Where did he come from

Stories of your favorite gobbler hunts.
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935
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Where did he come from

Post by 935 »

AC turkey.jpeg

He just popped up, right out of the ground. Within seconds he had jumped on my Jake decoy and broken the stake at the hinge. I tried to get a clear shot but there was brush in the way, thinking the load of number 5s would easily clear out the limbs and still kill the bird I almost shot. But out of the corner of my eye I saw A. C. had his gun up and had a better shot so I whispered “shoot him.”
The cool temps and breezy conditions had my optimism on the low side. But, season was in and we were off from work. I learned years ago that in order to have those magical days afield you need to go as often as you can. Game animals and fish don’t always do what is “normal.” After a long walk in we were set up just before shooting light, the Jake and hen decoys were set about 3/4 of the way across a roughly mowed path about 25 yards wide. We were in an area that I had heard 2 toms gobbling the weekend before. Were they still there? I had tried the slip in and check on the birds 2 days before this hunt but another hunter was there so I turned around and went on to work. The question remained, were they still there? A few minutes after we settled in a gobble confirmed that at least 1 tom remained. Then another tom sounded off, we were in between the 2 turkeys and things were looking up.
A. C. was to my left and was looking left while I was looking right (note to self, always cut a little “looking streak”). Before long I noticed movement out of my left eye and slowly turned my head to see a longbeard standing beside the decoys 15 yards away. “Where had he come from?” There were 2 brushy saplings directly in front so raising my gun without being detected was easy. Getting a clear shot was not. About that time the tom jumped on my jake decoy. The commotion made A. C. look right and also gave him cover to raise his gun. At the shot the turkey went down without flopping. Not being sure exactly where the tom had come from and wanting to kill a double we sat there in silence for several minutes hoping another tom would show.
I knew A. C. wanted to get his hands on his prize but I wanted to kill 1 too, even more. After about 20 minutes we decided to get up and check out the tom. Just as we got up, a gobble rang out, so just as fast as we got up, we sat back down. I called to him with my Eddie Wynne glass call and got a halfhearted response. 10 minutes later I called again and although he didn’t cut me off, his gobble came quicker that the first one. It was time to give him good dose of silence. In no time a stick hit me in the side and I turned my head to see A. C. pointing to our right. Not sure exactly what he was trying to tell me and not willing to ask, I continued to do what I was doing, looking to the right. About 2 minutes later a tom turkey strutted into few. If only I had raised my gun when my buddy pointed. He had seen the tom way before me but because of the cover I couldn’t see him until it was too late. Now we have us a standoff, the longbeard is looking exactly where he heard the “hen” yelping from. “What to do?” I’ve been in this situation before and what has worked is waiting for him to turn away in full strut and use his fan as cover. My heart was beating so had I could feel it in my kidneys. The tom was drumming and from 8 yards his gobble almost hurt my ears. This is what I live for “if I can just pull off a kill.” He was strutting back and forth staring at me most of the time and never quite turning completely away. After what seemed like 15 minutes the big ole boy turned away and fanned out his tail feathers. Just as I moved my gun he turned back and saw me. The jig was up, in about a second he was gone.
This guy was disappointed but grateful to have played the game. Besides, we had a nice tom on the ground and the tom that had just left was already gobbling again, most likely headed to a field 500 or so yards away. A. C.’s bird had a nice long beard and 1 3/8” spurs and we still didn’t know where he had come from. My buddy thought he came from the right and I thought he came from the left. We took a bunch of pictures and then headed off to try and intercept the one that got away. It was windy enough that I thought I could sneak through the cutover and get ahead of the tom and his hens, wrong! When I peeked into the field on the other side of the cutover, the birds were gone.
We had mile or so walk and my friend had a 20 pound bird the tote so I showed him a trick. I keep a 30 foot piece of nylon cord in my turkey vest. I doubled and redoubled the rope until it was about 5 feet long. A slipknot on each makes it a turkey tote. Necessity is the mother of invention I came up with the idea about 2 miles up, down and around a mountain from the place I was staying. Back at A.C.’s house I watched him clean his bird with helpful hints thrown in from time to time. He was so impressed with my do it yourself turkey tote that I gave him the piece of cord. We never did decide where his tom had come from.
Thank you Lord for creating these wonderful birds and allowing us to chase after them.
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Hoobilly
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Re: Where did he come from

Post by Hoobilly »

Great story! Hope you get retribution!
Don't start none, won't be none!

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935
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Re: Where did he come from

Post by 935 »

hoobilly wrote: May 6th, 2020, 2:41 pm Great story! Hope you get retribution!
Stay tuned for the next story.
Thank you Lord for creating these wonderful birds and allowing us to chase after them.
MarianneBritt
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Re: Where did he come from

Post by MarianneBritt »

Amazing story. Can't wait for the other part. Thanks for sharing.
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soiltester
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Re: Where did he come from

Post by soiltester »

Great successful Turkey Hunting story and "almost" a picture perfect hunt, well for you anyway :banghead:

Pick up a game carrier for ducks & geese and keep in in your vest, as I have an old canvas one, from way back.

Question though, if you had waited, would the tom have seen and gone to the jake or would he have just turned and walked back where he came from and given you a back head shot??
ever wonder where the white goes when the snow melts??
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935
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Re: Where did he come from

Post by 935 »

soiltester wrote: April 19th, 2021, 7:21 am Great successful Turkey Hunting story and "almost" a picture perfect hunt, well for you anyway :banghead:

Pick up a game carrier for ducks & geese and keep in in your vest, as I have an old canvas one, from way back.

Question though, if you had waited, would the tom have seen and gone to the jake or would he have just turned and walked back where he came from and given you a back head shot??
Excellent question. Who the heck knows.
Thank you Lord for creating these wonderful birds and allowing us to chase after them.
pullit
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Re: Where did he come from

Post by pullit »

Great hunt and story
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quavodus
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Re: Where did he come from

Post by quavodus »

Great story and gobbler.
"I live in America, why do I have to press 1 for English?"
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935
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Re: Where did he come from

Post by 935 »

This story and more are in my book The Slam.
Thank you Lord for creating these wonderful birds and allowing us to chase after them.
Arnkatla
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Re: Where did he come from

Post by Arnkatla »

Looking forward to reading that book
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