what a season... before I start with the story a little background on this gobbler. I been chasing him on and off since opening week. I was able to get his little brother earlier in the season but he's been giving me the slip day after day. I think I have hunted him a total of 10 to 12 solid days. This gobbler would roost in the same tree day after day and once in awhile when I thought I had him figured out, he would roost 100 yards from the trail head and make my life absolutely miserable. I named him old circle toes because he had these odd circle at the tip of his toes that made his tracks look funny with these circles.
Every morning I would go after him, he would gobble 4 times on the roost and one or twice on the ground. One day I had him gobbling his head off with some sweet purrs and scratching the leaves but as he got in range and closing in at 70 yards, couple of hikers came walking up the trail and busted the hunt.
This morning, before I got set up I had this feeling that he was roosted near the trail head so I parked the truck a little ways away and walked in from a different direction so that I don't walk underneath him. As the morning light rose, I heard him gobble once and heard the dreaded hen yelp and another hen yelp... great somehow he gained two hens since I last hunted him.
Again he gobbled exactly 4 times on the roost and once he flew down, he gobbled twice and shut up. I sat and just sporadically made soft yelps instead of getting aggressive with calls. I ate some breakfast while I waited and around 10am, I figure the hens would be gone. I decided to use a tactic that has worked for me a few times. I gathered my gear, walked 100 yards to the direction where I figure he would be and gave two soft three note yelps. I imeddiatley got a gobble but I figure he would just walk the other way, I walked back 50 yards and gave couple more soft yelps.
After the call I got another gobble but this time he closed the distance half way and I saw a glimps of a red head 60 yards away. I picked a spot to sit and gave a couple more soft yelps from my hooks mouth call and now I had him gobbling his head off.
Not 20 min later, I see him trotting down the clearing towards me. He was looking hard for the hen making the calls and luckily I didn't have enough time to stick a decoy out because he came to about 15 yards of me. Soon as I had a clear lane to shoot, it was lights out for old circle toe.
I'm still in amazement that this all worked out but not sure what changed his mind to actively seek me. But whatever I did it worked out great.
Final numbers
11 inch beard
1.25in and 1in Spurs
21 pounds.
