I got to the same place I killed the bird on Tuesday at 7am for a starting point to listen and it didn’t take long before I heard the first gobble followed by at least 2 other birds. Same story, they are on the property with the chufa and roosted in the same place as Tuesday. After flydown they continued to gobble at every noise until 8:45. At this time it sounded like they were heading off the 100 ac and toward the property I’m on but 5-600 yds from where I was and going away. I made the 20 minute walk around to that side and listened but I never heard them again. I called a couple of times and hung out for 30 min wondering where they were and why they got quiet. No way they saw me.
I decided to go back to where I was because it is a bigger block of pines and give it an hour and then head home. I can’t stand “deer hunting” turkeys, I like action or at least hearing them every now and then. I got settled in back at the first spot at 10 and made a few yelps and started deer hunting turkeys….. only a few minutes went by and I was tired of that already. I decided to try what worked last Tuesday and pulled out the ole box and the Tom Teaser Butt Naked Hen mouth call and eased my way into a good ole all out fight. 15 min went by (yes, I look at my watch too much while turkey hunting) and I was in a daze from watching sheets of pine pollen blow by when I noticed movement straight out about 45 yds, Turkey!!!!
I only caught a small glance at what looked like a turkey neck going left to right. Next thing I see is pieces of the bird walking back to the left and that’s when I saw the bars on his wing, I got my gun up and sitting on ready and purred and clucked and that’s when he turned directly to me and the first time I could see his whole body and I saw his beard swing, game on!!!! He’s walking with his head straight out looking side to side and when I thought he was at 25-30 I yelped soft, his head went up as he stopped and I shot, he dropped.. it was 10:20.
Once again the fight worked to my advantage or at least I feel it did. This bird came from the opposite direction as the group of three that gobbled away from me and he didn’t have any other bird with him that I saw. I think this bird was out on his own and never said a peep all morning and not with the gobbling birds. He was a strutter though. Both of his wing tips were worn flat more than any other that I have seen. He apparently was a fighter too because he had what looked like a spur punctures in his left breast that was infected and green.
6 hunts in and the first time in my turkey career I have tagged out in the first week of the season. I guess it’s better to be lucky than good. 10” beard and 1” spurs. Maybe the girls will get up one morning and go because I don’t think the birds are really fired up yet and there is more hunting to do.
my view.
