My son sent me a picture this morning of a nice gobbler he and my brother got this morning, 19 lbs 7/8ths and 15/16ths spurs 91/2 beard. Aaron was doing the calling with some calls I made him, an Ebony and Butternut long box, Tiger Maple trumpet and a mouth call. He was also running the video camera, and kind of missed some of the action as he had to shoot. He wanted to film a hunt where you see the barrel of the shotgun coming up in the lower right hand of the screen and had practiced this maneuver over and over. However, he didn't account for the possibility of having to shoot from his left shoulder. The bird got too close to my brother and for some reason he didn't have a shot, from Aarons angle it was too close to my brother for him to get a shot. Eventually the bird cleared, but Aaron had to make a move to switch shoulders and make a safe shot. Aaron fired and the gobbler went down. Another bird gobbled at the shot, and Aaron threw some fighting purrs at it and it repeatedly gobbled. Thinking it might be an opportunity for a double they held tight. Suddenly, the bird on the ground, found some inner reserve and leapt to it's feet. A barrage from my brother put it back on the ground. The opportunity for a double was lost as the other gobbler decided another neighborhood would probably better for the sake of his serenity, and departed for parts unknown.
