triple_duece
Ragin Cajun.
- 9,577
- 159
Ok so let’s get some facts straight. Hunter can deer hunt and fish, but don’t know shit about Turkey hunting. For the record I know enough to think I know what I’m doing but I don’t lol.
My buddy that lives up there is a bonafide Turkey hunter. When I say he’s ate up, he’s ATE UP! We regularly text and talk and I asked him if he had a turkey tied up for me. He laughed and said no but he’d probably be charter fishing and wouldn’t be able to hunt the opening weekend.
Friday night after work I’m headed to the camp and he ask where I’m at. I tell him and he says his charters have been canceled and if I want to go w him to meet at his house for 5am. That means I have to leave my camp by 4:15. I said I’d be there 5 sharp. I get there and he’s waiting on me. We loaded up in his boat that’s on the small river. Head down stream about 3/4 of a mile and climb the bank of the NWR. We sat in the dark on the trail listening to the owls cutting up. We move half way to where he thinks we would end up and owl calls. Tom gobbles off the roost. We make an adjustment and set up. The Tom gobbles a few times on the roost and flies down. I see him coming and gets behind some palmettos and brush and then heads down the draw instead of coming up towards the ridge. Another long beard is w him with a couple hens trailing 40 yards away from a different direction. They work down a couple hundred yards away and gobble their fool heads off. We went to cut them off and I was able to get about a 50 yards shot but it was through a key hole in trees so I opted out. We left around 11:30 after something spooked them or they just moved off.
So they got some education and so did we. I’m driving back to my property and there was a black butterball strutting on a atv trail about a 1000 yards down. Woods on right and regrowth crp on left. I sent a text and drove towards my camp. He text back “I’m getting dressed.” It’s now 1:30. I text back are you serious? He says be there in 5 minutes. We work down there and didn’t get any response. We make plans to hunt Sunday morning at the first spot.
Sunday morning at 5 we meet and he’s in the boat waiting. I’m pumped and he’s telling me that the turkeys won’t be there. I’m thinking shit we got them tied up. We get to the trail and listen, it’s 48 degrees and every star is out even some I didn’t think existed. Owls are hooting and after some times my podnah hoots. Nothing….. waited a few minutes and hoots again. I thought I heard a gobble way off then another from the opposite direction. Being half deaf and constant ringing in our ears it’s hard to tell. We figure out it’s Tom’s on his property that we can hear….that’s plan b. I told him I had no intention on killing a bird on his property as I wanted my first public land Turkey. There is not a lot of turkeys to be had unlike other states and Midwest. We decide to set up a little different and where the birds insisted on being. After 2.5 hour wait and no birds gobbling it was time to go find us one. We walk out discussing where we gonna go and stopped on the trail not far from the boat. He says let me just hoot for shits and giggles. Boom a bird gobbles 300 yards away basically in the same bottom we were hunting. To shorten the story up that lasted 4 hours, here is the cliff notes. We walk the ridge and drop into the edge of bottom w cover all while the bird gobbles to make sure we don’t bust him. He cuts us off as we call but must have had cement shoes on cause he won’t budge. My buddy walks away calling and even gets on the ridge and finally walking out of hearing distance as he circles behind the Tom. I got within a hundred yards crawling towards the bird as he gobbled to confirm if I could move and he wasn’t coming to me. The bird left cause he could hear him but I couldn’t. I moved up and wend down to the draw and sat down where I thought the bird went in. He was gobbling across the swamp now. Texted I guess the game is over and we were ready to leave. I was about to stand up and I catch a blue head coming out the thick bottom around 30-35 yards. I was moving to grab my gun off my lap and he seen something and stopped looking. Adrenaline is off the charts and I’m telling myself to line the beads up and breathe. He starts walking again and I have a window and pull the trigger. He drops and flopping around as I ran to him to stand on his head. My buddy text me saying I hope that was you and texted big bird down. The rest is history. Been 20 years since I’ve killed and is my best bird to date. All others have been 2 yr old birds.
My buddy that lives up there is a bonafide Turkey hunter. When I say he’s ate up, he’s ATE UP! We regularly text and talk and I asked him if he had a turkey tied up for me. He laughed and said no but he’d probably be charter fishing and wouldn’t be able to hunt the opening weekend.
Friday night after work I’m headed to the camp and he ask where I’m at. I tell him and he says his charters have been canceled and if I want to go w him to meet at his house for 5am. That means I have to leave my camp by 4:15. I said I’d be there 5 sharp. I get there and he’s waiting on me. We loaded up in his boat that’s on the small river. Head down stream about 3/4 of a mile and climb the bank of the NWR. We sat in the dark on the trail listening to the owls cutting up. We move half way to where he thinks we would end up and owl calls. Tom gobbles off the roost. We make an adjustment and set up. The Tom gobbles a few times on the roost and flies down. I see him coming and gets behind some palmettos and brush and then heads down the draw instead of coming up towards the ridge. Another long beard is w him with a couple hens trailing 40 yards away from a different direction. They work down a couple hundred yards away and gobble their fool heads off. We went to cut them off and I was able to get about a 50 yards shot but it was through a key hole in trees so I opted out. We left around 11:30 after something spooked them or they just moved off.
So they got some education and so did we. I’m driving back to my property and there was a black butterball strutting on a atv trail about a 1000 yards down. Woods on right and regrowth crp on left. I sent a text and drove towards my camp. He text back “I’m getting dressed.” It’s now 1:30. I text back are you serious? He says be there in 5 minutes. We work down there and didn’t get any response. We make plans to hunt Sunday morning at the first spot.
Sunday morning at 5 we meet and he’s in the boat waiting. I’m pumped and he’s telling me that the turkeys won’t be there. I’m thinking shit we got them tied up. We get to the trail and listen, it’s 48 degrees and every star is out even some I didn’t think existed. Owls are hooting and after some times my podnah hoots. Nothing….. waited a few minutes and hoots again. I thought I heard a gobble way off then another from the opposite direction. Being half deaf and constant ringing in our ears it’s hard to tell. We figure out it’s Tom’s on his property that we can hear….that’s plan b. I told him I had no intention on killing a bird on his property as I wanted my first public land Turkey. There is not a lot of turkeys to be had unlike other states and Midwest. We decide to set up a little different and where the birds insisted on being. After 2.5 hour wait and no birds gobbling it was time to go find us one. We walk out discussing where we gonna go and stopped on the trail not far from the boat. He says let me just hoot for shits and giggles. Boom a bird gobbles 300 yards away basically in the same bottom we were hunting. To shorten the story up that lasted 4 hours, here is the cliff notes. We walk the ridge and drop into the edge of bottom w cover all while the bird gobbles to make sure we don’t bust him. He cuts us off as we call but must have had cement shoes on cause he won’t budge. My buddy walks away calling and even gets on the ridge and finally walking out of hearing distance as he circles behind the Tom. I got within a hundred yards crawling towards the bird as he gobbled to confirm if I could move and he wasn’t coming to me. The bird left cause he could hear him but I couldn’t. I moved up and wend down to the draw and sat down where I thought the bird went in. He was gobbling across the swamp now. Texted I guess the game is over and we were ready to leave. I was about to stand up and I catch a blue head coming out the thick bottom around 30-35 yards. I was moving to grab my gun off my lap and he seen something and stopped looking. Adrenaline is off the charts and I’m telling myself to line the beads up and breathe. He starts walking again and I have a window and pull the trigger. He drops and flopping around as I ran to him to stand on his head. My buddy text me saying I hope that was you and texted big bird down. The rest is history. Been 20 years since I’ve killed and is my best bird to date. All others have been 2 yr old birds.
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