Tagged out in the home state. Like ive mentioned multiple times this year, im working a shutdown so time is few and far between to hunt. Well....I was off work last night so I got to go this morning. The reports from my fellow lease members is that birds are not gobbling much and pretty much only on the limb. Well the last 2 times ive been I have found this to be true....but with the threat of the virus heating up, I knew my time to get a third bird was becoming limited so I decided to go hard this morning. Got to the woods to my listening spot before daylight. Didn't hear my first gobble until 650. I only heard 2 birds they both gobbled twice on the limb and they were about as far as you could physically hear one. They were actually not even on the lease property I believe. I made my way their direction being a bird was not roosted where I had hoped. I decided id have to just cover ground this am and try to strike one up. Well 9 oclock rolls around , ive probably covered 2 miles at least stopping to locate every few hundred yards and I make it to a spot that's been good to me over the years. Its just simply a road between a cutover and private land. I hit my box call and I realized I had actually passed up a spot I had killed a bird at a couple years ago, so I walk about 100 yards back to that spot and hit the call again and I hear a very distant and faint gobble. It sounded like one of the birds I had heard on the limb that morning. and he was all the way on the far end of the private block. Well....being im literally on the boundary, I tell myself ...its 9 oclock hes more than likely alone for the morning, and ive killed a bird at this exact tree not once but twice in the past I might as well, see if I can drag him up here. So I hit the call again with some aggressive cutting and he gobbles again. With no where to really sit being its like woods, a road , and 5 year old cutover I walk to a different tree where I can see a little better and sit down. I hit my call again and hes a little closer and he has squared up with my location. Well at least hes making a move reguardless if he comes or not. I sit there in silence and the next gobble hes probably 150 yards or so.....At this point im like well...its gonna happen, but I don't know if ill be able to see him , no real setup options....again its the property line. So I hear him start to drum and finally I see him. I have a row of bushes at my 2 oclock position. I was hoping hed strut back and forth until I got a shot but no he only strutted behind the bushes...the bushes were in front of me just a few yards....he was actually in the open so it was me not him. He strutted for 15 minutes at 30 yards. I did give a few soft yelps the opposite direction to try and move him around but he just kept strutting and at the end of every strut he would erect his head and then keep strutting. This bird actually did picture perfect you couldn't ask for better. At some point I realized hes going to stop strutting and walk off, I can only hope he walks off where I can see him for a shot because its a shame I have a bird strutting at 30 and I cant even shoot him....he quits strutting and I cannot find him....I didn't know what to do , so I started some aggressive cutting on my mouth call figuring id either spook him or he would start drumming again where I could at least hear him. Through a series of vines at my 1 oclock position I see him dancing back and forth trying his hardest to see through the same bushes I cant see him through and im like well hes at 40 yards about to leave his head is up lets see if I can get my bead on him. It was a small shot window like shooting though a hole the size of a coke can but only a maybe a yard in front of my barrel, im either gonna hit it or make it. I typically probably would not do that , but today I did, I pulled the trigger and he began to flop. I did not hit the vine in front of me lol. Long long walk out but well worth it to know my next day off I can sleep in .
dzsmith
#3
Tagged out in the home state. Like ive mentioned multiple times this year, im working a shutdown so time is few and far between to hunt. Well....I was off work last night so I got to go this morning. The reports from my fellow lease members is that birds are not gobbling much and pretty much only on the limb. Well the last 2 times ive been I have found this to be true....but with the threat of the virus heating up, I knew my time to get a third bird was becoming limited so I decided to go hard this morning. Got to the woods to my listening spot before daylight. Didn't hear my first gobble until 650. I only heard 2 birds they both gobbled twice on the limb and they were about as far as you could physically hear one. They were actually not even on the lease property I believe. I made my way their direction being a bird was not roosted where I had hoped. I decided id have to just cover ground this am and try to strike one up. Well 9 oclock rolls around , ive probably covered 2 miles at least stopping to locate every few hundred yards and I make it to a spot that's been good to me over the years. Its just simply a road between a cutover and private land. I hit my box call and I realized I had actually passed up a spot I had killed a bird at a couple years ago, so I walk about 100 yards back to that spot and hit the call again and I hear a very distant and faint gobble. It sounded like one of the birds I had heard on the limb that morning. and he was all the way on the far end of the private block. Well....being im literally on the boundary, I tell myself ...its 9 oclock hes more than likely alone for the morning, and ive killed a bird at this exact tree not once but twice in the past I might as well, see if I can drag him up here. So I hit the call again with some aggressive cutting and he gobbles again. With no where to really sit being its like woods, a road , and 5 year old cutover I walk to a different tree where I can see a little better and sit down. I hit my call again and hes a little closer and he has squared up with my location. Well at least hes making a move reguardless if he comes or not. I sit there in silence and the next gobble hes probably 150 yards or so.....At this point im like well...its gonna happen, but I don't know if ill be able to see him , no real setup options....again its the property line. So I hear him start to drum and finally I see him. I have a row of bushes at my 2 oclock position. I was hoping hed strut back and forth until I got a shot but no he only strutted behind the bushes...the bushes were in front of me just a few yards....he was actually in the open so it was me not him. He strutted for 15 minutes at 30 yards. I did give a few soft yelps the opposite direction to try and move him around but he just kept strutting and at the end of every strut he would erect his head and then keep strutting. This bird actually did picture perfect you couldn't ask for better. At some point I realized hes going to stop strutting and walk off, I can only hope he walks off where I can see him for a shot because its a shame I have a bird strutting at 30 and I cant even shoot him....he quits strutting and I cannot find him....I didn't know what to do , so I started some aggressive cutting on my mouth call figuring id either spook him or he would start drumming again where I could at least hear him. Through a series of vines at my 1 oclock position I see him dancing back and forth trying his hardest to see through the same bushes I cant see him through and im like well hes at 40 yards about to leave his head is up lets see if I can get my bead on him. It was a small shot window like shooting though a hole the size of a coke can but only a maybe a yard in front of my barrel, im either gonna hit it or make it. I typically probably would not do that , but today I did, I pulled the trigger and he began to flop. I did not hit the vine in front of me lol. Long long walk out but well worth it to know my next day off I can sleep in .
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