Opening day score!

[Tail Feathers]

Much like Christmas, opening seems to take forever to get here but today was it.  Yes, we open late for being in Texas.  I live in Eastern country.
I scouted yesterday and found several gobbling birds.  Saw one on a pipeline and he looked pretty big so I was there and set up way before daybreak this morning.  I used a hen and jake decoy since it was on a long open pipeline.  I don't use them often, but i think it helped me today.
I set up in the edge of the woods with the pipeline running crossways in front of me.  First gobbler went off at 6:10am.  He was off to my nine o'clock and across the county road.  Second and third gobblers were at my ten o'clock and eleven o'clock, not too far from one another about 200 yards over a hill.  A couple of minutes later the bird I was looking sounded off.  At flydown I let out a few soft yelps on a slate call that I made myself.  The birds out front of me liked it, I don't know if the others could hear me yet.
As the sun rose I gave a good yelp series and got gobbles from all.  I did a short cutting sequence with three yelps and they all hammered.  They continued to gobble and were all slowly closing in.  Finally my bird took charge and slipped in through the woods, not down the pipeline like I was expecting.  He came at me head on and stood across the pipeline out of range for 10 minutes gobbling and strutting.  He had a silent tom with him.
With my heart pumping and not much real cover directly to my front, I just sat real still and watched.  Finally he turned away in strut and I gave a cluck.  He liked that.  He spun again and got another cluck.  That did it, he broke strut and came right on in, leading the other tom.  At 37 yards he cleared the bush I was hiding behind and I took my shot.  He flopped about twice and that was it.  The other bird hung around, clucking and the gobbled but got nervous and left pretty fast.  9" beard, 3/4" spurs and I forgot to weight him.    

[Turkeybutt]

Good looking set up and a great bird. Congrats

[Tom007]

Beauty, congrats

[squidd]

Nicely done and sweet gun!

[Chief Razor]

Well done. Congrats to you!

[Yoteduster]

Congrats on a nice gobbler

[chadly]

Sounds fun.  Congrats. 

[Vintage]

Congrats Nice Bird.

[RutnNStrutn]

Congrats brother!! It's always nice when it works out as planned!!

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

[Flatbottomarky]

 Congrats on opening day bird.

Sent from my moto g stylus (2021) using Tapatalk

[JeffC]

Congrats on the Tom, it's awesome to take with your own call.

[TrackeySauresRex]

Congrats on a good one TF! 

[Wrangler95]

Very nice,congrats

[chbarnha]

How do you like the scout?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tail Feathers]

How do you like the scout?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I like it.  I took an Osceola with it this year as well as my Eastern.  It's short and easy to manuever.  Being a hammer gun, it has a fantastic light and crisp trigger.
It is pretty heavy for a single shot.  As pictured with sling and Bushnell red dot, about 6 lbs 3 oz by my digital fish scale.  But the barrel is thick, a lot of the weight is there.  And the inside of the barrel is a smooth and slick as they come.