Opening day SC Eastern

[RutnNStrutn]

On Tuesday I had an opening day repeat of last year. I scored on an afternoon hunt in S. Carolina on a gobbler that charged in on B-Mobile only to meet the business end of my scattergun. I was set up on the edge of a field where we had seen turkeys throughout the previous year. We had also seen a gobbler sporting a nice paintbrush the previous afternoon.
At 16:00 I heard a thunderous gobble in the woods about 100 yards behind me.   I called to him and he gobbled again. I called twice more with him gobbling back each time. Enough of that, it was time to go silent and let him come looking for me.   I figured when he stepped out and saw B-Mobile strutting with a couple of hens, he would follow the script and do what I needed him to do. Only one problem with that plan, I hadn't counted on the lady that owned the farm to come driving by me 5 minutes later. Yeah, she did that, and yeah, the gobbler went silent.   But the turkeys on that farm are used to farm vehicles rolling by, so I figured the gobbler would come back out in the field eventually.
At 18:15, 3 hens stepped out in the field, followed by the gobbler. Right on cue, he spotted B-Mobile, popped into strut himself, and ran across the field, still in strut, all the way to my set up.   He circled B-Mobile twice, the second time lifting his head in a threatening manner. I had no choice but to defend my helpless decoy.   So I dropped the hammer on him, and he went down and didn't even flop at all.
Checking out my bird, I found that he was a 2 year old, and not the big boy sporting the paint brush from the previous afternoon. The next afternoon, I saw yet another bird, but I had let my friend borrow B-Mobile, and this gobbler wasn't interested in my hen dekes. He was a different bird still, so that left at least 2 more gobblers in the area, and likely more. Needless to say, I know where I'm going when I go back up!!
18 lb's 12 oz's, 9-1/2" beard, 15/16" spurs - 56.5

[joshua]

Awesome story.  Congrats. 

[TURKEYWHACKER]

Team Osceola, Team Osceola, Team Osceola 
Congrats Rut 

[Roostem33]

Great job Jim, Congratulations!!!!!!

[tjh24]

Great story, awesome pics,  good luck with the rest of em!

[Odessa]

Congratulations - good reading too.

[trkycaller]

Congrats!!

[a-j calls]

Well done, nice bird and pictures..

[alloutdoors]

Nice bird, congrats! 

[TheTwistedOne]

Great job!  They were sure shut beak where I hunted opening morning. 

Occasional farm vehicle traffic is one thing but logging trucks and loggers are a good bit more disturbing.  Hopefully they'll be completely done long enough for things to calm down and the season to still be open.

[Woodsman4God]

congrats good looking bird

[hobbes]

Congrats Rutn!  Boy his head is colored up blue.

Have you killed a FL bird yet?

[Hognutz]

Congrats, Jim. That is a great story, and a nice bird, as well. Looks like it is warm down there..Well done..Mike

[Dan Mallia]

Congrats!! 

[bowhunter84]