After a long week chasing a handful of birds my buddy and I decided to hunt a piece of property that we new had 8 Jakes on it last Saturday. We knew they hadn't been bothered so we figured with all the other places we hunt being pounded for a week we went to the Jakes this am. We got in there at 5 45 and by 550 they started gobbling. With the wind howling and we were a good 150 yards I was not sure they would here us nor was I sure what side of the river they were roosted on I wasn't sure of our odds. So at 6 or so I made a set of calls and they answered. So we knew they could hear us. They gobbled hard till they flew down. Then just every now and then and then just shut up for over a hour. So after a hour of nothing I decided to get up and take a leak and move to the other side of the tree too get out of the wind. My buddy then got up and took a leak and when he did they gobbled within a hundred yards of us from across the river which we don't have permission for. So we hurried up and got back into position and I hen yelped and they answered. So within two minutes I could see three birds on the other river bank. They milled around a little and I purred and yelped softly and that's when the lead bird turned and walked down the bank to the water. He took to flight and landed 8 yards in front of us. When he walked behind 3 little trees I got my gun up and at 6 yards he was a dead bird. After I shot, another bird landed at about 5 yards from us for my buddy, but my bird ended up flopping in the river so we had to run down stream and wade the river to get mine out of the river. So he didn't get a shot and really wasn't worried about another Jake.
this ended a week of a lot of highs and lows for me and my buddy, Monday we watched a bird get shot that we were getting ready to set up on, Tuesday we called in a double of two year old birds and my partner got itchy finger and shot on 1 when our agreement is always shoot on two,lol. Wensday came I worked bird for a hour only for him to hang up on me at 100 yards. Thursday I went back to set up on the same bird only to watch him pitch out to a hen and walk away the opposite direction he was supposed too. Friday by partner an I got too ballsy and bumped him and two hens off the roost. Yesterday we went back after him but he was a no show. So today we went after the birds we knew haven't been bothered and it worked out. Its was only a Jake but we won't forget about those two birds landing in our laps. And too us that's what it is about.
