Been hunting a property that I would have thought would have been a couple of easy birds, but they have stayed ahead of me all season... I have been taking my father and trying to get him on his first bird.
We have been chasing a pair of toms all season, and they come close, but just will not finish (at least by the sound of things)...
The birds were gobbling like crazy on the roost this morning, but they were sort of half-gobbles though. I never called to the birds till they hit the ground. They changed direction, came towards us, and hung up for quite some time just over a small ridge... They would get to that point, and then fade away till I started calling again.
After about 60 minutes of this, I crept about 50 yards closer to them (clucking as I went, and they gobbled the whole time)... I then walked back to our hide clucking and soft yelping as I went trying to draw those birds over the ridge...
Well at this point they completely shut up...
As we were leaving, we saw them on the way out, and they are going the opposite direction from previous hunts (searching for hens?)... They were on a small swampy pond next to a large clearing. There is a large oak tree in a clearing right between two different tree lines that lead from the pond to the roost.
My thought is to hang out at that oak tree, and wait for them to hit the ground before calling... As the spot is in the open, I am thinking a decoy is in order... I cannot decide if I want to put a half-strut jake out though.
Considering the terrain is rolling foothills mixed with oaks, digger pines, and some areas of thick brush... Any thoughts or ideas?
