I went out on a central FLA WMA this AM, and took a buddy of mine with me. Yesterday we heard a bird ripping it up while we were set up elsewhere. So this AM, I let my friend go after him, while I hunted the next field over. Sure nuff, the bird started hammering again. After flydown time, I expected to hear my friend shoot at any time. It never happened. So about 0800 my friend texts me to tell me that his bird had a bunch of hens and was headed to the opposite end of the field that he was in. I got up and snuck over to a spot I could watch the field from with my binoculars. I spotted his gobbler and 6 hens. They worked down the end of the field closer to me. My friend and I both watched through binoculars while the strutter cut a hen from the flock, forced her out into the field and dogged her until she gave up the prize!!
He was quite the stud, as his stamina was impressive.
By the time he was done, the other hens had disappeared into the woods. His hen followed suit, and he wasn't far behind her. By then it had started to rain, so I retreated to my set up to stash my stuff before it got wet. What a show that was though!!
It was only the 3rd time I'd watched a gobbler breed a hen.
Later on, when I met up with my friend, I found out the rest of the story!!
My friend set up in the darkness, figuring the gobbler would be near where he was the day before. He guessed correctly. When the tom first gobbled, he was only 60 yards from my friend. After a few gobbles, he pitched out into the field and landed about 70 yards from my buddy. He immediately popped into full strut and stood around gobbling, but he wouldn't move towards my friend's dekes. Soon he found out why. Mr. Big's hens started chatting it up, and soon flew out to join him. They milled around for a bit before heading down to the other end of the field. That's where my story began.
What I didn't know was that after the turkeys went into the woods, and I returned to my setup, things happened. My friend took advantage of the rain to go after the birds before they got too far away. He got out of his blind, and tore off through the woods trying to catch up. He came to a clump of brush that he had to go around. So he eased up to the field and peeked around the brush before stepping out. Good thing that he did, because the turkeys had come back out into the field!!
So he eased down onto the ground. The hens, followed by the strutter, walked on by 60 yards out. My friend is comfortable shooting out to 45 yards, so he held his fire. The turkeys cruised across the field to the other side. That's when the gobbler spotted his decoys, including his jake deke. The gobbler charged across the field and attacked the jake!!
My friend, laying on the edge of the field 75 yards away, could only watch helplessly as the big tom pummeled his jake deke a mere 15 yards from his blind where he had been sitting.
What is it they say about turkey hunting? Patience, patience, patience!!
Heck of a morning though!!
Tomorrow is the last day of the hunt, and we are going back to the scene of the crime. We are gonna set up on both ends of the field. We can only take 1 turkey between us anyway, and Mr. Big has to exit the field through one end or the other. Hopefully one of us can put the smackdown on him. If we do, I'll post up pics tomorrow!!
