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Mason and I arrived a few minutes late this morning. As soon as we topped the first ridge we heard one hammering away on the next property over. We found a likely spot to set up and got comfortable. Rain, wind, and still we had 'em gobbling. Not a bad way to start the day.
One bird would answer every time I made a yelp. He was fired up, but I assumed like with most roosted birds, his hens would take him away as soon as he hit the ground. The fact that this bird was quick to gobble made it very hard for me not to wear the calls out as I like to hear 'em...since this was Mason's hunt, I figured we should try to kill one, and kept my calling to the minimum. Around 8, we were both a bit chilled, and the birds had stopped gobbling. We started to slide down the ridge just a bit to get out of the wind, but before committing to moving too far, I made several cuts. The birds lit up, and they were close! We shuffled back into our original set up as quickly as we could and managed to do so without spooking the birds. That started a 45 minute show...strutting, fighting, picking around, just being turkeys. They were just out of range and had forgotten why they were there, so I started cutting at them some more. That was all they needed, and they marched right to us. Mason was shaking like a leaf the entire time the birds were in sight, and it seemed to be getting worse with each step they took. The birds went behind a fallen tree, and to my surprise, Mason made his move like a pro and got the gun up and leveled! The first bird passed, then the second. When the third, a big longbeard, stepped into the opening at ten yards, Mason cut loose....and they all flew off!
He started running through a list of excuses before the gun shot stopped echoing! I couldn't help but laugh, and eventually he did too. He admitted he would have made a better shot if he had remembered to aim.... Better luck next time, I suppose.
BTW, to go along with the "dumb turkey" thing... we went mushroom hunting for 15 minutes or so, circled back around and called the same big longbeard right back in, gobbling all the way. This time he caught Mason moving and bugged out before getting in range. I should add, I told Mason I was going to slip off in the woods behind him to work the bird into his position. I made it about 75 yards into the brush when I heard Mason yell "Dad, I can't see you!".... I ran back up right behind him and told him to stop talking...the bird did NOT even spook and continued to gobble and head our way! I'd say it did have a little to do with him being a little spooky when he popped his ugly head over the hill though...
One bird would answer every time I made a yelp. He was fired up, but I assumed like with most roosted birds, his hens would take him away as soon as he hit the ground. The fact that this bird was quick to gobble made it very hard for me not to wear the calls out as I like to hear 'em...since this was Mason's hunt, I figured we should try to kill one, and kept my calling to the minimum. Around 8, we were both a bit chilled, and the birds had stopped gobbling. We started to slide down the ridge just a bit to get out of the wind, but before committing to moving too far, I made several cuts. The birds lit up, and they were close! We shuffled back into our original set up as quickly as we could and managed to do so without spooking the birds. That started a 45 minute show...strutting, fighting, picking around, just being turkeys. They were just out of range and had forgotten why they were there, so I started cutting at them some more. That was all they needed, and they marched right to us. Mason was shaking like a leaf the entire time the birds were in sight, and it seemed to be getting worse with each step they took. The birds went behind a fallen tree, and to my surprise, Mason made his move like a pro and got the gun up and leveled! The first bird passed, then the second. When the third, a big longbeard, stepped into the opening at ten yards, Mason cut loose....and they all flew off!
He started running through a list of excuses before the gun shot stopped echoing! I couldn't help but laugh, and eventually he did too. He admitted he would have made a better shot if he had remembered to aim.... Better luck next time, I suppose.BTW, to go along with the "dumb turkey" thing... we went mushroom hunting for 15 minutes or so, circled back around and called the same big longbeard right back in, gobbling all the way. This time he caught Mason moving and bugged out before getting in range. I should add, I told Mason I was going to slip off in the woods behind him to work the bird into his position. I made it about 75 yards into the brush when I heard Mason yell "Dad, I can't see you!".... I ran back up right behind him and told him to stop talking...the bird did NOT even spook and continued to gobble and head our way! I'd say it did have a little to do with him being a little spooky when he popped his ugly head over the hill though...
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