Alright fellas this one counts. Few more points anyways.
Did not hear anything from the roost this morning except a cranky old hen. Was on a mission to find a gobbling bird when around 9am, I approach the same area the double bearded jake was in yesterday. I yelped and finally a bird responds. Thinking it was the double beards jake buddy, I take the time to inflate a hen decoy, get the video camera on my head and set up on the field around the corner from him, in hopes of, if nothing else, to get some cool footage. I only made him gobble 2 other times after that, and each time he sounded farther away. Also seemed he would only gobble to lower pitched yelps, confirming my theroy that it is the double beards buddy. After not answering me for a little bit, I try to get a little closer, belly crawl the decoy out and yelp.. notta. So I peer around the corner to where he first gobbled from.. not a turkey to be seen. I ease around the corner and set up there.
Well, I have this disease.. perhaps it comes with not sleeping a lot during turkey season.. but whenever I sit and call with little going on, I instantly start to dose.. The real reason I run and gun lol. So I had been there set up for 5..10 minutes tops and I feel my head going.. I get woken up abruptly by alarm putts not 10 yards behind me through the brush.. I can't see it, but she's pissed. I let out some really soft yelps and she slowly quiets down. She gives me a few soft yelps as well and walks off. Never did see her when she was close, but in the corner of the field a few minutes later, she steps out along the woodline, ~45 yards away. I watch her and turn the camera on. Right behind her I see a red head.. sweet! He is slowly following, but interested in me. I'm calling a little trying to divert them from their course but to little avail. He does however keep looking for me/at the deke, but his hen is walking away and he's going with. Now he's standing in some taller, thin, dead grass and I have yet to see a beard. I know he's killable, but I don't want to take the chance of killing another jake. He's getting farther away, and I just had a gut instinct that this was no jake as I still had not seen a beard. I yelp one more time and he just stands tall to look.. I take the shot and down he goes. Stepped it off, 54 yards with 7s... Little farther than I thought. 20lbs 1 oz; 1" spurs; 9 3/4" beard
I did get the kill on video, but the go pro is not meant for longer distances and you can barely make out the turkeys at all. The pursuit and getting beat by wings is pretty funny though. I'll see if I can't get it up here soon.
