well fellas. slipped in this morning(as you know from my previous post i was super early) and got in tight to where i thought they were. starts cracking light and a few minutes later (608 am) a bird gobbles. ugh i hope he is not the one i was setting up for because he is 500 yards away! so i do not panic and hang tight. that bird is hammering on the roost. i am so tempted to take off but i know i got to hang tight to make sure they are not right on me. at 618 am a gobble bellows forth from 100 yards away. whew glad i sat tight and didnt freak out and take off. he gobbles sporadically and i can see a hen in the tree. so i soft yelp to him and he hammers it. i wait a few and soft yelp again. he nails it. after about 20 minutes he pitchs out and a few minutes later she joins him. he shuts up but it is ok because they hang in this area all day so i settle in for the waiting game. he gobbles a few times on his own but i do not call any more. he knows where i was. about 730 here comes a stupid deer. she locked up on my decoy and kept staring at it and finally picked me out and was swinging her head back and forth to watch it and me. then here comes another deer to my left. crap it is about to yep there it goes got my wind! stands behind me and snorts and the other one is still looking at the decoy and me so i stand up to make them run away and shut up. the good thing was that instead of spooking the bird was shock gobbling to the snorts. so they leave and the bird was now gobbling on his own every few minutes. i decide now is the time to make a move. i slip to the crest of the ridge. he is just over it but the green brier is going to make it tough. as i am crawling to get on his side he gobbles and he is probably 50 yards but he seems to be swinging low and coming around to my side. so i crawl back about 6 yards. slide in next to a tree and wait. the jake yelped and the tom hammerd it. so now i am starting to think that his hens have left. either spooked from the deer or just headed off to the nest. i light call and he nailed it. man he is close. 30 yards i figure. then i see the jake. about 30 and i know the tom is behind him. i am ready. the new gun is ready! the jake drops into a slight dip that will funnel them up to my right. a minute passes and then the jake pops out. 35 yards to my right. the hammer comes down on the encore and my eyes are trained on the spot. waiting. and then there he is. he steps behind some green brier and gets to half strutt. as he starts to walk i make the swing. the jake is watching me and the tom steps out and cranes his head to see what the jake does. i am bad contorted but the gun is shouldered and the crosshairs fall on his neck. BOOM! the encore sends forth a 2oz load of hevi 7s and the majestic bird crumbles to the ground in the final step of his life. Rest in peace my friend. thanks for a great hunt.
