Texas 2015
My good friend has a lease in San Angelo, TX and for years has told me how many turkeys the place has. Not being a turkey hunter he never went up during the spring season despite my pestering to let me hunt it. This year he needed to go pick up his four wheeler, so I got an invite to hunt as his guest for 2 days. After a 14 hour drive we arrived in enough time to unpack and get a few hours of sleep. I was dropped off in the dark and told the area had birds, but he wasn't sure where they would be or what they would do. I sat and as soon as the sun started up birds turned it on by hammering on the limb. I tried to get close, but was worried about bumping them, so I let them fly down and set up on them. I had one so close to being dead, but he never presented a shot – he gobbled as he circled the cedar brush I was hiding in a few times then wandered off gobbling. I let him go away them moved then tried to catch up, but those Rio's have legs and eat ground at a rate I couldn't keep up with. No problem, bad weather was moving in and lighting/thunder had a pile of birds gobbling in a flat near a thick creek bottom. I moved in and called up a pair of toms, but once again the brush and my conservative nature kept them alive. About that time the weather was really getting bad, so I texted my buddy my gps location and he told me where to meet for a pick-up. I got soaked on the ride back and upon arrival another member and guest informed me of a bird that was gobbling near the camp. I said after the weather passed we would try for him. We all ate lunch and everybody but I and the other guest took a nap. As soon as the weather passed I walked off the porch with my box caller and the bird sounded off. The other guest heard it and I felt like it was his bird, as he heard it before me, so I as the more experienced hunter offered to go call for him and left my gun in its case. We ease down about 400 yards and I instruct him where to sit as I set up behind him, just over his shoulder and begin calling. A gobble came immediately and not 5 minutes later a gobbler walks by us at 30 yards. After the bird goes behind some brush I ask in a whisper WHY DIDN'T YOU SHOOT?
That is when he informed me he was left handed and couldn't swing on him. In the meantime the turkey is over my left shoulder looking at us at 40 yards getting nervous, so after a few minutes I ask him to pass me his gun. Hunt over, I killed him. After pic's and tending to the bird I head back out with him to try and help him with a bird. We got on a few but never killed.
Day two finds me hunting with my new friend with birds gobbling on the limb 60 yards in front of us. The fly to the left and never said a peep once they hit the ground. We hunt all over with no luck and he had leave to head home. I went back to the camp helped with some chores and took a tour of the 15K acre ranch WOW. I knew where the birds were going to be at fly up, so that afternoon I went in and made a make shift blind and waited. When the shadows started getting long, one bird gobbled and that set off all kinds of turkey talk in the brush. Birds were everywhere around me with at least 3 tom's gobbling at me, each other, and all the hens cutting up. Well on tom hoped up on an oak stump to my right and gobbled right at me 30 yards away. I swung the 935 on him and lined the sights up as he stretched his neck to gain a better view of me. At the shot birds flew and ran everywhere, but my bird stayed anchored by 7 shot. A great time and I hope to be invited back next Spring. The ride home felt shorter with 2 birds in the box.
Bird 2
Bird 1
