I've been pretty quiet this year about posting but I finally have a few minutes to get on a computer so I'll give ya'll an update as to what I've been up too. Last Monday went to one of my favorite spots and heard a bunch of birds but they were all on private and the closest I could get to them was at the back corner of the property I can hunt. I was sitting back there trying to get something to gobble when I see 3 hens walking through the woods about 80 yards away. As I'm watching them a big ol' tom comes out following them. They arent headed my way but as going to walk past me, so I give out a soft yelp hoping to coax the hens my way with the tom to follow. One of the hens looks my way for a second and the gobbler drums in response to my call. I swear I have never seen anything happen before like I am about to describe. When that gobbler drums the hen that looked my way dropped down just like she wanted to get it on. The gobbler comes running over to her completly forgetting about me and just as hes about to hop on she stands up and takes off dead away from me chasing the other hens in front of her. Ever seen a kid who had his ice cream taken away? I swear thats the look the gobbler had as he looks dumb founded and then proceeds to follow the hens trying to run and stay in strut. When he takes off I cut hoping to get him to swing back and he looks over his shoulder in my direction but keeps chasing the tease. I know they are headed towards a field that I can hunt so I give them a couple minutes and then try to swing around on them to get to the field they are headed towards. Just as Im nearing the field I hear a gun shot from the field and that bird is dead. Thats mostly how my morning went, I was successful in calling up a pair of jakes to 15 yards but I let them walk. Finally late in the morning I get a hen going in a field and we start tearing it up with the loudest calling you can imagine. As fast and as hard as I can give it, she gives back in spades. She eventually walks across this field and within 5 steps of me. As shes getting close a bird gobbles down the field in some woods across a road so as soon as she goes past me I take off through the woods in that direction. As I get to the road a truck pulls up and the guys ask me if Im chasing the birds that were in the field Id just called the hen through. Before I can answer I hear a gobble right back from where I came from so I respond yes and make a beeline going back to the bird. Now these "woods" Ive got to go through are some of the thickest briars Ive ever seen and in my hurry to get back there I loose the tiny trail that cuts through it and end up stuck in this briar patch thats every bit of 15 feet tall. After making all kinds of noise I finally get in the right direction and pop out into the woods where the birds should be. As I stand up I see a bright red head and through the thick stuff I can just make out a beard of some kind. Up comes the gun and down goes the bird. Its a jake, but he does have 2 beards, my first double bearded bird. To make things better, my younger brother texted me that morning that he had also shot his first double beard.
Fast forward to Wensday and I am in another location that borders private. Theres a road that seperates the public from private land with the road on the public side. I know the birds like to roost on the private land but like to use that road and the woods on the public side. So I slip in early and sit down to take a little nap. As the sun starts to come up I start seeing blobs in the trees just on the private side. I eventually count 6 turkeys roosted 50-75 yards from me. As the morning progresses I figure out there is 1 longbeard 1 jake and 4 hens. 2 of the hens fly down first along with the jake and then the longbeard. They stay over in private but the gobbler answers me every time I call. I feel my phone vibrate with a text message and I think "I bet thats Derek with a LBD text" so now my drive is really kicked in to get this bird. I start trying to out do the hens and pretty soon hear the longbeard getting closer to the public side. Up pops a white head and when he steps onto the public side of the road I see the longbeard sway and down goes the hammer. Once the bird is tagged I pull out my phone to see a text from Derek "LBD!" So I reply back. Then I check the beard and quickly reply back that it is my second double beard! I also send my father a pic, BoWhoop, who replys with a pic of his own. It was a good day for the Gods of Thunder!
