He gone
I had an awesome hunt this morning to say the least. I about got to close to the first bird on the roost. He gobbled and i was less than 100 yards from him. I had some good cover between us so I eased back into a field plot I had walked through. He gobbled pretty good on the limb and got cranked up once on the ground. He did not pitch out in the plot I was set up on. There was a plot up the road further and he pitched out in it or went to it. He was answering me pretty good but also were his hens. They were not having any part of me and drug him off into a hardwood drain.
I gave him 30 minutes on my first set up to show but he never did. By this time he had got out of my hearing distance so I made a move to get in the hardwoods with them. When I got to my next spot I had 3 different birds gobbling down the hardwoods. I was able to get down in there amongst them without getting busted. My first yelp all 3 answered me but went silent after that. I told myself there is no way one of these birds want show up if I wait them out. I spent the next hour in silence and did not see a single turkey. Finally one gobbled at woodpecker hammering on a tree. He was a good bit always so I got up and made a big circle to get in front of him.
I spent the next two hours slipping 100 yards at a time with multiple set ups. By this time I'm back in the area I had originally started out but down in the timber. I have a hen answer me so I find a good spot to set up. I'm calling to the hen and two gobblers sounded of just out of sight. It was long and I saw them working their way towards me. About that time they cut up a drain towards the hen I had heard yelping. The got silent on me so I just waited them out. A few minutes pass and I catch glimpses of them headed back the way they had come from. I guess the hen drug them off because I never saw them again.
I'm just sitting there calling every so often trying to wait them out. They answer me one time and was just out of sight. Between calling sequences a crow called and I heard a faint gobble that sounded like it was behind me. By this time it's 11:00 and the wind has picked up. I break out my new preacherman snake wood over mulberry box. I give a series of yelps on it and the bird I heard gobble behind me is eating it up. I get spun around on the tree to face his direction and give a few more calls. He's eating that box up and has cut the distance! I tine it down and give him a few finishing yelps and get quite. It's not long he's gobbles are rattling the ground and then I see him. I ease my hand behind me and scratch in the leaves and he turns heading straight to me. He stops a few times to gobble looking for his hen. That was freaking awesome I tell you. I let him close the distance to 25 yards and give him a soft yelp to make him stop an look for me. It was all she wrote. It was 11:23 when I pulled the trigger.
This is my first eastern that I have ever killed with a box call. It's was a mighty fine hunt to boot!
