Many Beards Meets Many Pellets (Story of my 3rd tom of '04)

Doemasters · 04-19-2004, 10:14 PM

This was a morning I had been looking forward to for an entire year & I knew, kill or not, I would remember this hunt the rest of my life.. Ever since I purchased a turkey membership to a 4000 acre club in Coosa County, I haven't been down to my dad's to hunt with him. With only 2 weeks to go in the season, I broke down & decided I had waited long enough to try my home range in Greene County. I was hunting with my dad & my trusty cameraman, Moon Pie. Now, you all know how difficult turkey hunting can be with 2 folks, especially trying to film the hunt, but we were going in as a threesome. When we got to the area my dad said he had seen a couple of nice birds, I broke out my trusty owl hooter. But this morning, the only response I got from my hoot flute was a pissed-off owl. So we just sat down & waited for the crows to light up. Sure enough, the crows woke up 2 gobblers right after daybreak. We decided to go for the one to our left as my dad was sure he had this bird patterned to where he would head off the roost. The fog was heavy this morning & we all expected the turkeys to stay on the limb for a long time. As we made our way to a 10 acre hay field, the gobbles were getting louder & louder. When the field came into view through the trees, & to our surprise, we spotted a gobbler feeding in the field about a hundred yards out. We belly crawled to the edge & I let out a few soft yelps. He didn't gobble, he just started walking straight to us. My dad dropped him with a 45 yard shot. Just that quick we had a tom. My dad went & retrieved him & brought him back to where we had been set up & where Lance & I were still standing. We congratulated each other & admired the bird. It had about a 6 inch beard & we were all tickled with the early success of our hunt. I talked my dad & Lance into setting up again... IN THE SAME SPOT! I had 2 motives for this crazy idea. First of all, It had been storming the previous 2 nights & the birds might have thought that single gunshot was actually a thunder clap. Secondly, I was positive his bird wasn't the one we had heard gobbling. So we set up & I started calling with some aggressive cutting & yelps. In less than 5 minutes after my dad shot his tom, another one strolled into the field. This bird was the one we were after. Moon Pie captured him on film for about three & a half minutes as he fed straight towards us. Then it was my turn to capture him, & I did at 45 yards. He fell 10 yards to the right of my dad's pile of feathers. When I went to retrieve him I discovered my trophy to have a 10 & 1/2 inch beard... & a 6 inch beard... & another 6 inch beard... & a 2 & 1/2 inch beard. I have killed several double beards in the past, but I had just taken my first Many Beards! As if this monstrous bird wasn't enough, I got to share the experience with my dad & my best friend, & I got it all on film! What a perfect morning, & what a perfect memory.