This is the weekend of the Southern IL 5th and final season. My tag started Thursday but I chose to wait and hunt today instead of burning more vacation. Two buddies asked if they could come along since they did not have tags but still were itching to be involved. They have let me call in several birds with them so I gladly let them join me.

We set up on roosted birds this morning that sounded like a Tom and a couple jakes. It started raining a little before fly down so they shut up and stayed in the tree until 6:50. They gobbled a couple times to let us know they were still there though. The jakes almost landed on top of us, but the Tom pitched out of the tree and sailed way away from us. I've played this game with these birds before so we decided to move back the other direction toward a bird we could hear gobbling in a field.

We slipped around some to where we could spot the field and noticed a bird strutting on the far side of the field. We moved on him inside the treeline to get even with him and much closer. I crawled to the edge and my buddies stayed behind to call. He had one hen and would not leave her. He sure looked awesome strutting in the field. He was as close as about 70 yards at one time but moved away with the hen to about 300 yards. They eventually started moving back my direction but stayed in the center of the field strutting and picking.

I had been watching them for about 2 1/2 hours or so when my buddies crawled up behind me to see what was going on. They couldn't see him and he had not gobbled so they didn't know what to think. They knew I was calling now and then so they figured I could see him. When they got to me another bird started gobbling in a different field. He would gobble at every call we made. We debated moving on him but I couldn't stand to leave the bird I had been watching for so long.

The hen and Tom started moving to our left away from us. I decided to swing around in front of them in the woods and they would stay behind. When I got around to where I could sneak to the field I eased toward it and spotted them about 100 yds out working their way left and angled towards the woods. I decided to put the belly crawl sneak on them since they had their heads down feeding. I kept crawling inside the woods along the fence line and would peek up now and then. I had made it to about where I thought they may come in the woods when I heard a truck on the other side of the field. I slowly took a peek and noticed the Tom running my way, what luck. He slowed to a walk at about 60 yards but continued my way. I had watched him all morning and had yet to see how good his beard looked. Well this close look didn't disappoint me. With every step I could see it bouncing out ahead of him.

I noticed the hen finally that had made it to the woods and was only 20 yards from me walking into the woods. The Tom continued towards the woods but started veering left again. I decided to let him go as far left as I could shoot to get him as close as possible. I knew I could kill him even if he didn't get any closer. When he made it into my last opening I raised up to my knees a little, he stopped in the opening not knowing I was anywhere around and I gave a dose of 3 1/2" Winchester #6's through the old faithful 870.

He went down right there. Of course, I came out prepared to finish any job that might not be done, but he was flopping and not going anywhere.
My buddies came out of the woods about 200 yards back and could see him flopping before I got to him. They said they were in the middle of discussing weather I had made it down that far or not when BOOM. I killed him at 11:30, at least 3 1/2 hours after I first set up on him.

I stepped the shot off at 46 yards. A dead turkey every time in the open like he was. I prefer them closer but If I have to I can kill them there. I actually had never killed a bird in a field before. I've been with other people who have but none myself.

I would rather call them in gobbling, but I'll take anyway I can when its late like this.

The bird weighed in at 20 lbs even, had 1" spurs and his paintbrush beard was 10 1/8". I think he is the same bird we had at 30 yards for another buddy that couldn't get the shot. I expected him to weigh more but he was still the thickest bearded bird I've killed.