Skully
PMA Member
The morning started out windy and brisk. It was opening day of the youth season and Zack was pumped! We got permission to hunt a property where I had been glassing lots of strutters the last week and a half. We tucked the blind in the brush, put Pretty Boy and his girlfriends out and settled in, waiting for the woods to wake up. Zack's eye-lids were heavy until a group of crows cut loose and the big cottonwoods behind us must have shook from the multiple gobbles that rang from their limbs. "We're in em' deep bud", I said with a smile. Zack seemed more awake at this point, 
I had the camcorder on the tripod and a few soft tree yelps had the hens talking back and the toms cutting each other off with multiple gobbles. What more could you ask for? As the darkness lifted we could hear the first birds fly down. They were hens that pitched out on the other side of the creek. Soon the gobblers followed and stayed pretty quiet on the ground, sounding off only a few times as the "live" hens led them North and away from our set up. Excitement now turned to frustration as the gobbles became fewer and more faint. What gives??? A turkey hunter will start second guessing his decisions in a situation like this. Did the light of the full moon give us away as we were setting up? Did the Pretty boy discourage the hens from pitching into our set-up? Did I call to much in my attempt to turn them back? Such is turkey hunting and it is full of highs and lows. We were both pretty down but decided we would head to another spot for a mid morning sit. On our way to the truck I spotted an antler about 150 yds away in the tip of a grassy draw. It ended up being a nice matched set with some great character and in perfect shape! Our morning just got better! A little further up the fence-line Zack pointed out a bird headed in our direction! As it dropped behind a rise in the landscape we set up for a chance it may stay on course and offer a shot. As it crested the hill something looked funny. "It" had a nice beard but was a smaller body and a funny looking head. It was a bearded hen! This gal had a beard about seven inches long and it was full as some gobbler's beards I've seen. I explained to Zack that is was a hen and a pretty rare one at that. It was his tag and his decision to make. He decided to take her. At 35 yards he let the 20 ga. rip and she was done. What went from high to low was now high again. Two nice sheds and a great bird to go with it. Couldn't ask for a better day in the turkey woods! We are thinking of doing a full body mount on her.
Here are a couple pics:
I had the camcorder on the tripod and a few soft tree yelps had the hens talking back and the toms cutting each other off with multiple gobbles. What more could you ask for? As the darkness lifted we could hear the first birds fly down. They were hens that pitched out on the other side of the creek. Soon the gobblers followed and stayed pretty quiet on the ground, sounding off only a few times as the "live" hens led them North and away from our set up. Excitement now turned to frustration as the gobbles became fewer and more faint. What gives??? A turkey hunter will start second guessing his decisions in a situation like this. Did the light of the full moon give us away as we were setting up? Did the Pretty boy discourage the hens from pitching into our set-up? Did I call to much in my attempt to turn them back? Such is turkey hunting and it is full of highs and lows. We were both pretty down but decided we would head to another spot for a mid morning sit. On our way to the truck I spotted an antler about 150 yds away in the tip of a grassy draw. It ended up being a nice matched set with some great character and in perfect shape! Our morning just got better! A little further up the fence-line Zack pointed out a bird headed in our direction! As it dropped behind a rise in the landscape we set up for a chance it may stay on course and offer a shot. As it crested the hill something looked funny. "It" had a nice beard but was a smaller body and a funny looking head. It was a bearded hen! This gal had a beard about seven inches long and it was full as some gobbler's beards I've seen. I explained to Zack that is was a hen and a pretty rare one at that. It was his tag and his decision to make. He decided to take her. At 35 yards he let the 20 ga. rip and she was done. What went from high to low was now high again. Two nice sheds and a great bird to go with it. Couldn't ask for a better day in the turkey woods! We are thinking of doing a full body mount on her.Here are a couple pics:
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