards away and to the left about 30 yards rom where i shot scared the crap out of me. didnt know he was that close. get pics made.
tuesday we head back to the same place. dad and pogo go close to where i killed mine. i go towards the back of the land, open fields with brush and sage. i get one gobbling and coming closer each step. i think i herd 12 or so that morning. well he gets closer to the open ridge to the east he shows up, he starts gobbling and looking for the hens. no dekes are out. he walks to the north gobbling and looking. until he is gone.i head back towards the truck and see dad he said he thought he heaard one the the right behind the truck we head that way yelping when my cousin shoots. 2 is down. that evening while at camp about 7:00 pm we hear a bird gobbling from camp back towards the main highway. we head that way. we get close on the main state road, dad tells me to go get his gun but standing next to the road and with 10 minutes left of legal shooting time i say no, i head back to the truck to pick him up an about half way there i hear him say "bam, your dead" the dang bird cae to 40 yards and shows him to dad.only bird he "shot"
wednesday we go back to the same place and nothing goes down but alot of gobbling across on private land. about 12 to 15 different birds gobbling.
thursday back again, i head to the back with dekes. wind is blowingabout 30 mph from the east n north. i set the dekes out in the back and i hear one gobbling wayyy to the east. i break out the box call and start yelping. about an hour later i get the "pain and need to find a place." as i ease around the bush i and sitiing by i see 2 birds coming my way, i easeback get my box and yelp at them and they keep coming. they are about 200 yards in the field that we cant hunt. i ease to another bruch that is about 50 yards from the fence and call they be coming. well they get about 80 yards froomt the line they start running the way they come, what is going on?? well then a dam yote comes running from the east the bird are goooone. i go get the dekes and start heading to the truck. when i get back to the top of the ridge i see 5 mature birds about 600 yards in the field with 4 or 5 hens. i set the dekes back up and crawl to a place i can lay on my belly and wait. i get 2 of the birds to break and start my way. they get about 200 to 300 yards away i lose site of them when i see them again they are almost back to the other mature birds. what is going on?
well then i see the yote heading back the way it came in.scared them off that $%%^^%$# ^%$%%^^& yote. when i get back to the others my dad said there was 2 gobblers headed toward some gobbling all the way across the field the get almost to the fence they break and run and he said RUN wide oed back the way they came 600 yards across the field.that yote scared off 6 gobblers in less than a hour.....that was headed TOWARDS ME. that afternoon we decided to hunt. we go across the road from the catch and release turkey, dad saw some hens an a mature bird there the day before t fly up time. i carry both hen dekes and a gobbler deke. we eased in and found the most beuitful place to hunt any type of bird. they had gone in a about 300 yrds from the road took a dozer and cleaned up that creek edge with new green grass and huge cottonwood trees. i told dad that is where we are settin up. dekes are out to the left of us.right to the right i a pile of trees and stuff that they cleaned out of the creek edges. perfect birds come in they get within 25 yards and we are behind the pile. before we sa down a bird gobbles in the field where dad saw them the day beore. we ease there about50 foot away and set up an call nuthing we ease back to the dekes and start calling. about 30 minutes later we hear a hen yelping to the right down the bottom to the north. 15minutes after that bird behind us gobbles closer dad said lets ease over, nothing to be seen. he said he is going up in the field bout 100 yards on the hill and look.i told him i was going to the dekes. when i get back i want to ease around the pile of logs and take a look. i ease around it and at 25 yards or so is a mature bird, carp..... istep back around the pile turn on my site and ease back to shot the bird, well as i ease back he is looking at me with his head about 5 foot hight oh crap again. i get on him and pull the trigger. hens flies west i think the bird is down tke a step he helicopter up then back down then it off to the races, freaking missed. monday when i killed the first one i go back to get my spent hull and tripon a end of one of the dead trees and down i go, gun comes over , forearm hits me in the head and hits the ground hard. i have fell before but have never knocked the holosite off. i actually saw stars when it hit my head, then knot went down sometime today. still is a little sore right now.
friday morning i gt towards where i killed that one with the dekes set up and have a bird gobbling across the outy road about 200 yards away and he flies down headed the other way. about the time he flies down my cousin shoots and i hear that yote start screaming, he want be chasing any more turkeys. and that is it we head back home about 1130 friday and stop and get some sleep east of little rock get home around 330 today and season is over
i think heard an average of 10 birds each morning. not bad..i think.
my birds 18.5 lbs with 3/4 spurs and 8 inch beard.
pogo's bird. 16 lbs, 1 spur 1 inch 2nd spur 1/2 inch and 11.5 inch beard
camp..
he uhaul trailer is packed... could not get it all in the hootnrunner
