Sunday Gobbler

Another crazy hunt. Got into the field at about 615 and by 645 two starting gobbling in the next field over. Instead of sitting and listening this time, I elected to get up and chase them to see if i could get close enough to call one in. After two hours of ducking and weaving down the side of a clear cut, I saw 4 hens but never saw the gobblers. They went silent pretty quick and i walked to one more spot where i thought the might be heading. Silence and not sight of anything.

My neighbor and I were pretty frustrated, but decided to go investigate the area where the hens were and find a place to set up for this weekend. We started our walk back to the truck down the main road into the property, when we approched a creek that had a bunch of small trees and debries pushed into it from when the logging company came in a clear cut the property. We were talking and bullshitting when i though i heard something moving down in the creek. I kind of blew it off, but two more steps and i heard it again. I told him to hang on and abou that time out pops big boy and takes off full sprint down the road.

Thinking it was a hen, I was just watching it run, when my neighbor mutters out gobbler, shoot it. One shot in the head as the SOB was running away from me probably at 40 or 50 yards.

Pretty good one from what I understand. 10 half inch beard, inch and a quarter spurs, and probably between 20 and 25 pounds. I was raised a duck hunter (which im lucky i was using my gun with no sling on it or i never would have got a shot off) so i dont know what qualifies. I had killed one other turkey when i was younger with a 12 and half inch beard and inch and a quarter spurs.

What makes this crazy is the weekend before last on same property, my neighbor had a gobbler and a hen in front of him when a coyote ran both into a tree right above him. He shot the coyote, turned shot the gobbler out the tree, then shot the coyote again. Back to back weekends with turkeys being killed and neither was called into a decoy. Crazy.