To say this season hasn't been a big pain is an understatement. I've dealt with flooding, more flooding and more flooding all season. Hunted hard on the days the weather has been good and darn near drowned myself once. Yesterday I just about had enough. It started raining again and I wasn't sure I could take much more. Luckily I kept pushing myself and made myself go out today.
For once, we had a beautiful morning... but wait a minute.. have to back up a bit... I am 3 hours North of my house at the moment. Thanks to all the rain, Southwest MO is more of a swamp/flood land than it is of hunting land. I was told go North young man... so I did. Hit a friend up I haven't been up to see in many years. This family happens to live right on the Mark Twain National forest land too. 360 private land acres and 10k public.
So here I go burning diesel and all. Wake up this morning and have to drive all around the farm since the creek is way up and the luxury of just walking over isn't an option. Get setup, and by 6:05 the first bird fires away. I sit there and listen to that wonderful gobbling on the roost. I hear bird #2 and think game on! Do some tree yelping on Ed's pot and they respond. They hit the ground and I'm rotating back and forth between my pot and my hen box (Whiney
). Whiney and me have become very good friends. I've not had time to post the call, so here will be the first glimpse of it. It's an osage/bloodwood Hen Box from Richard Hudson. It's his smaller design hen box and it is full of turkeys.
I have 3 birds closing in on me and I got caught with my pants down and got pinned. I knew it was early so I backed off of the calling and let them go. I would hammer away with my Knee Pads long box (Mell'r Yell'r) and I could keep the 3 birds gobbling. I played cat and mouse with these birds for hours and I was about to call it quits. I'm walking out to go to another area I thought I had heard a bird gobble to the long box and I see a hen take off. Look out in the field and think oh crap there is a strutter... well he sees me when I see him... I quickly grab ole Whiney and cut and yelp real hard and hit the ground belly down... now here is a bird 200 yards away that just saw me and I'm thinking... what the heck do I do.
All of a sudden I hear him start alarm putting. I'm thinking.. .it's over. I cannot get to my calls in my vest for my pots and I know I cannot move enough to play the hen box again... I grabbed my trumpet (Tootie Fruitie) and I started clucking very softly. Those soft clucks pulled that bird in on a string. I have no idea why that bird went across the field alarm putting and then walked right to me. I fired when he was 10 yards away. Daryl rear end shot his and I blasted mine straight on. I can tell you both methods put a quick end to the birds
This has been a season of ups and downs. Ole Morgan and Richard have been telling me to keep after it and things would look up. Tim C got a very excited phone call today and he had to remind me to breathe
Next was a conference call from Richard and Morgan. I have been walking on clouds all day. This has to be one of the toughest seasons I ever remember! I thanked the Lord for a great hunt and fixed fresh turkey for the family tonight. I was told come back any time and ole dcole and me may be coming back in a couple of days!
Here is the bird. Nice 2 year old with some nasty hooks on him. One of my most memorable hunts I've ever had and some tough terrain birds! Felt nice to finely close the deal on a bird outside of Southwest MO!
