Well, my season is done.
Wish I could say that it went out with a bang
but that's not the case.
BUT, I had a really good morning. Heard 7 different gobblers throughout the morning, and came close twice. So close that each time I cocked back the hammer on the old single shot.
Snuck into the woods at O'dark-thirty and leaned against a tree waiting for the woods to wake up. A little while later.... Grrrrr-obble-obble-obble!!
(how was that Trackey?
)
Within 100 yards of me!! I lowered myself on to my inner tube seat, pulled out my slate and laid out some soft tree talk.
GRRRR-OBBLE-OBBLE-OBBLE!!!!
There were 2 of them. This one about 20 yards behind first. I hit them with more tree talk and....
They loved it and were hammering away. This got 2 more gobblers fired up, one of who was in the adjacent field where I hunted a lot this season.
He took over the gobbling. A few minutes later the closer roosted tom flew down to the field. A minute after that the farther tom pitched down, so I hit him with soft talk again. He gobbled. But walked off in the direction of the field. I snuck out and crawled into the field. I glassed but there wasn't a bird in sight.
I called on my diaphragm and then my slate.
Nada and nada.
Figuring I had nothing to lose, I busted out my box call.
He was in the corner of the woods in the next field over. The field was full of cows and I knew they'd spook if I tried to walk through it. So I cut across the first field to a dry creek, crossed it then crawled into the waist high grass bordering the 2nd field. I pulled out the box call again and hit it.
Within 100 yards, back in business!! I called to him periodically for 45 minutes. He gobbled at my calls, crows, and other assorted sounds. But, he wasn't coming. He gobbled sometimes close and sometimes far. I could picture him strutting back and forth at the top of the ridge.
His gobbling got further away and finally he popped into the field about 175 yards away, walked up hill and over the ridge.
I packed up, crossed the creek and headed back across the first field. As I came to the edge of the woods, I pulled out the box call again to see if I could get a response before I bumbled into a tom.
Yelp, Yelp, Yelp....
You've got to be kidding me!!!
He was right in the area I had just left.
Apparently he had gone silent for the final approach and the gobbler I heard and saw took over. So here I go, back through the field, across the creek and into my same spot.
Bust out the box call and
We played this game for another 45 minutes until the humidity started building, the wind picked up and the clouds turned dark.
Here it came. The season ending rain. I made it home just in time before the bottom dropped out and it started pouring.
I'm done. That's a wrap for me brothers.
We still need an upgrade or 3 to secure our team position. So best of luck to whoever is still hunting.
