Well my newly licensed 6yo son and I got a chance to hunt a property that we graciously received permission to hunt where he missed a big tom during the youth season. We got set up with gobbling birds all around us again with majority of the birds on an adjoining private land. While trying to get the boss hen to come across the street, the lone gobbler roosted nearby flew down without a peep. I figured he was henned up happy so I left him be and concentrated on the several big gobblers several hundred yards away.
At around 0830, I got a gobble from the lone gobbler nearby so I began concentrating my calls to him and pretty soon I got him gobbling every few seconds. Only problem is he's gobbling and moving away from us and coming back repeatedly. Just as I get him fired up, I stop calling and let him gobble on his own to see what he wants to do. He begins to gobble away from us so I let him be and get him away from us so we can get a better set up.
I get our gear packed (3 DSD decoys, a 20ga 870, field pod, seats, lunch box, and a small roll up blind) and head for a new spot. Soon as we get set up, I throw out a few clucks and three note yelps which immediately get eaten up by the gobbler. Now hes actually headed our way! Every gobble is closer and closer and pretty soon hes about 50 yards to our left. We cant see him but he was at a range where he should be seeing the DSD jake. All of a sudden we hear him gobble 100 yards away from us if he got spooked by the decoys. I give a him a series of cuts and yelps and get him fired up again.
Now hes moving towards us but out of sight and traveling parallel to where we are. Soon after hes gobbling from our first location... Sooooo now my boy is looking at me and says hes gonna be a tough one. We decide to let things calm down and take a little snooze. 15min goes by and we are greeted by three hens that could careless of our decoys but cared about the two hunters sitting under a oak tree with their face masks down. They mingled for about 10min and wondered off.
Around 1300, I decide to get things going again and begin soft calling. Since the wind picked up we decide to set up in our first spot and cover more ground with the box call. Just as we get up to the top of the ridge we hear a gobble below us. We get set up quick and I start soft calling again. an hour goes by with no gobbles and now the wind is howling. I get up and throw out a few aggressive calls wich is immediately answered back by the same gobbler. I scramble back to the blind since he sounded really close and start calling to get him fired up. He begins his insane gobbling but now hes below us to the left and walking back to our last spot! DOH!!!
for the next two hours, we sit and listen to his crazy gobbling as he gave us a few maybes as if he was coming up the hill towards us. We decide to move down hill to see if we can see what he looks like. I glass him up and he is a HUGE gobbler. Paint brush beard that looked bigger then my 11in beard bird from two years ago and a huge body that's probably pushing 20lbs easily. as we sit there watching him, we waited for him to leave the area before walking back to the car. Just as we get up, a lone jake that was about 10 feet behind us fly in the air and nearly hits my kid in the back of his head.
all in all it was an awesome day and another day being humbled by an old gobbler. We definitely had a great time hunting a magnificent property and absolutely thankful that I got a good day in with my kid.
At around 0830, I got a gobble from the lone gobbler nearby so I began concentrating my calls to him and pretty soon I got him gobbling every few seconds. Only problem is he's gobbling and moving away from us and coming back repeatedly. Just as I get him fired up, I stop calling and let him gobble on his own to see what he wants to do. He begins to gobble away from us so I let him be and get him away from us so we can get a better set up.
I get our gear packed (3 DSD decoys, a 20ga 870, field pod, seats, lunch box, and a small roll up blind) and head for a new spot. Soon as we get set up, I throw out a few clucks and three note yelps which immediately get eaten up by the gobbler. Now hes actually headed our way! Every gobble is closer and closer and pretty soon hes about 50 yards to our left. We cant see him but he was at a range where he should be seeing the DSD jake. All of a sudden we hear him gobble 100 yards away from us if he got spooked by the decoys. I give a him a series of cuts and yelps and get him fired up again.
Now hes moving towards us but out of sight and traveling parallel to where we are. Soon after hes gobbling from our first location... Sooooo now my boy is looking at me and says hes gonna be a tough one. We decide to let things calm down and take a little snooze. 15min goes by and we are greeted by three hens that could careless of our decoys but cared about the two hunters sitting under a oak tree with their face masks down. They mingled for about 10min and wondered off.
Around 1300, I decide to get things going again and begin soft calling. Since the wind picked up we decide to set up in our first spot and cover more ground with the box call. Just as we get up to the top of the ridge we hear a gobble below us. We get set up quick and I start soft calling again. an hour goes by with no gobbles and now the wind is howling. I get up and throw out a few aggressive calls wich is immediately answered back by the same gobbler. I scramble back to the blind since he sounded really close and start calling to get him fired up. He begins his insane gobbling but now hes below us to the left and walking back to our last spot! DOH!!!
for the next two hours, we sit and listen to his crazy gobbling as he gave us a few maybes as if he was coming up the hill towards us. We decide to move down hill to see if we can see what he looks like. I glass him up and he is a HUGE gobbler. Paint brush beard that looked bigger then my 11in beard bird from two years ago and a huge body that's probably pushing 20lbs easily. as we sit there watching him, we waited for him to leave the area before walking back to the car. Just as we get up, a lone jake that was about 10 feet behind us fly in the air and nearly hits my kid in the back of his head.
all in all it was an awesome day and another day being humbled by an old gobbler. We definitely had a great time hunting a magnificent property and absolutely thankful that I got a good day in with my kid.
