Finally got him!

[TRG3]

I'd hunted this gobbler during the Illinois third season with no success. He would start gobbling very early, robustly, and then leave in the opposite direction, not returning for the rest of the morning. With my right ankle in a boot, the result of an accident, I couldn't move to where he was going and was limited to hunting flat, open ground. Fast forward to this morning. It's day two of the Illinois fifth and final season and I'm back hunting this gobbler. He started gobbling at 5:10 a.m. and was on the ground within 5 minutes, again heading away from my hen yelps/gobbling response. He went almost out of hearing while I hen yelped/gobbled for the next 20 minutes with him often responding immediately. When it was finally light enough to shoot, I just shut up while he continued to gobble. Then all went quiet and former experience told me that he might just be moving in to size up the hen and intruding gobbler that was responding to him. It was at this point that a crow flew over and the tom shock gobbled to his cawing. He was less than 100 yards away! Within a few seconds, the gobbler past within 5 yards of me with his wings dragging the ground and making a low-pitched sound. He went directly to my Pretty Boy decoy set up over a hen in the breeding position about 20 yards away. He was literally nose-to-nose with my decoy and circled Pretty Boy, keeping his head only inches from the decoy. Not wanting to blow the head off my decoy, I made a couple of low clucks with my mouth call and he stepped back just enough to catch a hand load of #5 shot from my 12 gauge 1889 hammer double barrel. A couple of flops and it was over. I'm guessing that his undoing was the absence of any hens responding to his gobbling coupled with his desire to steal this new hen from a gobbler that had moved in on his territory. Fortunately for me, the picked soybean field was dry enough to allow me to drive right up to him and my equipment, saving me the 300 yard trek back to the truck while packing all of that stuff on my bum ankle.

[TRG3]

I should add that while he only weighed 22#, he did have a double 9" beard and 1 1/2" spurs. Based on the spur length, this would be my biggest gobbler over 25+ years of turkey hunting.

[outdoors]

OO MAN THE FUN IS ALL OVER , GONE , NO MORE. 

[gobbler777]

Only 22#s?? Should have passed him until next year.....................ha

[bbcoach]

You should have passed on him.  He would of had a triple beard, weighed 25 lbs and probably 1 3/4" spurs next year.  NOT!!!!  Congrats on being persistent!!! 

[Mike Honcho]

Congrats on a great hunt!

[jbrown]

Sounds like an awesome gobbler, well worth the wait and hard work? Sounds like a mounter to me! I've hunted turkeys 38yrs, only killed 3 gobblers that had true 1.5" or better spurs, truely an awesome gobbler, congrats!!!

[wytrat785]

Congrats on your bird!

[Triple Gobble]

Way to go

[mgm1955]

Great bird!! Congrats!!

[zelmo1]

  Great bird, Congrats

[trkycaller]

congrats!

[Greg Massey]

Nothing like killing a hard headed turkey...great story....good job..

[Seminoleturkey]

Congrats

[Dr Juice]

Persistence pays off! Congrats.


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