April 14 (Saturday)
I am having grand visions that since I have plenty of time to hunt for the first time since March 31, I’m gonna kill this rascal quick and then head to TN for the rest of the day to try and double up (still never have killed one in both states on the same day). It was a beautiful (but cold like always this year) morning and it sounds like he is in the same tree from yesterday but this time (and the only time) he is gobbling great in the tree. I slip around his little 4 wheeler road and decide to gamble a little bit by getting way closer in the gray light than is comfortable to me. I had picked a hickory the previous morning and I made it to that tree and what appeared to be about 90 yards from the turkey (still not enough greenup but some cedars around to put in between us) and he was still gobbling good. I eased down to my knees and crawled around to the front side of the tree and he shuts up immediately and I hear him fly out. Busted!!! This is the part where I curse you guys that hunt pines all the time. Lol!
No worries I figure. I’ll let him get going on his own and reposition and start working him shortly. He had only pitched one bench down the mountain and started gobbling good about 20 minutes later. I backed out and made a loop and slipped in to a different setup around and up from him at about 150 yards or so. I call real gentle to him again and again it isnt but a minute til he is around 70 yards....will not pop his head up again. He stays just under that lip for close to 2 hours this time and would shut up and then start drumming and gobbling again and be hard over on my right. And then back to the left. I never laid eyes on him and he was very close the whole time. He had me in a bind on that tree over and over and over but he just will not show. He eventually shuts up again and he has lost interest. I hear him gobble one more time going down and away and long story short, I never heard him again and sat right in there til noon before deciding to leave him alone and go elsewhere to try and strike one til about 3:00 when I would have to head to the house. I never heard another turkey sound anywhere around for miles (could hear a long way over to other mountains) the entire day other than him.
