Anyone Have One Bird That Haunts You

[tlh2865]

    Some of the story threads made me want to hear from others on this one. I have my turkey hunting white whale that eluded me for 4 seasons.
    I first got pictures of the gobbler in 2015. It is dang near impossible to tell any gobbler apart from every other member of the flock. But this bird was different. I have never seen another beard like his in 13 years of hunting the same patch of ground. And he was already an older bird by the spurs he was sporting. Now I am a spurs man myself but that beard and the sheer size of him had me enamored the first time I recognized him on camera. That first season I saw him I killed two very respectable birds, but never got a chance at him.
    I normally limit myself to one gobbler off of this property per year, so I decided that I would not focus on killing a bird the next year. Wouldn't you know it I was out hunting with just my camera and I brought him in silent from behind me while I was working two fired up birds in front. He came in at 35 yards to check out what all the noise was, and then drifted back into the woods and gobbled. Never saw him again until after season went out.
    Next year was different, he was back and I was going to go after him. I never laid eyes on him that year. Him and another large bird were using the oak ridge he frequented to roost, I killed the second one. I got plenty of pictures, but another season passed without laying eyes on him.
    Season #4 was the worst of all. I couldn't sleep for a week before opening day. I wanted this bird, and no other. He was under my skin something awful. I roosted him the night before opening day, and was set up in a spot that had worked from that roost in the past. His hens took him away from me and that was the end of our first encounter.
    2 weeks later I got another chance. I set up in a small clover plot on the side of a hill by a creek crossing he frequented. The morning came without a gobble on the roost or the ground, but I was going to stick it out until hours ended at noon. I was blind calling every half hour or so, and about 10:35 I thought I heard a gobble. I couldn't tell though so I cut hard on a box, and he answered having already closed the distance. I gave him the silent treatment, and he went to the wrong ridge. I watched him strut and gobble in the open 130 yards away on the opposite ridge for 40 minutes. I knew he could see me if I moved so I was stuck. Finally he dropped over the back side of the ridge and I took my chance. I swung all the way around him, closed the distance to 80 yards and put myself on the line he had been traveling. I called, but no answer. I waited 20 minutes, and still no sign. Now I was beginning to run out of time because hours ended at 12. it was 11:35. I finally struck him again and he had moved down between where I was, and where I had moved to, in the open with no way to approach. I ran out of time and had to walk away from him.
    3 weeks later I was on my last opportunity to hunt him. I had the entire last week of the season to hunt, so I put myself on the oak flat that he most often roosted on every morning for five days. Day five I finally hit pay dirt. He sounded off on the limb 85 yards away. I was above him and had his two favorite strut zones covered. I gave him a little pillow talk, he didnt answer, but I knew he had heard me. He pitched down perpendicular to me, and began to strut where he hit the ground. 85 yards away, around the corner of a logging road. I thought it was over, no hens to contend with, he would eventually break and come around the corner of the road to see and he would be in range.
    We had a stalemate for close to an hour. I called like two hens talking to each other and ignoring him and scratched leaves. He got more fired up than any bird I had heard in years. But he would not budge from his strut zone. I couldn't risk a move being so close to him already, so I brought out my last ditch effort weapon. I began to cut off his gobbles with my own. He gobbled, I would cut off. Gobble again, and I'd cut him off with a double gobble. It took about 10 minutes, but he finally broke and came in...the wrong way. Instead of coming up the logging road on the spine of an open ridge towards me, he put a deadfall between us and came out at 65 yards below me. He then crossed a ravine and barbed wire fence and circled around behind me.
    Then I thought I had him. He was heading for a cow pasture 60 yards behind me where I had seen him strut before. All I had to do was beat him to his strut zone at the edge of the pasture and he would come right to me. I got up and went straight for the fence line, and picked out the tree where I would make my stand. I was 3 steps from that tree when his head popped up over the hill. He beat me there by 3 steps. I froze, not having any shot, and he flew away across the pasture.
    I put close to 1000 miles on my truck, and spent 3 weeks hunting just that last season. And he beat me at every opportunity. I have never had any animal get me riled up like that gobbler. And I look at a picture of him every day, and think about just how much I love this crazy obsession.

So what Else have you all got? Any stories about the gobbler that haunts your thoughts and dreams?

[3chunter]

I got one I could write a book about. Actually four of them over my 25 years.  One I killed.  Two I didn't.  One I am hunting now that is 8-9 years old.  I have atleast 5,000 pics of this bird in the last 5-6 years.  Conservatively speaking.  I had one that I hunted 4 years that was just the dang hardest bird ever known.  He died of old age I suppose but he was over 1 1/2" spurs when I first ran into him.  That bird I almost think about daily.  Seriously.  He still pisses me off. Right now I am still mad at him. 
The picture attached is from last year on the bird still living.  One more month and I just hope he will live until then.  It won't matter though cause he will disappear here soon.  Sorry joker.

[Tail Feathers]

He hung out every spring at a relatively small oak flat near the property line.  He would roost in the same tree most nights I think.  He would gobble at your call and head the other way.  Over three years I couldn't call him in with any call. 
I saw him a few times when he ignored me.  I once watched him from 70 yards, he never looked up from feeding with his hens or made a sound while and another gobbler answered my calls with two dozen gobbles as he came in from about 500 yards. 
As far as I know, that old oak flat gobbler died of old age.

[Gooserbat]

I had a guy in Missouri that looking back 15 years ago I think now I might have killed him... Maybe.

[Tom007]

They all haunt me till my tag is on their leg?

[ChesterCopperpot]

Two that come to mind. There was a bird I chased for two seasons that tended to roost in the same tree and I never could get to him. His roost reminded me of a good buck bed. Pretty much any way in you were pegged, and he had a bad habit of pitching off the limb and sailing to another mountain. Then there's the one my wife calls Ponytail. An absolute loner. I think it's likely multiple beards stacked up, but if it ain't then the one's as thick as the rope in gym class.




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[Tom007]

Two that come to mind. There was a bird I chased for two seasons that tended to roost in the same tree and I never could get to him. His roost reminded me of a good buck bed. Pretty much any way in you were pegged, and he had a bad habit of pitching off the limb and sailing to another mountain. Then there's the one my wife calls Ponytail. An absolute loner. I think it's likely multiple beards stacked up, but if it ain't then the one's as thick as the rope in gym class.




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Wow, that's a rope....

[ChesterCopperpot]

Two that come to mind. There was a bird I chased for two seasons that tended to roost in the same tree and I never could get to him. His roost reminded me of a good buck bed. Pretty much any way in you were pegged, and he had a bad habit of pitching off the limb and sailing to another mountain. Then there's the one my wife calls Ponytail. An absolute loner. I think it's likely multiple beards stacked up, but if it ain't then the one's as thick as the rope in gym class.




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Wow, that's a rope....

Yeah, that first picture it's like, "Oh, that's part of that log." Then that second picture it's like, "Holy s@$t! That's not part of that log!" Haven't seen him yet this year, but hoping he survived. There was some pox went through late last summer and killed a couple gobblers and some hens. Hoping he wasn't part of that. I've never seen him with another bird. He tends to not regroup with other gobblers. Hoping his independence helped him out of that.


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[MK M GOBL]

Here's that read

I have had some history with this "bad" bird and have been hunting him for the past 3 years, he was the kind of bird who would always answer but never come in, seems he always had hens with him and 5 or 6 of them at a time. Well here we are in year #4 and have seen him out strutting with his harem of hens and have set-up on him a number of times this year already, actually killed a couple of satellite birds in his area during our first couple of seasons. So we are now into our 4th season and after a tough few days and an unsuccessful morning hunting with a buddy I was headed back to the house to mow my lawn that seriously needs it. My buddy says you can always mow lawn in 2 weeks when turkey season is over... Took his advice and went out to the blind, got the DSD's my CODY and "BIG PUFFY" out. Once I sat down this guy gobbles once at my hen talk and then shuts up, I gave him a few more calls and no response... Next thing I see is a head pop up in the field and disappear, the a fan appears and he is strutting in and doing the fast walk. Eleven minutes into it and he's down at 15 yards! This is the one I was after and he was lonely today. This is a bird that I knew all too well and finally taking this longbeard "Hook" was worth the wait! He weighed in at 23lbs 7oz, a 10 ½" beard and spurs were at 1 7/16"

MK M GOBL

[guesswho]

Just the one that gobbled as I filled out my last tag of the season last year.    I was hunting a bird that would gobble once about every 30-45 minutes.   I finally closed the deal right around noon, or so I thought.  I guess I killed a bird that was silent because a bird gobbled from the same area as the one I had been messing with, so I assume I didn't kill the gobbling bird.   His days are numbered though.  Season opens in mid March.   I'll have to wait until April though.   I don't apply for quota hunts so I can't go and check on him until after those hunts are over.    I have thought about him a few times during the off season.   I don't mind shooting the sacrificial lamb if I have a couple tags left, but this scenario has bugged me.

[budtripp]

Every time I have one get away from me that I should have killed it haunts me. At least for awhile

[catman529]

I can't say I've hunted a particular bird more than 2 days or so. I had one field bird in the late season of 2019 that was the typical field bird. He sometimes had hens and sometimes was alone, but was doing the field bird stuff that drives you crazy. I killed him the day after I found him, so that didn't last too long. Was a 2 year old bird, but seemingly the only longbeard in the area. I know that area gets hunted hard, so the more elusive birds had probably avoided the property for a while by that point.


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[justin.arps]

My son And I found A big bodied double beard last year scouting, I decided I wouldn't take A bird unless it was him. This is the first time I've ever targeted A particular bird. After calling in several birds for my wife and son, I slipped out by myself and roosted my target bird. Next morning I slipped in on him fairly tight, he pitched and worked away with his 6 hens. Answering my calls but working away. I knew where his strut zone was after his morning business, so I let him work off and made my move.
I sat for almost three hours waiting for him to fire up soft calling every once in awhile and raking leaves. All at once I hear drumming from my left and my chest got rattled with A gobble that shook my soul. He worked around me and I got my shot. This is the first bird I am having mounted and was A truly awesome hunt.


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[tlh2865]

That is an absolute stud, congratulations on a heck of a bird and an awesome hunt!

[justin.arps]

That is an absolute stud, congratulations on a heck of a bird and an awesome hunt!

Thank you! I had A amazing season my second bird was packing some weight and A rope too. It has A funny story and life lesson for my son in it too.



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