Last night I was scouting birds at a local farm I got permission to hunt 2 weeks ago. My buddy's boy Marcus is 12 and hadn't got a bird yet as this is his first season. I sat for about an hour and watched these two toms fly up to the exact tree. I stopped by Marcus and his dad Eric's house and we formulated a plan. We got up at 3 am, met at 330 am, and snuck in by 4 am. Marcus and his dad Eric set up on the tree line in a blind and I set up across the field in a blind. Well, sure enough, those two toms were still there. They were gobbling away. After fly down they met up and headed to the decoys. They hung up about 80 to 100 yards away. I'm not sure how Eric was calling. Well, they headed the opposite direction. All three of us met up, started walking the tree line, and sure enough I spot the top of a fan in a dip of the field. We make haste and set up on a few trees. I started calling and the two toms and two hens started walking over. Over about a half hour or so the hens crossed in front of Marcus at about 20 yards. The toms were strutting, gobbling, and probably walked by at about 35 yards when I hear a shot. I see the two toms running off. Marcus sure got an experience as this was his first real close encounter with toms in this manner. He admitted he got stuck in an awkward position and was nervous.
Well, these are the same two toms that my buddy Bill had a crack at last weekend and ended up nailing a jake. They were even closer at about 20 yards. My only hope is that these two beard draggers are there for me next spring as they were definitely two of the biggest birds I've laid my eyes on this spring and I am tagged out.
It ended up being a good day though. Marcus nailed his first bird. A jake about an hour later. I don't think it bothered him none that he missed the tom after he got his first bird. Overall, a good morning watching a nice young man get his first bird and welcomed to the club.
