muddy
Well-Known Member
my rollar coaster season is over. after losing a bird only to find it 2 days later and a huge string of bad luck i tagged out this morning.
at 6:15 i got my bird for the year. wish i had more time and i'd get another tag but other obligations take priority now, my wife has been more than patient with me this season.
the past couple times i have hunted my usual haunts there was a gobbler running around that would always be gobbling. during the mornings he would just hammer off over and over until fly down. he'd be silent till mid morning and then start up again. last weekend i hunted the same area and i could hear "Loudmouth" again, this time it was at 2 in the afternoon and the damn bird didn't shut up till 20 minutes after it got dark!! his only mistake that night was showing me his general roosting area. last night i went out and set up where he roosted the week before and sure enough around 5 pm or so i could hear that same distinct hammering gobble as i walked in. i couldn't get set up quite where i wanted to but felt confident for this morning. i got up a bit early and snuck out there and set up on where i thought he was and waited. at about 5 after 5 he started gobbling. i tell ya, by the time 5:30 got there i was about sick of this bird, he would gobble every 10 seconds at LEAST. to say he was close was an understatement, i could hear him drumming and spitting in the tree and i could of swore i heard his wings dragging on the limb as well. i don't usually recommend setting up so close to a bird but he was roosted on a bluff that was boardered with pine trees and cow pasture so i got snuck in real quiet and had no problems, it was almost too perfect. around 5:45 he pitched out of the tree and landed about 80 yards from me out in the pasture. he immediately broke into strut and started working straight towards me. the rest they say, is history. picture perfect full strut into the decoys, he turned around and was facing away, gave a gobble and then i yelped and he stood up straight. i buried my arrow dead between his wing butts as he stared at the decoy. boy, was he in love cuz he took a great big hop hit the ground, gobbled once more and then sorta just flipped over onto his back with his legs going a mile a minute. shortly thereafter i was kneeling down next to him with a big grin on my face.
thanks to all who kept me in a positive frame of mind this year. pictures to follow sometime on sunday!! his stats are as follows: 25 pounds, 11 inch beard, and one spur is 1 1/4 inch and the other spur is busted down to 3/4 inch. not much for a score but it was a good hunt.
at 6:15 i got my bird for the year. wish i had more time and i'd get another tag but other obligations take priority now, my wife has been more than patient with me this season.
the past couple times i have hunted my usual haunts there was a gobbler running around that would always be gobbling. during the mornings he would just hammer off over and over until fly down. he'd be silent till mid morning and then start up again. last weekend i hunted the same area and i could hear "Loudmouth" again, this time it was at 2 in the afternoon and the damn bird didn't shut up till 20 minutes after it got dark!! his only mistake that night was showing me his general roosting area. last night i went out and set up where he roosted the week before and sure enough around 5 pm or so i could hear that same distinct hammering gobble as i walked in. i couldn't get set up quite where i wanted to but felt confident for this morning. i got up a bit early and snuck out there and set up on where i thought he was and waited. at about 5 after 5 he started gobbling. i tell ya, by the time 5:30 got there i was about sick of this bird, he would gobble every 10 seconds at LEAST. to say he was close was an understatement, i could hear him drumming and spitting in the tree and i could of swore i heard his wings dragging on the limb as well. i don't usually recommend setting up so close to a bird but he was roosted on a bluff that was boardered with pine trees and cow pasture so i got snuck in real quiet and had no problems, it was almost too perfect. around 5:45 he pitched out of the tree and landed about 80 yards from me out in the pasture. he immediately broke into strut and started working straight towards me. the rest they say, is history. picture perfect full strut into the decoys, he turned around and was facing away, gave a gobble and then i yelped and he stood up straight. i buried my arrow dead between his wing butts as he stared at the decoy. boy, was he in love cuz he took a great big hop hit the ground, gobbled once more and then sorta just flipped over onto his back with his legs going a mile a minute. shortly thereafter i was kneeling down next to him with a big grin on my face.
thanks to all who kept me in a positive frame of mind this year. pictures to follow sometime on sunday!! his stats are as follows: 25 pounds, 11 inch beard, and one spur is 1 1/4 inch and the other spur is busted down to 3/4 inch. not much for a score but it was a good hunt.
