Happy's hunt log

[Happy]

We engaged them again, a diaphragm, Ezoltt wingbone, and the zelmo travel call were used to get them gobbling pretty good. They were slowly approaching and weren't gonna hurry as the hens were obviously calling the shots. I could hear one yelp occasionally, but they were pretty quiet compared to the Tom's. Once they hit about the 200-yard mark, they went quiet. We went quiet as well, just sitting there and waiting, I was hoping for a where are you gobble before they popped into view. There was nothing. After about 15 minutes, the boy was bored and starting to fidget. I hissed at him to hold still and be ready. After a few minutes, I heard it. Drumming, and it was pretty close. I whispered to the boy to hold still and slowly moved my head hard right to track it. I saw a hen slipping by, hard right, going up the edge of the powerline. I could still hear the drumming and knew the gobblers were in the rear. I whispered to the boy to slowly shift right a little every time I told him "now". Several hens and jakes had passed us by the time he was turned, and I could see the tail fan of the first gobbler. He had the gun up and ready but could not get a shot through the treetops that bordered the powerline. I saw the second gobbler coming and told him." Put the gun on safety, hand it to me, and when I say go, stand up."He clicked the safety on, and I slowly took the gun in my right hand. I gave him my left hand, and when the gobbler went behind a log, I whispered "go" and helped pull him up to his feet, handing him the gun back. He got the gun pointed in the general direction just as the gobbler popped into view.  He whispered, " I am shaking too much." The gobbler was almost through our window in the tree tops. I started softly yelping and clucking. This stopped him, and he started strutting in circles. "Still shaking, and there's some brush" my boy whispered. I whispered back and told him. "Lay the gun against the tree you're beside, and when he hits the next hole, I will stop him and raise his head." He did just that, and when the gobbler did his next spin, he hit an opening.  I cut hard on the mouth call, stopping him, and raising his head. The gun cracked, and my boy had his first turkey ever.
Thanks, Zelmo, I used your call in the most meaningful way I could think of. There was another call I had wanted to use as well for this hunt, but being scatterbrained, I accidentally left at home. This turkey meant a lot to him, and this season, he got to run the full gammet of emotions a turkey hunter experiences. We laughed and hugged.  We got to finish things out with pepperoni rolls in the woods with a gobbler hanging beside us.

[crow]

Man that is one great hunt and your son did excellent holding it together thru all parts of it.
Big congrats to him and yourself on his first gobbler.

[JeffC]

Congrats again on a fine Tom, you left me hanging last night, "Safety clicked off"....had to bail and go to bed, another early morning. Someone needs to let their kids tell the story, think it would be awesome to hear them tell it? Make sure you post some pictures of the plaque when you get it finished.

[Happy]

Sat was a close call, had a whole flock worked up. Two gobblers in the mix. Managed to pull the group in to about 100 yards or so. Couldn't see them but they were close. Then it poured the rain and I called it a day around 10. I got drenched.

[Happy]

Sunday
I heard one gobbler all morning. He was a good distance off so I started to him and had him coming. He got intercepted by a hen and I had to leave early for Mother's Day activities.

[Happy]

Monday,
Had a few hours to hunt. Called my buddy and told him to be ready this morning. Had work issues and was on the phone the whole way down this morning. Got on a gobbler at daylight and at 6:30 here is the result. He is officially tagged out.

[crow]

Nice hooks

[Happy]

Yesterday was my next day to hunt. With season closing this coming Sunday in one of the States that I hunt, I was getting pretty serious about trying to fill my final tag with my Great-Grandfathers 1950 Remington 870. It is full choked, and only chambers 2 3/4" shells. When my grandad asked if I would try to kill a turkey with it, I jumped all over it. At first I thought about getting some 2 3/4" TSS loads for it but then decided against it. If I was going to kill one, it was going to be going back to the basics. I have carried this gun several times this year while out prospecting new ground. I even had a close call while carrying it but it would have been about a 35 yard shot and I let him walk. Hoping to be able to reposition and get a better shot. That didn't pan out when some other hunters were attracted by his gobbling on my second set-up and spooked him. Patterning that gun showed a max, sure-kill range of 30 yards with lead, #6 high brass loads. The gun also shot about 4" left at that range so I made a mental note to compensate to the right a bit.
Anyways, back to yesterday. I decided to commit completely on the two gobblers I had had a run-in with on Saturday. To do this meant giving up the high ground and I never like doing that unless I have really good reason. When daylight broke the gobblers opened up about 200 yards out and slightly below me. I felt pretty smug, I could get t the spot I had in mind and it was going be over quickly. Moving slowly towards the dip that was going to conceal me in these wide-open woods i had just about made it when I flushed a hen. When she flew out of the tree, I instantly gave a fly-down cackle, Hoping to keep the gobblers from getting suspicious. It seemed to work, they both gobbled back and i managed to make my tee and slide down into position. The toms kept gobbling and the next thing I knew, turkeys were pitching out of the trees in front of me and landing over the rise where the gobblers were. Realizing i was playing from behind now, i started calling to the hens. They responded and things were civil enough. Several started approaching but the toms held their ground. Gobbling but not moving. I shut things down, not wanting the hens to get in my lap unless they were bringing the boys along too. Twice I waited about a half hour and got them going and had the same results both times. Two hens would start approaching and the boys stayed behind, gobbling, but attending to more serious matters at hand. I decided to just sit tight and hope the hens would leave them. If they started gobbling, i was going to jump all over it. But about a half hour later a truck went through the dirt access road, moving slowly, and everything went quiet. I cut my losses and went and checked out a few other spots, looking for a willing gobbler. With no success I called it a day.

[Happy]

Thursday(Yesterday now).
I went to a different spot that I knew usually held turkeys. It was cold and quiet. I sat at my listening spot for about half an hour and never heard a gobble. I was full light, so I bailed on that spot and went back to check on the gobbler I had heard the day before. It's a bit of a walk but as I got close to where they typically hang out I heard him gobble. He was in the exact same spot as before. That was a problem. The woods there are extremely open. The hill sloped down towards him but it was so gradual that there was no way to get tight to him or call him up without him being able to see for a hundreds yards if not more. I stood and was weighing out my options when he gobbled again. I realized that he was moving from my right to my left. this gave me an opportunity. I headed that way slowly, I knew the ridge broke off sharper there and that there were some thicker spots out along the ridge. I found the general area I wanted and stood and waited. He was gobbling on his own every few minutes and I tracked him. Staying back far enough that when he went by the lip of the ridge covered me. when he was about to my 10'oclock position and about 200 yards out I moved forward to my chosen spot. The ridge broke sharper here, but it still wasn't enough to give me the 30 yard or less shot I needed. However the clump of saplings and greenbriers on the lip of the ridge gave ne exactly what I needed. I set up on the backside of it. With him directly across and downhill from me. I had two lanes to shoot through. one to my left, before things got really thick and one to my right, the edge of the clump of brush. The ridge broke off there and I banked that I could have him on top of the ridge before he drifted that far right and would be visible and still in range. My hope was that I could get him in my left shooting lane and have a perfect shot. I let him gobble a time or two and drift a little further left. Then I gave a few yelps on the my homemade wingbone and he cut me off. I waited a bit and hit him again. He responded immediately and I came back with some cutting. He loved it and started working my way. He was gobbling hard, every minute or two and all I had to do was give a few yelps now and again as well as some clucks from my grandads old box call to keep him coming. Grandads old box call has a warped lid so the yelps don't sound good at all. This hunt was about using all old style guns, ammo, camo, and callers. Preferably sentimental ones, so I used that box in the best way that I could. At about 60 yards, I could hear the rattle in his gobble, I gave a few soft clucks, he gobbled again, I could tell that he was probably going to drift right, so I slowly shifted that way, keeping an eye on my lane to the left. I could hear him drumming now. I caught a flash of a full tailfan and then a flicker of movement headed slightly to my right. I was down on the gun now. my bead covering the opening in the saplings and greenbriers ahead of him. He went through it quickly, so I shifted ahead to the next opening. I could see most of him now and tracked him with the bead. He went behind a small dead tree but brought his head up and stopped for a second, staring hard. He was about 10 feet from coming out into the open but at 25 yards, I had a good shot and took it. Holding to the right of his head a few inches, I squeezed the trigger. It was confusion for a moment, There were wings flapping and leaves flying, I jumped up to get a better view behind the tree and he was down, flopping hard but obviously dead. I still made my way to him quickly and got a foot on him. He had beat himself up pretty good on the rocks and briers but he looked pretty darn pretty to me. It's been a memorable year. I may kill another turkey this year or I may not. It doesn't really matter. I got to call in some gobblers for a good friend, I got to call in my boys first gobbler and I got to be the first to kill a turkey with a shotgun that has seen use from 4 generations of my family. It's gonna be pretty hard to top that.

[Happy]

The old ways still work.

[Happy]

Hunting wasn't so great today. Heard one gobbler way out there gobble exactly 3 times. He was off limits. Did call in a pair of bald eagles with my exceptional wingbone talent. I hope they don't hang around, though. My buddy is adamant that I kill a turkey on his place. We will see if it works out or not.

[randy6471]

Nice pics Happy. You've definitely had some memorable hunts this season and you have some lasting memories. That's what it's all about!

[JeffC]

Great read and picture, getting your son his 1st Tom would be a great season by itself, getting a Tom with a piece of family history just takes season to a whole another level, Congratulations again.

[Tom007]

Great stories. A proud season for sure, your dedication to help others created treasured memories for family and friends. Well done, congrats!

[GobbleNut]

Looks like you are having an great season, Nick!  Good stories and pics,...keep 'em coming if you go out some more...