Went out this morning and actually heard 4 birds gobbling. I managed to slip in close to one of them on the roost. My next door neighbors son from Virginia is in hunting with me for a couple of days. We got down and set up on the bird.
He gobbled in the tree for a good 15 minutes and only answered my fly down cackle. When he pitched off the roost he came straight to us, but stopped about 50 yards out just on the other side of some extremely thick underbrush. He stood there for about 25 minutes gobbling and spitting.
He slowly eased off gobbling as he went. I let him get about 100 yards away and grabbed my box call and cutt on it then added a few hard yelps. He double gobbled. I shut up and it was 5 minutes again before he gobbled. He had come back in and was again only about 50 yards away from us. Still there was a ton of thick underbrush between us and him. I chose a terrible set up. A wonderful lesson in not knowing the terrain well. He gobbled from there a time or two during the next 10 minutes. I let out a soft yelp and it sounded like a heard of elephants was coming through the brush. I saw him at about 45 yards in the thick stuff heading right for us. I had my gun on him, but I was wondering why my friend wasn't shooting. He was about 15 yards to my left.
The bird finally stopped at about 25 yards and stood there motionless for a few minutes. I couldn't believe he wasn't dead. This gobbler actually leaned forward on his tippy toes and looked around the brush trying to find the hens that had him so excited.
Finally I decided if he took a step backwards I couldn't kill him and after the lean he seemed to get nervous so I let him have it.
He was 17.2 lbs, 11 inch beard and 1 1/8 inch spurs.
Some brush blocked my friends veiw. He never saw the turkey, but he said that the noise coming through the brush sounded more like a dog than a turkey.
Congrats,I'm still after one w/bow tough game tried to double with Pat Ely Mon. but an eagle eye jake caught me drawing on gobbler,they got nervous told Pat to go ahead and take his. over half of our areas are flooded today from all the rain When it backs out we'll call you. Still looking for the place you talked about nothing yet,tough game
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Hunt hard-Hunt Safe
Saved by Grace
North Carolina Bird Down
