Today was going to be my last hunt of the year. My wife is working this weekend, then I'm on the night shift before we go on holidays. By the time we are to get back the season will be done.
The hunting has been very tough this year, with hardly any gobbling, and I haven't even seen the usual field birds strutting there stuff through-out the day.
I went to a nice hardwood forest with a river valley running through it today. Beside the forest is an old corn field, and when I got there in the pre-dawn, I hooted and got a response from the far side of the field. I crossed to the bird, but with the terrain, and my stupidity, I ended up too close to the bird, and I'm sure he seen me. When he flew down, he quickly went the opposite way
By this time, there is a few birds just hammering away back the way I came. I re-crossed the field, and slipped into the woods, sent out a yelp with my box call and got a response just over the edge of the ridge I was on. I switched to the trumpet and he answered. Some where along the way, I was putting my trumpet to my mouth while he was looking at me from just over the edge of the hill, and I was busted.
There was still a bird gobbling to my right a ways, so I went back to the field, and made my way towards him. I slipped into the woods and yelped with the box, and got a response.
The woods were very open here, and I could see him strutting from at least 150 yards away.
This is the spot- by now you usually can't see more than 20 yards, because the undergrowth is so thick.
I switched to the trumpet, and kept him coming with light yelps and clucks. I could hear him drumming from pretty far away, and my gun was trained on him. When he got to about 30 yards, he was partially blocked by a big oak. I moved my gun about 4 inches, and I guess he saw me, because he came out of strut and did the wing adjust thing, and took two steps away. He also took two steps to the right- into the open
21 lbs
10 inch, thick beard
spurs 7/8 and 1 inch
Well now instead of having tags left over, but no days to hunt, I have no tags but still days left in the season.
