I started off hunting public land Thursday afternoon. I quickly found lots of sign, and spotted a flock a LONG ways off. I found a good area and set up. After a bit of calling I heard my first gobble of the trip!! Before long I had two gobbling jakes come in, they got a free pass. I watched 7 or 8 birds go to roost just north of where I was set up.
Friday am I was back WAY before daylight to slip in to where I needed to be set up on the roosted birds. As I was slipping along this small creek I noticed something white in the trail in front of me. (I don't use a light unless I have to) Having seen this before I immediately started bmy retreat! I pulled out a light from my vest and turned the red LED's on to confirm what I had saw, sure enough there was a SKUNK with his tail raised! I gave him plenty of space and continued on in the darkness to my destination. Shortly before flydown time the birds finally gobbled, I was hoping there was a longbeard with the flock. After an hour or so I had 5 hens and 2 jakes within 25 yards, but no longbeard. I looked around the property some more, but didn't get another bird to answer so I headed back to camp for a much needed nap.
I decided to head over to the private land that I have permission to hunt on. I left the truck about 2:30, and was immediately in the turkey sign. I decided to check out the central part of the property around a creeck where I have gotten on birds in the past, as I was slipping along I found an area where I started seeing lots of scratching, tracks, and gobbler feathers. I decided I needed to find a suitable spot and set up and call for a while. While looking for a good tree to set up on I heard a gobble from approx 200yds to the NE of me! I sat down and got ready. The first series of yelps from my persuader were met with a gobble! Before long I could see a red head coming through the timber on the far side of a green field that I was set up near. Looking through my binocs I confirmed that it was another jake. He came all the way in and stopped 40 yards past me looking for the hen that he had heard. Then I heard a gobble way off to the north of me approx 350- 400 yds away. I pulled out my Hook's Assassin Aluminum call, and started yelping and cutting on it, the gobblers started hammering back! Within just a few minutes 3 longbeards came into view 250 yards away on the north side of the field! They strutted and gobbled all the way across the field! They came in to my right and I had no shot due to them being behind a woven wire fence, I started cutting on my persuader and they couldn't take it they started double and triple gobbling and came right on in. I took the shot at 15yds, he never flopped. He weighed 18#14oz, 8" beard, and had 1 3/8 & 1 5/16" hooks
As I was taking these pics I heard another gobble to the north of me, I turned around to see a few hens come in the field followed by 3 more strutters! I knew where I wanted to be the next morning!
I decided to bow hunt Saturday am, so I drove in the green field Friday night at 10PM to set up my blind, I put my decoys and bow in the blind and headed back to camp. I drove in there Friday night because I thought the turkeys were going to be roosted over 1/4 mi away, and this would have saved me a 1/2 mi walk with blind, decoys, and bow.
I was tent camping this weekend and got woke up at 0400 Saturday morning with the wind whipping so hard that it was shaking the tent which was making my air mattress move inside the blind! I was afraid I was going to get blown away!
I got up and headed off to hunt in the wind. I set out my King Stutt decoy and a hen then got in the blind. When I got in the blind I though there was no way I was going to kill anything due to the bad wind, but before I could even get all my stuff ready I heard a gobble from behind me! The turkeys had roosted just off the 75yds edge of the field, they were only 125yds from my blind!
I let out a few yelps on my Assassin Aluminum call and was cut off by several gobbles! Soon it was raining turkeys in the field!! As soon as the gobbler hit the ground he went into strutt and followed all the turkeys into the timber. I yelped a few times on the aluminum and my persuader. They answered, but I didn't expect them to come back into the field. I waited a few minutes and looked out of the back of my blind and could see the whole flock heading my way!
When the strutter crossed a ditch at 80 yards he started running towards my decoys. He immediately started flogging my strutter, he jumped on top of him and the decoy stake snapped off at the ground! He fell down, then jumped on the decoy again, by this time I was at full draw and sent a spitfire tipped arrow his way! He weighed 18#8oz, had 9" thick rope, and had 7/8" spurs.
Pic of my decoy and the gobbler
My two go to calls this year!
