Unconventional but fun hunt yesterday

[Birdyblaster]

I had a pretty awesome hunt yesterday.  I started out in a large field about 150-175 yards from the roost.  As the sun came up, the birds started gobbling their heads off for about 20 minutes.  I watched several fly down into a small field just north to me and a hen pitched in right over my head and landed about 80 yards out.  Shortly after flydown, 6 hens came through just outside my hen and jake decoy.  A few minutes later, 3 toms came through the same fencerow the hens did but about 50 yards farther down putting them about 90-100 yards out.  I tried calling but they completely ignored me and my decoys. 

Shortly after, the sun came over the trees and I realized my first mistake of the day by setting up with the sun shining right down my gun barrel.  It was so intense I couldn't even see my red dot.  I figured all the birds in the flock had come through at that point and I knew they would head to a dust bowl about a half mile away like they'd done the previous couple days.  I decided to leave my decoys and circle around and try to get ahead of them.

I worked my way north into the small field they'd pitched down into.  As I came out of a creek bed I made my second mistake of the day; I ran into the rest of the flock that hadn't made it past me yet.  They all spooked and took off running east.  I decided to continue with my plan to get ahead of the birds I'd seen originally and continued towards the dust bowl.

As I approached the dust bowl, I was walking down a high ridge I had to cross to get there.  There were a few deer in the field that were acting antsy.  I didn't think they should have been able to see me but when I took another couple steps I realized they were looking at the turkeys I was trying to circle around.  At this point they were only about 75 yards away and I spooked them all too.  I decided to just sit down and the dust bowl and wait it out for awhile.

About 10 minutes later, 2 hens came out into the field again.  I called a little about every 20 minutes and they eventually made their way to about 5 yards in front of me.  They dusted for about 30 minutes then headed off down the treeline back into the timber.  With the field in front of me now clear, I decided to head back to where I'd left my decoys to set up awhile longer.

On my way back, I crested a ridge about 500 yards from my decoys and saw a big tom strutting in my decoys!  He mounted my Avian-X hen several times and had driven the stake all the way into the ground.  At this point I was feeling like a complete idiot.  I'd screwed up in about every way possible and now there's a gobbler in my decoys right where I should have just stayed put.

Frusterated as all get out, I decided I was going to try to put the sneak on that gobbler.  I knew there was a small creek that ran about 50 yards from my decoys so I thought perhaps with some belly crawling it just might work out.  I stayed well back into the treeline and made my way to the creek.  I dropped down into the water and started walking crouched over toward the bird.  After about 100 yards, the creek bed became shallower and I had to start crawling on my hands and knees.  I was still a little over 100 yards from the bird at this point.  I had to make my way though several stick jams by picking up little sticks here and there to avoid making noise by putting a knee or hand on one.  There were points I had to crawl through water about 6 inches deep and by the time I got to the corner of the field where the strutting bird was, I was soaked anc covered in mud and sand.

I made it to the last log jam before the corner and eased up to check on the bird.  He was walking back into the field.  He drank from a water puddle then returned to my decoys and resumed strutting.  At this point I only moved when gusts of wind blew to avoid being heard.  I picked my way slowly through the last and largest log jam and slowly inched my way up the bank.  I could still see the bird's fan as he spun circles in front of my hen decoy.  At this point, the only thing between me and the gobbler was a few small trees and downed branches and grass about 8-10 inches tall.  I continued moving forward by lifting myself with my elbows and pushing forward with my toes until I reached the very edge of the field.  I slowly raised up to check ont he gobbler again and this time he saw me and came out of strut.  He started getting nervous and walking away. 

I knew it was now or never so I raised up to a knee and as I settled my red dot on his neck, he stopped and turned his head sideways to look back.  I let him have it with a 3.5" Fed HW #7 and he went down flopping.  As I ran up to him I realized I'd misjudged the distance a little (I won't mention how far out of respect for forum rules) but there was still plenty left to put him down hard and clean. 

The whole stalk took about 1.5 hours and I really couldn't believe he was so infatuated with my hen decoy he stayed with her that long.  It was far from the conventional turkey hunt I'm used to but was a lot of fun and definitely the most challenging turkey hunt I've ever had!  Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to share.

[Swampchickin234]

Cool story, congrats!


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[kjnengr]

That just makes all that much more memorable. Congrats on getting your bird.   

[tomstopper]

Good job and good looking bird. Congrats.....

[davisd9]

Sometimes you got to do what you got to do.  Congratulations!

[taylorjones20]

Congrats!

[RutnNStrutn]

Everyone has a day filled with bumbles. Not everyone seals the deal though. Great effort!! Congrats on sticking with it and getting your bird!!

[kyturkeyhunter4]

Congrats! Nice Bird

[101st501]

great bird and a great story,  I have not killed a lot of birds, but three of them have died in similar ways.  I love stalking and sneaking in on a bird.  It makes the hunt that much better.

[Greg Massey]

Good hunt and a great story. Nice bird also.

[stinkpickle]

LOL!  Gongrats!   

[TrackeySauresRex]

Good hunt congrats on a great Tom. Them field birds are easy to mis judge in yardage. I know I've done it accidentally as well.

[Birdyblaster]

Thanks guys!  I'm hoping next year they gobble better than they did this year and I can get things done the old fashioned way.  If not, at least I know the Mohican sneak just might work.

[ridgerunner]

Well the moral to the story is...even through mistake after mistake you kept at it and in the end was successful ...sounds my my first 3 years of turkey hunting back in the early 90's..I hunted for 3 years before taking a bird..didn't have anyone to teach me, learned on my own and made every mistake in the book...one thing I had , like you, is determination...in the end patience and determination will fill many tags.

[Gooserbat]

Keep on keeping on.