It really is about the chase..... isn’t it?

[LaLongbeard]

I dunno, I have started having a hard time pulling the trigger on the tough ones. They used to get under my skin but anymore I kinda solute them and back off a bit. They have made it so far and almost seems a shame to end it for them. Maybe I am just getting old and soft or maybe i just dont like getting embarrassed time after time.

I feel the same way I killed one yesterday morning after two days of trying and this morning I sat on that ridge listening to silence and wishing  I'd let him go. There are so few in Louisiana it may be another year or two before another Gobbler makes that ridge his home.

[Cut N Run]

There's a gobbler at my primary farm who has used me two years in a row.  It's beyond personal.  I really enjoy trying to get him close.  He's been inside of 60 yards twice, but those woods are open enough that the hen he hears should be in view.  Maybe this will be my year.

Last year about 30 minutes after the bad bird got around me, another gobbler answered my calls and ended up becoming a notch on my box call.  It seemed kind of like a consolation prize though.

Jim

[SCGobbler]

I hunted the same bird for three years straight before he died. I get it. Remember what Ben Rogers Lee said when asked about hunting a hung up/henned up gobbler, "You Go find another one."  I'm the same way though. I'm with you 100%!


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[Jfowler82]

Give him a few days rest . I would go back around mid day to check him then . He should let you know when he is ready .

[MK M GOBL]

I have a great story about a bird like that (linked below), I get the same way after a bird beats me/us. I hunt with a lot of other hunters, whether it is from Learn to Hunts, Youth Hunts, Charity Hunt, or just family or friends. I'm on a number of birds every year and on a day when a bird "beats" me/us I put him on my list, I'll take those hunters back in on him again sure but when it's my tag I go in on him.

Here's a good read on just such a bird!
http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,58988.msg578460.html#msg578460

Took him with my CODY World Class Slate and my White Headed DSD Strutter "BIG PUFFY"!


MK M GOBL

[G squared 23]

Some guys hunt for the facebook post. Some guys hunt for the personal satisfaction. If you're the former, it doesn't make a lot of sense to hunt a challenging turkey.  If you're the latter, then do what will provide the most personal enjoyment.  Neither is a bad option though.

[Pluffmud]

I'm with you man. I found a bird last year and he's still alive... But I've taken a break a few times to go kill something easier. That being said, I'm still "mad at them," because I have not killed 100+ birds yet lol.

[zelmo1]

I have "target birds" and opportunity birds. The "target birds " get priority, but they need a break as well as hunters do. My goal every year is to get a Tom for my wife and daughter. If I do that, I had a good season. I always have fun and learn more every year. This tear " Fat Man" and " Little Boy"  are my main focus. To be continued......

[Marc]

I'm on one now...

I have spotted him a couple times, but have no idea where he is roosting.  I will hunt some roosted birds, and if I am not successful, I will go back to the area that I have seen him a couple times.

If I kill a different bird, I will likely concentrate on him the rest of the season.

Ya' gotta' have goals man...

[TRG3]

My recent post (Filled Illinois first season tag) is a short recount of my first kill after hunting this area for two previous years without taking a bird. I chose this area for the first hunt of the season since it was a challenge where as a couple of other areas always produce a gobbler on the first or second day it is hunted, more of a honey hole. I also used a homemade nail call (see YouTube on this great call) with good gobbler response. It's always fun to see what works as the gobblers are the judges that need to be convinced.

[Gobbler428]

I hunted the same bird for three years and got him close enough to see more times than I can remember. He outsmarted me over and over. I killed several birds during that three year period but spent the majority of my time hunting him. Last year the timber company cut the timber off the area where he lived and I haven't seen or heard form him since. I was obsessed and enjoyed every minute spent hunting that bird and truly hope I find another just like him so I can do it all over again. It is, "all about the chase".

[PEPPERHEAD]

Slipped in this afternoon for a couple hours. Woods were silent. Hunting time is at a premium right now. I'm a Captain for the Atlanta Fire Dept., needless to say things are crazy right now.

[High plains drifter]

Its all about the passion for the hunt. If it was easy every time, I for one would not enjoy it nearly as much as I do. Its why I only bow hunt deer, only want to shoot a gobbler who plays the game, gobbles to my call, see him strut and comes to the call. As others have said, take a break, go hunt another, but don't give up on him. Good luck, looking forward to the story and pictures.

To me, shooting one is by far the easiest part of Turkey hunting. I've only missed one time in 25 years, and that was because I had the pheasant hunting choke in. It's hard to fool the old birds, and that's the challenge.

[MO HUNTER]

Great post!

I hunted a bird for the entire 3 week season one year. Greatest game ever played! I got lucky and he slipped up one morning around 10. Still burned in to my memory!

[High plains drifter]

Slipped in this afternoon for a couple hours. Woods were silent. Hunting time is at a premium right now. I'm a Captain for the Atlanta Fire Dept., needless to say things are crazy right now.I get that.I snuck up on a herd last fall, and shot a young gobbler, but it was too easy.I guess that's ok for the fall.