Bless his heart he tried, but he failed. You play games you are gonna get dealt with around here. I'll post the story and some better pictures in a bit, gonna get him dressed and have a few cold ones to wind down first.


Alright time for a story.....

I went into a place this morning that I had found some gobbler tracks going into yesterday in hopes I would hear something. Well it was overcast again for a few hours this morning and I didn't hear a peep. I went back to the back of the property to get a guys trail cam for him. Its a pretty good haul up and down some ridges and I just walked a called every 200 yards or so all the way back trying to strike something up. I eased up to the field and I see a hens back and then another. I froze right there and was stuck standing there for the next 3 hours. About 2 hours into the ordeal the hens are feeding off out to a roadway and I think they are going to move on off so I am relieved. Well they left and I took a few steps forward and here they come back. About that same time I catch something moving about 200 yards through some select cut pines and it is a strutter on a hillside in the sun..... game on! I watch him while the hens feed again and he never does anything but spit and drum. This goes on for another hour or so. The gobbler would come up to the field, but never out in it or he would have been toast. The hens would get within 40-50 yards of me and pay me no attention just standing there in the wide open logging road. They finaly fed off and I got the dang camera and got out of there. It is around noon now so I haul tail back to the truck walking and calling again. I get a couple sandwiches at camp and off I go to another place close to camp. We have had several pics of gobblers off of this field this spring and it is out in a clear cut so I buried up in some brush and gave a yelp and a cutt and one fires back directly behind me. I turn around halfway so I can shoot both ways and get ready. 30 minutes or so goes by and I catch movement out of the side of my eye and it is a strutter, but not the one doing the gobbling because he aint budging from the draw he was in. The bird is already inside 40 yards. I didn't know it at the time because I couldn't see it, but he was walking a road where they had drug logs out. 15-20 minutes goes by and I work my way to my knees so I can get higher and get a shot at him the next time he struts to the left. Finally I give him some soft calls and he comes back into my lane and I dented the primer. I knew he had a big head and a large full fan, but I couldn't see much of a beard on him when I shot. He had beard rot and 80% of his beard was maybe 3" long and orange, he had about 10 strands that went 7 1/2". His spurs told the rest of the tale where he had some nice 1 1/8" spurs on both legs. It was a longs day, but at 3'ish I finally got it done. Looking for a couple more this week.