Author Topic: KY Gobbler (sequel added)  (Read 5147 times)

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Offline hedgeapple

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KY Gobbler (sequel added)
« on: May 06, 2015, 10:39:31 am »
I woke up to the sound of Schuy getting ready for work Tuesday morning. That reminded me that she needed to use my truck Tuesday and I needed to get some of my stuff out of the truck. Unloading the truck was interrupted by "gobble, gobble" on my neighbor, Steve's farm. I dashed inside to dress for the hunt. Grabbing my father's Winchester .12 gauge, I was out the door in under 10 minutes.

My plan was to cross Steve's pasture, then drop into the lightly wooded hollow on the back of his farm. That plan was thwarted when I realized I would have to go through a herd of 15 cattle. The moo cows were between me and the turkey. Plan B: I'd set up on the fence row joining the Spurlock farm behind me. The owner of the farm doesn't allow hunting because people had trashed his place and left gates open. But, he has told me, that if I see anything across the fence that I wanted to shoot, go ahead and shoot it. My thoughts were that the turkey were probably on his farm and I could call them down the fence row. Thwarted again. His cattle were there.

Steve's cattle had moved across the ridge, just maybe the turkey were still in the little bottom on the back of Steve's farm. I sat up on my fence row and called. Gobble...Gobble 200 yards away on the Spurlock farm. I hit the slate again, a double gobble answered. Time to shut up. Five minutes later I hear hens putting a little over 100 yards away, but across the fence. I purred. Gobble. Wait. Five minutes pass. I hear a gobble 200+ yards away. The flock had turned uphill and were leaving. The gobbler would answer my calls but was moving farther away. A GREAT MORNING! I now have a game plan for Wednesday.

Wednesday (today), I'm out the door at 5:15 AM. The plan was to cross Steve's pasture, drop into the little flat along the fence line so I could watch up the hollow on Steve's while being able to shoot across the fence onto Spurlock's farm were the turkeys had gone up the hill. Cattle thwarted again. OK, I'll follow the drainage fence then head up the hollow, This would put me below the cows. I sat up just were I'd planned. Decoys were out, birds began to chirp and I was nestled into a cedar tree. Life is good. A little after first light, I hit the slate. Six to eight tom's answer me. Most were 400 to 600 yards away, but a couple seems only about 200 yards away. Steve's property does a 90 degree turn up another little hollow about 100 yards from my set up. The toms were about 150 yards in the head of that hollow. Decision time. Do I move to that corner at the mouth of the hollow or do I stay put. If I move I would run the chance of busting those birds, but if I stay I just might have an ambush situation even if the Tom hens-up. And I have Saturday if that plan doesn't work. I stayed put.

I'm calling about every 5 minutes. The 6 or 8 gobbles are just a gobblin'. I visualize them strutting and gobbling. HEY one Tom, who can't gobble really well, is getting closer, but he's on the hill behind me. I'm thinking jake. I skooch my butt around the cedar, not comfortable at all now, but I'm ready. I call he double gobbles. Time to be silent. Five minutes pass and no sound. Time to see where he's is. I do my most sexy purr. Gobble Gobble....Gobble Gobble. He's come down the hill and is now in the "L" of the property line. But, he's only about 70 yards out now. I got him on a string. I skooch my butt back around to watch a cattle path. I'm ready to shoot when his head pops over the rise. I see legs thru the thicket. He's moved below the cattle path. I adjust my aim position. In 30 seconds he pops over the ridge, sticks his neck out looking at my decoys, BOOM! I got my turkey.

He weight 20 lbs. 9 1/2" beard and spurs were 1" and 1/2". He's not a trophy, but he's mine.

I've back to the house by 7. Schuy is just leaving for work, but had time to snap a couple pictures for me. I swear my camo is green and not brown like in the pictures.

While dressing the turkey, I heard the other Tom gobbling just over the hill from my house on Steve's farm. Guess were I'm going to be Saturday morning or maybe even Thursday morning. I do have to be at work by 10AM, but I might be able to pull off a hunt.
« Last Edit: May 10, 2015, 01:25:14 am by hedgeapple »
Dave   Richmond, KY
26" draw

Offline Danzn Bar

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Re: KY Gobbler
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2015, 12:41:44 pm »
Way to go Dave !!  Great story.  Nice Bird
DBar
Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking

Offline Pat B

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Re: KY Gobbler
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2015, 12:43:17 pm »
Nice shooting.
Because a shotgun was used I'm moving this to Around The Campfire.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline osage outlaw

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Re: KY Gobbler
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2015, 12:45:40 pm »
Nice job Dave!!!   
I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

Offline Chief RID

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Re: KY Gobbler
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2015, 01:13:39 pm »
Way to go Dave. Thanks for the pics and the in depth account of your hunts. You deserved that bird. Hope you get another tomorrow or Sat.

blackhawk

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Re: KY Gobbler
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2015, 01:30:27 pm »
Yeah buddy!!! Life's been good for you lately..the classic last week/weekend, and a bird this week. :)

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: KY Gobbler
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2015, 01:31:28 pm »
Nice work big Dave!
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline Zuma

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Re: KY Gobbler
« Reply #7 on: May 06, 2015, 05:58:40 pm »
Perseverance is a wonderful quality :)
Zuma
If you are a good detective the past is at your feet. The future belongs to Faith.

Offline TRACY

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Re: KY Gobbler
« Reply #8 on: May 06, 2015, 06:36:33 pm »
Congratulations Dave! That's a nice bird! It was almost as I was there as you were explaining the geography and the hunt. Can't wait to hear the story at the next Moontree !


Tracy
It is what it is - make the most of it!    PN500956

Offline hedgeapple

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Re: KY Gobbler
« Reply #9 on: May 06, 2015, 08:26:50 pm »
Thanks PatB. Don't know what I was thinking. Probably too much adrenaline. haha

Tracy, I never tell stories at Moon Tree.  >:D

Thanks everyone else.

A little back story for my Turkey season.  First I request 3 days off work for the wrong week.  I was off work for opening day, but I was getting over a cold.  I got up to hunt, but I was coughing and sneezing too much to go to the woods. Then I had a wedding to attend the second weekend.  The 3rd weekend was the Classic.  So I had pretty much written this season off.  Good thing wifey needed my truck.  :)
Dave   Richmond, KY
26" draw

Offline hedgeapple

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Re: KY Gobbler (sequel added)
« Reply #10 on: May 10, 2015, 01:28:09 am »
Saturday's hunt.

What a difference 3 days makes during turkey season.  There wasn't a 10th of the gobbling going on this morning.

I was up at 5AM out the door at 5:30 seated with decoys standing at 5:50.  Then nothing.  I'm hunting on Steve's farm at the mouth of the hollow were I heard a tom while I was back at the house cleaning  my turkey Wednesday morning. About 6:15 I hear a fly down and gobble at the head of the hollow.  No other toms gobbling anywhere.  My hopes are still high; the only turkey thundering is the one I'm hunting. 

I do a short series of calls.  No answer.  OK, he's with hens.  I might have to wait him out until the hens move off.  I wait 5 minutes and hit the slate call again.  No answer.  But I catch movement on a hill on the next farm.  It's a Tom but he's not talking.  He's to the extreme right of me about 100 yards out.  When he goes behind a large cedar/honeysuckle tangle I slowly reposition myself. I see him fly. GRRR he busted me.  I call with the slate just in case.  I see the Tom.  What I saw of the bird flying was him flying over the fence.  Now, we're both on the same farm.  Problem is, my decoys are in a straight line from me to the tom.  The tom is kind of hung up.  He'll take a couple steps then eyes the decoys, but he's also looking straight at me.  We are in a flat area with a couple small rises in the ground.  He starts to walk left, paralleling the decoys.  He goes behind a small cedar.  I'm thinking he's not going to come any closer.  When he steps out I take the what I believe is a 30 yard shot. It rocks him back on his heels, then he takes to the air.  I only see him for about 4 feet before he disappears behind a tree.  Maybe I hit him just hard enough so that he can't clear the fence.  I go look for him counting my steps as I go.  What I thought was 30 yards was 45 yards.  "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! You've got to be more patient, Dave."  The slight rolls in the earth caused me to misjudge the distance.  NO BIRD!

"OK, regroup.  That wasn't the Tom up the hollow. My shot Wednesday didn't affect him, because he was gobbling 30 minutes later.  I'm just going to set here for 30 minutes to let thinks settle down.  Then, I'll start calling again."  It's 7 o'clock.

7:20 Tom-up-the-Hollow double gobbles.  He's a couple hundred yards away.  I chose to stay put instead of moving closer.  If I can't get him closer, I might move later.  I have pretty good idea of his strutting area, so that's an option.  Since he didn't respond to the slate call I pick up the box call and a gave couple soft come-get-me clucks.  Nothing.  Two minutes later he gobbles.  "I'm going to play coy. I don't want him to think I'm easy.  If he wants me, he's going to have to come to me." I wait about 5 minutes before hitting the box call again.  He waits about a minute then answers.  "I know your game ol' boy. Let's play." Now, he's closer, only about 100 yards out, but he's on top of the hill instead of coming down the hollow as I had expected.  I position myself for the shot.  I wait another 5 minutes then do a couple little purrs.

Gobble...Gobble.  Two gobbles BUT, they are behind me on the Spurlock Farm and they're only about 70 yards away.  I turn slowly, flip off the safety and wait.  There's a tom at 60 yards coming down the hill toward the fence.  There's another tom with him and he's closer.  Now it makes sense why there was a slight pause between to the 2 gobble instead of the robust normal double-gobble--it was two Toms and not just one.

Tom2 keeps coming down the hill, grazing as he walks.  Tom1 has made it to the fence and is walking away.  When Tom2 is 28 yards away he stretches out his neck to peck at a grass blade.  BOOM! It was his last supper.

As I was crossing the fence onto my farm, I heard Tom-up-the-Hollow gobbling.  I smiled.  "Maybe we'll meet in the Fall ol' Boy. My tags are filled for this spring season."

He's another 20 lb. bird.  Both spurs are 1", beard #1 is 11 inches, beard #2 is 2 1/4"  It's not a huge second beard, but it's my first double-bearded turkey.
Dave   Richmond, KY
26" draw

Offline chamookman

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Re: KY Gobbler (sequel added)
« Reply #11 on: May 10, 2015, 04:24:44 am »
Nice ! Bob
"May the Gods give Us the strength to draw the string to the cheek, the arrow to the barb and loose the flying shaft, so long as life may last." Saxon Pope - 1923.

Offline Danzn Bar

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Re: KY Gobbler (sequel added)
« Reply #12 on: May 10, 2015, 07:24:13 am »
Good job on the second bird.......
DBar
Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking

Offline osage outlaw

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Re: KY Gobbler (sequel added)
« Reply #13 on: May 10, 2015, 08:39:00 am »
You are knocking them down this spring Dave.  Nice shooting!
I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

blackhawk

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Re: KY Gobbler (sequel added)
« Reply #14 on: May 10, 2015, 09:02:44 am »
Thanksgiving at Dave's this year!!!!  :D